AmE Pronunciation Varieties MOCK TEST                                November 21, 2013

A/1a The author of Accents of English, 1982: ……………………………………………………………………….

1b The author of Accents and Dialects for Stage and Screen, 2010: ………………………………………

1c The author of The Social Stratification of /r/ in NYC Dept. Stores, 1966: ……………………………

2 Match phonetic terms and their definitions:  A assimilation, B palatalization,

                                                                                   C approximant, D
glottis, E dialect, F devoicing.

………..A consonant in which the vocal tract is narrowed, but not enough to cause turbulent air flow.

………..The occurrence of a normally voiced consonant losing some or all of its voicing as happens in
Dutch and German to final voiced consonants.

………..The fusion of two consonants into one.

………..A regional variant of a language distinguished by pronunciation, vocabulary and grammar from
the standard form.

………..The space between the vocal folds.

………..The active upper position of tongue blade as occurs while pronouncing the semi-vowel /j/.

3 Transcribe the terms socialize:                           occur:
occurrence:

4 Which variety of AmE does the abbreviation  AAVE stand for? What other expressions are used for
labeling  it?

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

5 The name of a British actor who has made a great success in a U.S. series about an unconventional
 sociopathic  physician.

6 What are the three most typical indicators of accents of the American south?

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

7 What can you say about rhoticity in the Boston area? …………………………………………………………

8 What can you say about rhoticity in New York City? ………………………………………………………….

9 Which are the two overseas varieties based on AmE, two in Asia and one in the Pacific?

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

10 Explain the difference between pidgin and creole and give examples.

B/Match the origins of speakers with the numbers of their recordings reading “Please call Stella“.

A …                             1 St. Anne´s Bay, Jamaica

B …                             2 Brooklyn, New York, U.S.A.

C …                             3 Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, U.S.A. / Macon, Mississippi,
U.S.A.

D …                             4 Fairfax, Virginia, U.S.A.

E …                              5 Manila, Philippines


C/1 A mock airlines commercial. Which accent is being emulated here? ………………………………

   Which airline is being  “advertized“? ……………………………………………………………………..

2 An angry speaker of a  ……………………………… accent is struggling against common    stereotypes.


3 A north-west American accent of which city? ……………………………………..is being analysed, especially the
realizations of the   / ……../    and the    /……../    sounds.


4 A true “valley girl“ of ………………………………………………… speaks.Which expression does she use for the strut
lexical set? ……………………………………………  Transcribe and transliterate how she pronounces what would be
alu’minium in British English:

The city she originally comes from is ………………………………………………

5 A couple discussing their respective accents. The female is ………………………… ,

                                                                                     the male is
…………………………….. .

Which fruit are they discussing the pronunciation of? ……………………………………..


6 A U.S./Canadian (underline and cross as appropriate) stand-up comedian Russel Peters discusses
the accent of his ancestry: …………………………………….. . He mentions a situation when it can release tension:
………………………………………………. .

Which native accent is he characterizing? ………………………………………………

Which domestic animal does he compare its speakers to when they swear? ………………………..