1. Articulatory phonetics: a few basic notions
Speech sounds can be split into two main categories: vowels and consonants
Vowels: sounds produced by the free passage of air through the speech organs (diphthongs: types of vowels, more later)
Consonants: the result of the presence of an obstacle

2. All vowels, by definition: voiced: the vocal cords/folds (in the larynx) are kept close together and made to vibrate as the air passes through.
Consonants: either voiced or voiceless/unvoiced (sonores ou sourdes)
When is the letter R sounded in RP?
RULE Only say an < r > when it appears before a vowel sound. Never say an < r > when it appears before a consonant or at the end of a word.
So in the word ‘fork’, you don’t say the < r > because there is a consonant after it. In the name ‘Charlie’ you don’t say the < r > for the same reason. However in the word ‘grass’ we do say the < r > because there is a vowel sound after it.
Don’t be fooled by a silent vowel after an /r/ like in ‘there‘, ‘are‘, ‘aren’t’, ‘were‘, ‘here‘ to mention a few. The ‘e’ at the end is not pronounced so neither is the ‘r’. That’s why ‘aren’t’ sounds the same as ‘aunt’ – your mother or father‘s sister.

3. I. Vowels
The diagram:
The different vowels can be represented in a diagram or trapeze representing:
- the position of the jaws (more or less open or close together) and tongue (lowered or raised)
- the part of the tongue which is involved: the tip, the blade, or the body/back of the tongue (NB: part of tongue furthest away from the tip: the root)

4. The diagram of vowels:

5. Front vowels: produced by lowering or raising the tip or blade of the tongue Central vowels: produced by raising or lowering the blade or the body/back Back vowels: produced by raising or lowering the body/back of the tongue Close/high vowels: produced with the jaws close together/the tongue raised Open/low vowels: produced with the jaws more open/the tongue lowered compare: mar (open) vs moo (close) mee (front) vs moo (back)

6. Roundedness:
Roundedness: depends on the position of the lips (rounded or stretched)
Rounded vowels: /u:/, /ʊ/, /ɔ:/ and /ɒ/
Unrounded vowels:/i:/, /ɪ/ and all the others

7. Tenseness: Depends on the tension of the tongue muscle, often in combination with a difference in how long the vowel is. Tense vowels (= long vowels with : and diphthongs) vs Lax vowels (= short vowels, without :) (NB: tense vowels can sometimes be pronounced as relatively short, but the corresponding phonetic symbols always include a : , and traditionally they are still called ‘long vowels’ + lax vowels can be pronounced as relatively long, but still : ‘short vowels’) Examples of tense vowels: /u:/ (‘cool’), /i:/ (‘feel’) or /ɔ:/ (‘caught’) Examples of lax ones: /ʊ/ (‘book’), /ɪ/ (‘fill’),or /ɒ/ (‘cot’)

8. Similarities and differences with French vowels:
Similarities and differences with French vowels: * /i:/ (as in ‘read’: tense, close, front, unrounded vowel) and /ɪ/ (as in ‘rid’: lax, lowered/half close, centralized, unrounded vowel) vs French ‘i’ (ride, lit): /i:/ : not a pure sound, unlike the French ‘i’ or the English /ɪ/. It is produced with an initial short lax sound which is more open, then the articulation becomes progressively closer and tense, a bit like this: [ɪi:] /ɪ/ is half close, like the French ‘é’, but more central

9. * /æ/ (as in ‘Pat’) vs French ‘a’ in ‘patte’: The English /æ/ is somewhere between the French sound in ‘faites’ or ‘père’ and that in ‘patte’. (Not quite as open as ‘patte’ but more open than ‘père’.) To improve pronunciation, stretch your lips as if to smile.

10. * /ɒ/ (‘lock’) vs French ‘o’ in ‘loque’: /ɒ/ is a back, round, open vowel, further to the back than the French ‘loque’ sound (, which is more central and less open). * /ɔ:/ (‘bore’) vs French ‘eau’ in ‘beau’: Both vowels are back vowels, but the French sound is half close, whereas the English one is half open.

11. * /u:/ (Boo!) and /ʊ/ (book) vs French ‘ou’ (boue) : /u:/ : less to the back and less close than the French ‘ou’ sound Similarly to / i:/, it is not a pure sound, it starts with a short lax sound, and then becomes tense progressively, a bit like this : [ʊu:] /ʊ/: lax, centralized, lowered (compared to /u:/), more open than the French ‘ou’; close to the vowel in ‘beau’, but not quite as round, and more central; a kind of half close version of the ‘o’ in ‘loque’, which is half open.

12. * Central vowels: /ɜ:/, /ə/ and /ʌ/ (from the least to the most open): /ɜ:/ : similar to the French sound in ‘feu’, but further back /ə/ : similar to the French sound in ‘faisons’, but slightly further back /ʌ/ : somewhere between the vowel sound in ‘beurre’ and the vowel in ‘Paul’ NB: /ə/ : weak vowel, never appears in a stressed syllable

13. II. Diphthongs * Definition: a diphthong is a monosyllabic gliding sound beginning at one vowel and moving in the direction of another, in other words a complex sound functioning as one vocalic unit belonging to one syllable. Its starting point is more stable and bears the stress, and the second element is more of a direction in which the articulation goes than a fully pronounced second vowel. See the diagrams: the arrows symbolize this idea of moving in a certain direction.

14. There are two types of diphthongs: There are centring diphthongs all going towards the mid-central, half close, half open /ə/ (schwa) area, and closing diphthongs going towards the half close /ɪ/ or /ʊ/ areas. * French speakers: remember not to overemphasize the 2nd element

15. * Do not mistake: /i:/ for /ɪə/ fee fear bee beer cheese cheers /eɪ/ for /e/ Nate net /əʊ/ for /ɒ/ or /ɔ:/ code cod cord