Use Of English 2016 Jamb Examination

yet - /jet/
The underlined 'y' in 'yet' represents the voiced palatal approximant consonant /j/. Looking at the phonetic transcriptions of the options:
bury - /ˈber.i/ (the 'y' acts as a vowel /i/)
way - /weɪ/ (the 'w' is a voiced labial-velar approximant /w/)
vessel - /ˈves.əl/ (the 'v' is /v/)
europe - /ˈjʊə.rəp/ (starts with the /j/ sound despite beginning with a vowel letter)
In English phonology, many words starting with 'u' or 'eu' are preceded by the 'y' sound (/j/). Therefore, the initial sound in 'Europe' is an exact match for the initial consonant sound in 'yet'.

tasked - /tɑːskt/
This question tests the rules of the '-ed' suffix pronunciation. When a verb ends in a voiceless consonant sound (like the /k/ in 'task'), the '-ed' ending is pronounced as a voiceless alveolar plosive /t/.
bagged - /bæɡd/ (ends in /d/ because /ɡ/ is voiced)
floored - /flɔːd/ (ends in /d/ because /ɔː/ is voiced)
laughed - /lɑːft/ (ends in /t/ because /f/ is voiceless)
shouted - /ʃaʊ.tɪd/ (ends in /ɪd/ because the verb ends in 't')
The underlined letters in 'tasked' produce the /t/ sound. Since 'laugh' ends in the voiceless /f/ sound, its past tense form 'laughed' also produces the /t/ sound, making it the correct phonetic match.

risen - /ˈrɪz.ən/
A rhyme requires the identity of the last stressed vowel and all following sounds. 'Risen' has a short /ɪ/ sound followed by /z/ and the syllabic 'n' (/ən/).
prison - /ˈprɪz.ən/ (matches perfectly)
motion - /ˈməʊ.ʃən/ (different vowel and different consonant /ʃ/)
portion - /ˈpɔː.ʃən/ (different vowel and different consonant /ʃ/)
rising - /ˈraɪ.zɪŋ/ (different vowel /aɪ/ and different ending /ɪŋ/)
The word 'prison' shares the same vowel sound, the voiced 'z' sound, and the final nasal sound, creating a perfect rhyme with 'risen'.

terror - /ˈter.ə/
The word 'terror' consists of the stressed syllable /ter/ and the unstressed schwa /ə/. To rhyme, we need a word with the same ending sound sequence.
tenor - /ˈten.ə/ (not a rhyme because of the /n/ versus /r/ sound in the middle)
warrior - /ˈwɒr.i.ə/ (not a rhyme due to the extra /i/ syllable)
error - /ˈer.ə/ (matches perfectly with the /er.ə/ sound sequence)
furrow - /ˈfʌr.əʊ/ (ends in a diphthong /əʊ/)
The word 'error' is a perfect rhyme for 'terror' as they share the identical /er.ə/ phonetic structure in United Kingdom English pronunciation.

crowd - /kraʊd/
The word 'crowd' features the diphthong /aʊ/ followed by the voiced alveolar plosive /d/.
crow - /krəʊ/ (ends in the diphthong /əʊ/)
bard - /bɑːd/ (uses the long vowel /ɑː/)
aloud - /əˈlaʊd/ (matches perfectly with the /aʊd/ ending)
crawl - /krɔːl/ (uses the long vowel /ɔː/ and ends in /l/)
The word 'aloud' contains the exact same vowel-consonant combination (/aʊd/) as 'crowd', making it a perfect rhyme despite the difference in spelling.

inoffensive - /ˌɪn.əˈfen.sɪv/
In United Kingdom English, the word 'inoffensive' is a four-syllable word. Words ending in the suffix '-ive' generally maintain the stress on the root syllable. For 'offensive', the stress is on the second syllable (ofFENsive). When the negative prefix 'in-' is added, it creates a secondary stress on the first syllable, but the primary stress remains on the penultimate syllable, which is 'fen'. Therefore, the correct stress pattern places the emphasis on the third syllable: in-of-FEN-sive.

obligation - /ˌɒb.lɪˈɡeɪ.ʃən/
This word follows a very consistent rule in English phonology regarding words ending in the suffix '-tion'. For almost all words with this ending, the primary stress falls on the syllable immediately preceding the suffix (the penultimate syllable). In the word 'ob-li-ga-tion', the syllable before '-tion' is 'ga'. Consequently, the primary stress is placed on the third syllable, making the correct pattern ob-li-GA-tion.

disagreement - /ˌdɪs.əˈɡriː.mənt/
The word 'disagreement' is formed by adding the prefix 'dis-' and the suffix '-ment' to the root word 'agree'. In English, suffixes like '-ment' do not typically shift the stress of the root word. Since the root word 'agree' is stressed on the second syllable (aGREE), the derivative 'disagreement' maintains that primary stress on the same syllable. Thus, the stress falls on the third syllable of the full word: dis-a-GREE-ment.

Emphatic stress is used to highlight a specific piece of information in a sentence, often to correct a misunderstanding or provide a contrast. When the word 'CRUSHED' is stressed, the speaker is emphasizing the specific action that took place, rather than who did it or who it happened to. To find the correct related question, we look for an inquiry that challenges the stressed word. Option D asks if the car 'injured' him; by responding with 'The car CRUSHED him', the speaker is specifically correcting the verb 'injured' with the more intense verb 'crushed'.

In this sentence, the emphatic stress is placed on the adverb 'VERY'. This indicates that the speaker is emphasizing the degree or intensity of Lamide's hostility. The question it relates to should be one that contradicts or questions the degree of that hostility. Option B asks if Lamide is 'friendly'. By answering 'Lamide is VERY hostile', the speaker uses the emphatic stress to contrast the idea of being 'friendly' with an extreme opposite state. This highlights that the hostility is not just present, but present to a high degree.