SHS 250 FINAL EXAM 2026 WITH COMPLETE
SOLUTIONS GRADED A+
phoneme
the smallest unit of sound that can distinguish between morphemes
morpheme
minimal unit of meaning
vowel reduction
occurs in unstressed syllables; vowel reduces along the dotted line, usually moving
one step in progression centrally
ex: /i/ to "i" in bit
diphthongs reduce to monophthongs
diphthong
employs a gradual transition from one vowel-like sound to another
, allophone
variation of a phoneme which does not change meaning
complementary distribution
rules based on the phonetic environment. 2 allophones will not occur in the same
phonetic environment; the allophones occur in mutually exclusive environments.
Can be predicted
free variation
random; allophones can occur in the same environment
coarticulation
when a sound is produced differently because of the influence of sounds in its
phonetic context (neighborhood)
ex: key /ki/, k /k/, cow (rounded back vowel)
Assimilation
SOLUTIONS GRADED A+
phoneme
the smallest unit of sound that can distinguish between morphemes
morpheme
minimal unit of meaning
vowel reduction
occurs in unstressed syllables; vowel reduces along the dotted line, usually moving
one step in progression centrally
ex: /i/ to "i" in bit
diphthongs reduce to monophthongs
diphthong
employs a gradual transition from one vowel-like sound to another
, allophone
variation of a phoneme which does not change meaning
complementary distribution
rules based on the phonetic environment. 2 allophones will not occur in the same
phonetic environment; the allophones occur in mutually exclusive environments.
Can be predicted
free variation
random; allophones can occur in the same environment
coarticulation
when a sound is produced differently because of the influence of sounds in its
phonetic context (neighborhood)
ex: key /ki/, k /k/, cow (rounded back vowel)
Assimilation
