What minimal distinctive feature (or features) makes these oppositions phonologically relevant?

(a) cap - cab

pack - back

caper - labour

sent - send

ton - don

latter - ladder

leak - league

coal - goal

decree - degree

 

(b) pee - fee

supper - suffer

leap - leak

tie - sigh

attend - ascend

park - part

do - zoo

raider - razor

rude - ruse

 

(c) till - chill

martyr - marcher

eat - each

day - jay

murder - merger

lard - large

share - chair

much - marsh

furnisher - furniture

 

(d) thigh - shy

save - shave

ruse - rouge

Ruth - ruche

presser - pressure

root rouge

mass - mash

 

(e) bad - mad

arbour - armour

rub - rum

dock - knock

eddy - any

bad - ban

rigging - ringing

log - long

 

2. Sort out the oppositions under the following heading: (a) labial vs. forelingual, (b) labial vs. mediolingual, (c) labial vs. backlingual:

pat - cat

supper - succor

leap - leak

wield - yield

wail - Yale

man - nap

coming - cunning

seem - seen

 

3. State which of the pairs illustrate (a) forelingual vs. mediolingual and (b) forelingual vs. backlingual oppositions:

tame - came

less - yes

rudder - rugger

drew - due

sinner - singer

bitter - bicker

clue - cue

bad - bag

sung - young

bat - back

day - gay

rung - young

 

4. Sort out the oppositions under the following headings: (a) occlusive vs. constrictive, (b) constrictive vs. occlusive–constrictive, (c) noise vs. sonorants:

pine - fine

fare - chair

boat - moat

seek - seen

kick - king

work - jerk

bee - thee

deed - need

thine - wine

vain - lane

came - lame

fame - same

sick - sing

 

5. Read these pairs of words. State what principles of vowel classification they illustrate:

(a) cod - cord

not - naught

 

cot – caught

 

body - border

(b) end - and

ten - tan

 

hem - ham

kettle - cattle

(c) fir - for

firm - form

 

turn – torn

bird - bored

(d) fool - full

pool - pull

food - put

tool - took

boot - book

 

(e) am - aim

add - aid

man - main

lad - laid

fat - fate

 

(f) nor - no

law - low

called - cold

bald - bold

caught - coat

 

6. Read these words and state what movements of the tongue make the vowel phonemes / e , E: , A , R , x , I , L / different:

bed - bird - bud - bard

lack - lurk - luck - lark

hat - hurt - hut - heart

cab - curb - cub

tan - turn - ton

bid - bird - bud

lid - led - lad

big - beg - bag

kit - curt - caught