Vowel Transcription
What is a VOWEL? Vowels are phonemes that are produced without any appreciable constriction or blockage of air flow in the vocal tract. See Table 4.1 for a description of vowel in English
Vowel articulators Tongue – primary articulator of vowels Jaw/mandible - movements Pharynx – size and shape
Airstream Passes through vocal cavity with virtually no obstruction by the tongue or other major articulators
Production Vowel phonemes are categorized in relation to the position of the body of the tongue in the mouth Tongue height – refers to how high or low in the oral cavity the tongue is when producing the vowel. Tongue advancement – how far forward or backward in the mouth the tongue is when producing a particular vowel
Vowel Quadrilateral
Vowel quadrilateral and tongue
Vowel quadrilateral and tongue
Tongue positions
Empty vowel chart
Vowel Chart Which IPA symbols go with each word????
Vowel Chart Which IPA symbols go with each word????
Lip Configuration Roundness Retracted
Roundness
Tenseness Tense – usually longer in duration and require more muscular effort Capable of ending stressed open syllables Lax Never end a stressed open syllable a. tenseness -– i. tense – longer in duration and involve a greater degree of muscular tension ii. lax – shorter in duration and involve less effort
Tenseness
Types of vowels Monophones – have one primary articulatory position in the vocal tract. Diphthongs – have two distinct articulatory positions; two vowels which comprise one Onglide – first element of a diphthong Offglide – second element of a diphthong In English the offglide is produced at a higher position than the onglide
Diphthongs // // // // //
Draw lines starting in the onglide and ending in offglide.
Front vowels /i/,//, /e/, /e /, //, //
/i/ Highest and most fronted of all vowel One of the point vowels Lips retracted, Tense – capable of ending one-syllable open words
/I/ High vowel Is lax Occurs in closed syllables Used in words with unstressed syllables ending in “y” – “crazy” or when preceding “ng” Rhotic vowel /Ir/ “hear”
/e, e I / High-mid vowel Retracted Tense /e I / - stressed /e I / this diphthong is an allophonic variation /e I / Used in stressed syllables and at end of words regardless of stress
// Known as the Epsilon Low mid front vowel Retracted and lax Often occurs in front of /r/ - “hair”, “”fair”
// Lowest of five point vowels Retracted and lax No monosyllable end with //
Front vowel sounds visual
Back vowels /u/, //, //, //, //, /a
/u/ One of the two highest vowels (together with /i/ Considered another point/corner vowel Rounded, tense Found at the end of one syllable words Is preceded by /j/ in words such as “few,music,few/
// High vowel Rounded and lax No open syllable ends with // Rhotic vowel /r/ - “tour, lure”
/o/, /o/ High mid, rounded, tense Like /e/, the stressed form takes a diphthong /o/, an allophone Similar to /eI/, the /o/ is used with words that end with this sound
// Open ‘o’ Rounded, back, tense Not used too much, and usually replaced by // Rhotic vowel /r/ ‘corn, bored, foreign’
// Low-back, retracted, tense Point vowel The only retracted back vowel Many used instead of // Rhotic vowel /r/ - bark, art
back vowel sounds visual
Central vowels //, //, //, //, //
//, // Schwa and turned v Retracted and lax Vocal tract in its most neutral configuration // - unstressed, // stressed Turned v usually does not occur in open syllables except for the word “the” May be confused for //
//, // // schwar Rhotacization // Rounded and lax // Rounded and tense, the only central vowels that is tense, found at the end of one syllable words // Produced in unstressed syllables //Produced in stressed syllables May be confused with other rhotic vowels -/Ir/, /r/
// Occurs in diphthongs /I/ - ‘kite’
back vowel sounds visual