MCQs -Phonetics and Phonology

 

MCQs on Phonetics and Phonology

1. Phonetics is primarily concerned with:

A. Meaning of words in context

B. Rules for sentence formation

C. Physical sounds of human speech

D. Word formation rules

Answer: C. Physical sounds of human speech

 

2.Which branch of linguistics studies the physical production and perception of speech sounds?

A. Phonology

B. Syntax

C. Phonetics

D. Morphology

Answer: C. Phonetics

 

3. Which branch of phonetics deals with the physical production of speech sounds?

A. Acoustic phonetics

B. Auditory phonetics

C. Articulatory phonetics

D. Phonology

Answer: C. Articulatory phonetics

 

4. The smallest unit of sound that can change the meaning of a word is called a:

A. Morpheme

B. Phoneme

C. Allophone

D. Grapheme

Answer: B. Phoneme

 

5. Which of the following is an example of a minimal pair in English?

A. Book – Books

B. Pin – Pen

C. Cat – Bat

D. Run – Ran

Answer: C. Cat – Bat

 

6.The /p/ in "spin" and the /p/ in "pin" are examples of:

A. Minimal pairs

B. Allophones

C. Phonemes

D. Digraphs

Answer: B. Allophones (Same phoneme, different realizations.)

 

7. What is an allophone?

A. A group of words with similar meanings

B. A variation of a phoneme that does not change meaning

C. A punctuation mark

D. A morpheme that stands alone

Answer: B. A variation of a phoneme that does not change meaning

 

8.Which phonetic feature distinguishes /t/ from /d/ in English?

A. Place of articulation

B. Voicing

C. Nasality

D. Vowel length

Answer: B. Voicing (/t/ is voiceless; /d/ is voiced.)

 

9. Phonology studies:

A. How speech sounds are produced

B. The organization and patterning of sounds in particular languages

C. The meaning of words in sentences

D. The spelling of difficult words

Answer: B. The organization and patterning of sounds in particular languages

 

10. The symbol /ʃ/ represents which sound in English?

A. /s/ as in "see"

B. /ʃ/ as in "ship"

C. /tʃ/ as in "chip"

D. /z/ as in "zoo"

Answer: B. /ʃ/ as in "ship"

 

11.The word "ship" has how many phonemes?

A. 2

B. 3

C. 4

D. 5

Answer: B. 3 (/ʃ/ + /ɪ/ + /p/)

 

12. Stress in English words can:

A. Be ignored completely

B. Change the meaning of words

C. Only occur on vowels

D. Occur on every syllable

Answer: B. Change the meaning of words

 

13.Stress and intonation are studied in:

A. Articulatory phonetics

B. Suprasegmental phonology

C. Syntax

D. Semantics

Answer: B. Suprasegmental phonology

 

14.Which of the following is an example of a bilabial sound?

A. /f/

B. /v/

C. /p/

D. /θ/

Answer: C. /p/ (Produced with both lips.)

 

15. The sound /ŋ/ in "sing" is a:

A. Voiced alveolar nasal

B. Voiced velar nasal

C. Voiceless glottal fricative

D. Voiced palatal approximant

Answer: B. Voiced velar nasal

 

16. Which phonological process is demonstrated in the pronunciation of "input" as /ɪmpʊt/?

A. Assimilation (nasalization)

B. Elision

C. Metathesis

D. Epenthesis

Answer: A. Assimilation (/n/ → /m/ under influence of bilabial /p/.)

 

17. The primary stress in the word "photographic" falls on which syllable?

A. Pho-

B. -to-

C. -graph-

D. -ic

Answer: C. -graph- (pho-to-GRAPH-ic.)

 

18. Which pair shows syllable-timed vs. stress-timed rhythm?

A. French vs. English

B. Spanish vs. German

C. Mandarin vs. Japanese

D. Italian vs. Russian

Answer: A. French (syllable-timeD. vs. English (stress-timed)

 

19.Which consonant is described as a voiceless alveolar fricative?

A. /s/

B. /z/

C. /t/

D. /ʃ/

Answer: A. /s/

(/s/ is voiceless, alveolar, and fricative; /z/ is voiced; /t/ is a stop; /ʃ/ is postalveolar.)

 

20. Which sound is glottal?

A. /p/

B. /h/

C. /m/

D. /l/

Answer: B. /h/

(Produced at the glottis; others are bilabial, nasal, or alveolar.)

 

21.The International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA. is used to:

A. Teach spelling rules

B. Represent speech sounds accurately

C. Identify parts of speech

D. Translate sentences

Answer: B. Represent speech sounds accurately

 

22. In English, the sounds /p/ and /b/ are:

A. Allophones

B. Voiced and voiceless pairs

C. Vowels

D. Identical in articulation

Answer: B. Voiced and voiceless pairs

 

23. Which of the following is a voiceless sound?

A. /b/

B. /d/

C. /v/

D. /k/

Answer: D. /k/

 

24. The sound /ŋ/ occurs in which of the following words?

A. Ring

B. Thin

C. Singe

D. Bin

Answer: A. Ring

 

25. A diphthong is:

A. A single vowel sound

B. A combination of two vowel sounds in the same syllable

C. A nasal consonant

D. A voiced plosive

Answer: B. A combination of two vowel sounds in the same syllable

 

26. What is a syllable?

A. A group of words that forms a complete sentence

B. The smallest meaningful unit of language

C. A unit of sound with one vowel sound

D. A word that contains only consonants

Answer: C. A unit of sound with one vowel sound

 

27. Intonation refers to:

A. The loudness of speech

B. The rising and falling pitch of speech

C. The speed of speaking

D. The rhythm of writing

Answer: B. The rising and falling pitch of speech

 

 

28.Which of the following is a passive articulator?

A. Tongue tip

B. Lower lip

C. Alveolar ridge

D. Velum (soft palate)

Answer: C. Alveolar ridge

 

29.The vocal cords are located in the:

A. Nasal cavity

B. Larynx

C. Oral cavity

D. Pharynx

Answer: B. Larynx

 

30.For producing nasal sounds, which articulator must be lowered?

A. Uvula

B. Velum

C. Epiglottis

D. Tongue root

Answer: B. Velum

 

31.All vowels are:

A. Voiceless

B. Voiced

C. Glottalic

D. Ingressive

Answer: B. Voiced

 

32.The initiator for English sounds is the:

A. Tongue

B. Glottis

C. Lungs

D. Velum

Answer: C. Lungs

 

33.The biological sequence of speech production is:

A. Articulation → Phonation → Respiration

B. Respiration → Phonation → Articulation

C. Phonation → Articulation → Respiration

D. Respiration → Articulation → Phonation

Answer: B

 

34.The larynx is responsible for:

A. Filtering airflow

B. Phonation (voicing)

C. Nasal resonance

D. Tongue movement

Answer: B

 

35.Voiceless sounds are produced when the glottis is:

A. Vibrating

B. Open

C. Closed

D. Narrowed

Answer: B. Open

 

36.All English sounds are produced using:

A. Glottalic implosives

B. Pulmonic egressive airstream

C. Velaric egressive airstream

D. Ingressive airflow

Answer: B. Pulmonic egressive airstream

 

37.The glottis is the space between:

A. The lips

B. The vocal cords

C. The teeth

D. The nasal cavities

Answer: B. The vocal cords

 

38.What are allophones?

A. Different phonemes that change word meaning

B. Variations of a phoneme that do not alter meaning

C. Only vowel sounds in stressed syllables

D. Consonants that are always voiced

Answer: B. Variations of a phoneme that do not alter meaning

 

39.In which environment are voiceless plosives (/p, t, k/) aspirated in English?

A. After /s/

B. At the end of words

C. At the start of stressed syllables

D. Before nasal consonants

Answer: C. At the start of stressed syllables

 

40.What happens to /b, d, g/ at the end of words like "bulb" or "bag"?

A. They become fully voiced

B. They are deleted

C. They are partially devoiced

D. They change to fricatives

Answer: C. They are partially devoiced

 

41.Which allophone of /l/ is used in the word "milk"?

A. Clear [l]

B. Dark [ɫ]

C. Aspirated [lʰ]

D. Devoiced [l̥]

Answer: B. Dark [ɫ]

 

42.The linking /r/ occurs when:

A. A word ends in a vowel and the next starts with a consonant

B. A word ends in orthographic ‘r’ and the next starts with a vowel

C. A word has no ‘r’ but is followed by a vowel

D. Only in rhotic dialects

Answer: B. A word ends in orthographic ‘r’ and the next starts with a vowel

 

43.What is assimilation?

A. Omitting sounds in fast speech

B. A sound becoming similar to a neighboring sound

C. Adding sounds between vowels

D. Stressing grammatical words

Answer: B. A sound becoming similar to a neighboring sound

 

44.In "ten bikes," /n/ often assimilates to:

A. /ŋ/

B. /m/

C. /l/

D. /t/

Answer: B. /m/

 

45.Which type of assimilation occurs in "don’t you" → /dəʊntʃu/?

A. Regressive

B. Progressive

C. Reciprocal

D. No assimilation

Answer: C. Reciprocal

 

46.Elision commonly involves the dropping of which sounds?

A. Vowels in stressed syllables

B. /t/ and /d/ in consonant clusters

C. Nasals at word boundaries

D. All fricatives

Answer: B. /t/ and /d/ in consonant clusters

 

47.Juncture distinguishes between:

A. Voiced and voiceless sounds

B. Stress patterns in compounds

C. Word boundaries (e.g., "a name" vs. "an aim")

D. Allophonic variants of /r/

Answer: C. Word boundaries (e.g., "a name" vs. "an aim")

 

48.Which pair relies on juncture for meaning?

A. "pin" vs. "bin"

B. "nitrate" vs. "night rate"

C. "leaf" vs. "leave"

D. "sing" vs. "sang"

Answer: B. "nitrate" vs. "night rate"

 

49.In "handbag" → /ˈhæmbæɡ/, which process occurs?

A. Assimilation

B. Elision

C. Linking

D. Weak form

Answer: B. Elision

 

50.Whispering involves a:

A. Open glottis

B. Narrowed glottis

C. Vibrating glottis

D. Closed glottis

Answer: B