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IV. THE ENGLISH VOWELS

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4.1. Classification of the English vowels

4.2. The system of cardinal vowels

4.3. The English front vowels

4.4 The English back vowels

4.5. The English central vowels

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4.1. Principles of classifying vowels

a) Stability of articulation:

- monophthongs (12): [i:, i, e, Ʌ, ɑ:, ɒ, ɔ, u, u:, æ, ə, ɜ:]

- diphthongs (8): [ei, ai ɔi, iə, eə, uə, əu, au].

b) The height to which the tongue is raised:

- close vowels: [i:], [u:];

- half-close vowels: [e];

- half-open vowels: [æ];

- open vowels: [a:];

c) The part of the tongue which is raised:

front vowels; [i:], [i], [æ] and [e];

central vowels: [Ʌ], [ə], [ɜ:].

back vowels: [a:], [ɒ], [ɔ], [u], and [u:];

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Tongue height for [i:] and [æ]

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Tongue position for [ɒ], [ɔ:], [u], and [u:]

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Principles of classifying vowels … (continuation)

d. lip-rounding:

-rounded [u:]

-spread [i:]

-neutral [ə]

e. duration (length):

-short vowels

-long vowels

f. degree of muscular tension:

-tense vowels

-lax vowels

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… continuation

g. Position of the soft palate:

- Nasalised vowels

- Oral vowels

h. distribution: with certain exceptions, English vowels may appear in

-initial

-mid positions

-final

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4.2. The system of cardinal vowels (H. Sweet & D. Jones)

Diagram of cardinal vowels

ɛ

ə

e

i u

ɑ

ɔ

o

Front Central Back

Close

Close-mid

Open-mid

Open

1

2

3

4 5

6

7

8

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4.3. The English front vowels

[i:] variants: longest in final position relatively shorter before voiced consonants i: shortest before voiceless consonants distribution: initial: eel [i:l] eagle [i:g(ə)l] mid: feet [fi:t], grease [gri:z] final: sea [si:], tea [ti:]

spelling: -ee): feed [fi:d], tree [tri:], seem [si:m], absentee [æbsən’ti:], week [wi:k];-e: me [mi:], evening [‘i:vniɳ], scene [si:n], cathedral [kəɵi:drəl];-ea: leave [li:v], meat [mi:t], peak [pi:k], please [pli:z];-ie: believe [bi’li:v], niece [ni:s], yield [ji:ld];-ei/ey: ceiling [‘si:liɳ], conceive [kən’si:v], key [ki:];-i: foreign suffixes-ine [i:n] as in marine [mə’ri:n], -ique [i:k] as in antique [æn’ti:k];

-in native words: police [pə’li:s], ski [ski:];-oe, ae in words of Greek origin: Oedipus [‘i:dipəs], Caesar [‘si:zə], formulae [‘fɔ:muli:].

Exceptional spelling: quay [ki:], people [‘pi:pl], Beauchamp [‘bi: ʧæm]

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[i] variants: -pronounced longer in word-final position:

pretty [‘priti:], Derby [‘da:bi:] (educated south-eastern Brits and some Americans)

-pronounced more open in final position; city [‘site], pretty [‘prite].

distribution: initial

mid

final

Spelling:

-i and y: rid, with, lynch [linʧ], skin, mirror, syllable rhythm;live, lily, fuzzy;

- ui: guilty [gilti], biscuit [biskit], build [bild];

- ee (in unstressed position): coffee [‘kɒfi], Yankee [‘jæɳki];

- ey (in final position): money [‘mɅni], journey [‘dᴣɜ:ni];

- ie: auntie [‘a:nti], bookie [‘buki], Charlie [‘ʧa:li];

i

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- a (in weakly stressed affixes or words ending in –ace, -ate, -ain): delicate [‘delikit], affricate [‘æfrikit], furnace [‘fɜ:nis], menace [‘menis], fountain [‘fauntin], mountain [‘mauntin];

- e (in –ed adjectivized participles): learned [‘lɜ:nid], wicked [wikid]

-e (in word-final position in words of Greek origin): apostrophe [ə’pɒstrəfi], catastrophe [kə’tæstrəfi], syncope [‘siɳkəpi].

Exceptional spelling: England [‘iɳglənd], character [‘kæriktə], busy [‘bizi],

lettuce [‘letis], minute [‘minit], women [‘wimin], sieve [‘siv], breeches [‘briʧiz], Greenwich [‘griniʤ], forehead [‘fɒrid], pigeon [‘piʤin], pretty [‘priti].

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[e]Distribution: -initial position: egg, every, exit

-medial position: debt friend, breakfastVariants. -a general tendency to pronounce a closer

variety of [e] in order to keep the opposition [e] – [æ] clear;

-a tendency to diphthongize [e] towards [ə] or [i], before a voiced consonant: e.g. bed [beid].

Spelling: -e as in ten, press, insect;-ea as in weapon, death, deaf, measure, realm;-ai as in against [ə’genst]/[ə’geinst], said [sed];-eo as in leopard [‘lepəd], Leonard [‘lenəd], Geoffrey [‘ʤefri], jeopardy [‘ʤepədi];-ei as in Leicester [‘lestə], leisure [‘leʒə], heifer [‘hefə];-u as in bury [‘beri];-ue as in guess [ges], guest [gest];-ay as in says [sez];-ie as in friend [‘frend];-a (in a few words): ate [et], any, many, Thames [temz], Pall Mall [pel mel].

e

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[æ]

Distribution: -initial position : ant,

abstract, -medial position: cat, shadow, fat.

(in stressed syllables.)

Spelling: a

Exceptional spelling: Balaam [‘beilæm], Caedmon [‘kædmən], Aelfred [‘ælfrid]

æ

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4.4. The English back vowels

[a:] Distribution: -initial position: art, argue, -medial position:

park, master, -final position: par, bar, car

Variants: 2 main dialectal variants:

- an even more retracted (fully back) variety, typical of refined RP;

- an advanced variety of [a:], closer to cardinal vowel no. 4, typical of Australian English.

- RP [a:] +voiceless fricative = [æ] in American English

- Free variation. RP, [a:] and [æ] are in free variation (i.e. either may be heard), e.g. contrast [‘kɒntra:st ] or [‘kɒntræst], transfer [‘tra:nsfə] or [‘trænsfə], elastic [I’la:stik] or [i’læstik], lather [‘la:ðə] or [‘læðə].

a:

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Spelling:

-a (+ ff, ss, th, f, s, n + cons), staff, chaff, pass, Bach, charge, mass, bath, craft, last, past dance, demand, father, rather;

-a in loan-words: garage [‘gæra:ʒ], drama [dra:ma], pyjamas [pə’dʒa:məz], moustache [məs’ta:ʃ].

-ar as in farm, marble, card, garden, march;

-ear as in heart, hearth;

-a + silent ‘l’ as in calm, palm, half, psalm;

Exceptional spelling:

-er as in clerk [‘kla:k], Derby [‘da:bi], sergeant [‘sa:dʒənt], Berkshire [‘ba:kʃə];

-au as in aunt, laugh, draught.

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[ɒ]

Distribution: -initial position: on, odd,

operate,

-medial position: got, fox,

want, quality

Spelling:

-o in graphically closed syllables: stop, cotton, lost, dock, dog, gone, and in graphically open syllables (in very few words): sorry, holiday;

-a - was, what, swan, want, watch, quality;

-ou, ow - cough, trough, Gloucester [‘glɒstə], knowledge;

-au - because, sausage, laurel, Austria, Australia, cauliflower.

ɒ

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[ɔ:]Distribution:-initial position: orchard, order;

-medial position: form, board, torn, fought;

-final position: law, four, floor, core.

Free variation: [ɒ] and [ɔ:] are in free variation : cost [kɒst] or [kɔ:st], frost [frɒst] or

[frɔ:st]=alternative pronunciations which reflect age differences: [ɒ] is used by younger people, while [ɔ:] by older ones.

Spelling:-ar, or: orchard [‘ɒɔ:tʃəd], form [fɔ:m], sort [sɔ:t], war, horse;-ore: shore, before, more, bore, core;-aw: law, paw, dawn [dɔ:n], saw, lawn, yawn, awesome [‘ɔ:səm];-au/augh: cause, taught fault, daughter;

-ou + silent ‘gh’: fought, naught, ought;-oar: roar, board, oar;-our: pour, four, court;-oor: door, floor;-a + l +cons: all, call, talk, walk, halt, chalk;

Exceptional spelling: George, sword [sɔ:d], Maugham [‘mɔ:m].

ɔ:

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[u]

Distribution: medial position only: butcher, sugar, full.

Variants. tendency to use less lip-rounding and a lower tongue position - an ‘opener’ half-close vowel sound [ud]: should, could, would [wud].

- north of England no contrast is made between [u] and [Ʌ]

Free variation: [u] and [u:] room [rum] or [ru:m], groom, booth, tooth, broom, the commoner phoneme being [u:].

Spelling:

-u: butcher, bush, put, pudding, cushion, sugar, full;

-oo + k/other cons.: book, cook, look, took, good, wood, wool, foot, hood;

-o: bosom [‘buz(ə)m], wolf, woman, Boleyn [‘bulin], worsted [‘wustid], Worcester [‘wustə];

-ou: could, courier, should, would, bouquet.

u

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[u:]Distribution: -initial (in very few words): ooze [u:z], oops [u:ps];

-medial: rude, ruby, usual, tomb;-final: shoe, toe, crew, who, flew, chew.

Spelling:-u: June, duty, rule, humour, crucial;-oo (not followed by ‘t’ or ‘k’): food, soon, moon, spoon, cool, loose, fool;-o: do, lose, tomb, who, move;-ou: group, soup, wound, through:-ew: crew, grew, few;-eu: feud [‘fju:d], neuter [‘nju:tə], rheumatism [‘ru:mətizm];-ue, ui, oe: blue, clue, juice, fruit, shoe, canoe.

Exceptional spelling: view, two.

u:

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4.5. The English central vowels

[Ʌ] Distribution: -initial (utter, usher, unable)

- middle position (luck, shut, mother, country).

Spelling:

-u: study, mutton, sun, cut

-o: London, none, oven, constable [‘kɅnstəb(ə)l], monkey, tongue, colour;

-ou: country, couple, trouble, southern, enough.

Exceptional spelling: flood, blood, does, twopence [‘tɅpəns].

Ʌ

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[ɜ:]Distribution:- initial: earth, earl, urge;

-medial: bird, circle, burn, first, :

-final: fir, Sir, prefer.

Spelling:-er, err: her, herb, clergy, mercy, verse, serve, kernel, err;-ir, yr: bird, thirsty, first, myrtle [‘mɜ:tl];-ur, urr: occur, turn, fur, church, nurse, purr;-ear: earth, heard, earn, pearl, learn;

Exceptional spelling:-our (in words of French origin): journey, courtesy, scourge-w + or: work, worm, word;colonel [‘kɜ:nł].

ɜ:

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[ə]Distribution:-initial: above, allow, attempt;

-medial: police, method, balloon;-final: summer, better, theatre, sofa.

Variants:-in non-final position [ə] has a closer value than the one described, e.g. effort, movement;-preceded and followed by [k] and [g], the vowel is still closer and more retracted, e.g. back

again [bækə’gen], long ago [lɒɳə’gəʊ];-in final position it is much more open, being quite similar to [Ʌ], e.g. never, mother, China,

Canada.

Spelling: [ə] is spelt with all vowel letters of the English alphabet and combinations of these letters.-a: aloud, academic, alarm;-e: audience, gentlemen;-i: intention, possible;-o: tailor, doctor;-u: suppose, sulphur;-y: martyr.

ə