Citation form refers to the pronunciation of a word when spoken in isolation.

• A. True
• B. False
• C. It refers to spelling
• D. It refers to sentence stress

Answer: (A)

Citation form is the pronunciation of a word when spoken in isolation, used as the reference pronunciation in dictionaries and teaching. It represents a careful, clear articulation without the reductions and linking that often occur in connected speech. In everyday conversation, pronunciation can change due to blending, vowel reduction, or assimilation, so the spoken form may differ from the citation form. It isn’t about spelling—the letters of the word—and it isn’t about sentence stress, which concerns which words in a sentence receive emphasis. So the statement is true.