British English Vowels (RP)

LAX VOWELS TENSE VOWELS

LAX VOWELS

close front back open

KIT FOOT DRESS STRUT LOT TRAP

CLOSE (HIGH) BACK FRONT OPEN (LOW)

preview: fen fen bit bit not not very veröld clever klefi The 6 lax vowels are ALWAYS SHORT fen fen bit bit not not very veröld clever klefi

preview: fen fenn bit not very verry television tellevision (“telly”) The 6 lax vowels are ALWAYS SHORT fen fenn bit not very verry television tellevision (“telly”)

preview: fen fenn bit bitt.....? not nott....? very verry The 6 lax vowels are ALWAYS SHORT fen fenn bit bitt.....? not nott....? very verry television tellevision (“telly”)

preview: English vowels MUST NOT BE PREASPIRATED not nott (noht) bit bitt (biht) stop stopp (stohp) better better (behter) supper supper (söhper)

TENSE VOWELS

FLEECE GOOSE NURSE THOUGHT PALM KIT FOOT DRESS STRUT TRAP LOT CLOSE (HIGH BACK FRONT OPEN (LOW) FLEECE GOOSE KIT FOOT DRESS NURSE THOUGHT STRUT TRAP LOT PALM

CLOSE (HIGH BACK FRONT OPEN (LOW)

English Diphthongs δι-ϕθογγος di-phthong .... fþong

English Diphthongs “pure” vowels diphthongs

English Diphthongs how "pure" are the "pure" vowels?

CLOSE (HIGH BACK FRONT OPEN (LOW)

1 Rising to KIT

2 Rising to FOOT

3 Centring to Schwa

SQUARE words are spelled -air- fair chair stair cairn -are- fare care mare stare

NEAR words are spelled -eer- beer engineer queer -ier- fierce pier

But words spelled with -ear-, –ere-, -eir- are variable - SQUARE bear pear wear heir their where there they’re NEAR fear clear rear weir here we’re idea hero

Vowels - summary

FLEECE NURSE PALM THOUGHT GOOSE KIT DRESS TRAP STRUT LOT FOOT CLOSE (HIGH BACK FRONT OPEN (LOW) FLEECE NURSE PALM THOUGHT GOOSE

CLOSE (HIGH BACK FRONT OPEN (LOW)

CLOSE (HIGH BACK FRONT OPEN (LOW)

Vowels - summary Learn chart positions: front – central - back close (high) – mid – open (low Learn symbols and keywords for 6 lax vowels + “schwa” 5 tense vowels 8 diphthongs (diphthongs are also tense vowels)

Difference between lax and tense vowels lax vowels are short tense vowels are long but are subject to clipping

Clipping A tense vowels (or diphthong) is CLIPPED (shortened) when a fortis consonant immediately follows it.

FORTIS and LENIS consonants Preview: FORTIS and LENIS consonants 16 consonants occur in PAIRS, fortis and lenis FORTIS consonants are unovoiced LENIS consonants are often (but not always) voiced (This is not the only distinction between fortis and lenis. We’ll discuss this later.)

FORTIS and LENIS consonants Preview: FORTIS and LENIS consonants fortis: lenis: pie, buy church, judge tie, die mission, vision key, gay ice, eyes fine, vine think, this