Vowels in the world's languages>

Question 1

phonetic vs phonological descriptions of vowels>

Answer 1

phonetic:
>vowel as=little or no constriction in the vocal tract
phonology:
>vowel as= heart of the syllable (syllabic)

Question 2

problems with phonological description of vowel=

Answer 2

langs like czec; some instances of consonants as centre of syllable

Question 3

alternative to vowels (&consonants)

Answer 3

-pike (1943): ‘vocoids’ & ‘contoids’
>voicoids as can work as syllable; contoids as can’t
>laver (1994): ‘contoids’ and ‘non-contoids’

Question 4

vowels & voicing>

Answer 4

vowels are almost always VOICED

Question 5

IPA vowels: when symbols appear in pairs, which is rounded?

Answer 5

The right one

Question 6

voiceless vowels>(e.g.)

Answer 6

• in Japanese /i/ and /ɯ/ are sometimes devoiced

Question 7

symbol for voicelessness=

Answer 7

[w̥]

Question 8

vowel height=

Answer 8

how high is the highest part of the tongue

Question 9

high vowels=

Answer 9

close vowels

Question 10

low vowels=

Answer 10

open vowels

Question 11

vowels: front/back=

Answer 11

how far forwards/backwards is the highest part of the tongue

Question 12

vowels- lip position=

Answer 12

rounded/unrounded
> in IPA: when symbols appear in pairs–>one to right is rounded

Question 13

nasalisation- nasal vowels=

Answer 13

airflow in oral & nasal cavities

Question 14

symbol for nasal vowels>

Answer 14

~ above a vowel

Question 15

vowel length distinctions can be:(3)

Answer 15

-quantity
-quality
-both

Question 16

symbol for vowel length

Answer 16

[:] after a vowel (i.e. [i:])

Question 17

advanced tongue root

Answer 17

in ATR vowels, pairs are differentiated by how far forward/back the tongue ROOT is (can be advanced or retracted)

Question 18

examples of nasal vowles>(3)

Answer 18

-Bon /bɔ̃/
-Bien /bjɛ̃/
-Vent /vã/

Question 19

vowel length distinctions e.g.>

Answer 19

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/

Question 20

Advanced/ retracted tongue root- e.g.>

Answer 20

> e.g.
/pi/ ‘many’
(advanced)
/fɪ/ ‘to vomit’
(retracted)

Question 21

advanced/ retracted symbol

Answer 21

advanced=̟
retracted= ̠

Question 22

Main methods of describing vowels> (9)

Answer 22

• vowel height
  -front/back
  -lip position
  -nasalisation
  -vowel length
  -advanced tongue root
  -monopthong/dipthong
  -tense vs lax vowels
  -cardinal vowels

Question 23

examples of high vowels

Answer 23

[i:], [ɪ], [ʊ] , [u:]

Question 24

examples of low vowels=

Answer 24

[ɛ], [a], [ɒ], [Ͻ:]

Question 25

examples of front vowels>

Answer 25

[i], [y], [ɪ] [ɛ],[ɶ]

Question 26

examples of back vowels

Answer 26

[ɑ] [ɒ] [ɔ] [ʌ] [ɤ] [ʊ] [ɯ]

Question 27

examples of rounded/ non-rounded vowels

Answer 27

-[i:], [a]= not rounded
-[u], [ɒ]= rounded

Question 28

dipthong=

Answer 28

vowel notcieably changes in quality over one syllable

Question 29

tense vs lax vowels=

Answer 29

traditional view that there are 2 sets of vowel in english distinguised by ‘muscular effort’

Question 30

problems with ‘tense vs lax vowels’

Answer 30

outdated now; proven there is no difference in ‘musuclar effort’ > better to consider phontactic ocnstraints on certain vowels

Question 32

examples of tense vowels=

Answer 32

/i/, /ei/, /oʊ/, /u/, /aɪ, /ju/

Question 33

examples of lax vowels>

Answer 33

/ɪ/, /ɛ/, /ʊ/, [ə/ʌ], /Ͻɪ/

Question 34

cardinal vowel system>

Answer 34

system that consists of ‘reference vowels’
-desigend to represent extremes
-not actually produced in most (if any) langs

Question 35

frequency of vowels cross-linguistically>

Answer 35

-some vowels more common than others
-/i/ as appearing in 92% of langs

Question 36

vowel dispersion theory>

Answer 36

maximally contrastive system for perception;
-vowels in a lang, more often on peripheries in vowel quadrilateral (for ease of understanding)

Question 37

source-filter model>

Answer 37

describes production of speech as Vf vibration & then a filter through VT
>source as= vf vibration
>filter= VT, (nasal cavity, lips)

Question 38

what does a different filter mean in s-f model>

Answer 38

lip & tongue position are different
shape of VT is different
>thus different filter

Question 39

what is the name of the special frequencies filters have where vibration is better than others?

Answer 39

resonant frequencies (formants)

Question 40

how to identify vowels?

Answer 40

• first 2 formants can usually distinguish between vowels

Question 41

summarised process of SF>(4)

Answer 41

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

Question 42

rules of thumb with vowels & formant values>

Answer 42

• if going back to front–>increase in F2
• if going front to back–>increase in F1
• low vowels= high f1
• front vowels= high F2