Vowels

Question 1

Vowels

IPA symbol used for each of the English vowels and diphthongs when transcribing speech:

Answer 1

Front vowels: /i, ɪ, e, ɛ, æ/

Back vowelsː /u, ʊ, o, ɔ, ɑ/

Central vowelsː /ə, ʌ, ɚ, ɜ˞/

R-colored vowelsː /ɪr, ɛr, ʊr, ɔr, ɑr/

Diphthongs: /aɪ, ɔɪ, aʊ, eɪ, oʊ/

Question 2

Classification of English vowels:

Answer 2

1. Tongue height: how high or low the tongue is when producing a vowel.
2. Tongue advancement relates to how far forward or backward the tongue is during vowel production.
3. Lip Rounding: refers to whether the lips are rounded or unrounded during production of a particular vowel.
4. Tense or Lax relates to whether a particular vowel can or cannot end a stressed open syllable. *Tense vowels can end a stressed open syllable, and lax vowels cannot.

Question 3

Front vowels

Answer 3

/i, ɪ, e, ɛ, æ/

Question 4

Front Vowels

/i/

Lower-case i

High, Front, Tense, Unrounded

Answer 4

Be- bi

Eat-it

Beet-bit

Family = three of me

• /i/ is represented by the letter ‘y,’ as in “city,” or “Family”
• letter ‘e,’ as in “be” and lastly by the
• letter ‘i,’ as in ‘ski.’
• combinations of letters, such as “ea,” as in “each,” ‘ee,’ as in “see,” and ‘ie,’ as in “piece.”

Pronunciation Guide:

Open your mouth a little, stretch your lips as wide as you can, and make them tense. Raise your tongue very high and push it to the front of your mouth. The tip of your tongue should be lowered just behind your bottom front teeth.

Question 5

Front Vowels

/ɪ/

small capital ɪ

High, Front, Lax, Unrounded

Answer 5

it- ɪt

win-wɪn

hid-hɪd

/ɪ/ am **i**n **i**t to w**i**n **i**t.

Pronunciation Guide:

Slightly open your mouth, spread your lips and relax them. Raise your tongue high in your mouth and push it to the front. The tip of your tongue can be lowered just behind your bottom front teeth.

Question 6

Front Vowels

/e/

/ei/

Lower-case e

Mid, Front, Tense, Unrounded

Answer 6

Ate-et

Bait- bet

day-dei

Pronunciation Guide:

*pronounced as 1st letter in English Alphabet: “Aa”

Open your mouth a little, stretch your lips as wide as you can, and make them tense. Raise your tongue very high and push it to the front of your mouth. The tip of your tongue should be lowered just behind your bottom front teeth.

Question 7

Front Vowels

/ei/

Diphthong

*see /e/ card*

only using /e/ for transcription in class

Answer 7

take- tek or teik

day- de or dei

allophone of /e/

Same sound as /e/

Usually produced in stressed syllables and at end of words (regardless of stress) when the vowel is lengthened; (note:/e/-occurs in stressed and unstressed syllables) “ace”, “away”, “toupee” “cake”, “eight”, “beige”, “plays”, “stated”, “braid”, “contagious”, game

*Reference the corresponding vowel sound due to being more of a single vowel than diphthong. (debated by linguist)

Question 8

Front Vowels

/ɛ/

Epsilon

Low-Mid, Front, Lax, Unrounded

Answer 8

many-mɛni

Bed- bɛd

friend-frɛnd

head-hɛd

Pronunciation Guide:

Partially open your mouth, slightly spread your lips, and relax them. Push your tongue to the front of your mouth and relax it. Raise the middle of your tongue to the roof of your mouth. The tip of your tongue can be lowered just behind your bottom front teeth. Your jaw is partially lowered.

Question 9

Front Vowels

/æ/

Ash

Low, Front, Lax, Unrounded

Answer 9

bat - bæt

and -ænd

happy - hæpi

Pronunciation Guide:

Open your mouth as wide as possible, slightly spread your lips, and tense them. Tense your tongue, flatten it, and push it forward. Your tongue should be positioned very low in your mouth. with a low jaw. The tip of your tongue should be touching the back of your bottom front teeth.

Question 10

Back vowels

Answer 10

/u, ʊ, o, ɔ, ɑ/

Question 11

Back Vowels

/u/

Lower-Case u

High, Back, Tense, Unrounded

Answer 11

boot - but

do-du

rooster - roster

Also hear this sound in words like “rule,” “too,” “do,” or “new.”

Pronunciation Guide:

Open your mouth a little and push your lips out, making a small, tense circle. Pull your tongue far back in your throat and tense it. Raise the back of the tongue toward the roof of your mouth.

Question 12

Back Vowels

/ʊ/

Upsilon

High(lower than u), Back, Lax, Rounded

Answer 12

book - bʊk

put -pʊt

could - kʊd

Pronunciation Guide:

Slightly open your mouth, round your lips, and relax them. Pull your tongue back in your mouth and relax it. Lift the back of your tongue toward the roof of your mouth.

Question 13

Back Vowels

/o/

/oʊ/

Lower-Case o

High-Mid, Back, Tense, Rounded

Answer 13

boat - bot

owed - od

no - no

Traditional “O” sound

Examples: open, alone, sew rose, road

Pronunciation Guide:

Partially open your mouth. Round your lips and make them tense, then pull them in a tighter circle. Pull your tongue back and tense it.

Question 14

Back Vowels

/oʊ/

Dipthong

*see /o/ card*

only using /o/ for transcription in class

Answer 14

allophone of /o/

same sound as /o/

tongue glides from /o/ (starting position) to higher position /ʊ/

Occurs in stressed syllables and at end of words “go”, “below”, “Probate”, slow

*Reference the corresponding vowel sound due to being more of a single vowel than diphthong. (debated by linguist)

Question 15

Back Vowels

/ɔ/

Open o

Low-Mid, Back, Tense, Rounded

Answer 15

on - ɔn

all-ɔl

bought - bɔt

Also heard in words: “saw. “caught”, “law” “taught”, “cause”, “off”, “golf”, “dog”

Pronunciation Guide:

Open your mouth a little and push your lips out, making a small, tense circle. Pull your tongue far back in your throat and tense it. Raise the back of the tongue toward the roof of your mouth.

Question 16

Back Vowels

/ɑ/

Script ɑ

Low, Back, Tense, unrounded (only unrounded back vowel in AE)

Answer 16

got - gɑt

bot-bɑt

father - fɑther fɑðɚ

Also heard this sound in words like “lock,” “hot,” “applesauce,” or “fog.”

Pronunciation Guide:

Open your mouth as wide as possible. Relax your lips and allow them to rest in a neutral position. Flatten your tongue and place it very low in your mouth. Your tongue should be in the center of your mouth. The tip of your tongue should be touching the back of your bottom front teeth.

Question 17

central vowelsː

Answer 17

/ə, ʌ, ɚ, ɜ˞/

Question 18

Central Vowel

/ə/

Schwa

Mid, Central, Lax, Unrounded

Answer 18

above - əbove

ago - əgo

the- thə or ðə Also heard in the words: “person”, “parent”, “action”

*occurs only is stressed syllables: Difference between /ə/ & /ʌ/ = vowel stress. Example: “above” stressed: /ə**bʌv/ or unstressed: /əb**ʌv/

Pronunciation Guide:

Slightly open your mouth, relax your lips, and leave them in a neutral position. Place your tongue in the middle of your mouth and relax it.

Question 19

Central Vowels

/ʌ/

Turned v “Wedge”

Low-Mid, Back-Central, Lax, Unrounded

Answer 19

But - bʌt

young - jʌŋ

flood - flʌd

“us”, up”, “judge”, “cut”, “other”, “does”, “sun” “country”, come

Pronunciation Guide:

Open your mouth a little, relax your lips, and put them in a neutral position. Place your tongue in the middle of your mouth, not too high or too low.Note that the /ʌ/ vowel sound is used in stressed syllables,

Question 20

Central Vowels

/ɚ/

Right-hook “Schwar”

Mid, Central, Lax, Rounded

Answer 20

mother- mʌð_ɚ_

herder - herd_ɚ_r

pertain - p_ɚ_tain

butter”, labor, author, general, lizard, pattern, percent, perfect. yogurt, color, surround

“weak” syllables, like in the word “teacher”*

*used in unstressed syllables

Pronunciation Guide:

Open your mouth a little and leave your lips neutral or round them slightly. The /ɚ/ is a weak sound, so your tongue and throat should be relaxed. Raise the front of your tongue toward the alveolar ridge behind your upper front teeth, but don’t touch it. Next: curl back the tip of your tongue. Now slightly lower the center of your tongue and raise its back.

Pronunciation is similar but it is Relaxed:/ɚ/, & /ɝ/ tense and /ɚ/ the weak versions of the same sound.

• /ɝ/as in “herder” (unstressed). You would transcribe this as /hɝdɚ
• /ɚ/ as in “herder” (stressed)

Question 21

Central Vowels

/ɝ/

Right- Hook Reversed Epsilon

Mid, Central, Tense, Rounded

Answer 21

her- hɝ

bird - bɝd

word - wɝd

first - fɝst girl, earth, firm, learn, purse, attorney, murder, thirsty

/ɝ/ is used in stressed syllables ONLY

Pronunciation Guide:

Open your mouth a little and leave your lips neutral or round them slightly. The /ɝ/ is a tense vowel sound, so your tongue, mouth and throat should be tense when you pronounce it. Raise the front of your tongue toward the alveolar ridge behind your upper front teeth, but don’t touch it. Next: curl back the tip of your tongue. Now slightly lower the center of your tongue and raise its back.

Pronunciation is similar to Relaxed:/ɚ/, & /ɝ/ tense and /ɚ/ is the weaker versions of the same sound.

• /ɝ/as in “herder” (unstressed). You would transcribe this as /hɝdɚ
• /ɚ/ as in “herder” (stressed)

Question 22

Diphthongs:

Answer 22

/aɪ, ɔɪ, aʊ, eɪ, oʊ/

Question 23

Diphthongs

/аʊ/

Diphthong (Merging two sounds into one)

Right Low Front to High Back (off-glide)

Answer 23

cow - kaʊ

cloud - klaʊd

brow - braʊ

“now”, “town”, “out”, “h_ow”_, “mouse”

Two vowels that move from one position to another. *The first sound in a diphthong is typically longer and louder.

Glide from /ɑ/ + /ʊ/ = /aʊ/ blend

Pronunciation Guide:

Start with making the /ɑ/ sound. Open your mouth as wide as possible. Relax your lips and allow them to rest in a neutral position. Flatten your tongue and place it very low in your mouth. The tip of your tongue should be touching the back of your bottom front teeth. Next, connect the /ɑ/ to the /ʊ/ sound. Smoothly move your jaw up, until your mouth is almost closed. Then pull the back of your tongue to your throat.

Question 24

Diphthongs

/ɔɪ/ Diphthong (Merging two sounds into one)

Rising Mid Back to High Front (off-glide)

Answer 24

boy - bɔɪ

coin - kɔɪn

decoy - dɛɔɪ

oil, loyal, lawyer, choice, moist, toilet

Two vowels that move from one position to another. *The first sound in a diphthong is typically longer and louder.

Glide from /ɔ/ + /ɪ/= /ɔɪ/ blend

Pronunciation Guide:

Start with making the /ɔ/ sound. Open your mouth as wide as possible and round your lips. Flatten your tongue and pull it far back to your throat. Place it very low in your mouth. The tip of your tongue should be touching the back of your bottom front teeth. Next, connect the /ɔ/ to the /ɪ/ sound. Smoothly move your jaw up, until your mouth is almost closed. Relax your tongue and push it forward.

Question 25

Diphthongs

/аɪ/

Diphthong (Merging two sounds into one)

Rising Low Front to High Front (off-glide)

Answer 25

kite - kаɪt

sky - skаɪ

eye - аɪ

“height”, “time”, “diamond”, “p_ie”, “h_i_gh”, “f_i_nd”, “n_i_ght”, “l_i_ke”, “h_i”, “child”

Two vowels that move from one position to another. *The first sound in a diphthong is typically longer and louder.

Glide from /ɑ/ + /ɪ/ = /aɪ/ blend

Pronunciation Guide:

Start with making the /ɑ/ sound. Open your mouth as wide as possible. Relax your lips and allow them to rest in a neutral position. Flatten your tongue and place it very low in your mouth. The tip of your tongue should be touching the back of your bottom front teeth. Next, connect the /ɑ/ to the /ɪ/ sound. Smoothly move your jaw up, until your mouth is almost closed and push your tongue forward, raising it high in your mouth.

Question 26

Diphthongs

/ju/

Diphthong (Merging two sounds into one) High Front to High Back (On-glide)

Answer 26

you- ju

cue - kju

few - flu music, view, use, beautiful, unit, debut, humor

Two vowels that move from one position to another. *This diphthong is different because the first sound is shorter than the second sound.

Glide from /j/ + /u/ = /ju/ blend

Pronunciation Guide:

Start with The tongue tip is at the lower front teeth, while the tongue body is raised and flattened toward the hard palate and shifted forward, contact is made with the upper teeth during production. Lips are rounded and protruded Tongue tip remains at the lower front teeth while the body and backshift to the high back position of /u/.

Question 27

r-colored vowelsː

Answer 27

/ɪr, ɛr, ʊr, ɔr, ɑr/

Question 28

R-Colored Vowels

R-colored Diphthongs

Merging two sounds into one: Vowel sound +/r/ = colored Combination: /аr/, /ʊr/, /ɔr/, /er/, /aɪr/ /ɪɹ/

Answer 28

/ɪɹ/ as in “hero” /hIɹo/ “ear”

/ɔɹ/ as in “sport” /spɔɹt/

/eɹ/ as in “chair” /ʃeɹ/ “air”

/ɑɹ/ as in “car” /kaɹ/ “aaaarrrrr”

/Ʊɹ/ as in “poor” /pƱɹ/

/ɑɪɹ/ as in “fire” /faIɹ/

Glide from vowel + /r/ = Rhotacization blend

*These sounds can occur in all positions of words.

Pronunciation Guide:

Start with making the vowel sound. (*see corresponding vowel card). Next, connect with the /r/ consonant card and blend the two sounds together to get the appropriate R- colored vowel sound.