Phonetics : The sounds of language “Vowels”

Phonetics : The sounds of language“Vowels” Presented by : WiniMartika Nelli RizkyAlfadina Phonology course Mr. YoseRianugraha

Vowels • Vowel is a speech sound produced with vibrating vocal cords and a continous unrestricted flow of air coming from the mouth. • The most well-known vowels in english are :A E I O U (adapted from : English Pronunciation by paulette Dale and LilianPoms)

Simple Vowels and Diphtongs • English vowels are divided into two major types, simple vowels and Diphtongs. • Simple vowels do not show a noticeable change in quality during their articulation, for example the vowels of : pit, set, cat, dog,but, put. • Simple vowel : pit (ɪ), set (ɛ)

Diphtongs are vowels that exhibit a change in quality a single syllable. • Example : say, buy, cow, ice, lout, go and boy. • Diphtong : say (ei), boy (oi)

Basic Parameters for Describing Vowels • The American English vowel sounds are described in terms of (front, central, back); height (open, mid, close); lip position (spread, unrounded, rounded); length (short, long); jaw-dropping, and tenseness (tense, lax). • 1- HEIGHT: Tongue Position in the mouth:High (/i:/, /ɪ/, /ɚ/, /u:/, /ʊ/) eg : heat, sue.Middle (/eɪ/, /ɛ/, /ʌ/, /ə/, /oʊ/)Low (/æ/, /ɑ:/, /ɔ/) (taken from : ingles-americano.blogspot.com/2011/07/vowel/sounds.html)

2- BACKNESS: Far front or back the tongue is in the mouth: Front (/i:/, /ɪ/, /eɪ/, /ɛ/, /æ/)Central (/ɚ/, /ʌ/, /ə/, /ɑ:/)Back. (/u:/, /ʊ/, /oʊ/, /ɔ/)3- LIP POSITION: Whether the lips are rounded (O-shape) or spread (no rounding) when the sound is being made: Unrounded (/i:/, /ɪ/, /eɪ/, /ɛ/, /æ/, /ɚ/, /ʌ/, /ə/, /ɑ:/Rounded (/u:/, /ʊ/, /oʊ/, /ɔ/)

4- LENGTH: Represents vowel sound has one or two parts: Short (/ɪ/, /ɛ/, /æ/, /ʌ/, /ɑ:/)Long (/i:/, /eɪ/, /ju/, /oʊ/, and the diphthong /aɪ/)Complex (/u:/, /ʊ/, /ɔ/, and the diphthongs /aʊ/, /oɪ/) 5- TENSENESS: Refers to the amount of muscular tension around the mouth when creating vowel sounds: Lax ( /i/ and /u/ *, /ɪ/, /ɛ/, /æ/, /ʌ/, /ɑ:/, /ʊ/)Tense (/i:/, /eɪ/, /ɚ/, /u:/, /ɔ/, /oʊ/, and the diphthongs /aɪ/, /aʊ/, /oɪ/)*/i/ and /u/ weak sound

Tense and Lax Vowels • Tense vowels are produced with a placement of the tongue that results in greater vocal tract constriction than that of non-tense vowels. • Lax vowels are produced as the same way with tense vowels, but with a less constricted articulation.

Phonetic Transcription of American English Consonants and Vowels Let’s practice it together

Suprasegmentals Suprasegmentals or prosodic propertiesrefers to properties of an utterance that apply to groups ofsegments, rather than to individual segments.

Pitch • Pitch is the auditory properties of a sound that enables us to place it on a scale that ranges from how to high. • Pitch : tone and intonation. • Toneis the general sound of what somebody says. For example, being angry, upset or happy can affect thetone of what we say.

Intonationis thepattern of rising and falling pitch over an utterance. For example : He found it on the street? [hiː ˈfaʊnd ɪt | ɒn ðə ↗ˈstriːt] Yes, he found it on the street [↘ˈjɛs hi ˈfaʊnd ɪt | ɒn ðə ↘ˈstriːt ] How did you ever escape? [↗ˈˈhaʊ dɪdjuː | ˈɛvɚ | ə↘ˈskeɪp]

Thank You For Your Attention Regards, WND

Phonetics : The sounds of language “Vowels”