Mastering IPA Consonant Symbols Quiz

Linguistics

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Quizzes Created: 7387 | Total Attempts: 9,537,848

| Attempts: 12 | Questions: 19 | Updated: Oct 24, 2025

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1. What does the symbol 'ʧ' represent?

Lingua-palatal, voiceless affricate

Labiodental, voiceless fricative

Velar, voiced fricative

Alveolar, voiced plosive

The symbol 'ʧ' represents a lingua-palatal, voiceless affricate, which is produced by placing the tongue blade against the middle of the hard palate.

Explanation

The symbol 'ʧ' represents a lingua-palatal, voiceless affricate, which is produced by placing the tongue blade against the middle of the hard palate.

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About This Quiz

Explore the intricacies of IPA consonant symbols and their classifications in this focused study aid. Designed for learners and educators in linguistics, this resource aids in understanding and mastering the pronunciation and categorization of consonants, enhancing phonetic skills crucial for language studies.

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2. The symbol: p.

Alveolar, voiced plosive

Dental, voiced fricative

Bilabial, voiceless plosive (cognate to b)

Palatal, nasal

The symbol 'p' represents a bilabial, voiceless plosive sound, which is cognate to the voiced plosive 'b'. The incorrect answers do not accurately describe the sound represented by the symbol 'p'.

Explanation

The symbol 'p' represents a bilabial, voiceless plosive sound, which is cognate to the voiced plosive 'b'. The incorrect answers do not accurately describe the sound represented by the symbol 'p'.

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3. What does the symbol 'm' represent in phonetics?

Dental, nasal, voiced

Alveolar, fricative, voiceless

Bilabial, nasal, voiced continuant

Velar, plosive, voiced

The symbol 'm' in phonetics represents a bilabial, nasal, voiced continuant sound, produced by closing both lips and allowing the air to escape through the nasal passage while vibrating the vocal cords.

Explanation

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4. In phonetics, what does the symbol 'hw' represent?

Dental fricative.

Alveolar tap.

Bilabial, voiceless glide

Voiced velar fricative.

The symbol 'hw' represents a bilabial, voiceless glide in phonetics. It is not a voiced velar fricative, alveolar tap, or dental fricative.

Explanation

The symbol 'hw' represents a bilabial, voiceless glide in phonetics. It is not a voiced velar fricative, alveolar tap, or dental fricative.

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5. What sound does the symbol 'f' represent?

Velar, nasal

Bilabial, voiceless fricative

Alveolar, voiced fricative

Labio-dental, voiceless fricative (cognate to v)

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6. Which symbol represents the labio-dental, voiced fricative (cognate to f)?

Labio-dental, voiced fricative (cognate to f)

The symbol 'v.' represents the labio-dental, voiced fricative (cognate to f), while 'z.', 'p.', and 'x.' represent different phonemes.

Explanation

The symbol 'v.' represents the labio-dental, voiced fricative (cognate to f), while 'z.', 'p.', and 'x.' represent different phonemes.

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7. What is the phonetic symbol for the sound represented by 't'?

Pulmonic, voiced plosive

Labiodental, voiced nasal

Velar, voiceless fricative

Lingua-alveolar, voiceless plosive (cognate to d)

The phonetic symbol 't' represents the sound known as Lingua-alveolar, voiceless plosive, which is cognate to 'd'. The incorrect options do not correctly match the phonetic symbol 't'.

Explanation

The phonetic symbol 't' represents the sound known as Lingua-alveolar, voiceless plosive, which is cognate to 'd'. The incorrect options do not correctly match the phonetic symbol 't'.

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8. What is the symbol: d?

Palatal approximant

Consonant sound

Labiodental fricative

Lingua-alveolar, voiced plosive (cognate to t)

The symbol 'd' represents the lingua-alveolar, voiced plosive, which is cognate to the sound 't'. It is produced by placing the tongue against the alveolar ridge and releasing a burst of air.

Explanation

The symbol 'd' represents the lingua-alveolar, voiced plosive, which is cognate to the sound 't'. It is produced by placing the tongue against the alveolar ridge and releasing a burst of air.

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9. What is the symbol 's' typically representative of?

Nasalized alveolar fricative

Lingua-alveolar, voiceless fricative (cognate to z)

Palatal lateral approximant

Voiced velar stop

The symbol 's' is used to denote the lingua-alveolar, voiceless fricative sound which is similar to the 'z' sound. It is not related to the other three incorrect options provided.

Explanation

The symbol 's' is used to denote the lingua-alveolar, voiceless fricative sound which is similar to the 'z' sound. It is not related to the other three incorrect options provided.

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10. What is the symbol z?

Vowel sound

Consonant blend

Dental, unvoiced fricative

Lingua-alveolar, voiced fricative (cognate to s)

The correct answer refers to the phonetic description of the symbol 'z' as a lingua-alveolar, voiced fricative, which is cognate to 's'. The incorrect answers provide different phonetic categories to mislead the respondent.

Explanation

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11. What does the symbol 'l' represent in phonetics?

Dental, voiced fricative.

Labiodental, voiceless fricative.

Palatal, voiced plosive.

Lingua-alveolar, voiced lateral

The symbol 'l' in phonetics represents a lingua-alveolar, voiced lateral sound. It is produced by placing the tip of the tongue against the alveolar ridge and allowing air to flow laterally over the sides of the tongue.

Explanation

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12. What is the symbol 'j' commonly used to represent in phonetics?

Bilabial, voiced stop

Dental, voiced nasal

Lingua-palatal, voiced glide

Alveolar, voiceless fricative

The symbol 'j' in phonetics represents a lingua-palatal, voiced glide. The incorrect answers provided do not match the specific phonetic representation of the symbol 'j'.

Explanation

The symbol 'j' in phonetics represents a lingua-palatal, voiced glide. The incorrect answers provided do not match the specific phonetic representation of the symbol 'j'.

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13. What symbol represents the Lingua-velar, voiced fricative/glide sound?

Lingua-velar, voiced fricative/glide

The symbol 'r.' represents the Lingua-velar, voiced fricative/glide sound. 't.', 's.', and 'v.' do not correspond to this specific sound.

Explanation

The symbol 'r.' represents the Lingua-velar, voiced fricative/glide sound. 't.', 's.', and 'v.' do not correspond to this specific sound.

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14. What is the symbol 'k' in phonetics?

Dental, voiceless fricative

Lingua-velar, voiceless plosive (cognate to g)

Alveolar, voiced plosive

Velar, voiced plosive

In phonetics, the symbol 'k' represents the Lingua-velar, voiceless plosive sound, which is cognate to the sound 'g'. The incorrect answers provided are common phonetic sounds that may be confused with the correct answer.

Explanation

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15. What is the symbol '?g' phonetically represents?

Bilabial, voiceless plosive

Alveolar, voiced fricative

Palatal, voiced fricative

Lingua-velar, voiced plosive (cognate to k)

The symbol '?g' represents a Lingua-velar, voiced plosive and is cognate to 'k'. It is not an alveolar voiced fricative, bilabial voiceless plosive, or palatal voiced fricative.

Explanation

The symbol '?g' represents a Lingua-velar, voiced plosive and is cognate to 'k'. It is not an alveolar voiced fricative, bilabial voiceless plosive, or palatal voiced fricative.

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16. What does the symbol 'h' represent in phonetics?

Voiced dental fricative

Voiced velar nasal

Voiceless glottal fricative

Alveolar lateral approximant

The symbol 'h' in phonetics represents the voiceless glottal fricative sound, produced by allowing the airstream to pass through the vocal cords without vibrating them.

Explanation

The symbol 'h' in phonetics represents the voiceless glottal fricative sound, produced by allowing the airstream to pass through the vocal cords without vibrating them.

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17. What is the symbol 'b' represent in phonetics?

Bilabial, voiced plosive (cognate to p)

Velar, voiceless plosive (cognate to k)

Dental, voiceless fricative (cognate to θ)

Alveolar, voiced plosive (cognate to d)

The symbol 'b' represents a bilabial, voiced plosive sound in phonetics, which is similar to the sound 'p'. The incorrect answers provided are phonetically different sounds to help differentiate and test understanding.

Explanation

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18. Which symbol represents a bilabial, voiced glide?

Bilabial, voiced glide

The symbol w. represents a bilabial, voiced glide. The other options do not match the description provided.

Explanation

The symbol w. represents a bilabial, voiced glide. The other options do not match the description provided.

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19. What is the symbol n in phonetics typically represent?

Bilabial, voiced nasal continuant

Dental, voiceless nasal continuant

Velar, voiced nasal continuant

Lingua-alveolar, voiced nasal continuant

The symbol n in phonetics represents a lingua-alveolar, voiced nasal continuant. It is produced by lowering the velum allowing air to pass through the nasal cavity while the vocal cords vibrate. The incorrect answers represent different types of nasal sounds based on the place of articulation and voicing.

Explanation

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