Lesson 2
English Vowels
Vowels are the most audible sounds in speech (sonorant). They function
as syllable nuclei. A syllable must contain a vowel and the vowel can be either
stressed or unstressed.
Unlike consonants, vowels are sounds produced with a relatively open
vocal tract. So, they do not have a consonant-like point of articulation or manner
of articulation. They are almost always voiced. The vibration of the vocal cords
is the sound source for vowels. The vocal tract which exists above the glottis
acts as a resonator affecting the sound made by the vocal folds. The form of this
resonator determines the nature of the vowel produced, [і] [u] []
There are several factors which determine the quality of the vowel:
1. Raising or lowering the body of the tongue ( tongue height)
2. Advancing or retracting the body of the tongue ( tongue advancement)
3. Rounding or not rounding the lips (lip rounding)
4. Making the movement with a lax or tense gesture ( tenseness)
When we describe a vowel, we should give information about these four aspects.
1. Tongue height
While producing the vowel sounds in the word seat [і], set [e], sat [æ], we
notice that we open our mouth a little wider as we change from [і] to [e], and a
little wider from [e] to [e]. These various degrees of openness correspond to
different degrees of tongue height: high for[і]
Mid for [e]
Low for [æ]
High vowels like [і] are made by raising the body of the tongue and the mouth is
less open. High vowels in English include [і] as in leak, [] as in sick, [u] as in
shoot, and [] as in put.
Conversely, low vowels like [æ ] in sat are produced with lowering the tongue
and making the front of the mouth less open. Low vowels in English include [æ]
cat and [a] cot.
Mid vowels like [e] in set are produced with an intermediate tongue height. Mid
vowels of English include;
/e/ set, bet
/ei/ bait
// but
/ / bought
/ o/ boat
2. Tongue Advancement:
Tongue advancement relates to the fact of pushing forward the tongue or
pulling it back with the oral cavity while producing vowels. For example, in
the high front vowel [ i ], the body of the tongue is raised and pushed
forward, while the high back vowel [ u ] (like in boot) is made by raising the
body of the tongue in the back of the mouth.
Front vowels (where the tongue is pushed forward) of English include:
/ і, , ei, e, æ/
Back vowels (where the tongue is pulled back) of English include:
/ u,, o, , /
There are two vowels of English which require neither fronting nor retraction
of the tongue. These vowels are // as in luck and /ђ/ (schwa) as in another.
They are said to be central vowels.
3. Lip Rounding
Vowel quality also depends on lip position. When we produce /u/ in two, our
lips are rounded, while they are unrounded in /i/. English has four rounded
vowels:
/u/ in loop
// in foot
/o/ in soap
// in caught
All other vowels are unrounded.
4. Tenseness
Vowels that are called tense have more extreme position of the tongue or the
lips than vowels that are lax. The tongue position for the tense high front vowel/
і / is higher and fronter than for the lax high front vowel / і /
In addition, the tense round back vowel /u/ is produced with more lip rounding
than its lax counterpart //.
Diphthongs
Hide, loud, coin
/ / / u/ / /
Diphthongs are vowel sounds consisting of a vowel and a glide in the same
syllable.
For the diphthong / / in eye or hide we find that the tongue starts out in the
position of [ ] and moves towards the position of the vowel // or the
corresponding palatal glide /j/.
To produce the diphthong sound in loud / u/, the tongue and the lips start in the
position for /u/ and /w/.
In the diphthong / / as in coin, the tongue moves from the // position toward
the position of // or /y/.
