– FOR PRACTICE ONLY –
Course: LING 1001C
Facilitator: Pat McGavin
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Dates/locations of take-up: Mon Feb 8 , 4-5:30pm ML 402/Weds Feb 10 , 4:30-6pm ML 402
It is most beneficial to you to write this mock midterm UNDER EXAM CONDITIONS. This means:
• Complete the midterm in ___ hour(s).
• Work on your own.
• Keep your notes and textbook closed.
• Attempt every question.
After the time limit, go back over your work with a different colour or on a separate piece of paper and try
to do the questions you are unsure of. Record your ideas in the margins to remind yourself of what you
were thinking when you take it up at PASS.
The purpose of this mock exam is to give you practice answering questions in a timed setting and to help
you to gauge which aspects of the course content you know well and which are in need of further
development and review. Use this mock exam as a learning tool in preparing for the actual exam.
Please note:

Come to the PASS session with your mock exam complete. There, you can work with other
students to review your work.

Often, there is not enough time to review the entire exam in the PASS session. Decide which
questions you most want to review – the Facilitator may ask students to vote on which questions
they want to discuss.

Facilitators do not bring copies of the mock exam to the session. Please print out and complete
the exam before you attend.

Facilitators do not produce or distribute an answer key for mock exams. Facilitators help
students to work together to compare and assess the answers they have. If you are not able to
attend the PASS session, you can work alone or with others in the class.
Good Luck writing the Mock Exam!!
DISCLAIMER: PASS handouts are designed as a study aid only for use in PASS workshops.
Handouts may contain errors, intentional or otherwise. It is up to the student to verify the
information contained within.
Part 1 – True/False
1. Universal Grammar refers to the innate capacity for all human beings to acquire
language. T/F
2. ‘Freedom’ is one of Hockett’s design features. T/F
3. The one Design Feature that is found only in humans is cultural transmission. T/F
4. Linguists refer to one’s grammar as all our knowledge about how to use language. T/F
5. Language acquisition is a biologically triggered behavior. T/F
6. ‘Milestones’ are considered to be an aspect of learned behavior. T/F
7. Creoles are NOT evidence of universal grammar. T/F
8. 3 Branches of phonetics are: Articulatory, Acoustic, Auditory. T/F
9. Aspiration in Canadian English occurs only with stops at the beginning of syllables. T/F
10. Liquids, Nasals, and glides are considered obstruents. T/F
11. All sonorants have the feature [+consonantal] T/F
12. The 4 affricates we covered are all [-coronal] T/F
13. It’s possible for vowels to be [-low] and [-high] T/F
14. Nasalization, Aspiration, Flapping, and Canadian lowering are the Phonological
processes we’ve covered regarding Canadian English. T/F
15. Assimilation, Syllable structure, strengthening and weakening are the general types of
phonological processes we covered. T/F
16. Nasalization is a type of assimilation. T/F
17. Aspiration is a type of weakening. T/F
18. Flapping is a type of weakening. T/F
19. Fricatives: [-son, +cont] T/F
20. Liquids: [+son, -syll, -nas] T/F
21. [+cons,+syll,+high,-back] T/F
22. Phonology studies how sounds are used in a language, Phonetics focuses on the actual
sounds themselves. T/F
23. An allophone is considered to be ‘a bundle of contrastive features’ T/F
24. A Phoneme is a ‘bundle of contrastive and non-contrastive features’ T/F
25. If you find minimal pairs, the sounds are allophones of the same phoneme. T/F
26. Complementary distribution means the sounds can be found in the same environment.
T/F
27. Sounds in free variation are non contrastive, as meaning does not change. T/F
28. /k/ is a velar stop. T/F
29. /G/ is a uvular fricative. T/F
30. There are 4 parts to a syllable. T/F
31. Be careful, because ø is both ‘null’ and a type of vowel. T/F
32. [+syll,-cons,+high] > [-back] / __ C4 [-back,+syll,-cons] means there are 4 consonants
immediately following the sound in question. T/F
33. Diphthongs are the least sonorous vowels. T/F
34. Voiceless stops and affricates are at the top of the consonant hierarchy. T/F
Part 2
1. Please Draw the Consonant tree.
2. Using the following vowels, Please draw the vowel chart.
iyuɪ ʊeø oəɛœ ʌɔ æ a ɑ
3. Please explain how either infant experiments, creoles, tag questions, or ASL aphasia are
evidence of universal grammar.
4. Please list 3 aspects of biologically triggered behavior.
5. Please list 3 aspects of learned behavior.
Part 3 – Transcription
1. Provide the English word for the following:
θ
sɑ
p ə eɾo
ɑɾəwɑ
piʃ
iθ
wʌndəɹfəl
ədvajs
Translate this well known expression:
nɛvəɹfəɹɡɛtðətðəpɛnɪzmajtiəɹðænðəsoɹd
2. Transcribe the following poem into IPA.
How doth the little crocodile
Improve his shining tail
And pour the waters of the Nile
On every golden scale!
Part 4 – Phonology
Consider the following data from Hindi. *pay attention to the meaning of the words*
[pʰəl] ‘fruit’
[pəl] ‘moment’
[pʰɑl] ‘knife blade’
[bəl] ‘moment’
1. Is aspiration/non aspiration of voiceless stops contrastive or complementary in Hindi? Why?
2. [p] and [b] Are in what kind of distribution? How do you know?
In the following data set of Korean, examine the sounds [s] and [ʃ] and list their phonetic
environments to help you answer the questions that follow.
[ʃi]
‘poem’
[sal]
‘flesh’
[miʃin]
‘superstition’[kasu] ‘singer’
[ʃinmun]
‘newspaper’ [sanmun]‘prose’
[thaksaniʃige]‘table clock’ [kasəl] ‘hypothesis’
[ʃilsu]
‘mistake’
[miso] ‘smile’
3. Are there any minimal pairs in this data set?
4. What is the distribution of [s] and [ʃ]
5. [s] and [ʃ] allophones of the same phoneme?
6. Using formal notation, A->B/C_D, write the phonological rule that applies. (if possible)