Unit 7: English Phonological System : The vowels UNIT 7: THE ENGLISH PHONOLOGICAL SYSTEM: THE VOWELS Pronunciation can always be studied from two points of view: the phonetic and the phonological. PHONETICS is the study of the way humans make, transmit and receive speech sounds. It is divided into three main branches, corresponding to these three distinctions: a) Articulatory phonetics is the study of the way the vocal organs are used to produce speech sounds. b) Acoustic phonetics is the study of the physical properties of speech sounds. c) Auditory phonetics is the study of the way people perceive speech sounds. PHONOLOGY is the study of the sound systems of languages, and of the general properties displayed by these systems. By contrast with phonetics, which studies all possible sounds that the human vocal apparatus can make, phonology studies only those contrasts in sound (the phonemes) which make differences of meaning within language. Square brackets ] are used when sounds are being discussed from a phonetic point of view, whereas slant brackets // are used when sounds are being discussed from a phonological point of view. TYPES OF VOWELS - Monophthongs (or pure vowels) are vowels with a single perceived auditory quality. Diphthongs are vowels where two vowel qualities can be perceived. Triphthongs are vowels in which three vowel qualities can be perceived. Often, in the history of English, a vowels has changed its quality. There are two chief possibilities: a) When a diphthong becomes a monophthong, the sound is said to be monophthongized. Ex: Southern US my man becomes ma man /ma/ b) When a monophthong becomes a diphthong, the sound is diphthongized. Ex: British mock-pronunciation of yes /jes/ as /jeis/. DESCRIBING VOWELS - From a phonetic point of view, vowels are articulated with a relatively open configuration of the vocal tract: no part of the mouth is closed, and none of the vocal organs come so close 1 Unit 7: English Phonological System : The vowels - together that we can hear the sound of the air passing between them (what phoneticians call audible friction). From a phonological point of view, vowels are units of the sound system which typically occupy the middle of a syllable (the nucleus). Vowels typically involve the vibration of the vocal cords (voicing), and their distinctive resonances are made by varying the shape of the mouth, using the tongue and lips. English vowels are all ORAL VOWELS, and take on a nasal quality only when they are being influenced by an adjacent nasal consonant, as in no, long and man. The CARDINAL VOWEL SYSTEM was devised by Daniel Jones in order to describe the articulation of vowels. Its dimensions correspond to the “vowel space” in the centre of the mouth where these sounds are articulated. Lip position is an important factor in the description of vowels, and three main types are recognized: - Rounded, where the lips are pushed forwards into the shape of a circle. Spread, where the corners of the lips are moved away from each other. Neutral, where the lips are not noticeably rounded or spread. As far as length is concerned, we can make a distinction between SHORT and LONG vowels. But the contrast between them is not just one of length (quantity): a different place of articulation (quality) is involved. 2 Unit 7: English Phonological System : The vowels SHORT AND LONG VOWELS /i:/ <ee> tree, cheese, seen <e> complete, be, these, scene <ea> leaf, reason, sea <ie> piece, field, siege <ei, ey> seize, key, receive <i> machine, police, prestige <ay> quay <eo> people <eau> Beauchamp <ae> algae, alumnae /I/ <i> sit, fifth, with <y> city, mystery, rhythm <e> pretty, needed, wicket, wicked, except, careless, houses, learned <ie> ladies, cities <a> village, private <ui> build <u> busy, minute <o> women Forehead /e/ <e> set, bed, went < ea> head, ready, dead <a> many, Thames, ate <ei> Leicester <ie> friend <ai> said British pronunciation of “lieutenant” /ae/ <a> sat, hand, lamp <ai> plait, plaid /A/ <u> sun, cut, dull <o> son, won, come, among, one, done, month, colour, monkey, mother, nothing, Monday, onion, London <oo> blood, flood <oe> does <ou> couple, double /a:/ <a> pass, after, bath, tomato, father, camouflage, vase <ar> part, car, March <ear> heart, hearth <er> clerk, Derby, sergeant <al> calm, palm, half <au> aunt, laugh, draught <oi> reservoir, savoir /wa:/ 3 Unit 7: English Phonological System : The vowels /o/ <o> dock, dog, holiday <a> was, what, swan, want, yacht <ou, ow> cough, trough, Gloucester, knowledge <au> because, saugage, laurel, Austria, cauliflower /o:/ <or/ cord, horse, sword <aw> saw, jaw, yawn <ou, au> bought, ought, daughter, cause <a> all, talk, salt, water, war, walk <ore, oor, oar, our> before, more, door, floor, oar, board, court, four <eau> portmanteau Irish proper name “Sean” /u/ <u> put, full, sugar, cushion <o> wolf, woman, Worcester, worsted <oo> good, book, wood <ou> could, should, would, courier /u:/ <oo> food, soon, moon, spoon <o> do, who, move, lose <ou> group, soup, wound, through <u> rude, June, Susan <ew, ue, ui, oe> chew, blue, juice, shoe, sleuth, duvet, sue, suit, flew /3:/ <ir, yr> bird, first, girl, myrtle <er, err, ear> her, serve, err, earth <ur, urr> turn, church, nurse, purr <w + or> word, world, work, worse <our> journey, courtesy, scourge “colonel” TYPES OF DIPHTHONGS From the point of view of length, the diphthongs are like long vowels, but the first part of a diphthong in English is much longer and louder than the second. The eight diphthongs are usually grouped into three types, depending on the tongue movement involved. 4 Unit 7: English Phonological System : The vowels DIPHTHONGS /ei/ <a> ape, late, make, bass, lazy <ai, ay> day, may, waist, rail <ei, ey> eight, veil, they <ea> great, break, steak <au> gauge /geid3/ <ao> gaol /d3eil/ <a> halfpenny /´heipni/ <et> duvet /´du:vei/, crochet /ai/ <I, y> time, write, cry, dry, island, I <igh, eigh> high, light, height <ie, ye> die, like, dye <ei, ai> either, aisle 5 Unit 7: English Phonological System : The vowels <ey> eye <uy> buy /oi/ <oi, oy> boy, toy, noise, voice <uoy> buoy /ou/ <o> so, old, home, both, folk, go <oa> oak, road, toast <oe> toe, doe, foe <ou, ow> soul, though, shoulder, know <au> mauve, beau <ew> sew /au/ <ou, ow> house, sound, cow, town <eo> Macleod /i / <eer, ear, ere> deer, hear, mere <eir, ier, ir> weird, fierce, fakir <ea, ia, eu, eo> idea, Ian, museum, yeoman <ero> hero <ear> year /e / <are> care, mare, stare <air> air, stair, faire <ear> bear, pear, wear <ei> heir, their <ere> there <ar> Mary, Sarah, scarce <aor> aorist <eur> amateur “mayor” /u / <oor> moor, poor <ure> sure, pure <ur> curious, during <ewer> sewer <our> tour, dour <ew> jewel <ue> fluent <ua> truant TRIPHTHONGS /ai / fire, tyre, choir, society, liable, higher, liar /au / our, shower, flower, coward, nowadays. /ei / player, greyer, conveyor / u / mower, slower, goer / i / employer, enjoyable, joyous 6
