Vowels in the world's languages> Flashcards
phonetic vs phonological descriptions of vowels>
phonetic:
>vowel as=little or no constriction in the vocal tract
phonology:
>vowel as= heart of the syllable (syllabic)
problems with phonological description of vowel=
langs like czec; some instances of consonants as centre of syllable
alternative to vowels (&consonants)
-pike (1943): ‘vocoids’ & ‘contoids’
>voicoids as can work as syllable; contoids as can’t
>laver (1994): ‘contoids’ and ‘non-contoids’
vowels & voicing>
vowels are almost always VOICED
IPA vowels: when symbols appear in pairs, which is rounded?
The right one
voiceless vowels>(e.g.)
- in Japanese /i/ and /ɯ/ are sometimes devoiced
symbol for voicelessness=
[w̥]
vowel height=
how high is the highest part of the tongue
high vowels=
close vowels
low vowels=
open vowels
vowels: front/back=
how far forwards/backwards is the highest part of the tongue
vowels- lip position=
rounded/unrounded
> in IPA: when symbols appear in pairs–>one to right is rounded
nasalisation- nasal vowels=
airflow in oral & nasal cavities
symbol for nasal vowels>
~ above a vowel
vowel length distinctions can be:(3)
-quantity
-quality
-both
symbol for vowel length
[:] after a vowel (i.e. [i:])
advanced tongue root
in ATR vowels, pairs are differentiated by how far forward/back the tongue ROOT is (can be advanced or retracted)
examples of nasal vowles>(3)
-Bon /bɔ̃/
-Bien /bjɛ̃/
-Vent /vã/
vowel length distinctions e.g.>
Eng: quantity /ɪ/ (bid) vs quality /i:/ (bead)
Gaelic: quantity /tʃʰe/ (hot) vs quality /tʃʰe:/ (woman)
Estonian: has 3:
>Kalu (‘fish’ partitive plural) /kalu/
>Kaalu (‘scales’ genitive singular) /ka:lu/
>Kaalu (‘scales’ partitive singular) /ka::lu/
Advanced/ retracted tongue root- e.g.>
> e.g.
/pi/ ‘many’
(advanced)
/fɪ/ ‘to vomit’
(retracted)
advanced/ retracted symbol
advanced=̟
retracted= ̠
Main methods of describing vowels> (9)
- vowel height
-front/back
-lip position
-nasalisation
-vowel length
-advanced tongue root
-monopthong/dipthong
-tense vs lax vowels
-cardinal vowels
examples of high vowels
[i:], [ɪ], [ʊ] , [u:]
examples of low vowels=
[ɛ], [a], [ɒ], [Ͻ:]
examples of front vowels>
[i], [y], [ɪ] [ɛ],[ɶ]
examples of back vowels
[ɑ] [ɒ] [ɔ] [ʌ] [ɤ] [ʊ] [ɯ]
examples of rounded/ non-rounded vowels
-[i:], [a]= not rounded
-[u], [ɒ]= rounded
dipthong=
vowel notcieably changes in quality over one syllable
tense vs lax vowels=
traditional view that there are 2 sets of vowel in english distinguised by ‘muscular effort’
problems with ‘tense vs lax vowels’
outdated now; proven there is no difference in ‘musuclar effort’ > better to consider phontactic ocnstraints on certain vowels
examples of tense vowels=
/i/, /ei/, /oʊ/, /u/, /aɪ, /ju/
examples of lax vowels>
/ɪ/, /ɛ/, /ʊ/, [ə/ʌ], /Ͻɪ/
cardinal vowel system>
system that consists of ‘reference vowels’
-desigend to represent extremes
-not actually produced in most (if any) langs
frequency of vowels cross-linguistically>
-some vowels more common than others
-/i/ as appearing in 92% of langs
vowel dispersion theory>
maximally contrastive system for perception;
-vowels in a lang, more often on peripheries in vowel quadrilateral (for ease of understanding)
source-filter model>
describes production of speech as Vf vibration & then a filter through VT
>source as= vf vibration
>filter= VT, (nasal cavity, lips)
what does a different filter mean in s-f model>
lip & tongue position are different
shape of VT is different
>thus different filter
what is the name of the special frequencies filters have where vibration is better than others?
resonant frequencies (formants)
how to identify vowels?
- first 2 formants can usually distinguish between vowels
summarised process of SF>(4)
1> source as complex sound wave
2> shape of VT means certain frequencies resonate better than others (formants)
3> radiation factor amplifies higher frequencies
4>what we hear is a combination of all this
rules of thumb with vowels & formant values>
- if going back to front–>increase in F2
- if going front to back–>increase in F1
- low vowels= high f1
- front vowels= high F2
