PHONETICS & PHONOLOGY COURSE WINTER TERM 2014/2015

Voiced and voiceless sounds Vowels are voiced We can differentiate between MONOPHTHONGS DIPHTHONGS THRIPHTONGS

English vowels MONOPHTHONGS - Consisting one sound: /ə/ DIPHTHONGS - Consisting two sounds: /eI/ TRIPHTHONGS - Consisting three sounds, by adding the so called schwa sound to the diphthongs: /aIə/

Vowels in English Given the abovementioned, we come up with 12 English monophthongs

Vowels Vowels are the most sonorant (or intense) and the most audible sounds in speech. They usually function as the nucleus (or core) of a syllable. The consonants that surround vowels often depend on them for their audibility.

Vowels Vowels are sounds produced with a relatively open vocal tract, so they do not have a consonant-like point (place) of articulation or manner of articulation. Instead, the vocal tract above the glottis acts as a resonator affecting the sound made by the vocal folds.

Vowels The shape of this resonator determines the quality of the vowel. Since vowels are so very different from consonants, we have to use different features than those used to describe consonants.

Vowels There are several ways in which speakers can change the shape of the vocal tract, and thus change vowel quality. Using a new feature system, we can create a chart to describe vowels.

Vowels Tongue Height If you repeat to yourself the vowel sounds in seat, set, sat, you will find that you open your mouth a little wider as you change from each sound. These varying degrees of openness correspond to different degrees of tongue height: high, mid, low.

Vowels High vowels are made with the front of the mouth less open because the tongue body is raised, or high. Mid vowels are produced with an intermediate tongue height. Low vowels are pronounced with the front of the mouth open and the tongue lowered.

Vowels Tongue Advancement Besides being held high or mid or low, the tongue can also be pushed forward or pulled back within the oral cavity. For example, in beat, the body of the tongue is raised and pushed forward so it is just under the hard palate.

Vowels In boot, however, the body of the tongue is in the back of the mouth, toward the velum. The tongue is advanced or pushed forward for all the front vowels, and retracted or pulled back for the back vowels.

Vowels Lip Rounding Vowel quality also depends on lip position. When you say two, your lips are rounded. For tea, however, they are unrounded.

Vowels To make our chart complete, however, we are going to have to add in one more set of features Tense vs. Lax Vowels that are called tense are produced with an extra degree of muscular effort. Lax vowels lack this extra effort.

Vowels For example, tense front vowels are made with a stronger (i.e., longer and more extreme) tongue fronting gesture than lax front vowels, which are produced with a weaker fronting movement. Tense rounded vowels are also made with stronger or tighter lip rounding than their lax counterparts.

Vowels Charting Vowels Starting from the upper left corner again, the first vowel that we encounter, a front, high, tense, unrounded vowel, is represented by the symbol [i] This is the sound in the word beat.

Vowels Next is a front, high, unrounded, lax vowel, represented by the symbol called a small capital I: This is the sound in the word bit. Here is what it looks like:

Vowels Moving downward, we next encounter a front, mid, unrounded, tense vowel, represented by the symbol [e]: This is the sound in the word bait.

Vowels Next is a front, mid, unrounded, lax vowel, represented by the symbol called epsilon: This is the sound in the word bet. Here is what it looks like:

Vowels Moving down again, we next encounter a front, low, unrounded, lax vowel, represented by the symbol called ash. This is the sound in the word bat.

Vowels Moving to the upper right corner of our abstract mouth, we next encounter a high, back, tense, rounded vowel, represented by the symbol [u]: This is the sound in the word boot.

Vowels Next is a high, back, lax, rounded vowel, represented by the symbol called upsilon: This is the sound in the word foot. Here is what it looks like:

Vowels Moving downward, we next encounter a back, mid, tense, rounded vowel, represented by the symbol [o]: This is the sound in the word boat.

Vowels Next is a back, mid, lax, rounded vowel, represented by the symbol called open o (or sometimes backward c): This is the sound in the word long Or maybe the first sound in “aw shucks” Here is what it looks like:

Vowels Moving downward, we next encounter a back, low, lax, unrounded vowel, represented by the symbol [a]. This is the sound in the word father.

Vowels Finally, moving to the middle of our abstract mouth, we encounter a central, mid, lax, unrounded vowel, represented by the symbol called a schwa: This is the last sound in the word sofa. Here is what it looks like:

Vowels Schwa has a stressed counterpart known as inverted v or wedge This is the vowel sound in the words but and putt. It looks like this:

Vowels in English Ex. Try to state which of the sounds from the chart fits the definitions below: -The short close-mid front -The short open-mid front -The short open front -The short open central -The short open back -The short close-mid back -The short mid central

Vowels in English Ex. Try to state which of the sounds from the chart fits the definitions below: -The long close front -The long open back -The long open-mid back -The long close back -The long mid central