EE Pronunciation Varieties  MOCK TEST                                  November 11, 2016

A/20pts/1a The author of Accents of English, 1982: …………………………………………………………….

1b The author of Sociophonology, 1998: ………………………………………

2 Match phonetic  terms and their definitions:

                                                          A continuant, B liaison, C fricative, D
pitch, E schwa, F velum.

…..  A consonant in which the vocal tract is narrowed sufficiently to cause turbulent air flow.

….. The central vowel /ə/, found in great abundance in casual English.

….. The soft palate.

….. A consonant that may be prolonged indefinitely rather than having the finite duration of a
stop.

….. Linking, or, the strategy of using the final sound of one word to initiate the following.

….. The relative musical tone of an utterance.

3 Transcribe the modern (innovated) EE pronunciations of the terms obscure ………………………

variety …………………..………………………. vodka or gin …………………………………………………………………

4 Which English linguist propagates the inclusion of innovations into official transcriptions of
RP? Who is his follower at this department?

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

5 State what the urban accents spoken in the following towns are called: Birmingham=……….

Liverpool=……………………, Newcastle upon Tyne=…………………………, Glasgow=…………………………

6 Which accent in England has a Celtic substratum and gives a sing-song impression? ………….

7 Which is the only accent of English where schwa can be stressed? ……………………………………..

8 What would you say are the biggest differences between Scottish and Northern Irish English?

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

9 What does the Cockney diphthong shift consist in? Complete the chain:

/i:/ > /e__/ > /a__/ > /_____/

10 Characterize the accent of Eire (Irish Republic).

 B/10pts/Match the origins of speakers with the numbers of their recordings reading “Please call
Stella“.

1 ………………………………
Camberley, Surrey

2 ………………………………
Leeds, W Yorkshire

3 ………………………………
Glasgow, Sc

4 ……………………………….
Strabane, NI

5 ………………………………
Kilkenny, Eire

C/20pts/

1        2:32, played once, 5pts

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DnaaPQz1xJM

You will hear reactions to the recent Paris attacks in a certain EE country (mentioned 3 times).

a)      Country …………………………………………….

b)      Town of the TV station: ………………………………………… (mentioned twice)

c)      3 examples (words, pronunciations of this accent):

2        2:04, played once, 5 pts

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pkmUktJ94jg

You´ll hear a professional recording of a monologue in which a woman speaks about a trauma she has
suffered, in quite a pronounced accent.

a)      Localize her accent:

b)      The kind of trauma she has suffered:

3        0:20, played 3 times, 5 pts

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LQV2QwaqwAs

Part of a sketch with Harry Enfield, Kathy Burke and Naomi Campbell. Wayne gets his partner
Waynetta the long-desired brown baby by impregnating Naomi Campbell. Place their accent
geographically and socially, give evidence.

4        2:39, played once, 5pts

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wuEJRSmRx0c

An introduction of a rising TV star, Ruairí McSorley.

a)      Where is Ruairí from?   B) The pronunciation of his name Ruairí: