Delta Module One, Paper 1, Task 2 : phonology
Think of a good definition of the term and then click on the
to reveal some suggestions.
Obviously, you won't have the same wording or examples but as long as
you are happy with what you have, that's OK.
| phoneme |
A language-specific sound which distinguishes
meaning.
For example, in English the minimal pairs 'bat' and 'pat' are distinguished by the first phoneme (/b/ or /p/). |
| vowel |
A sound made with uninterrupted air flow whose
quality is determined by tongue height and position, lip
rounding and length.
For example, /aʊ/ in 'house'. |
| voicing |
A change to the manner of articulation of a
consonant sound caused by vibration of the vocal folds.
For example, /b/ is voiced and /p/ is unvoiced. |
| place of
articulation |
Where a consonant sound is produced.
For example, /f/ is produced with both the teeth (dentally) and the lips (labially). |
| plosive or
stop |
A
sound produced by completely blocking the air flow
and then releasing the blockage.
For example, /p/. |
| function-word
reduction |
The phenomenon of reducing or weakening function words
phonologically.
For example, reducing 'a' and 'of' to the schwa in 'a cup of tea' (/ə.kʌp.ə.tiː/). |
| intrusion |
The phenomenon of inserting a sound into a string of
phonemes.
For example, the /j/ sound in 'I ate it' (/aɪj et ɪt/) |
| pitch or tone |
The note of the voice, usually categorised into
high, middle or low.
For example, raising the tone or pitch for emphasis on 'who' in 'You saw who!?↑ |
| secondary
stress in a sentence |
The main or tonic stress will fall on the most
important information but secondary stress may occur on
other phonemes in the utterance.
For example, in 'I went to London with my brother', the tonic stress may fall on the first syllable of 'brother' (/ˈbrʌð.ə/) but there is a secondary stress on the first syllable of 'London' (/ˌlʌn.dən/). |
| Paper 1 revision test index |