CHAPTER III.

THE ENGLISH SOUNDS

I. INTRODUCTION
- The English alphabet consists of 26 letters: 5 vowels (a, e, i, o, u) and 21
consonants.
- Words are pronounced using syllables, which contain one vowel sound, with or
without surrounding consonants.
For instance,
+ “hot” has one syllable (hot).
+ “baby” has two syllables (ba/by).
+ “interact” has three (in/ter/act).
- Phonemes and Graphemes
 Phonemes: The smallest units of sound in speech.
Example:
+ “baby” has two syllables but four phonemes: /b/, /eɪ/, /b/, /i/.
+ “bird” has one syllable but three phonemes: /b/, /ɜː/, /d/.
 Graphemes: The written representation of sounds. While some phonemes
align with graphemes, this is not always the case.
Example:
+ "Knight" has three phonemes (/n/, /aɪ/, /t/) but is spelled with six letters (K-N-I-
G-H-T).
o The "kn" represents the single phoneme /n/.
o The "igh" corresponds to the vowel phoneme /aɪ/.
o The "t" is pronounced as the final consonant.
o The "k" and "gh" are silent in the spelling.
+ Words like “bough” (/bou/), “through” (/θruː/), and “trough” (/trɒf/) share the
ending "-ough" but differ in pronunciation.
+ Irregular Pronunciation: Read (past tense) vs. Read (present tense) → Same
graphemes, different phonemes.
1.1. International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA):
The International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) is a standardized system of phonetic
notation based on the Latin alphabet, used to represent speech sounds like
phonemes and intonation.
The IPA includes 107 letters, 52 diacritics, and 4 prosodic marks (as of 2005),
enabling precise transcription of oral language.
For example, the English sound /t/ can be represented as [t] or [th] for varying
levels of detail.

1.2. The English alphabet

The English alphabet consists 26 letters:
 5 vowels (a,e,i,o,u)
 21 consonants (b,c,d,f,g,h,j,k,l,m,n,p,q,r,s,t,v,w,y,x,z)
 1.3. The English sounds
1.3.1. Monophthongs and Diphthongs
[Link]. Monophthongs (Single Vowel Sounds):

- A monophthong is a vowel sound where your tongue and mouth stay in a

relatively fixed position. Think of it as one single, sustained sound. There are 12
main monophthongs in English, and we can categorize them by tongue position
(front, central, back) and tongue height (high, mid, low).

 Front vowels: The tongue is positioned towards the front of the mouth.

o /iː/ (like in "see"): This is a high front sound. Imagine saying a long "ee"
sound.
o Examples: see, eat, tree, believe.
o /ɪ/ (like in "sit"): This is a high-mid front sound. It’s a shorter and more
relaxed "i" sound.
o Examples: sit, bit, ship, system.
o /e/ (like in "ten"): This is a mid front sound.
o Examples: ten, bed, pen, head.
o /æ/ (like in "hat"): This is a low front sound. Your mouth is wide open.
o Examples: hat, cat, apple, bad.

 Central vowels: The tongue is in the middle of the mouth.

 o /ɜː/ (as in "fur" or "bird"): Mid, central. This is often written as /ɜːr/ in
American English. It's a longer "er" sound.
o Examples: fur, bird, work, nurse.
o /ə/ (as in "ago"): Mid, central. This is the weakest vowel sound, often called
"schwa." It occurs in unstressed syllables.
o Examples: ago, about, pencil, banana.

o /ʌ/ (as in "cut"): This is a low-mid central sound. It’s a short, open sound.
o Examples: nut, cut, luck, sun.

 Back vowels: The tongue is positioned towards the back of the mouth.
o /uː/ (as in "too"): High, back, rounded lips. A long "oo" sound.
o Examples: too, blue, food, shoe.
o /ʊ/ (as in "put"): High-mid, back, slightly rounded lips. A shorter "oo"
sound.
o Examples: put, book, good, would.
o /ɔː/ (as in "saw"): Low-mid, back, rounded lips.
o Examples: saw, door, law, thought.
o /ɒ/ (as in "got"): Low, back, slightly rounded lips.
o Examples: got, hot, dog, box.
o /ɑː/ (as in "arm"): Low, back. Mouth wide open.
o Examples: arm, father, car, heart.

[Link]. Diphthongs (Double Vowel Sounds):

- A diphthong is a vowel sound where your tongue moves from one position to
another within the same syllable. It's a glide between two vowel sounds. There are
8 main diphthongs.

 /eɪ/ (as in "page"): Glides from /e/ to /ɪ/.

o Examples: page (peɪdʒ), day (deɪ), face (feɪs), late (leɪt).

 /aɪ/ (as in "five"): Glides from /a/ to /ɪ/.

o Examples: five (faɪv), time (taɪm), eye (aɪ), buy (baɪ).

 /ɔɪ/ (as in "join"): Glides from /ɔ/ to /ɪ/.

o Examples: join (dʒɔɪn), boy (bɔɪ), coin (kɔɪn), toy (tɔɪ).

 /əʊ/ (as in "home"): Glides from /ə/ to /ʊ/.

o Examples: home (həʊm), go (ɡəʊ), nose (nəʊz), slow (sləʊ).

 /aʊ/ (as in "now"): Glides from /a/ to /ʊ/.

o Examples: now (naʊ), house (haʊs), mouth (maʊθ), out (aʊt).

 /ɪə/ (as in "near"): Glides from /ɪ/ to /ə/.

o Examples: near (nɪər), here (hɪər), ear (ɪər), fear (fɪər).

 /eə/ (as in "hair"): Glides from /e/ to /ə/.

o Examples: hair (heər), care (keər), there (ðeər), where (wer).

 /ʊə/ (as in "pure"): Glides from /ʊ/ to /ə/.

o Examples: pure (pjʊər), tour (tʊər), sure (ʃʊər).

1.3.2. Consonant sounds

Consonant Sound IPA Symbol Examples

Voiceless Stops

Bilabial /p/ pat, cap, map

Alveolar /t/ tap, cat, bat

Velar /k/ cat, kite, back

Voiced Stops

Bilabial /b/ bat, cab, mob

Alveolar /d/ dog, mad, lid

Consonant Sound IPA Symbol Examples

Velar /g/ go, bag, log

Voiceless Fricatives

Labiodental /f/ fan, leaf, coffee

Dental /θ/ think, bath, both

Alveolar /s/ sit, bus, kiss

Alveolar /z/ zip, buzz, rose

Postalveolar /ʃ/ she, push, wish

measure, vision,
Postalveolar /ʒ/ genre

Voiced Fricatives

Glottal /h/ hat, ahead, who

Affricates

Postalveolar /tʃ/ chip, match, church

Postalveolar /dʒ/ jump, badge, age

Nasals

Bilabial /m/ man, lamb, summer

 Consonant Sound IPA Symbol Examples

Alveolar /n/ no, ten, sun

Velar /ŋ/ sing, long, ring

Liquids

Alveolar /l/ leg, bell, feel

Alveolar /r/ red, car, very

Glides

Bilabial /w/ we, quick, swim

Palatal /j/ yes, yellow, beyond

II. THE ENGLISH VOWELS

2.1. Monophthongs

- Monophthongs are single, pure vowel sounds articulated with a consistent vocal
tract shape during pronunciation. The position of the tongue and shape of the lips
do not change while producing these sounds. In English, there are 12
monophthongs. Examples:

 /i:/ as in me, tea, he

 /æ/ as in man, hand, fan

2.1.2. Classification and Description of Monophthongs

Monophthongs can be classified using four criteria:

 Shapes of lips
 o Spread: The lips are stretched out sideways (as if smiling). Examples
include /i:/, /ɪ/, /ɛ/, /æ/.
 Example Words: me, sit, bed, cat.
o Unrounded: The lips remain neutral, without rounding. Examples
include /ɜ:/, /ə/, /ʌ/.
 Example Words: bird, sofa, cup.
o Rounded: The lips form a circular shape. Examples include /u:/,
/ɔ:/, /ɒ/, /ɑ:/.
 Example Words: too, law, not, car.
 Position of the tongue
o High: The tongue is raised close to the roof of the mouth.
Examples: /i:/, /ɪ/, /u:/.
 Example Words: see, sit, blue.
o Middle: The tongue is positioned midway in the mouth. Examples:
/ɛ/, /ɜ:/, /ə/, /ɔ:/.
 Example Words: bed, bird, sofa, law.
o Low: The tongue is positioned low in the mouth. Examples: /æ/,
/ʌ/, /ɒ/, /ɑ:/.
 Example Words: cat, cup, pot, car.
 Highest position of the tongue
o Front: The highest part of the tongue is near the front of the mouth.
Examples: /i:/, /ɪ/, /ɛ/, /æ/.
 Example Words: see, sit, bed, cat.
o Central: The highest part of the tongue is in the center of the mouth.
Examples: /ɜ:/, /ə/, /ʌ/.
 Example Words: bird, sofa, cup.
o Back: The highest part of the tongue is near the back of the mouth.
Examples: /u:/, /ɔ:/, /ɒ/, /ɑ:/.
 Example Words: too, law, not, car.
 Length of sounds
o Long vowels: /i:/, /ɜ:/, /ɑ:/, /ɔ:/, /u:/.
 Example Words: see, bird, car, law, blue.
o Short vowels: /ɪ/, /ɛ/, /æ/, /ə/, /ʌ/, /ɒ/.
 Example Words: sit, bed, cat, sofa, cup, pot.

2.1.3. Cardinal Vowel Chart

The following diagram represents the tongue positions of monophthongs based on
height and frontness/backness:
 Position Front Central Back
High /i:/, /ɪ/ /u:/, /ʊ/
Middle /ɛ/, /ɜ:/ /ə/, /ʌ/ /ɔ:/
Low /æ/ /ɒ/, /ɑ:/

Example Analysis
Monophthong /i/

 Classification: Spread, high, front, long.

 Pronunciation: The lips are spread as if smiling, and the tongue is raised
high and positioned at the front of the mouth. The sound is sustained for a
longer duration.
 Example Words: see, be, tea.

2.2. Diphthongs

2.2.1. Definition
Diphthongs are vowel sounds where the tongue glides from one position to another
within the same syllable. These are complex vowels made up of two elements.
Examples:

 /aɪ/ as in like, shy, fine.

 /eɪ/ as in day, play, say.

2.2.2. Classification and Description of Diphthongs

 Closing Diphthongs: The tongue moves towards a closer (higher) position.

o Examples: /eɪ/ (e.g., day), /aɪ/ (e.g., like), /ɔɪ/ (e.g., boy).
 Centering Diphthongs: The tongue moves towards a central position.
o Examples: /ɪə/ (e.g., beer), /ɛə/ (e.g., care), /ʊə/ (e.g., poor).
 Example Analysis
o Diphthong /aɪ/
 Classification: Closing diphthong gliding from /a/ to /ɪ/.
 Pronunciation: The tongue starts low and moves to a high
front position.
 Example Words: like, shy, fine.
III. THE CONSONANTS

3.1. Definition
Consonants are speech sounds produced with partial or complete closure in the
vocal tract. Examples:

 /p/ as in pin (bilabial, plosive, voiceless).

 /t/ as in tin (alveolar, plosive, voiceless).

3.2. Classification and Description of Consonants

 Place of Articulation
o Bilabial: /p, b, m, w/
o Alveolar: /t, d, s, z, l, n/
 Manner of Articulation
o Plosive: /p, b, t, d, k, g/
o Fricative: /f, v, s, z, ʃ, ʒ/
 Voicing
o Voiceless: /p, t, k, f, s/
o Voiced: /b, d, g, v, z/