English Phonetics VOWELS Hartono, S.S., M.Pd. College of Languages Sultan Agung Islamic University

What are vowels? Vowels are sounds in which there is no obstruction to the flow of air as it passes from the larynx to the lips. To prove this, just say ‘ah’, or ‘u’ etc. compare what happens to the air when you say ‘s’ or ‘d’, etc.

What make vowels different from each other? 1.The vertical distance between the upper surface of the tongue and the palate, or the shape; 2.The part of the tongue, between front and back, which is raised highest or the position.

Examples A vowel / i: / in the English word ‘see’, the tongue is held up close to the roof of the mouth. A vowel /æ /in the English word ‘cat’. The distance between the surface of the tongue and the roof of the mouth is much greater. The difference between /i:/ and / æ / is on the tongue height. /i:/ is relatively close vowel, while / æ/ relatively open vowel. Tongue height can be changed by moving the tongue up and down, or moving the lower jaw up and down.

When we make vowels /i:/ and / æ/, it is the front of the tongue which is raised. Therefore, we could describe /i:/ and / æ/ as the front vowels. A vowel in which the back of the tongue is the highest point is called back vowel. For example when we say / ɑ:/ in ‘calm’, the back of the tongue is raised.

FrontBack Closei:u: Openæɑ:

Vowels are classified in a more accurate way front central back close i 1 8 u close mid e 2 7 o open mid ɛ 3 6 ɔ open a 4 5 ɑ

Vowel 1 /i/ is close and front Vowel 5 /ɑ / is most open and back Vowel 8 /u / is fully close and back Vowel 4 /a / is fully open and front Vowels 2,3,6,7 are at intermediate points of the extreme. These vowels are called Cardinal vowels.

Lip position There is another important variable of vowel quality, that is lip position. There are three possibilities: 1.Rounded, the corners of the lips are brought towards each other. Ex. Vowel / u / 2.Spread, the corners of the lips are moved away. Ex. Vowel /i/ 3.Neutral, the lips are not noticeably rounded or spread. Ex vowel / ə/

English Short Vowels Short vowels in English are ɪ, e, æ, ʌ, ɒ, ʊ. Short vowels are relatively short. Each vowel is described in relation to the cardinal vowel.

. ɪ. ʊ. e. ʌ. æ. ɒ

Examples ɪ : ‘bit’, ‘pin’, ‘fish’, ‘hit’, ‘sitting’ e : ‘bet’, ‘men’, ‘yes’, ‘met’, ‘bed’ æ : ‘bat’, ‘man’, ‘gas’, ‘cat’, ‘black’ ʌ : ‘cut’, ‘come’, ‘rush’, ‘cup’, ‘luck’ ɒ : ‘pot’, ‘gone’, ‘cross’, ‘hot’, ‘rock’ ʊ : ‘put’, ‘pull’, ‘push’, ‘could’ There is another short vowel ‘ə’. This central vowel is called schwa: ‘about’, ‘oppose’, ‘perhaps’

English Long Vowels The English long vowels are : i:, ɜ:, ɑ:, ɔ:, u:. The long vowels and the short ones are different not only in the length but also in quality

Long Vowels in quadrilateral i: u: ɜ: ɔ: ɑ:

i: : ‘beat’, ‘mean’, ‘peace’ ɜ: : ‘bird’, ‘fern’, ‘purse’ ɑ: : ‘card’, ‘half’, ‘pass’ ɔ: : ‘board’, ‘torn’, ‘horse’ u: : ‘food’, ‘soon’, ‘loose’