Vowels

Vowels are the most sonorant

(or intense) and the most
audible sounds in speech.
They usually function as the
nucleus (or core) of a syllable.
The consonants that surround
vowels often depend on them
for their audibility.
Vowels
Take the word pop for example.
The [p]s are heard mainly
because of the way they affect
the beginning and end of the
vowel sound.
Vowels
Ask someone to describe where the
tongue is at the beginning of a
consonant and you will get a
concrete answer.
Ask someone to describe where
their tongue is at the beginning of a
vowel, and you will get a variety of
responses.
It is much more difficult to give a
satisfactory articulatory description
of vowels.
Vowels
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.
Instead, the vocal tract above the
glottis acts as a resonator
affecting the sound made by the
vocal folds.
Vowels
The shape of this resonator
determines the quality of the
vowel.
Since vowels are so very different
from consonants, we have to use
different features than those used
to describe consonants.
Vowels
There are several ways in which
speakers can change the shape of
the vocal tract, and thus change
vowel quality.
Using a new feature system, we
can create a chart to describe
vowels.
Vowels
Lets begin by constructing a basic
representation of the mouth.
You should keep in mind, however,
that this (unlike the representation
of the articulators involved in
producing consonants) is only an
abstract representation of the
mouth.
Vowels
A representation of this abstract
mouth can be found on the inside
cover of your textbook
Be aware, however, that we will
have to modify this representation
somewhat to fully use our new
feature system
Vowels
Tongue Height
If you repeat to yourself the vowel
sounds in seat, set, sat, you will
find that you open your mouth a
little wider as you change from
each sound.
These varying degrees of
openness correspond to different
degrees of tongue height: high,
mid, low.
Vowels
High vowels are made with the
front of the mouth less open
because the tongue body is raised,
or high.
Mid vowels are produced with an
intermediate tongue height.
Low vowels are pronounced with
the front of the mouth open and
the tongue lowered.
Vowels
Tongue Advancement
Besides being held high or mid or
low, the tongue can also be
pushed forward or pulled back
within the oral cavity.
For example, in beat, the body of
the tongue is raised and pushed
forward so it is just under the hard
palate.
Vowels
In boot, however, the body of the
tongue is in the back of the
mouth, toward the velum.
The tongue is advanced or pushed
forward for all the front vowels,
and retracted or pulled back for
the back vowels.
Vowels
Lip Rounding
Vowel quality also depends on lip
position. When you say two, your
lips are rounded.
For tea, however, they are
unrounded.
Vowels
To make our chart complete,
however, we are going to have to
add in one more set of features
Tense vs. Lax
Vowels that are called tense are
produced with an extra degree of
muscular effort.
Lax vowels lack this extra effort.
Vowels
For example, tense front vowels
are made with a stronger (i.e.,
longer and more extreme) tongue
fronting gesture than lax front
vowels, which are produced with a
weaker fronting movement.
Tense rounded vowels are also
made with stronger or tighter lip
rounding than their lax
counterparts.
Vowels
Charting Vowels
Starting from the upper left corner
again, the first vowel that we
encounter, a front, high, tense,
unrounded vowel, is represented
by the symbol [i]
This is the sound in the word beat.
Vowels
Next is a front, high, unrounded,
lax vowel, represented by the
symbol called a small capital I:
This is the sound in the word bit.
Here is what it looks like:
Vowels
Moving downward, we next
encounter a front, mid,
unrounded, tense vowel,
represented by the symbol [e]:
This is the sound in the word bait.
Vowels
Next is a front, mid, unrounded,
lax vowel, represented by the
symbol called epsilon:
This is the sound in the word bet.
Here is what it looks like:
Vowels
Moving down again, we next
encounter a front, low, unrounded,
lax vowel, represented by the
symbol called ash.
This is the sound in the word bat.
Vowels
Moving to the upper right corner of
our abstract mouth, we next
encounter a high, back, tense,
rounded vowel, represented by the
symbol [u]:
This is the sound in the word boot.
Vowels
Next is a high, back, lax, rounded
vowel, represented by the symbol
called upsilon:
This is the sound in the word foot.
Here is what it looks like:
Vowels
Moving downward, we next
encounter a back, mid, tense,
rounded vowel, represented by the
symbol [o]:
This is the sound in the word boat.
Vowels
Next is a back, mid, lax, rounded
vowel, represented by the symbol
called open o (or sometimes
backward c):
This is the sound in the word long
(at least for me!!!).
Or maybe the first sound in aw
shucks
Here is what it looks like:
Vowels
Moving downward, we next
encounter a back, low, lax,
unrounded vowel, represented by
the symbol [a].
This is the sound in the word
father.
Vowels
Finally, moving to the middle of
our abstract mouth, we encounter
a central, mid, lax, unrounded
vowel, represented by the symbol
called a schwa:
This is the last sound in the word
sofa.
Here is what it looks like:
Vowels
Schwa has a stressed counterpart
known as inverted v or wedge
This is the vowel sound in the
words but and putt.
It looks like this:
Vowels
Diphthongs
At this point, we still have not
described the vowel sounds of
some English words (in many
English dialects) such as hide,
loud, and coin.
These words contain diphthongs
or two-part vowel sounds in the
same syllable.
Vowels
If (most of) you say eye slowly,
concentrating on how you make
this vowel, you should find that
your tongue starts out in the
position for [a] and moves toward
the position for the vowel [i] or the
corresponding palatal glide [y].
Vowels
This diphthong, which consists of
two articulations and the two
corresponding sounds, is written
with two symbols: in IG as [aj] as
in [hajd] hide (or as [ai] in the IPA
and [ay] and [a] in various
places elsewhere).
Vowels
To make the vowel of loud, the
tongue and the lips start in
position for [a] and move toward
the position for [u] or [w], so this
diphthong is written [aw], as in
[lawd] loud (or as [au] in the IPA
and [a] elsewhere).
Vowels
In the vowel of coin, the
movement is from the open o
position toward the position for [i]
or [y], so the vowel of coin is
written [Oj] as in [kOjn] (or as
[O] in the IPA.
You may also see [oj], [o], [oi]
and [oy] elsewhere.
Phonetics
One last symbol you may
be familiar with is the
symbol called right-hook
schwa
In most American
transcriptions, this sound is
transcribed as [*r] (schwa
+ r)
Vowels
In truth, however, no sound is
ever pronounced in exactly the
same way twice.
Pronunciation varies among
speakers as well.
Variations in the way that a sound
is produced are predictable,
however.
Vowels
A Narrow Transcription, or a
transcription that shows the fine
details of the articulation of
phones, can be used to record
some of the more predictable
variations in sound.
Aspirated stops
Not all voiceless stops are the
same.
Vowels
Take, for example the words pat
and spat.
Can you feel the puff of air when
you say pat?
This puff of air is called
aspiration.
Vowels
Aspiration is transcribed as [], as
in [pt]
Aspiration (in English) occurs on
all voiceless oral (nonglottal) stops
occurring as the first sound in a
stressed syllable.
Vowels
To understand this better, contrast
the following words:
Pat [p t] spat [spt]
Kid [kd] skid [skd]
Top [tap] stop [stap]
Vowels
Dental Consonants
Say the word health or
unthinkable.
Consonants which are ordinarily
produced with the tongue at the
alveolar ridge are articulated
differently when followed by an
inter-dental consonant theta or eth
Vowels
In this environment, they are
pronounced with the tip of the
tongue on the teeth, rather than
the alveolar ridge.
Health [hl+]
unthinkable [*n+k*bl]
Vowels

Vowels
Velarized [l]
Now say the words bowl and lobe.
In a broad transcription, bowl and
lobe are represented as
containing the same segments;
only the order differs.
For many speakers, however, the
[l] sounds are actually not
identical.
Vowels
The [l] in bowl is velarized, (also
called dark), while the [l] of lobe
is clear. The velarized [l] is
transcribed as an l with a bar
through it
Feel [fi] vs. leaf [lif]
Pill [p] vs. lip [lp]
Vowels
Vowels
Lengthened vowels:
Now say the words peas and
peace.
Vowels in certain phonetic
environments are longer than the
same vowels in other
environments. In particular,
vowels which are followed by a
voiced consonant are longer in
duration than those followed by a
voiceless consonant.
Vowels
To transcribe this, use the
symbol [:]
Peas [pi:z] vs.
peace [pis]
Had [h:d] vs.
hat [ht]
Vowels
Vowels
Nasalized vowels:
Finally, say the words green and
greed.
These words seem identical, but
on closer inspection, the vowels
are different in one respect.
The vowel in green is nasalized, as
a result of the consonant that
follows it.
Vowels
In a nasalized vowel, the velum is
lowered.
In green, we lower our velum a
little early and allow air out of the
nasal passage. To transcribe this,
use the symbol [~]
Green [grn] tan [t+n]
This sound is contrasting in
French: beau vs. bn
Vowels