Deck 4: Transcription of Speech

Question 1

List four common diacritics used in the transcription of the speech of children with speech sound disorders.

Answer 1

In the transcription of speech, particularly when documenting the speech of children with speech sound disorders, speech-language pathologists and researchers often use diacritics—specialized symbols added to letters to indicate a modification in their pronunciation. Here are four common diacritics used in such transcriptions:

1. **Voicing Diacritic [ ̬ ]**: This diacritic is a small subscript or superscript "v" placed below or above a consonant symbol to indicate that a normally voiceless sound is voiced. For example, if a child pronounces the sound /t/ with voicing, it would be transcribed as [t̬].

2. **Dentalization Diacritic [ ̪ ]**: This diacritic is a small subscript bridge placed below a consonant symbol to indicate that the sound is produced with the tongue against the teeth, rather than at its normal place of articulation. For instance, if a child produces the /s/ sound with the tongue against the teeth, it would be transcribed as [s̪].

3. **Nasalization Diacritic [ ̃ ]**: This diacritic is a small tilde placed above a vowel or consonant symbol to indicate that the sound is produced with nasal resonance. For example, if a child nasalizes the vowel /a/, it would be transcribed as [ã].

4. **Lengthening Diacritic [ ː ]**: This diacritic is a colon-like symbol placed after a vowel or consonant to indicate that the sound is held longer than its typical duration. For example, if a child lengthens the /s/ sound, it would be transcribed as [sː].

These diacritics are used in conjunction with the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) to provide a precise and standardized representation of speech sounds, which is particularly useful for diagnosing and treating speech sound disorders in children.

Question 2

What is the difference between (a) phonemic versus phonetic transcription, and, (b) systematic versus impressionist phonetic transcription?

Answer 2

(a) Phonemic transcription and phonetic transcription are two different ways of representing the sounds of speech.

Phonemic transcription focuses on the distinctive sounds of a particular language, known as phonemes. It uses a set of symbols to represent these phonemes, regardless of their variations in pronunciation. This means that phonemic transcription is more concerned with the abstract sound system of a language rather than the actual sounds produced by speakers.

On the other hand, phonetic transcription aims to capture the actual sounds produced by speakers, including variations in pronunciation, accent, and dialect. It uses a more detailed set of symbols to represent these specific sounds, known as allophones. Phonetic transcription is more concerned with the physical articulation and acoustic properties of speech sounds.

(b) Systematic phonetic transcription and impressionist phonetic transcription are two different approaches to representing speech sounds in detail.

Systematic phonetic transcription involves a precise and consistent representation of speech sounds, using a standardized set of symbols and diacritics to capture specific articulatory and acoustic features. This approach is often used in linguistic research and language teaching to provide a detailed and accurate analysis of speech sounds.

Impressionist phonetic transcription, on the other hand, is a more subjective and impressionistic representation of speech sounds. It may use non-standard symbols or ad-hoc notations to capture the overall impression of a speaker's pronunciation, without necessarily providing a detailed analysis of specific articulatory or acoustic features. This approach is often used in language learning materials or informal linguistic descriptions.

In summary, the difference between (a) phonemic versus phonetic transcription lies in their focus on abstract sound systems versus actual speech sounds, while the difference between (b) systematic versus impressionist phonetic transcription lies in their level of detail and precision in representing speech sounds.

Question 3

Phonemically transcribe the word children and identify the singleton consonants and consonant cluster in terms of syllable position using Grunwell's (1987) system (SIWI, SIWW, SFWW, SFWF).

Answer 3

The phonemic transcription of the word "children" in General American English is /ˈtʃɪldrən/.

Now, let's identify the singleton consonants and consonant clusters in terms of syllable position using Grunwell's (1987) system:

1. /ˈtʃɪl/ - In the first syllable, we have the initial consonant cluster /tʃ/, which is a combination of the sounds /t/ and /ʃ/. This is a Sibilant + Stop combination. The /l/ is a liquid and occurs as a singleton consonant at the end of the first syllable.

2. /drən/ - In the second syllable, we have the initial consonant cluster /dr/, which is a combination of the stop /d/ and the liquid /r/. This is a Stop + Liquid combination. The /n/ is a nasal consonant and occurs as a singleton consonant at the end of the second syllable.

Using Grunwell's (1987) system to categorize these:

- /tʃ/ is an SIWW (Singleton Initial, Word-Initial) as it is a cluster at the beginning of the word.
- /l/ is an SIWI (Singleton Initial, Word-Internal) as it is a singleton at the end of the first syllable but within the word.
- /dr/ is an SFWW (Singleton Final, Word-Initial) as it is a cluster at the beginning of the second syllable but within the word.
- /n/ is an SFWF (Singleton Final, Word-Final) as it is a singleton at the end of the second syllable and at the end of the word.

Please note that Grunwell's (1987) system is typically used for analyzing speech errors and phonological processes in children's speech, and the categories SIWI, SIWW, SFWW, SFWF are not standard phonetic terminology but rather specific to Grunwell's analysis method.

Question 4

List the eight manners of articulation on the IPA pulmonic consonants chart.

Question 5

Describe the nine places of articulation used across the 24 English consonants.

Question 6

List the common errors observed in children's speech for the following consonants: /θ, ð, s, z/.

Question 7

What does it mean that a language is tonal? Name one tonal language.

Question 8

What are the word shapes, word lengths, and stress patterns of the following words: banana, computer, caterpillar, hospital, snowman?

Question 9

Is the following sequence of sounds permissible in English: [lkimh]? Why or why not?

Question 10

What is the difference between a lateral lisp and an interdental lisp?

Question 11

Explain how ultrasound and electropalatography has enriched our understanding of articulation. Provide an example of case-based data from peer reviewed published research to support your explanation.

Question 12

Compare and contrast how the consonant /ɹ/ and rhotic vowels are used across different dialects of English.

Question 13

Explain what is meant by undifferentiated lingual gestures, and provide an overview of a case-based example from peer reviewed published research.

Question 14

Discuss the value of combining sagittal and transverse diagrams of English consonants, in increasing an understanding of consonant articulation.

Question 15

Compare and contrast the consonant inventories of two different languages.

Question 16

Using Luke, Michael, and Lian's cases in

Question 17

Compare and contrast Daniel Jones a set of eight cardinal vowels with the current conceptualization of cardinal vowels offered by the International Phonetic Association (2015).

Question 18

Prepare a written persuasive argument for or against the following statement: diacritics are time-consuming to use and are only useful when examining an understudied language.

Question 19

Discuss why some consonants are common to many languages and some consonants are rare across languages.

Question 20

Discuss the challenges involved in learning how to transcribe prosody, including stress, pitch, tempo, loudness, and voice quality and outline strategies for improving transcription reliability.

Question 21

Systematic transcription is used:

A) when the phonological system is known.
B) when the phonological system is unknown.
C) when transcribing the speech of a child with a suspected speech sound disorder.
D) when the listener needs to systematically transcribe each consonant articulated by a speaker.

Question 22

A pulmonic consonant is produced when:

A) air is inhaled into the lungs.
B) the speaker tenses the lip muscles.
C) air is expelled from the lungs.
D) air is neither inhaled nor exhaled from the lungs during speech.

Question 23

Voiceless consonants are produced:

A) only at the glottis.
B) with vibration of the vocal cords.
C) without vibration of the vocal cords.
D) when the airflow is suddenly blocked then quickly released.

Question 24

Bilabial consonants /p, b, m/ are produced with the:

A) lips together.
B) tongue touching the lips.
C) tongue touching the velum.
D) lips touching the tongue.

Question 25

Labiodental consonants /f, v/ are produced with the:

A) bottom teeth touching the top lip.
B) top teeth touch the bottom lip.
C) lips together.
D) tongue tip touching the top lip.

Question 26

Postalveolar consonants /, / are produced with the:

A) tongue tip touching the palate, and the sides of the tongue anchored along the sides of the teeth.
B) tongue creating a blockage in the air flow just behind the alveolar ridge.
C) tongue raised towards the palate, behind the alveolar ridge, and the tongue anchored along the sides of the teeth.
D) lips rounded and the tongue tip touching the alveolar ridge and the sides of the tongue braced against the sides of the teeth.

Question 27

Velar consonants /k, g, / are produced with the:

A) back of the tongue touching the velum.
B) back of the tongue touching the pharynx.
C) back of the tongue raised towards but not touching the velum.
D) back of the tongue raised towards the hard palate but not the soft palate.

Question 28

The plosives /p, b, t, d, k, g/ are articulated by:

A) redirecting directing the airflow through the oral cavity.
B) stopping then quickly releasing the airflow through the oral cavity.
C) creating turbulent airflow.
D) creating a burst of air at the glottis.

Question 29

Labial-velar (labiovelar) consonants are produced with:

A) rounded lips only.
B) spread lips and the back of the tongue raised towards the velum.
C) rounded lips and the tongue body raised towards the palate.
D) rounded lips and the back of the tongue raised towards the velum.

Question 30

The diacritic on the phone [] means that the phone:

A) is aspirated.
B) has no audible release.
C) is labialized.
D) was produced with a breathy voice.

Question 31

The diacritic on the phone [] means that the phone:

A) is velarized.
B) is labialized.
C) has an off-glide release.
D) is palatalized.

Question 32

In the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) (2015) vowel chart, vowels can be described according to their:

A) height, advancement and length.
B) height, advancement, tenseness and nasality.
C) height, advancement, rounding and tenseness.
D) nasality and length.

Question 33

Transcription of primary and secondary stress is represented in which of the following words?

A) butterfly //
B) butterfly //
C) butterfly //
D) butterfly //

Question 34

Which of the following words is a spondee?

A) pupil //
B) playground //
C) feet /fit/
D) spaghetti //

Question 35

Which of the following words reflect iambic stress?

A) shoe //
B) butterfly //
C) playground //
D) spaghetti //

Question 36

English and Dutch are said to be a stress-timed languages. This means:

A) each syllable varies in duration during connected speech.
B) each syllable is of a similar duration during connected speech.
C) they only contain words with trochaic stress.
D) stress patterns can be Sw or wS but not Sww or wwS.

Question 37

Which of the following pronunciations of the word sleeve /sliv/ is symptomatic of a dental lisp?

A) [ $\theta$ liv]
B) []
C) []
D) []

Question 38

Which of the following pronunciations of the word sleeve /sliv/ is symptomatic of a lateral lisp?

A) [ $\theta$ liv]
B) []
C) []
D) []

Question 39

The consonant // can be articulated in two different ways, including:

A) a retroflexed /11ee98b5_ab69_961b_a6de_cbe2a928d5ee_TB9704_11/ where the tongue tip is up and the tongue body is in the mid-central position, and a bunched /11ee98b5_ab69_961b_a6de_cbe2a928d5ee_TB9704_11/ is where the tongue tip is turned down and the blade is elevated.
B) a retroflexed /11ee98b5_ab69_961b_a6de_cbe2a928d5ee_TB9704_11/ where the tongue tip is turned down and the blade is elevated, and a bunched /11ee98b5_ab69_961b_a6de_cbe2a928d5ee_TB9704_11/ where the tongue tip is up and the tongue body is in the mid-central position.
C) a retroflexed /11ee98b5_ab69_961b_a6de_cbe2a928d5ee_TB9704_11/ where the tongue tip is turned down and the blade is tight and bunched, and a bunched /11ee98b5_ab69_961b_a6de_cbe2a928d5ee_TB9704_11/ where the tongue tip is down and the tongue body is in the mid-central position.
D) a retroflexed /11ee98b5_ab69_961b_a6de_cbe2a928d5ee_TB9704_11/ where the tongue tip is turned down, and a bunched /11ee98b5_ab69_961b_a6de_cbe2a928d5ee_TB9704_11/ where the tongue tip is down. In both instances, the tongue blade is in a neutral position.

Question 40

Which of the following consonants show horseshoe shaped contact (lateral bracing) on an EPG image?

A) bilabial consonants /b, p/
B) alveolar consonants /t, d, n, s, z/
C) velar consonants /k, g/
D) palatal approximant /j/