vowels Flashcards
vowels
phonemes that are produced without any appreciable constriction or blockage of air flow in the vocal tract
primary articulator in the production of vowels
tongue
T/F
As the tongue changes position for production of the individual vowels, the size and shape of the pharynx also change correspondingly.
true
/i/
“key” -high -front -tense -unrounded
/ɪ/
“win” -high -front -lax -unrounded
/e/
“rebAte” - high/mid -front -tense- unrounded
/ɛ/
“red” -low/mid -front -lax -unrounded
/æ/
“had” -low -front -lax -unrounded
/u/
“moon” -high -back -tense -rounded
/ʊ/
“wood” -high -back -lax -rounded
/o/
“Okay” -high/mid -back -tense -rounded
/ɔ/
“law” -low/mid -back -tense -rounded
/ɑ/
“cod” -low -back -tense -unrounded
/ə/
“About” -mid -central -lax -unrounded
/ʌ/
“bud” -low/mid -back/central -lax -unrounded
tongue height
how high or low in the oral cavity the tongue is when producing a particular vowel (HIGH/MID/LOW)
tongue advancement
how far forward(backward) in the mouth the tongue is when producing a particular vowel (FRONT/CENTER/BACK)
secondary characteristic of vowels
lip rounding
Rounded or Unrounded
back vowels are mostly
rounded
front vowels are all
unrounded
tense vowels
longer in duration & require more muscular effort
capable of ending stressed open syllables
lax vowels
never end a stressed open syllable
monophthongs
one vowel sound
1 primary articulatory position in the vocal tract
diphthongs
two vowel sounds
an individual phoneme containing two vowels
onglide and offglide
on-glide
first vowel in a diphthong
off-glide
second vowel in a diphthong
always produced at a higher position in the oral cavity
only /ɪ/ or /ʊ/
T/F
tongue rises in the oral cavity when moving from the on-glide to the off-glide
TRUE
front vowels
/i/, /ɪ/ , /e/ , /eɪ/ , /ɛ/ , /æ/
point vowels
/i/ , /æ/ , /u/ , /ɑ/
r colored vowels
rhotacization
vowel perceived of having an “r” quality
T/F
all vowels are voiced
TRUE
T/F
all vowels are oral, produced with velopharyngeal closure
TRUE
Vowels are classified by …
tongue height
tongue advancement
lip rounding
tenseness
corner vowels
/i æ u ɑ/
T/F
Tongue height & tongue
advancement are relative
terms
TRUE
the fourth characteristic of vowels
tenseness
T/F
tense vowels are longer in duration
TRUE
Advanced Tongue Root
ATR
expands pharyngeal cavity
What is the key tense-lax feature?
ATR
tense vowels
/i e u o ɔ ɑ ɜ˞/
lax vowels
/ɪ ɛ æ ʊ ə ʌ ə˞/
T/F
tense vowels can occur in any type of syllable
TRUE
T/F
lax vowels occur in stressed open syllables
FALSE
T/F
lax vowels never end a stressed open syllable
TRUE
Nonsense String
attempting to place a lax vowel into a word that consists of a single, open syllable
Pure Vowels
monophthong
/aʊ͜/
how
/aɪ͜/
eye
/tɔ͜ɪ/
toy
On-glide or Off-glide more prominent and longer?
on-glide
what are diphthongs connected by?
ligature or tie bar
T/F
all diphthongs are rising in english?
TRUE
phonemic diphthongs
meaning will change by creating a minimal pair
ex: “coy” /kɔ͜ɪ/
“caw” /kɔ/
non phonemic diphthongs
can be monophthongal/dipthongal depending on stress
/e/ & /o/
occurs in stressed and final open syllable
non phonemic monophthong
occurs in everything EXCEPT stressed and final open syllables
front series tongue(body) movement
tongue moves forward from central, neutral or resting position
where is the tip of the tongue in front series vowels?
behind lower teeth
/i/
> lower case i<
high, front, tense, unrounded
mandible raises
oropharynx enlarges
ATR
/ɪ/
high, front, lax, unrounded
will not occur in stressed open syllables
not occur in coda-less single syllable words
/ɪŋ/ “king” /kɪŋ/
/ɪɹ/ “fear” /fɪ͜ə˞ /
/e/
> lower case e<
high- mid, front, tense, unrounded
/ɛ/
> epsilon<
low-mid, front, lax, unrounded
/ɛ͜ə˞ /
/æ/
> ash<
low, front, lax, unrounded
/i/ common spellings
e - “be” /bi/
ee - “keep” /kip/
ea - “beat” /bit/
e-e - “cede” /sid/
/ɪ/ common spellings
i - “bit” /bɪt/
e - “delight” /dɪlait/
/e/ common spellings
a-e “skate” /sket/
a - “baby” /bebi/
ai - “braid” /bɹed/
occurs in syllables that do not receive primary stress
lax vowels will not
occur in stressed, open syllables
lax vowels will not
occur in stressed, open syllables
vowel in a stressed syllable lengthened or shortened?
LENGTHENED
/e/ & /o/
/eɪ͜/
- occurs in syllables that receive primary stress
- final open syllables
/ɛ/ common spelling
e - “men” /mɛn/
“bed” /bɛd/
/ɛ͜ə˞ /
air -“bear” /bɛ͜ə˞ /
/æ/ common spelling
a - “hat” /hæt/
no stressed syllables will end in a lax vowel
no stressed syllables will end in a lax vowel
/æ/ or /eɪ͜/
may be difficult to identify
/ræŋ/ or /reɪ͜ŋ/
/reɪ͜n/ or /ræŋ/
/ɪ͜ə˞ /
ear
/u/
high, back, tense, rounded
can be found in stressed open syllables
/ʊ/
> upsilon<
capped u<
flying u,
high, back, lax, rounded
/o/
mid, back, tense, rounded
/ɔ/
> open o<
reversed c<
mid, back, tense, rounded
/ɑ/
> ah sound<
low, back, tense, retracted
back series vowels tip of tongue
remains behind the lower teeth
/u/ common spellings
oo “boot” /but/
u-e “true” /tru/
u “stupid” /stupɪd/
“boo” /bu/
tense vowels CAN be found in stressed open syllables
tense vowels CAN be forund in stressed open syllables
Glide /j/ + Vowel /u/
yuh
“you” /ju/
“few” /fju/
“music” /mjusɪk/
/ju/ is NOT a diphthong
/j/ is not a vowel
/ʊ/ common spellings
oo “book” /bʊk/
ou “could” /kʊld/
u “sugar”
lax vowels do not end single syllable words
lax vowels do not end single syllable words
/ʊ͜ə˞ /
“poor” /pʊ͜ə˞ /
“lure” /lʊ͜ə˞ /
“tour” /tʊ͜ə˞ /
/o/ common spellings
o “go” /go/
o-e “rope” /rop/
oa “foal” /fol/
/oʊ͜/
occurs in
- syllables that receive primary stress
- final open syllables
“road” roʊ͜d/
“snow” /snoʊ͜/
/ɔ/ common spellings
augh “taught” /tɔt/
aw “raw” /rɔ/
/ɔ͜ə˞ /
“corn” /kɔ͜ə˞ n/
“score” /skɔ͜ə˞ /
/ɑ/ common spellings
o “pot” /pɑt/
what vowel is the most common in languages of the world?
/ɑ/
what back vowel(s) are unrounded?
/ɑ/
/ɑ͜ə˞ /
“are” /ɑ͜ə˞ /
Rhotic Diphtongs
/ɪ͜ə˞ / ear /ɛ͜ə˞ / bear /ʊ͜ə˞ / tour /ɔ͜ə˞ / tore /ɑ͜ə˞ / bar
/ʌ/
> caret<
upside down<
inverted v<
low-mid, back-central, lax, retracted
/ə/
> schwa<
mid, central, lax, retracted
short duration
/ɜ˞ /
CLASS AGREED TO NOT USE
> hooked epsilon<
mid, central, tense, rounded
/ə˞ /
> schwar<
mid, central, lax, rounded
/ʌ/ and /ə/
represent the same sound
NO minimal pairs exist
contrasting
/ʌ/ in _____ syllables
stressed
“but” /bʌt/
/ə/ in ____ syllables
unstressed
“away” /əweɪ͜/
/ə˞ / in ____ syllables
unstressed
/ɜ˞ / in ____ syllables
stressed
/ɜ˞ / and /ə˞ /
represent the same sound
but differ in stress
/ə/ common spellings
a “about”
e “relevant”
i “imitate”
o “command”
What is the most frequently used vowel in ENGLISH?
/ə/
/ɜ˞ / common spellings
er “serve”
ur “curse”
ir “bird”
/ə˞˞ / common spellings
er “under”
or “labor”
english phonology is ____ dependent and a vowel _____ language
stress ; reduced
which vowels become longer or shorter depending on stress/unstressed syllable?
all vowels
what group of vowels differ by stress?
central vowels
degrAde vs degrAdation
[dɪɡɹe͜ɪd]
[dɛɡɹəde͜ɪʃən]
phonEtic vs phonEtician
[fonɛtɪk]
[fonətɪʃən]
phOtOgrAph vs phOtOgrApher
[foʊ͜təɡɹæf]
[fətɑɡɹəfə˞ ]
what is the most common reduced vowel in english?
schwa /ə/
phonemic diphthongs
/aɪ͜ aʊ͜ ɔ͜ɪ/
if you
change the on-glide or
off-glide of these
phonemes, you will transcribe a different word, or change the word to a non-word
nonphonemic diphthongs
/eɪ͜/ /oʊ͜/
rising diphthongs
the on-glide is in a lower position in the oral cavity than the off-glide
tongue moves from a lower to a higher position ; tongue rises
