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University of Madras
Syllabus with effect from 2020-2021
BA English Literature
[2nd Year, 4th Semester]
ASPECTS OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE – PAPER II
Unit 3: English Phonetics and Phonology -II
3.1 Vowels – Definiton, Cardinal vowels,
Vowel Chart
3.2 Description of Vowels – Pure vowels, Diphthongs, Triphthongs – Three Term label, Description of individual Vowels
Vowels – Definiton, Cardinal vowels, Vowel Chart
In English (the Received Pronunciation of England), there are 44 distinctive speech sounds or phonemes. Twenty of these are vowel sounds and the remaining 24 are consonantal sounds. In the vowel sounds twelve are pure vowels or monophthongs and eight are vowel glides or diphthongs.
During the production of vowel sounds, the
air escapes through the mouth without any friction. They can be defined with an
open approximation without any obstruction, partial or complete, in the air
passage.
In the vowel sounds, there are 12 pure
vowels or monophthongs and 08 vowel glides or diphthongs. A monophthong is when
there is only one vowel sound in a syllable. A diphthong is the combination of
two vowel sounds together.
Length of vocalization:
The monophthongs are sub-classified into short vowels and long vowels. Without exception, vowels are produced with the vocal folds vibrating. They are, therefore, all voiced. In addition, vowels may be sustained for relatively longer and shorter intervals of time. They are categorized as:
(i) Long vowels (5)
(ii) Short vowels (7)
If the vowel is long, a colon-like mark
(:) is placed after the symbol for the vowel, e.g. /i:/, /u:/, /ɑ:/, /ɜ:/, /ɔ:/.
Each of
the vowels has a distinct quality because of the different positions the tongue
takes during vowel articulation. Vowels can be classified on the basis of the
following:
(a) Part of the tongue that is raised
(front/central/back)
(b) Height of the tongue
(c) Position of the lips
(rounded/unrounded/neutral)
Cardinal vowels are a group of fixed and
unchanging reference vowel points used by phoneticians in describing the sounds
of languages. In simple words, Cardinal vowels are not vowels of any particular
language, but a measuring system. The idea of cardinal vowels originated with
Daniel Jones.
There are in fact two subsets of cardinal
vowels: Primary and Secondary. The eight vowels seen so far are called the
primary cardinal vowels. The secondary cardinal vowels are obtained by using
the opposite lip-rounding on each primary cardinal vowel. e.g. close
lip-rounding applied to the [i] tongue position, or lip spreading applied to
the [u] position.
The eight vowels seen so far are called
the primary cardinal vowels. The secondary cardinal vowels are obtained by
using the opposite lip-rounding on each primary cardinal vowel.
The eight primary cardinal vowels are
numbered as follows: 1 [i], 2 [e], 3 [ɛ], 4 [a], 5 [ɑ], 6 [ɔ], 7 [o], and 8 [u].
A secondary vowel series can be obtained
by reversing the lip position, e.g. close lip-rounding applied to the [i] tongue
position, or lip spreading applied to the [u] position. The eight secondary
cardinal vowels are numbered as follows: 9 [y], 10 [ø], 11 [œ], 12 [Œ], 13 [ɒ], 14[ʌ], 15[ɤ], 16 [ɯ], 17 [i], 18 [u].
(a)
The part of the tongue raised:
In producing vowel sounds, some part of
the tongue is raised in the direction of the roof of the mouth. The front, the
back and the center of the tongue can be raised. When the front of the tongue
is raised in the direction of the hard palate, front vowels can be produced.
That means, the front vowels are those during the production of which the front
of the tongue is raised towards the hard palate./i/ in sit, /i: / in seat, /e/
in met and /æ/ in sat are front vowels. When the back of the tongue is raised
in the direction of the soft palate, back vowels can be produced. That means,
the back vowels are those, during the production of which the back of the
tongue is raised towards the soft palate. /a: / in arm, /ɒ/ in cot, /ɔː/ in caught, /u/ in push, and
/u: / in pool are back vowels. Vowels can also be produced by raising the
center of the tongue in the direction of the part of the roof of the mouth
where the hard palate and soft palate meet. These vowels are called central
vowels. That means, the central vowels are those during the production of which
the central part of the tongue is raised towards a point where the hard palate
and soft palate meet. /ə/ in ago, /ə: / in bird, and /Λ/ in cup are central
vowels.
The front vowels are /i/, /i:/, /e/, /æ/.
The back vowels are /a:/, /ɒ/, /ɔː/, /u/, /u:/.
The central vowels are /ә/, /ә:/, /Λ/.
(b) The height of the tongue:
Vowel sounds can also be classified and
described on the basis of the height of the tongue. In the production of vowel
sounds our tongue moves at different levels from upper to lower. According to
the height of the tongue, vowels are classified into four. These are close
vowels, half-close vowels, half-open vowels and open vowels.
i)
Close vowels: Close vowels are those during the production of which the tongue
is raised to the vowel limit, that is, the tongue is very close to the roof of
the mouth. Examples are /i: / as in seat and /u: / as in pool.
ii)
Open vowels: open vowels are those during the production of which the tongue is
far away from the roof of the mouth. /a:/ in arm and /æ/ in sat are open vowels
iii)
Half-close vowels: Half-close vowels are those during the production of which
the tongue raised between the close and the open positions, but nearer the
close position than the open position. The vowel /e/ in get is an example.
iv) Half-open
vowels: half-open vowels are those during the production of which the tongue
raised between the close and the open positions, but nearer the open position
than the close position. /æ/ in sat is an example.
(c) The position of lips:
The position of lips can also describe
vowel sounds. According to this vowels are divided as rounded and unrounded
vowels. Rounded vowels are those during the articulation of which the lips are
rounded. The vowels /u/, /u: /, /ɒ/ and /ɔː/ are rounded vowels. The
unrounded vowels are those during the articulation of which the lips are spread
or neutral. The vowels /i/, /i: /, /e/ and /æ/ are
unrounded one.
Description of Vowels – Pure vowels,
Diphthongs, Triphthongs – Three Term label, Description of individual Vowels
Description of Pure vowels- Three Term
label pure vowels
1) /i:/:-
During the articulation of this vowel /i:/,
the front of the tongue is raised towards the hard palate to a position almost
near close. The lips are unrounded. The tongue is tensed. So it can be
described as a front close unrounded vowel. e.g. seat /si:t/, dream/dri:m/,
free /fri:/, green/ɡri:n/.
2) /i/:-
During the production of this vowel /i/, the
rear part of the front of the tongue is raised towards the hard palate, just
above the half- closed position. The lips are loosely spread and the tongue is
tensed. So the vowel can be described as centralized front unrounded vowel,
just above the half close position. e.g. sit /sit/, bit /bit/, stick /stik/, build /bild/.
3) /e/:-
During the articulation of the vowel /e/, the
front part of the tongue is raised to a position between half close and half
open. The lips are loosely spread and the tongue is tensed. The vowel can be
described as front unrounded vowel, between half close and half open. e.g. set
/set/, dead /ded/, pen /pen/, sell /sel/, fresh/freʃ/.
4) /æ/:-
During the articulation of the vowel /æ/, the
front of the tongue is raised slightly below the half-open position. The lips are
naturally open and the tongue is tensed. It can be described as front unrounded
vowel, just below the half open position. e.g. sat /sæt/, back /bæk/,
action /ækʃn/,
tank /tæŋk/.
Back Vowels:
1) /ɑ:/:-
During the production of this vowel /ɑ:/, the back of the tongue is
kept as low as possible in fully open position. The lips are wide open. It can
be described as back open unrounded vowel. e.g. car /kɑ:/, dance /dɑ:ns/, laugh /lɑ:f/,past /pɑ:st/.
2) /ɒ/:-
During the articulation of this vowel /ɒ/, the back of the tongue is
raised just above the open position. The lips are slightly rounded. The vowel
is described as back rounded vowel just above the open position. e.g. cost /kɒst/, sorry /sɒri/, frost /frɒst/ lock /lɒk/.
3) /ɔ:/:-
During the articulation of the vowel /ɔ:/, the back of the tongue is
raised to a position between half open and half-close. The lips are rounded.
The vowel can be described as back rounded vowel, between half open and
half-close position. e.g. ward /wɔːd/, audible /ɔːdəbl/, August
/ɔːgəst/, board /bɔːd/.
4) /u /:-
During the articulation of this sound /u /, the front part of the back
of the tongue is raised towards just above half close position. The lips are
rounded. The vowel can be described as back rounded vowel, just above half
close position. e.g.book /buk/,
push/puʃ/, full
/ful/,
cushion /kuʃən/.
5) /u:/
:-
During the articulation of this vowel /u:/,
the back of the tongue is raised very near to the close position. The lips are
closely rounded. The vowel can be described as back close rounded vowel. e.g. super
/su:pə/, root /ru:t/, group /gru:p/, proof /pru:f/.
Center Vowels:
1) /ʌ/ :-
During the articulation of this vowel /ʌ/, the central part of the
tongue is raised to a height just above the open position. The lips are neutrally
open. The vowel can be described as central unrounded vowel just above open
position. e.g. cut /kʌt/,
duck /dʌk/, uncle
/ʌŋkl/,
shut /ʃʌt/.
2) /ɜ:/ :-
During the production of the vowel /ɜ:/, the central part of the
tongue is raised to a height between half close and half open position. The
lips are spread. The vowel can be described as central unrounded vowel, between
half close and half-open position. e.g. curd /kɜ:d/, girl /gɜ:l/, person /pɜ:sən/, surface /sɜ:fes/.
3) /ə/
:-
During the articulation of the vowel /ə/ the central part of the tongue is raised just below half open position. The vowel can be described as central unrounded vowel just below half-open position. e.g. about /əbʊt/, father /fɑːdə/, ignorant /ignɒrənt/, human /hjuːmən/.
Description of Diphthongs, Triphthongs
– Three Term label
Diphthongs are vowel glides within a syllable. In the production of the diphthong sound, the tongue begins from a position required for the production of one vowel and moves towards another vowel within a single syllable. In diphthongs most of the length and stress is given to the first element (vowel). Thus, diphthong sounds are made up of the combination of two pure vowels where the glide begins at one element and moves towards another vowel. Diphthongs are called as mixed vowels.
There
are eight diphthongs in English. They are
Closing diphthong:
Three diphthong ending in ‘i’ -
·
/ei/ - Creates a
speech sound similar to “great” and usually includes the letters /ey/, /ay/,
/ai/ and /a/. Examples: steak, pain, weight
·
/ai/ - Creates a
speech sound similar to “eye” and usually includes the letters /i/, /igh/, and
/y. Examples: my, cry, light, like
·
/ɔi/ - Creates a
speech sound similar to “boy” and usually includes the letters /oy/ and /oi/.
Examples: oil, coy, roil
Two diphthong ending in ‘u’ -
·
/əu/ - Creates a
speech sound similar to “boat” and usually includes the letters /ow/, /oa/ and
/o/. Examples: tow, loan, though
·
/au/ - Creates a
speech sound similar to “ow!” and usually includes the letters /ou/ and /ow/.
Examples: town, found, cow
·
/iə/ - Creates a
speech sound similar to “ear” and usually includes the letters /ee/, /ie/ and
/ea/. Examples: leer, tear, pier
Centering diphthong:
Three diphthong ending in ‘ə’ -
·
/eə/ - Creates a speech sound similar to “air”
and usually includes the letters /ai/, /a/, and /ea/. Examples: hair, lair,
bear
·
/uə/ - Creates a
speech sound similar to “sure” and usually includes the letters /oo/, /ou/,
/u/, and /ue/. Examples: cure, pure, cur.
(Diphthongs Chart)
Closing Diphthongs:
Those diphthongs which have close vowels
/i/ and /u/ as their final elements are called closing diphthongs. They are /ei/, /ai/,/ɔi/,/əu/,/au/.
1) /ei/:-
During the articulation of this diphthong /ei/, the glide begins with the
tongue position between half-open and half-close and moves in the direction of
/i/. So the diphthong is called as front unrounded vowel below half close to
centralized front unrounded vowel just above half close position. E.g. play/plei/, table/teibl/, great/greit/, waist /weist/.
2) /ai/:-
During the articulation of this diphthong /ai/, the glide begins from /a/ and
moves towards the vowel sound /i/. The lips
are neutral at the beginning and become loosely spread towards the end. So the
diphthong is described as front open unrounded vowel to centralized front
unrounded vowel just above half close position. e.g. fly /fai/, bright /brait/, white /wait/, silence /sailəns/, like /laik/.
3) /ɔi/:-
During the articulation the glide for this
diphthong /ɔi/, begins
at the back vowel sound /ɔ/ and moves
towards the front vowel sound /i/. The
lips are rounded in the beginning and loosely spread at the end. So the
diphthong is described as back rounded vowel between half close and half open
position to centralized front unrounded vowel just above half close position. e.g.
boy /bɔi/, boil
/bɔil/,
point /pɔint/, moist/mɔist/, voice /vɔis/.
4) /əu/:-
During the articulation of this diphthong /əu/, the glide begins at /ə/ and
moves towards /u/. The
lips are neutral in the beginning and rounded at the end. So the diphthong is
described as central unrounded vowel between half close and half open to back
rounded vowel just above half close position. e.g. go /gəu/, note /nəut/, home /həum/, Snow /snəu/, close /kləuz/.
5) /au/:-
During the articulation of this diphthong /au/, the glide begins from /a/ and proceeds towards /u/. The lips are neutral in the beginning and rounded at the end. So the diphthong is described as bank open rounded vowel to back rounded vowel just above half close position. e.g. now /nau/, house /haus/, found /faund/, about /əbaut/, mouth /mauθ/.
Centering Diphthongs:
The diphthongs which have the center vowel
/ə/ as
their final elements are called centering diphthongs. They are /iə/, /eə/
and /uə/.
1) /iə/:-
During the articulation of this diphthong /iə/, the
glide begins at the position /i/ and
moves towards the direction /ə/. The lips are spread during the articulation of
both the elements. So the diphthong is described as centralized front unrounded
vowel just above half close position to center unrounded vowel between half
close and half open position. e.g. here /hiə(r)/, cheer
/tʃiə(r)/,
period /piəriəd/,
ear/iə/,
clear /kliə/.
2) /eə/:-
During articulation of this diphthong, the
glide begins from /e/ and moves towards /ə/. The lips are neutral throughout. So
the diphthong is described as front unrounded vowel below half close position
to center unrounded vowel between half close and half open position. e. g. there
/ðeə(r), aeroplane
/eərəplein/,
chair /tʃeə(r)/,
share /ʃeə(r)/.
3) /uə/:-
During the articulation of this diphthong
the glide begins at /u/ and
moves towards /ə/. The lips are rounded in the beginning and spread towards the
end. So the diphthong is described as bank open rounded vowel to center
unrounded vowel between half close and half open position. e.g. poor /puə/, insurance
/inʃuərəns/, tour
/tuə(r)/.
Triphthongs:
A
triphthong is a glide from one vowel to another and to a third, all produced
rapidly and without interruption. However a triphthong consists of more than
two vowels, that is, a vowel glides to another and then further glides to a
third vowel. It can be understood if we carefully observe certain words that
consists of a triphthongs like Hour - /auər/, Fire - /faiər/, Inspire - /inspaiər/.
Triphthong
: 5 closing diphthongs with ‘ə’ added on the end.
- ei + ə = eiə. as
in layer, player
- ai + ə = aiə. as in
lire, fire
- ɔi + ə = ɔiə, as in
loyal, royal
- əu + ə = əuə, as in lower, mower
- au + ə = auə, as in power, hour.
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