Phonetics: Vowels LING 400 Winter 2010

Vowels Upper and lower articulators relatively far apart Upper and lower articulators relatively far apart cf. manner of articulation cf. manner of articulation

A five vowel system e.g. Spanish Tongue advancement (backness) frontcentralback Vowel (Tongue) height highiu mideo lowɑ

Spanish vowels frontcentralback high [mis ɑ ] ‘Mass’ [mus ɑ ] ‘muse’ mid [mes ɑ ] ‘table’ [mosk ɑ ] ‘housefly’ low [m ɑ s ɑ ] ‘dough’

Lip rounding A third parameter of vowel systems A third parameter of vowel systems (height – backness – rounding) (height – backness – rounding) Vowels of Spanish Vowels of Spanish –[i] = high front unrounded vowel –[e] = mid front unrounded vowel –[u] = high back rounded vowel –[o] = mid back rounded vowel –[ ɑ ] = low back unrounded vowel  Most languages: high or mid back vowels tend to be round; other vowels unround

Vowel quality vs. quantity Vowel “quality” Vowel “quality” –height: high vs. mid vs. low –backness: front vs. central vs. back –rounding: rounded vs. unrounded Vowel “quantity”: long vs. short Vowel “quantity”: long vs. short

Danish vowel length contrasts

Modern English vowels Middle English > Modern English Middle English > Modern English –Long vowels (600 years ago) >now ‘tense’ –Short vowels > ‘lax’ “Tenseness” “Tenseness” –Positions of tongue or lips  “more extreme”: tense  less extreme: lax –Duration  “usually longer”: tense  shorter: lax

English also has Monophthongs vs. diphthongs Monophthongs vs. diphthongs –Monophthong = 1 vowel quality  hawed [ ɑ ] –Diphthong = sequence of vowel qualities  hide [ ɑɪ ]

Western North America frontcentralback unroundedunroundedrounded high heed [i] who’d [u] hid [ ɪ ] hood [ ʊ ] mid hayed [e ɪ ] hoed [o ʊ ] [ ɛ ] head [ ɛ ] HUD [ ʌ ] low had [ æ ] sod [ ɑ ] lax vowels [e ɪ ] = [ej]; [o ʊ ] = [ow]

Further east in North America frontcentralback unroundedunroundedrounded high heed [i] who’d [u] hid [ ɪ ] hood [ ʊ ] mid hayed [e ɪ ] hoed [o ʊ ] head [ ɛ ] HUD [ ʌ ] hawed [ ɔ ] low had [ æ ] sod [ ɑ ] [ ɔ ] is [ ɔ ] is a lax vowel, according to textbook

[ ɑ ] vs. [ ɔ ] cot[ ɑ ]caught [ ɔ ] cot[ ɑ ]caught [ ɔ ] Polly [ ɑ ]Paulie [ ɔ ] Polly [ ɑ ]Paulie [ ɔ ] Don [ ɑ ]dawn [ ɔ ] Don [ ɑ ]dawn [ ɔ ] A female speaker from New York City

Vowel summary Main parameters Main parameters –Tongue height –Tongue backness/advancement –Rounding Some languages Some languages –Length –Tenseness Monophthongs vs. diphthongs Monophthongs vs. diphthongs

Question Try to describe some vowel or consonant in a language you know that is not one of the speech sounds of English. Be sure to name the language. Try to describe some vowel or consonant in a language you know that is not one of the speech sounds of English. Be sure to name the language.