Classification of Vowels Traditional Classification Chapter 4 First quiz next Wednesday over single sylibal words. Only

Outline Discuss the traditional classification of vowels: Identify phonetic symbols for front, central and back vowels. Describe vowels according to the traditional classification.

Production of Vowels Vowels are produced in essentially the same manner and voicing. Produced with oral resonance All are voiced Identification of a vowel is a result of the shaping of the oral cavity. Tongue movement Jaw opening/closing Lip rounding & tenseness NO voiceless vowels.

Traditional Vowel Classification Tongue Movement Tension Lip Rounding

Tongue Movement Tongue Height *Vertical movement High Vowels: tongue at highest position Mid Vowels: tongue at mid position Low Vowels: tongue at lowest position

Tongue Movement Tongue Advancement *Horizontal movement Front Vowels: tongue in front; most of resonating cavity in back of mouth Central Vowels: half of resonating cavity in front and half in back Back Vowels: tongue in back; resonating cavity in front of mouth

Tongue Height + Tongue Advancement = 9 Positions VOWELS Front High /i, I/ Mid /e, ɛ/ Low /æ/ Central none /ə, ʌ, ɚ, ɝ/ Back /u, Ʊ/ /o, ɔ/ /ɑ/ Overview of were the tongue is placed when saying vowles.

Tension Tense Vowels: increased muscular tension in the tongue Lax Vowels: opposite of tense; decreased muscular tension Neutral Vowels: tongue usually in rest position Some vowes have more tention some are more neutral.

Lip-Rounding Rounded Lips Unround/retracted Lips Neutral Back vowels Front vowels Neutral Central vowels All back sounds are rounded…all front vowles are unrounded

Vowel Quadralateral (chart) Will have to label on a test. Looks like the shape of the tongue and where the vowles are placed when saying them.

Front Vowel: /i/ Description: Front, high, tense, unround Sounds like: Sometimes changed to /I/ Hear /hir/ /hIr/ Sounds like: Eat, leave, money

Front Vowel: /I/ Description: Front, high, lax, unround Sounds like: In, mitt

Front Vowel: /e/ Description: Front, mid, tense, unround When elongated = diphthong /eI/ Occurs more often Sounds like: Operate, vacation Monothong- sounds that have ONE sound Dipthong- Phonames made up of TWO sounds.

Front Vowel: /ɛ/ Description: Front, mid, lax, unround Sounds like: End, head Egg,

Front Vowel: /æ/ Description: Front, low, lax, unround Sounds like: Add, cat

Central Vowels The central vowels are more difficult to teach because there is a lot of variation in central tongue positioning. Central stressed or unstressed

Central Vowel: /ʌ/ Description: Central, mid, tense, neutral lip rounding Occurs in stressed syllables only Referred to as: “caret” Sounds like: Under, tub Symbol is refered to as a caret.

Central Vowel: /ə/ Description: Central, mid, lax, neutral lip rounding Occurs in unstressed syllables Referred to as: “shwa” Sounds like: Away, elephant, arena Difficult to hear in connected speech.

Central Vowel: /ɝ/ Description: Central, mid, tense, rounded Occurs in stressed syllables only Duration is longer and more tense as compared to /ɚ/ Sounds like: Earth, learn, her

Central Vowel: /ɚ/ Description: Central, mid, lax, neutral lip rounding Occurs in unstressed syllables Most often in final position of words Referred to as: “shwar” Sounds like: Understand, mother

Rhotic Vowels /ɝ, ɚ/ Rhotacized: refers to positioning or influence of /r/ Often misarticulated Both have retroflex Tongue-tip is curled or pulled back Tongue is arched in middle

Rhotic /ɝ,ɚ/ vs /r/ RHOTIC /ɝ,ɚ/ Greater duration Constitutes a syllable Tongue movement toward, rather than away from the consonant /r/ position It is never voiceless following voiceless consonants, as /r/ may be /r/ CONSONANT Shorter duration Never constitutes a syllable Tongue movement is away from /r/ position

Back Vowel: /u/ Description: Back, high, tense, round Sounds like: Oops, fruit, tu

Back Vowel: /Ʊ/ Description: Back, high, lax, round Sounds like: Only occurs in medial positions of words Lips are not as round as /u/ Sounds like: Cook, would wood

Back Vowel: /O/ Description: Back, mid, tense, round When elongated = diphthong /oƱ/ Occurs more often Sounds like: Obey, nobility All back sounds are lip rounded. Dope, pope, scope, cantalope, soap

Back Vowel: /ɔ/ Description: Back, mid, lax, round Sounds like: More prominent in Northeastern dialects; not common in Southern dialects Frequently collapsed to /ɑ/ in Southern dialects Sounds like: Off, talk, jaw Yall,

Back Vowel: /ɑ/ Description: Back, low, lax, round Sounds like: Very little rounding Sounds like: On, stop