LIN101_Assignment_3_Second_Questions

Homework Assignment #3 [The Second Half] – Questions

Before you submit the current part of the assignment, make sure:

• Read and follow all the formatting instructions for the assignment

• Upload your drawing as a pdf file to Quercus

• Your answer for Part D and Part E must be typed. No hand-written answer will be accepted.

Part D: IPA Transcription (8 points)

Transcribe the following English words as they would be normally pronounced in Canadian English. 

Mark primary stress in polysyllabic words by putting an accent above the stressed vowel.

Use appropriate IPA symbols (use the online IPA keyboard Links to an external site. for special characters and diacritics), and include aspiration, flapping, and syllabic consonants, if present.

Do not include any other phonetic detail such as nasalization of vowels.

Enclose your transcription in brackets.

Note: Please clearly indicate which question each of your answers corresponds to.
Important: Your answers must be in the IPA symbols. We will not tolerate any errors including the capitalization of the alphabet symbols (e.g., if your intended response is [i], but you typed it as [I], it will be graded as "incorrect")

(a) mission

(b) thumb

(c) psychology

(d) flooding

**Please make sure your answers to the question in Part E are in a new page, separate from your answers to Part D**

Part E: Short Answer Question (20 points)

Read the instructions below carefully and answer the question.

Background:

In our discussion of English consonants, we mentioned the voiceless glottal stop, [ʔ], the sound that is used marginally in the language (occurring in a handful of expressions and as a contextual variant of [t] in some dialects). Unlike other stops in English, [ʔ] does not have a voiced counterpart. In fact, there is no IPA symbol for a voiced glottal stop, and there are no languages, known to linguists, that have such a sound. Why is this the case? Could there be a physical (articulatory) explanation for this gap?

Instructions:

Write an explanation for the absence of the voiced glottal stop in world languages of about 300 (±50) words.

Make use of the excerpts from the textbook defining relevant sounds or activities (included below) to guide your explanation. You should cite these definitions appropriately, following the APA style “(O’Grady & Archibald, 2021: §[section number])” and include the full reference to the book, as provided below, in the List of References at the end of your essay (not included in the word count). Do not quote the definitions, in full or in part. Instead, you should paraphrase the relevant portions, in your own words.

To make your argument, you may want to refer to other sounds conspicuously absent in world languages, such a bilabial lateral or a glottal lateral, again, considering physical reasons for their absence. Assume that your audience is someone like a student in this course who has not read this assignment, that is, someone who knows where the various parts of the vocal tract are and has a basic idea of what a voiceless glottal stop is and what voicing is, but has not heard these particular definitions before and hasn’t yet thought about why a voiced glottal stop is physically impossible. If you find it helpful, you may include a diagram, but it is not necessary. Make sure to include your word count at the end of the paragraph, before the List of References.

Relevant excerpts (with section numbers) from: O’Grady, W., & Archibald, J. (2021). Contemporary linguistic analysis: An introduction’ (9th edition). Toronto: Pearson Canada.

  • §2.2.3 “When the vocal folds are pulled apart as illustrated in the first drawing in figure 2.3, air passes directly through the glottis without much interference. Any sound made with the vocal folds in this position is said to be voiceless. … When the vocal folds are brought close together but not tightly closed, air passing between them causes them to vibrate, producing sounds that are said to be voiced.”
  • §2.5.2 “Stops are made with a complete closure either in the oral cavity or at the glottis. In the world’s languages, stops are found at bilabial, dental, alveolar, alveopalatal, palatal, velar, uvular, and glottal places of articulation.” … “The glottal stop is commonly heard in English in the expression uh-uh [ʔʌʔʌ], meaning ‘no’. The two vowels in this utterance are each preceded by a momentary closing of the airstream at the glottis. In some British dialects, the glottal stop is commonly heard in place of the [t] in a word like bottle.”
  • §2.5.6 “Varieties of l are called laterals. The most commonly used lateral liquid in English, transcribed as [l], is articulated with the tip of the tongue touching the alveolar ridge while air escapes through the mouth along the lowered sides [AK: hence ‘lateral’] of the tongue.”

Important: These excerpts are your only sources for this assignment. You do not need to consult and cite any other sources. In fact, you will be penalized (and may receive a mark of zero) if your essay contains ideas not discussed in our readings/lectures.

Useful Links

The American Psychological Association (APA) Style: https://guides.library.utoronto.ca/c.php?g=250462&p=1670709

Tip Sheet: Paraphrase and Summary (Writing at U of T): https://advice.writing.utoronto.ca/using-sources/paraphrase/

Video and Tips: Quoting and Paraphrasing (St. Michael's College Library): https://play.library.utoronto.ca/watch/ff5d2b0d814b18fdc5c41db4b618f896

Writing goals

This writing assignment has two major goals. First, it is intended for you to demonstrate your ability to piece together different concepts to construct a logical explanation for a given phenomenon (here, the lack of a voiced glottal stop in world languages based on definitions of relevant concepts). It is also intended for you to express ideas from other sources in your own words, by paraphrasing rather than quoting, to avoid plagiarism and to demonstrate your own understanding of the relevant concepts. Make sure that your writing is clear, concise, and free of spelling/grammatical errors.

Rubric for assessment

This writing exercise is assessed based on the following four categories:
  • Content (40%, 8 pts.): making relevant factual claims, using technical terminology and notation correctly and appropriately, and discussing all necessary concepts.
  • Logical argumentation (30%, 6 pts.): leading the reader through your discussion from initial facts to final conclusion by fully explaining how the relevant facts are connected together in your argument and how they logically support the conclusion.
  • Cohesion and structure (20%, 4 pts.): writing prose that is interesting and easy to read, with smooth transitions at every level of structure (within sentences, betweensentences, and between major ideas).
  • Mechanics and tone (10%, 2 pts.): using reasonable, consistent, and appropriate standards for spelling, punctuation, notation, and grammar, and writing in an appropriate tone for the intended audience (formal, informal, academic, general public, etc.).

2023-10-14