KKHSOU General English Assignment (3rd Semester) 2014-15

GENERAL ENGLISH: ASSIGNMENT

Sem III (2014-15)

A. Answer the following questions 2×4=8

Q1. What do you mean by ‘voiceless sounds’? Give examples.

Ans: Voiceless sounds are the sounds which come out of the mouth without producing any vibration in the glottis.  While speaking voiceless sounds the vocal cords are drawn apart allowing the air to pass in and out without any disturbance of the vocal cords. Hence no vibration is produced in our throat. /f/, /t/, /k/, /h/ etc. are the examples of voiceless sounds.  

Q2. What is a diphthong?

Ans: A vowel sound that starts near the articulatory position for one vowel and moves toward the position for another and a change in quality of sound can be clearly noticed are called dipthongs. Diphthongs start with a vowel quality of higher pitch or volume and end in a vowel with less prominence, like [aI] in ice. Diphthongs are also referred as gliding vowels. /eI/, /aI/, /eә/, /au/, /oI/, /әU/, /Iә/, /Uә/ are the diphthongs in English language. 

Q3. What do you mean by a tone group? Explain briefly.

Ans: Normal speech consists of stretches of words in the utterance of which tone is integral part. When there is a long utterance of speech, the speech can be divided in many groups based on pauses we make during the speech. The stretch of speech between every two pauses is called tone group. The tone group may be either falling tone, rising tone, fall-rise tone.

Q4. What are the different types of communication?

Ans: There are three types of communication based on the mode of its use- Written, Oral and Non-verbal. Written communication refers to the form of communication in which message is transmitted in the written form i.e signs or symbols. In oral communication, Spoken words are used. It includes face-to-face conversations, speech, telephonic conversation etc. Nonverbal communication is the physical ways of communication in which sending or receiving of information is done through Facial expressions, Common gestures like Nodding of head, shrugging etc, body language, Appearance etc. are used instead of words.

B. Answer the following questions: 3×4=12

Q1. How should you conduct yourself as a public speaker?

Ans: Standing in front of a large or small gathering to deliver a speech with confidence doesn't come naturally for everyone. Becoming a good public speaker takes practice, patience, confidence and preparation. One has to conduct very carefully because it reveals the personality of the speaker. While speaking in front of gathering we have to be very confident and natural looking. We should not imitate others when we speak. We should speak from our heart and have to put clear views. We should vary the tone of the voice and speak at moderate speed. We should not become emotional and over-excited. We should not begin with apologetic beginning and maintain eye-contact.

Q2. Write a short note on Received Pronunciation.

Ans: English is spoken most part of the world and wide variation in accent. In England itself, wide variety in accent is seen.  Received Pronunciation is regarded as the standard and neutral accent of English in the United Kingdom. Suppose to be derived from the spoken languages of courts and public schools, its recognition is due to its social status and not the linguistic reason. It is most widely studied and most frequently described variety of spoken English in the world, yet recent estimates suggest very little of the UK population speak it. So the efforts are towards making the speech as much regionally neutral as possible.

Q3. What is the difference between a falling tone and a rising tone?

Ans: When there is fall in the pitch of the voice in a nuclear syllable of a tone group is called falling tone. It is used in complete statements, special questions, commands, exclamatory sentences, Invitation and sentences with tag questions like “don’t you?”, “isn’t it?”

On the other hand when there is rise in the pitch of the voice in a nuclear syllable of a tone group is called rising tone. It can express various emotions, such as non-finality, incompleteness, question, surprise, doubt, hesitation, interest, request and suggestion, politeness, readiness to continue the conversation, lack of confidence, and even insecurity.

Q4. How is a nasal sound produced?

Ans: There are three nasal sounds in American English pronunciation: the /m/ sound, /n/ sound, and /ng/ sound. The two major points about producing nasal sounds are- The air is completely blocked from leaving the mouth, and is instead released out through the nose and all three nasal sounds are voiced, meaning that the vocal cords vibrate during the creation of the sound.

m sound: /m/me air is blocked when the lips are pressed together

n sound: /n/ no air is blocked when the tip of the tongue presses against the tooth ridge

ng sound: /ŋ/ sing air is blocked when the back of the tongue presses against the soft palate

C. Answer the following questions: 5 × 2 = 10

Q1. You are Ram/ Kamala. You would like to lodge a complaint to the Electricity Board that there is no electricity in your house. Write a telephonic dialogue by touching upon these points.

Ans: The telephonic conversation between myself, Kamala and the Executive of the complaint cell may go as follows-

Executive           : Hello

Kamala              : Hello, Is this the complaint cell of ASEB?

Executive           : Yes, Madam. How can I help you?

Kamala              : Since yesterday night, there is no electricity in my house.

Executive           : OK. Can you tell me in details?

Kamala              : Oh yes. Yesterday night there was a spark in meter box of our house. Though nothing happened in the night, but since morning at around 6 AM the current went off.  I called you in the morning but nobody picked the phone.

Executive           : Have somebody tried to temper the metre box?

Kamala              : No. But the metre box is very old and I had already submitted an application in your office to replace it.

Executive           : That ok.  In which locality you are calling from.?

Kamala              : I am calling from Borguri area. My house is just adjacent to Public school.

Executive           : OK, I am sending an electrician to your house to check the metre box within one hour. If at all necessary we will replace the meter box.

Kamala              : Thank you for your help.

Executive           : You are most welcome.

Q2. What is Non-Verbal Communication?

Ans: Nonverbal communication is the physical ways of communication in which information is exchanged without the use of words. It is a communication where the oral and written modes are not used and is all about the body language of speaker. Nonverbal communication plays an important role in how we convey meaning and information to others, as well as how we interpret the actions of those around us.

Facial expressions makes a huge proportion of nonverbal communication. The look on a person face is often the first thing we see, even before we hear what they have to say. Information is easily conveyed with a smile or a frown. The facial expressions for happiness, sadness, anger, and fear are similar throughout the world. Deliberate movements and signals are an important way to communicate meaning without words. Common gestures include waving, pointing, and using fingers to indicate numeric amounts. Nodding of head, shrugging etc. are also commonly used. Posture and movement or body language can convey a great deal on information. Similarly Appearance also is a important part of non verbal communication. Clothing, hairstyle, neatness, use of cosmetics etc. tells much about a person.

Pure non verbal communication is a specialized field of study where components like Semaphore, deaf and dumb language and traffic communications are studied.

D. Answer the following questions: 10×2=20

-

Q1. What are ‘vowel sounds’? Discuss the criteria for describing vowels.

Ans: One of a class of speech sounds in the articulation of which the oral part of the breath channel is not blocked and is not constricted enough to cause audible friction are called “vowel sounds”. Alphabets /a/, /e/ ,/i/, /o/ ,/u/ are the vowels in English.

The articulation of the vowels is based on three criteria known as three-term labels- 1) Position of the tongue, 2) Height of the tongue and 3) Position of the lips. The articulation of vowels can be understood by the help of the diagram. (draw diagram from page no. 23)

1) Position of the tongue: Based on the position of the tongue three type vowels can be produced.

a.   Front Vowels: The vowels produced when the front portion of the tongue is raised in the direction of hard palate are called Front Vowels. Eg. /i:/ as in “feel” or /ae/ as in “bad”

b.   Back Vowels: The vowels produced when the back portion of the tongue is raised in the direction of soft palate are called Back Vowels. Eg. /u:/ as in “fool” or /a:/ as in “heart”

c.   Central Vowels: The vowels produced when the tongue is raised in the meeting point of hard and soft palate are called Front Vowels. Eg. /3:/ as in “bird

2) Height of the tongue: Depending on the height of the tongue three type vowels can be produced.

a.   Close Vowels:  Central part of the tongue is raised close to the roof the mouth leaving enough room to pass the air without friction. Eg. /i:/ as in “feel”

b.   Open Vowels: Tongue is far from the roof of the mouth like /a:/ as in “heart”

c.   Half Close and Half Open: This kind of vowels are produced when height of the tongue is between the extreme positions as /u:/ in pull.

2) Position of the lips: Depending on the position of the lips two type vowels can be produced.

a.   Rounded Vowels:   Rounded vowels are those vowels which produced by bring the lips forward as in /u:/ as in “fool”

b.   Unrounded Vowels: This are the vowels which are produced when the lips are pulled back as in /i:/ as in “lead”.

Q2. What are the different types of interview? Discuss.

Ans: There are many types of interview. Some of them are as follows-

Face-to-Face Interview is the most common type of interview. In this kind of interview the interviewer and the interviewee sit face-to-face and have one-on-one conversation. In this type of interview generally personal questions are asked. Whereas a panel/comittee interview, is taken by a panel or committee of interviewers. The number of interviewers may vary. The panel may consist of different representatives of an organization. Such panel interviews are conducted to get the collective opinion of panel regarding the competence and suitability of an interviewee.

In a behavioral interview, the interviewer asks questions based on common situations of the job applied for. The logic behind the behavioral interview is to see how one deals with certain problems and what he/she can do to solve them. This type of interview generally starts with the words 'Give me an example when...' or 'Tell me about a time when...'

A case interview is a type of interview where candidates are selected by assessing their analytical skills in a pressured real-time environment. The objective of the case interview is to allow the interviewee to demonstrate his/her ability to solve complex problems and to show the interviewer how he/she think. It is generally one-to-one and the candidate has to brainstorm, perform calculations, and structure the answer on a paper or whiteboard.

A telephone interview is generally done for an initial prescreening to narrow down the number of candidates to a manageable limit. Even if the interviewer calls unexpectedly and talks in casual manner, it should be treated seriously because it will give the first impression to the interviewer.

A group interview is one in which the interviewees are made to sit in one place and asked to discuss on a subject started by interviewer. This interview is more common in corporate and business jobs. Objective of such interview is to find the leadership potential of the candidates.

In Lunch/Dinner Interview employers take the job candidates out to lunch or dinner and try to evaluate their social skills. Though the setting is casual but the etiquette and behaviour of the job aspirants are closely marked.

Stress Interview is the form of interview where there is a deliberate attempt to put stress on the interviewee. The interviewer may be sarcastic or argumentative, or may keep you waiting. This is to see how the interviewee handles himself under pressure.

A structured interview is a standardized method of comparing job candidates where pre written sets of questions are asked to every interviewee. Whereas an unstructured interview is a job interview in which questions may be changed based on the interviewee's responses. The direction of the interview is rather casual, and question flow is based on the direction of the conversation.

Please Share it! :)