Newsgroup: it.cultura.linguistica.inglese
Titolo: Tests and exams

I think some exams are a little absurd. I've just come across the 
following exercise taken from the CAE:
 
[Pronounciation] Find the odd one out:
* f[or]k
* f[a]ll
* wr[o]ng
* c[au]ght
 
The odd one out, for me, is "fork". I pronounce the other three the same 
way. The official answer is "wrong", which surprised me.
 
It turns out this is a "UK vs US issue". Why should I be penalized for 
speaking American English instead of British English?
 
Kiuhnm

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Perhaps because the "C" in CAE stands for Cambridge. And really, you are 
being penalized for speaking Brooklyn English, not exactly American.
 
Kidding aside, I agree that the question is weak on the two principle 
qualities of good assessments, validity and reliability. I pronounce 
each of the words differently, but I would have chosen "wrong," which is 
right, because the position of my mouth changes more for that word.
 

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Where are you from, if I may ask?
 
See here for the difference between American and British English:
 
http://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/definition/english/wrong_1?q=wrong
 
 
According to the dictionary there's no difference at all, but I think 
the 'r' in 'fork' modifies the vowel sound a little bit in practice.
 
Kiuhnm

 the 'r' in 'fork' modifies the vowel sound a little bit in practice.
 
I'm not a good speaker, but I've been acquainted since I was a child 
that the nasal "ng" sound modifies the "o" too
 
-- 
Et interrogabant eum turbae dicentes: “Quid ergo faciemus?”.
Respondens autem dicebat illis: “Qui habet duas tunicas,
det non habenti; et, qui habet escas, similiter faciat”.
(Ev. sec. Lucam 3,10-11)

 that the nasal "ng" sound modifies the "o" too
 
Yep, you're right, it makes the "o" more nasal. These exercises are 
probably more about macro differences.
 
Kiuhnm

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Of course the "r" changes the sound. The "r" in "wrong" also modifies 
the sound of the vowel. However, you are right that British English 
de-emphasizes the "r" in "fork," and that tends to make the 
pronunciation closer to the other words in the list.
 
As I said, I chose "wrong" because I noticed that my lips pushed out 
more with the pronunciation of the vowel in that word than with the 
vowels in the other words.
 
In regard to my accent, I speak the theoretical General American that 
resembles the speech of metropolitan newscasters. I even pronounce "w" 
as "double-you."
 
I am originally from New Jersey, near metropolitan NYC, but have spent 
most of my life in the San Francisco Bay Area of California. I lost my 
NJ accent through the re-socialization of my university experience. When 
I return to NJ, after a few days have passed, I might pronounce "drawer" 
as "draw." However, when I travel to the South, the local accent also 
influences my pronunciation. Normally, no one can detect my linguistic 
origins.
 
This is also true in Italy when I speak Italian. It's clear that I'm not 
Italian, but unclear where I come from.

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I don't see anything wrong with having an accent which reveals one's 
origins. For instance, I have a very characteristic "s romagnola". If I 
make an effort I can lose the "s" and I'm sure it'd get easier with 
time, but why should I? Moreover, women find it sexy :)
 
Kiuhnm

 speaking American English instead of British English?
 
Well the Cambridge exams are of course UK English. I've seen US people 
fail to know some of the obscurer "Use of English" stuff in CPE too.
 
I could imagine there are US English things I could get wrong in US 
based EFL exams. But probably not enough to make a lot of difference.

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I didn't say there was anything wrong with retaining an accent. Nor was 
I bragging that I don't have a strong regional accent. I was just 
answering your question with too much information.
 
In fact, I agree, and I've said to ADPUF in the past, that I think it's 
advantageous for Italians to retain some of their accent as long as they 
remain understandable. Beyond that, I can add no acknowledgment of your 
apparent chick-magnetism.
 
I would just like to be able to roll my r's better and remember Italian 
vowel pronunciation more often when speaking Italian. Let the 
attractiveness of my other worldly pronunciation be damned.
 
NB:
Regarding another conversation here, I recently remembered that although 
"out of this world" means meraviglioso, you can say "from another world" 
to signify estraneo.

 to signify estraneo.
 
Got it, thanks.
 
Kiuhnm

 based EFL exams. But probably not enough to make a lot of difference.
 
Actually, I was wrong about the test being taken from the CAE exam. It 
was just an exercise at the C1 level. I don't know where it comes from.
 
Kiuhnm