15. Which of the following is a pair of phonemes that are often confused with each other because they share an articulatory feature?
Answer: C
/p/ and /b/ are often confused phonemes due to their shared articulatory feature.
The pair of phonemes /p/ and /b/ are often confused with each other because they are both bilabial sounds, meaning they are articulated with both lips. This shared feature leads to confusion, especially in language acquisition and speech perception.
A) /sh/ and /th/
This option is incorrect because /sh/ (ʃ) and /th/ (θ or ð) are not bilabial phonemes. Instead, /sh/ is a postalveolar fricative and /th/ is a dental fricative, which have distinct articulatory features that do not contribute to their confusion.
B) /j/ and /h/
This option is also incorrect. The phoneme /j/ (as in "yes") is a palatal approximant, while /h/ is a glottal fricative. They do not share the same articulatory feature, making them less likely to be confused with each other.
C) /p/ and /b/
This option is correct as /p/ and /b/ are both bilabial stops, differing only in voicing. The confusion arises from this similarity in articulation, especially among language learners and in certain speech contexts.
D) /s/ and /k/
This option is incorrect as /s/ (an alveolar fricative) and /k/ (a velar stop) are articulated at different places in the vocal tract. Their distinct articulatory features do not commonly lead to confusion between the two sounds.
Conclusion
The answer /p/ and /b/ is definitively correct because both phonemes share the bilabial articulation, which is a crucial factor in their confusion. In contrast, the other options fail to demonstrate this shared feature, making them less relevant in the context of phoneme confusion. Understanding these articulatory characteristics is essential in phonetics and language learning.