Here are the phonology exam questions with Alex’s answers. My own answers are filed in my LALP folder on my computer.
1. An English learner hears the sentence: “I can’t stand the hot weather.” but has trouble getting the meaning. In fact, he can’t determine if the speaker is saying she can or cannot tolerate heat. What may be the source of the problem? How might you help the learner? In your answer provide a transcription of both:
a. I can’t stand the hot weather.
b. I can stand the hot weather.
the learner may believe the difference lies in hearing the t of can’t, whereas the real consistent difference is in the non-reduction of the vowel of can’t vs the typical schwa of can. So it’s the vowels that are different. The problem often occurs when the learner unconsciously is listening for the “t” which in fact may be “swallowed” barely pronounced or simply dropped.
2. Here is an excerpt from a lecture on air pollution. Underline the words that receive stress. . Provide an explanation for a learner who tends to stress each word alike in every sentence. In addition bold words that receive additional or special stress, i.e. focus words. Please explain the overall rules or patterns for selecting the word(s) to stress in a sentence plus why any word(s) were selected for special stress as focus words.
OK Today we’ll continue our discussion of air pollution. Yesterday we defined pollution. Today we’ll talk about the impact of pollution on the air quality in our major cities. Tomorrow we’ll deal with attempts to control pollution.
focus words:
Possible choices (among others) today continue air pollution
(Today since the first intention of the speaker is to highlight the time frame. Continue because that introduces the key aspect of today’s agenda. Air pollution is the topic so is key)
Yesterday defined (because yesterday needs to be contrasted with today, Defined since while air pollution remains the constant focus, what the person is going to do with it changes and is new every time.
Today impact major cities
(because today is again in contrast with the previous yesterday impact (on) MAJOR CITIES IS THE NEW INFORMATION.
TOMORROW CONTROL (BECAUSE TOMORROW IS A CONTRAST ELEMENT CONTROL IS THE NEW SLANT ON OUR TOPIC)
SO THE OVERALL IDEA IS SENTENCE STRESS FALLS ON PRINCIPAL FOCUSES AND ESPECIALLY NEW OR CONTRASTING ELEMENTS.
Other words stressed: any nouns, adjectives, verbs, adverbs, question words, demonstratives i.e. words conveying important information
3 Here are a number of errors in pronunciation., Hypothesize what the source of the error is.
a. Have you ever seen my plays? Have your ever seen my place? The two sentences are pronounced alike. (like place)
LEARNER’S L1 DEVOICES FINAL CONSONANTS.
b. The native listener hears: What do you think of her bitch? But the learner wanted to say: What do you think of her pitch
THE LEARNER MAY FAIL TO ASPIRATE THE INITIAL P, SO THE NATIVE HEARS IT AS A “B” (WHICH HAS NO ASPIRATION)
c. The housekeeper at the hotel hears: “Can you tell me when are you going to change the shits, please.”
THE LEARNER MAY NOT HAVE A TENSE/LAX DISTINCTION IN HER LANGUAGE.. SINCE IT IS THE LAX VOWEL THAT IS OFTEN THE NEW ONE FOR ENGLISH LEARNERS, THIS STUDENT MIGHT BE OVERCOMPENSATING, I.E. PRONOUNCING EVEN THE TENSE VOWEL AS LAX IN HER EFFORT TO COMPENSATE FOR THE LACK OF LAX VOWELS IN HER NATIVE LANGUAGE. THIS THEN IS A CASE OF OVERCOMPENSATION
d. The gas station attendant hears: “I need a fool tank of gas.”
BASICALLY THE SAME ISSUE AS ABOVE, BUT IS THE MORE EXPECTED SUBSTITUTION OF TENSE FOR LAX
e. The philosophy professor hears: “I sink, therefore I am.”
ABSENCE OF TH SOUND IN L1. so learner uses the closest sound
f. Your roommate says goodnight and then adds: “Would you rake me up by 7.”
SOUNDS LIKE AN ASIAN SPEAKER WHO LACKS A CONTRAST BETWEEN L AND R IN HIS NATIVE LANGAUGE. L and R are allophones of a single phoneme, for example, in Japanese and so the perception of a Japanese speaker of the crucial difference is not the same as an English speaker’s
g. Your roommate offers the following comment on English: “The bowels of English are needlessly complex.”
There is no v vs b contrast is Spanish, among other languages.
4. Comment on the validity of the following: “If an ESL student fails to reduce vowels in unstressed position, it is not a problem since the listener hears the stressed vowels just fine.”
A BIG QUESTION IS WHAT YOU MEAN BY “PROBLEM.” IF BASIC INFORMATION TRANSFERRAL IS ALL YOU ARE AFTER, IT MAY NOT BE A PROBLEM. HOWEVER, YOU HAVE HERE AN INSTANCE OF LISTENER FATIGUE. THAT IS, THE NATIVE, ACCUSTOMED TO HAVING THE SPEAKER IDENTIFY AND STRESS THE IMPORTANT ELEMENTS OF ANY SENTENCE, IS PUT INTO THE POSITION OF HAVING TO DO THIS HERSELF.
EVENTUALLY, THE LISTENER CAN TUNE OUT OR LOSE INTEREST AND CONCENTRATION. WE CALL THIS “LISTERNER FATIGUE”
5. What is a “stigmatized” pronunciation? Give an example from North American English. Why do certain pronunciation features become stigmatized?
Any pronunciation feature that is mocked or viewed negatively by a large number, especially by those who speak the recognized standard. Often stigmatized features are those of lower socioeconomic groups or of people from a certain city or area. In fact, it is the group itself that is looked down upon, the condemnation/mockery of the pronunciation is simply a displacement of the hostility toward the group, which often cannot be expressed directly.
Examples cawfee pronunciation (NY) pin/pen homonym in certain areas of the south r-less dialects in NYC, Boston, parts of the south.
Note: An entire dialect may be stigmatized, e.g. US English in parts of the world, RP (Received Pronunciation, i.e BBC type English) is perceived as “snobbish” or “pretentious” in many places around the world.
6. [handwritten transcription, not included here]
7 . Terms: Provide a brief definition and an example of all but one of the following terms:
a. Phoneme
the smallest unit of sound capable of changing meaning, e.g. v b vowels vs bowels
b. Allophone
a variation of a phoneme, one realization of a phoneme
c. positional or conditioned allophone
an allophone determined by its position in the word e.g
aspirated t is determined by initial position in a word, followed directly by a vowel e.g tea peak cart are all aspirated
d. sociolingistic allophone
an allophone characteristic of a certain social group (ethnic, age, gender, region, class ) e.g. the way the o is pronounced in NYC lower middle class and working class cawfee
e. distinctive feature
the minimal characteristics of phonemes needed to contrast all of the phonemes in a language e.g. for English consonants the distinctive features are only voiced vs unvoiced, manner of articulation (stop, fricative etc) place of articulation (bilabial, dental, interdental etc) Other features, such as aspirated or unaspirated, are not distinctive features since they are not needed to contrast one phoneme to another
8. Think about a language you have learned primarily after age 12. (English or another language) Select two features, phonemes or allophones or stress patterns, that posed problems for you, that were difficult in some way. Discuss why they were difficult (in terms of differences from your L1)
The French sound in tu or lu since we in English don’t round our lips for front vowels so it’s a new and strange articulation for English learners.
Back unrounded vowels in Slavic languages, since, once again, we do not have such a vowel in English (all our back vowels are rounded)