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Chapter Four: Description & Classification of

This document discusses vowels and their classification in human speech sounds. It describes the four main features used to classify vowels: 1) shape of the lips (spread, neutral, rounded), 2) part of the tongue raised (front, back, center), 3) height of the tongue (high, mid, low), and 4) tenseness of the muscles (tense, lax). It also discusses diphthongs as compound vowels produced by a movement of the tongue from one vowel position to another, and provides examples of diphthongs in English.

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466 views16 pages

Chapter Four: Description & Classification of

This document discusses vowels and their classification in human speech sounds. It describes the four main features used to classify vowels: 1) shape of the lips (spread, neutral, rounded), 2) part of the tongue raised (front, back, center), 3) height of the tongue (high, mid, low), and 4) tenseness of the muscles (tense, lax). It also discusses diphthongs as compound vowels produced by a movement of the tongue from one vowel position to another, and provides examples of diphthongs in English.

Uploaded by

arefe samadi
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Chapter Four

Description &
Classification
of
Vowels
Consonants vs. Vowels
Human Speech Sounds are divided into two
categories: Consonants and Vowels
1- Consonants are produced by obstructing the
airflow but in vowels the two articulators are far form
each other.
2- vowels can stand alone as a syllable but
consonants should attach to a vowel to make a
syllable.
3- All vowels are voiced but consonants can be voiced
or voiceless.
4- length can be a distinctive feature for vowels (long
vowel and short vowel) but length is not distinctive in
consonants .
Vowels are Described based on
Features

1.Shape of the lips


2. Part of the tongue raised
3. The height of the tongue
4. Tenseness or Laxness of the
muscles
1. Shape of the Lips
The Lips can take 3 different Shapes:
• Spread: as for /i:/ in need /ni:d/
• Neutral: as for /ә/ in about /ә ˋbɑʊt/
• Rounded: as for /u:/ in boot /bu:t/
Then, we can say in the production of
vowels the lips are either rounded or
unrounded and unrounded vowels are
either spread or neutral.
2. The Part of the Tongue Raised

In the production of vowels, different parts of


the tongue can be raised including:
• Front: like /e/ in bed /bed/ or /i:/ in leave
/li:v/
• Back: like /u:/ in pool /pu:l/
• Center: like /ә/ and /ʌ/ in a lot /ә ˊlʌt/.
3. The Height of the Tongue

The front, central or back part of the tongue


can be raised/ lowered up to 3 degrees: high,
mid, low
• High: like /u:/ in pool /pu:l/
• Mid: like /ә/ in a lot /ә ˊlʌt/.
• Low: like /æ/ in cat /kæt/
4. Tense vs. Lax Vowels

In the production of some vowels, the muscles


of vocal tract, specially tongue, are stiff, tense
and hard and more energy is used for their
production. They are called Tense vowels.
• Tense:/i:/: high, front, spread → like
leave/li:v/
• Lax:/ɪ/: high, front, spread → like live /lɪv/
Vowels can be described based on the 4
mentioned features.
1. Lips: spread, neutral, rounded
2. Tongue raising point: front, center, back
3. Tongue height: high, mid, low
4. Muscles: tense, lax
Note: There are some differences between vowel systems in
American and British English.
Vowel System in American English
Vowel System in British English
English Diphthongs
Diphthongs are compound vowels, produced by
combination of two vowels like /eɪ / in day /deɪ/
In this diphthong, the tongue is first placed at the
position of /e/, front low part of the mouth and
then moves (glides) upward to the position of /ɪ /,
front mid part. In the production of vowels, the
tongue does not remain in a fixed place but it
moves from one point in the mouth upward,
backward, downward or diagonally.
Diphthongs Gliding toward /ɪ/
- /eɪ/ : pray/preɪ/, eight/eɪt/
- /ɔɪ/: boy/bɔɪ/, toy /tɔɪ/
- /aɪ/: high/haɪ/, my/maɪ/
Diphthongs Gliding toward /ә/
- /ɪә/: near/nɪә(r)/, real/rɪәl/
- /ʊә/: casual/kæʒʊәl/, fuel/fjʊәl/
- /eә /: share/ʃeә(r)/, care/keә(r)/
Diphthongs Gliding toward /ʊ/

- /aʊ /: now/naʊ/, out/aʊt/


- /әʊ /: know/nәʊ/, toe/tәʊ/
The End

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