Professional Communication Multiple Choice Questions on “Syllable, Consonants and Vowels”.
1. The nucleus of the syllable is the vowel.
a) True
b) False
Answer: a
Clarification: A syllable is a unit of pronunciation which consists only a vowel or a vowel and a consonant. The nucleus of the syllable is the vowel; the consonant is its marginal element.
2. What is a consonant called when it is placed at the end of a syllable?
a) Releasing consonant
b) Arresting consonant
c) Dental consonant
d) Alveolar consonant
Answer: b
Clarification: When a consonant is placed at the end of a syllable, it is called an arresting consonant. When it is placed at the beginning of a syllable, it is called a releasing consonant.
3. What is the structure in the following syllable : pack?
a) CVC
b) CV
c) VCC
d) VC
Answer: a
Clarification: In CVC, C stands for consonant and V stands for vowel. For the word pack, the first letter p is a consonant. The last two letters c and k are also consonants, but they come together to make a single sound. Between these two consonants, there’s the vowel a. Hence the structure of the word would be CVC.
4. f and z are examples of :
a) Bilabial consonant
b) Sibilant consonant
c) Dental consonant
d) Alveolar consonant
Answer: b
Clarification: A consonant is a letter of the alphabet which represents a sound that can only be articulated with a vowel. Sibilant consonant like f and z are exceptions which can be pronounced without the help of a vowel.
5. Which of the following is a voiceless sound component?
a) b
b) d
c) c
d) g
Answer: c
Clarification: The voiced sounds in English are l,b,d,g,v,z,m,n,r,w,j, that is, the vocal cords must be used in order to produce the sound made by these letters. All vocoids and semi-vowels are voiced sounds. The letter c’s sound on the other hand, can be made without using one’s voice. Hence, c is a voiceless sound component.
6. According to the place of articulation, which of these is not a type of consonant?
a) Bilabial
b) Dental
c) Velar
d) Public
Answer: d
Clarification: According to the place of articulation, consonants are classified into 9 types. These are Bilabial, Dental, Labio-dental, Alveolar, Post-alveolar, Palato-alveolar, Palatal, Velar and Glottal.
7. Which of these consonants are the one whose place of articulation is the lower lip and upper teeth?
a) Bilabial
b) Dental
c) Labio-dental
d) Glottal
Answer: c
Clarification: For the labio-dental consonant, the place of articulation is the lower lip and the upper teeth whereas for the bilabial consonant, it is the upper and lower ljp. For the dental consonant, it is the teeth and tip of the tounge.
8. According to the placement of the tongue, which of these is not a type of vowel?
a) Cross vowels
b) Front vowels
c) Back vowels
d) Central vowels
Answer: a
Clarification: The classification of vowels can be made into three depending on the placement of the tongue. These are front vowels, back vowels and central vowels.
9. As per quality, vowels sounds can be differentiated as Monopthongs and Dipthongs.
a) True
b) False
Answer: a
Clarification: Vowel sounds can be differentiated as per their quality as Monopthongs and Dipthongs. Monopthongs are pure vowels, because theydo not change in quality. Dipthongs are gliding vowels, and they change their quality continually.
10. Which of the following vowels is an example of back vowel?
a) i
b) e:
c) u
d) a
Answer: c
Clarification: Back vowels are pronounced by placing the back of the tongue towards the soft palate. Examples of such vowels are /o,u,u:/