questions for topic 4

(try answer the questions, then move the pointer below the question to see the answer)

  1. What is a standard lexical set keyword?
    it is a word selected by John Wells to represent all the words containing a given vowel, we can use these keywords as the “name” of that vowel
  2. Why is it possible to transcribe strut with the schwa symbol?
    partly because it is pronounced very similarly to /ə/, partly because the two vowels do not contrast: if schwa only occurs in unstressed position, then it may be seen as the unstressed allophone of strut
  3. Why are there three keywords for oː or ɑː?
    because there are three lexical sets, thought, north, force that contain /oː/ and start, bath, palm that contain /ɑː/ in British English, but not necessarily in any other variety of English (in American English, these three lexical sets contain two or three different vowels)
  4. What is the cure–force merger?
    for British speakers earlier /ʉː/ changed to /oː/ after nonpalatal consonants (poor=paw), for some British speakers this also happens after palatal consonants (sure=shore); in both cases the vowel in words of the set cure merges with that of the set force
  5. What is the cure–nurse merger?
    for some British speakers earlier /ʉː/ changed to /əː/ after palatal consonants (sure=shirr)
  6. How do we know that rising diphthongs are not diphthongs, but consonant+​vowel sequences in English?
    articles select their preconsonantal allomorph before a word that begins with a rising diphthong: a ewe, th[ə] ewe (ewe [jʉw]; like a pear, the[ə] pear) vs an ouzel, th[ɪj] ouzel (like an apple, th[ɪj] apple)
  7. What three groups of diphthongs do we distinguish?
    marginal diphthongs: /ɪj ʉw/; narrow diphthongs: /ɛj əw/; and wide diphthongs (aka true diphthongs): /aw ɑj oj/
  8. What is the distribution of long/R vowels in English?
    9. They occur before consonants and word finally, but they do not occur before vowels.
  9. Why are free vowels called free?
    10. Because they freely occur before consonants, word finally, and even before vowels

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