Phonemes and Morphemes in Speech
The question asks to identify the terms for 'basic speech sounds' and 'meaningful smallest units of speech'.
Basic Speech Sounds: Phonemes
The fundamental building blocks of spoken language are its basic speech sounds. These are known as phonemes. A phoneme is the smallest unit of sound in a language that can distinguish one word from another. For example, the sounds /k/ and /ɡ/ differentiate 'cat' from 'gat'.
Meaningful Smallest Units: Morphemes
The smallest units of language that carry meaning are called morphemes. These can be whole words (like 'dog') or parts of words that add meaning, such as prefixes ('un-') or suffixes ('-s'). For instance, 'unbreakable' has three morphemes: 'un-', 'break', and '-able'.
Conclusion
Based on these definitions:
- Basic speech sounds are Phonemes.
- Meaningful smallest units of speech are Morphemes.
Therefore, the correct option pairing is Phonemes; Morphemes.
Important Questions from Verbal Ability
- Effective communication can happen if we follow the basic principles of professional communication skills. These can be abbreviated as 7 Cs, they are:
The situation of_________ in communication arises "when communication denial occurs and at the same time the denied person cannot withdraw from a situation because of the value she/he places on the relationship with the specific other person."
- Sahgal and Khetarpal (2009) have categorised barriers of communication as:
i. Semantic barriers
ii. Inter-personal barriers
iii. Rational barriers
iv. Cross cultural (Geographic) barriers
Choose the correct option. Match the following
Column - A Column - B Communication Barriers Communication Example 1. Language a. Taking an official call on your mobile where the mobile phone reception is poor 2. Emotional b. Hugging a person in a foreign country where such an act is rude and disrespectful 3. Environmental c. Talking in Hindi when others know only German 4. Cultural d. Teacher is too angry and is not willing to accept any reason from a student who is late for an examination
Choose the correct option:Complete the sentence choosing the right option:
The governor ______ that it would be a state holiday.
