Intro to Linguistics
Autumn 2010
Phonology homework 1
Due Wednesday, November 17
1. Phonetic features (16 points)
In each of the following sets of words, circle the words which share the given property. (2 points
each)
Circle all of the words that…
…begin with a velar consonant.
knot
got
…end with a stop.
pill
lip
…begin with an approximant.
we
you
…end with an affricate.
much back
…have a voiced consonant in the middle.
tracking mother
…contain a high vowel.
sat
suit
…contain a back vowel.
maid
…contain a rounded vowel.
who
lot
lit
cot
graph
hot
pot
crab dog
twin
one
lint
edge
ooze
church
robber
got
leisure
back
run
massive
meet
mud
weep coop
cop
good
me
but
him
us
hide laugh
stomach
razor
2. IPA transcriptions (20 points)
2.1 Give an IPA transcription for each of the following words, as you naturally pronounce it. (10
points; 1 each)
sun
moon
cough
shampoo
garage
sheep
wrong
right
Hughes
moth
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Intro to Linguistics
Autumn 2010
2.2 Some – but not all – of the following words have been incorrectly transcribed. Either label
each word ‘correct’ or provide the correct transcription. (10 points; 1 each)
acknowledges
[æcknɔləʤəz]
appearance
[əpearəns]
athletics
[æðlɛtɪx]
competition
[kɔmpətɪtion]
condescending
[kɔndɪ sɛndɪŋ]
English
[ɪ nglɪ ʃ ]
lioness
[laɪ ənɛss]
potato
[pəteɪtoe]
recruitment
[rəkrutmənt]
Roger
[raʒər]
3. Minimal pairs (17 points)
3.1 Give three words which are minimal pairs with each of the words given. Provide both the
spelling and the transcription of each word. Do not use all rhyming words! Be creative! (9
points; 1 each)
EXAMPLE pat [pæt]
pit [pɪt]
sat [sæt]
head [hɛd]
knee [ni]
ate [et]
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pad [pæd]
Intro to Linguistics
Autumn 2010
3.2 For each pair of sounds, give a minimal pair of English words differing only in that one has
the first sound where the other has the second. Provide both the spelling and the transcription
of each word. (8 points; 1 each)
sit [sɪt]
EXAMPLE [s] [z]
zit [zɪt]
[t] [k]
[n] [l]
[u] [o]
[ŋ] [g]
4. Misheard song lyrics (47 points)
It’s easy to misunderstand song lyrics; the website http://www.kissthisguy.com has a huge
collection of funny (or “funny”) mishearings. One way of measuring similarity between actual
and misheard lyrics is to evaluate their phonetic similarity: when you look at IPA transcriptions
of the two lyrics, you can generally isolate the mishearing in a few added, deleted, or
misunderstood sounds. Further, when one sound is misheard as another, these often to share a
number of phonetic features.
4.1 This question asks you to collect 4 examples of misheard lyrics (from kissthisguy.com or
from your own experience) and analyze their phonetic similarity, as in the following
example. Please choose plausible mishearings! The website has some that are funny, but
don’t really seem likely as actual mishearings.
EXAMPLE:
Actual (A) lyric:
I’ll never be your beast of burden.
Misheard (M) lyric:
I’ll never be your pizza burger.
Source:
Beast of Burden, Rolling Stones (kissthisguy.com)
Which words don’t match?
voiced
labial
stop
A:
M:
-voice
alveolar
fricative
b
i
s
p
i
t
-voice
labial
stop
A: beast of burden
M: pizza burger
voiced
lab-dent
fricative
t
ə
z
ə
(v)
voiced
alveolar
fricative
voiced
alveolar
stop
b
ə
r
b
ə
r
d
ə
g
ə
voiced
velar
stop
3
voiced
alveolar
nasal
n
r
voiced
alveolar
rhotic
Intro to Linguistics
Autumn 2010
a. LYRIC 1 (8 points)
i. Basic info (1 points): Actual (A) lyric:
Misheard (M) lyric:
Source:
Which words don’t match?
A:
M:
ii. In the following grids (7 points):
(1) Transcribe the actual and misheard phrases. Try to line up corresponding sounds.
(2) Connect corresponding sounds with lines. Use a solid line to connect identical sounds, and a
dotted line to connect corresponding but non-identical sounds.
(3) For each sound without an identical correspondent, list the sound’s features. (Consonants
have place, manner, and voice features; vowels have height, backness, and roundness.)
If your lyrics are longer than 20 sounds, or you need more room to label features, please use
a separate page! You are responsible for making sure we can read your transcriptions
and feature labels.
A:
M:
b. LYRIC 2 (8 points)
i. Basic info (1 points): Actual (A) lyric:
Misheard (M) lyric:
Source:
Which words don’t match?
A:
M:
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Intro to Linguistics
Autumn 2010
ii. Fill in the following grids (see (4.1aii) for instructions; 7 points):
A:
M:
c. LYRIC 3 (8 points)
i. Basic info (1 points): Actual (A) lyric:
Misheard (M) lyric:
Source:
Which words don’t match?
A:
M:
ii. Fill in the following grids (see (4.1aii) for instructions; 7 points):
A:
M:
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Intro to Linguistics
Autumn 2010
a. LYRIC 4 (8 points)
i. Basic info (1 points): Actual (A) lyric:
Misheard (M) lyric:
Source:
Which words don’t match?
A:
M:
ii. Fill in the following grids (see (4.1aii) for instructions; 7 points):
A:
M:
d. How important is phonetic similarity in your four mishearings? Consider all of the data you
collected above, and explain your answer in detail. Refer to specific pairs of non-identical
corresponding sounds, and to specific features. (15 points)
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