University of Colorado at Denver GRMN 3050 - Spring Semester 2012 Tim Philllips - Instructor Sample Test Questions This page is constantly under construction. Please check back fequently for updates. Define the following terms and give examples where appropriate:   - segment (Segment)   - vowel (Vokal)   - letter of the alphabet (Buchstabe)   - phonetic symbol (phonetisches Symbol)   - pure vowel (purer Vokal)   - diphtohong (Diphthong)   - cardinal vowel / cardinal point (Kardinal)   - tense vowel (gespannter Vokal)   - lax vowel (ungespannter Vokal)   - stressed syllable (betonte Silbe)   - long vowel (langer Vokal)   - reduced vowel (reduzierter Vokal)     (Some of these terms are repeated below.)      - - - - -  Draw the chart of vowel space. (Vokalviereck) Locate all the (17-19) German vowels using phonetic symbols on the chart. Be able to pronounce correctly each vowel in German.      - - - - -  Explain the difference between tense vowels and lax vowels (gespannt u. ungespannt) Use a drawing of the chart of vowel space to aid your explanation. Be prepared to pronounce the differences in German.      - - - - -  Explain the concept of "schwa." (Schwa-Laut) Name the 3 schwas in German. Explain the phonetic environments where each is found. (Give example words in German with phonetic transcriptions.) Be able to pronounce in in German example words with each.      - - - - -  Explain in detail the differences between the English and German tense vowels i, u, e, o Draw diagrams on the chart of vowel space to explain. Be sure you can pronounce the differences with each.      - - - - -  Name the four front rounded vowels in German. (gerundete Vorderzungenvokale) Give the phonetic symbol to each. Provide 5 example German words to demonstrate each. (This renders a total of 20 German words.) Name each of the corresponding non-rounded vowels to each. Be able to correctly and accurately pronounce all examples in German.      - - - - -  Explain how the the "Ä" sound is pronounced in German. 1) Give the traditional (standard academic literature) pronunciation. 2) Try to give the more detailed (on people's lips) pronunciation. Write the symbols to each of the above along with example words. Practice out loud the pronunciation to this (these) sound(s).      - - - - -  Name the three standard diphthongs in German. Explain how each is pronounced using a drawing of the chart of vowel space. How is the German pronounced compared to the English? Explain in detail the notation of diphthongs.      - - - - -  Explain how to identify which German vowels are pronounced long. Demonstrate that you understand the difference between "long" and "tense." What is an "open" syllable, and why is this important? Under which circumstances is a vowel pronounced long in an unstressed syllable?      - - - - -  Explain how the vowel in a verb stem operates in the various verb conjugations. Give a list of German words having a tense vowel after the "ch" combination. Produce a list of German words where the "ch" combo follows a lax vowel. List several examples where a tense vowel appears in a syllable seemingly closed by "r."      - - - - -  Explain what is unusual about the pronunciation of the following words: Obst, vierzehn, Mond, stets, vierzig, Krebs      - - - - -  Explain the basic principles behind the syllabic stress patterns in German. Be sure to address the issue of prefixes. (There are 3 kinds.) Give any notable exceptions you know of to the patterns. How do foreign words differ from native German words in their stress pattern? How are the following words pronounced? Wacholder, Holunder, Hannover Why are these words interesting to the student of German phonetics?      - - - - -  How are the following words pronounced? Studium, Gymnasium, Natrium, Serie, Linie, Studie, Mumie Äthiopien, Italien, Mazedonien, Gloria, Razzia, Studio, Polio Explain the production of the diphthong involved in each.      - - - - -  Be able to write in phonetic transcription German words dictated to you. (You will be graded on vowels, tenseness, stress, and length, not the consonants.) Practice transcribing orthographic spellings of German into phonetic.      - - - - -  This page is constantly under construction. Please check back often for updates.