UNIT - I
Sounds of English: Vowels and Consonants
Objectives
To make students understand the production, reception and transmission of speech sounds.
To familiarize students with the consonant and vowel phonemes of English.
To sensitize students how to pronounce vowel and consonant sounds correctly.
Introduction
Communication is a crucial part of academic and professional growth, whether it's collaborating
with international teams, presenting your work, or understanding technical documentation. Mastery
of the English language, particularly its pronunciation, can significantly enhance your professional
and academic success. This chapter will delve into the sounds of English, focusing on vowels and
consonants, and provide you with the knowledge to improve your spoken English skills.
Phonetics and Phonology
Phonetics
Phonetics is the study of the physical sounds of human speech. It concerns itself with how sounds
are produced (articulatory phonetics), transmitted (acoustic phonetics), and perceived (auditory
phonetics). In this chapter, we will focus on articulatory phonetics, which examines how speech
sounds are made using different parts of the vocal tract.
Phonology
Phonology, on the other hand, deals with how sounds function within a particular language or
languages. It examines the rules and patterns that govern how sounds interact with each other.
Understanding phonology helps in grasping why certain sounds change in different linguistic
contexts, a skill particularly useful for non-native speakers aiming to achieve fluency.
Organs of Speech
The air that we breathe out comes out of the lungs, before it gets out into the outer atmosphere
various organs in our body converts it into speech sounds, these organs called Organs of
Speech.
This figure is a vertical cross section of a human head and neck.
The Organs of Speech can be divided into the following three groups.
The Respiratory System
This comprises the lungs, the muscles of the chest and the windpipe.
The Phonatory System
This comprises the Larynx.
The Articulatory System
This comprises the nose, the teeth, the tongue, the roof of the mouth and the lips.
Classification of Speech Sounds
Speech sounds can be broadly classified into two categories: vowels and consonants. These
categories are determined by the manner and place of articulation and the role of vocal cord
vibration.
Vowels
Vowels are speech sounds produced without any significant constriction or closure in the vocal
tract. They are characterized by the position of the tongue and lips and the shape of the mouth.
There are twenty distinctive vowel sounds:
i. Pure Vowels (Monophthongs)
Pure vowels, also known as monophthongs, are single vowel sound. English has twelve
pure vowels, which are divided into two groups: seven short vowels and five long vowels.
Short Vowels
Short vowels are produced with a relatively short duration and are typically found in
unstressed syllables. The seven short vowels in English are:
/ɪ/ As in "sit" /sɪt/
/e/ As in "set" /set/
/æ/ As in "cat" /kæt/
/ʌ/ As in "cup" /kʌp/
/ɒ/ As in "dog" /dɒɡ/
/ʊ/ As in "put" /pʊt/
/ə/ As in "sofa" /ˈsəʊfə/
Long Vowels
Long vowels are produced with a longer duration and typically occur in stressed syllables.
The five long vowels in English are:
/iː/ As in "see" /siː/
/uː/ As in "food" /fuːd/
/ɜː/ As in "bird" /bɜːd/
/ɔː/ As in "saw" /sɔː/
/ɑː/ As in "car" /kɑː/
i. Monophthogs
Usage of Monophthogs in different positions in a word
Monophthong Initial Middle Final
1. /i:/ east /iːst/ sheet /ʃiːt/ key /kiː/
2. /I/ it /ɪt/ hit /hɪt/ duty /ˈdjuːti/
3. /e/ end /end/ send /send/
4. /æ/ and /ænd/ sand /sænd/
5. /a:/ art /ɑːrt/ heart /hɑːrt/ car /kɑːr/
6. /ɒ/ ox /ɒks/ fox /fɒks/
7. /ɔ:/ all /ɔːl/ ball /bɔːl/ saw /sɔː/
8. /ʊ/ put /pʊt/
9. /u:/ ooze /uːz/ choose /tʃuːz/ chew /tʃuː/
10. /ʌ/ up /ʌp/ cup /kʌp/
11. /з:/ earn /ɜːn/ learn /lɜːn/ stir /stɜː/
12. /ə/ ago /əɡəʊ/ police /pəliːs/ maker /meɪ.kə/
i. Diphthongs
Diphthongs are complex vowel sounds that begin with one vowel quality and glide towards
another within the same syllable. There are eight diphthongs in English.
/eɪ/ As in "face" /feɪs/
/aɪ/ As in "price" /praɪs/
/ɔɪ/ As in "choice" /tʃɔɪs/
/aʊ/ As in "mouth" /maʊθ/
/əʊ/ As in "goat" /ɡəʊt/
/ɪə/ As in "near" /nɪə/
/eə/ As in "square" /skweə/
/ʊə/ As in "cure" /kjʊə/
Usage of Diphthongs in different positions in a word
Diphthongs Initial Medial Final
1. /eɪ/ eight /eɪt/ straight /streɪt/ stay /steɪ/
2. /əʊ/ oak /əʊk/ joke /dʒəʊk/ slow /sləʊ/
3. /aɪ/ ice /aɪs/ mice /maɪs/ my /maɪ/
4. /aʊ/ out /aʊt/ shout /ʃaʊt/ how /haʊ/
5. /ɔɪ/ oil /ɔɪl/ boil /bɔɪl/ boy /bɔɪ/
6. /ɪə/ ears /ɪə/ beard /bɪəd/ peer /pɪə/
7. /eə/ air /eə/ pair /peə/ hare /heər/
8. /uə/ cure /kjʊər/ tour /tʊə/
Consonants
Consonants play a crucial role in the phonetic structure of English, forming the building blocks
of syllables and words along with vowels. While vowels are produced with an open vocal tract,
consonants involve varying degrees of closure or constriction in the vocal tract.
Classification of Consonants
Consonants are classified based on three primary characteristics:
Place of Articulation: Where in the vocal tract the constriction occurs.
Manner of Articulation: How the airstream is modified by the vocal tract.
Voicing: Whether the vocal cords vibrate during the articulation of the sound.
Place of Articulation
The place of articulation refers to the location in the vocal tract where the airflow is restricted.
The main places of articulation in English are:
Bilabial: Both lips come together (e.g., /p/, /b/, /m/, /w/).
Labiodental: The lower lip contacts the upper teeth (e.g., /f/, /v/).
Dental: The tongue contacts the upper teeth (e.g., /θ/ as in "think", /ð/ as in "this").
Alveolar: The tongue contacts the alveolar ridge (e.g., /t/, /d/, /s/, /z/, /n/, /l/).
Post-alveolar: The tongue contacts the area just behind the alveolar ridge (e.g., /ʃ/ as in
"shoe", /ʒ/ as in "measure").
Palatal: The tongue contacts the hard palate (e.g., /j/ as in "yes").
Velar: The back of the tongue contacts the soft palate (e.g., /k/, /ɡ/, /ŋ/ as in "sing").
Glottal: The glottis (space between the vocal cords) is used (e.g., /h/).
Manner of Articulation
The manner of articulation describes how the airflow is constricted in the vocal tract. The primary
manners of articulation in English are:
Plosive (Stop): Complete closure of the vocal tract followed by a release (e.g., /p/, /b/, /t/,
/d/, /k/, /ɡ/).
Nasal: Airflow passes through the nose due to the lowering of the soft palate (e.g., /m/,
/n/, /ŋ/).
Fricative: Partial constriction causing turbulent airflow (e.g., /f/, /v/, /θ/, /ð/, /s/, /z/, /ʃ/,
/ʒ/, /h/).
Affricate: A combination of a plosive followed by a fricative (e.g., /tʃ/ as in "chop", /dʒ/
as in "judge").
Approximant: Articulators approach each other but do not create turbulent airflow (e.g.,
/ɹ/ as in "red", /j/ as in "yes", /w/ as in "wet").
Lateral Approximant: The airstream flows around the sides of the tongue (e.g., /l/).
Voicing
Voicing indicates whether the vocal cords vibrate during the production of a consonant sound.
Consonants can be voiced or voiceless.
Voiced Consonants: The vocal cords vibrate (e.g., /b/, /d/, /ɡ/, /v/, /ð/, /z/, /ʒ/, /m/, /n/, /ŋ/,
/l/, /ɹ/, /j/, /w/).
Voiceless Consonants: The vocal cords do not vibrate (e.g., /p/, /t/, /k/, /f/, /θ/, /s/, /ʃ/, /h/).
Consonants Initial Medial Final
1. /p/ pin /pɪn/ spin /spɪn/ keep /kiːp/
2. /b/ bin /bɪn/ tub /tʌb/ club /klʌb/
3. /t/ tell /tel/ stick /stɪk/ light /laɪt/
4. /d/ day /deɪ/ heads /hedz/ laid /leɪd/
5. /k/ keep /kiːp/ skill /skɪl/ stick /stɪk/
6. /g/ get /ɡet/ jugs /dʒʌɡz/ bag /bæɡ/
7. /ʧ/ chin /tʃɪn/ reached /riːtʃt/ teach /tiːtʃ/
8. /ʤ/ joke /dʒəʊk/ hinged /hɪndʒd/ large /lɑːdʒ/
9. /f/ fan /fæn/ soft /sɒft/ if /ɪf/
10. /v/ van /væn/ leaves /liːvz/ thief /θiːf/
11. /ɵ/ thin /θɪn/ months /mʌnθs/ bath /bɑːθ/
12. /ð/ then /ðen/ clothes /kləʊðz/ bathe
13. /s/ sip /sɪp/ list /lɪst/ less
14. /z/ zip /zɪp/ loser /ˈluː.zə/ buzz
15. /ʃ/ ship /ʃɪp/ rushed hush
16. /ʒ/ measure rouge
17. /h/ hot /hɒt/ behave
18. /m/ met /met/ smoke Team
19. /n/ net /net/ snake Tin
20. /ŋ/ rings sing
21. /l/ lot /lɒt/ fling full
22. /r/ rot /rɒt/ try
23. /w/ wat /wæt/ sweat
24. /j/ you /juː/ tune
Exercise 1.1
Fill the leaves in the following diagrams accordingly:
i. Monophthongs ii. Diphthongs
iii.Consonants
Exercise 1.2
Write three words with their transcription for the following phonemes. The first one is done
for you.
Monophthongs Word 1 Word 2 Word 3
/iː Tree Brief Speech
/triː/ /briːf/ /spiːtʃ/
/ɪ/
/e/
/æ/
/ɑː/
/ɒ/
/ɔː/
/ʊ/
/uː/
/ʌ/
/ɜː/
/ə/
Diphthongs Word 1 Word 2 Word 3
/eɪ/
/ɔɪ/
/əʊ/
/eə/
/aɪ/
/aʊ/
/ɪə/
/ʊə/
Consonants Word 1 Word 2 Word 3
/p/
/b/
/t/
/d/
/k/
/ɡ/
/tʃ/
/dʒ/
/f/
/v/
/θ/
/ð/
/s/
/z/
/ʃ/
/ʒ/
/h/
/m/
/n/
/ŋ/
/l/
/r/
/j/
/w/
Exercise 1.3
Following are some commonly mispronounced words. Match the following words with their
respective transcriptions:
Words Transcription
Genre /ˈmær.ɪdʒ/
Chauffeur /ˌɒn.trə.prəˈnɜː/
Marriage /ˈɑː.mənd/
Honest /ˈʒɒn.rə/
Entrepreneur /swiːt/
Government /ɪɡˌzæm.ɪˈneɪ.ʃən/
Examination /ˈɒn.ɪst/
Debt /ˈɡʌv.ən.mənt/
Suite /ˈʃəʊ.fər/
Almond /dɛt/
