Vowels

The voiced sounds produced without obstruction in the mouth are called . These sounds are not accompanied by any frictional noise.

The qualities of vowels depend upon the positions of the tongue and lips. It is convenient to classify them according to the position of the main part of the tongue. In the production of most vowels the tongue is convex to the palate. Vowels may, therefore, be conveniently arranged according to the position of the highest point of the tongue. There are front vowels, in the production of which the ‘front’ of the tongue is raised in the direction of the hard palate. In the production of the back vowels, the ‘back’ of the tongue is raised in the direction of the soft palate. There are vowels intermediate between and these are called central vowels.

Tongue positions

There are twelve pure vowels in English: seven short vowels; five long vowels.

Short vowels: /ɪ,ʊ,e,ə,æ,ʌ,ɒ/

Long vowels: /i:,u,:ɜ:,ɔ:,ɑ:/

Front vowels: /i:,ɪ,e,æ/

Back vowels: /u:, ʊ, ɔ:, ɒ, ɑ:/

Central vowels: /ə, ʌ, ɜ:/

Description of vowels

1. /ɪ/

Spellings of /ɪ/ i fifth, rich, fill

e pretty, needed, except,

ui built,

y rhythm, cyst,

a village, private,

ie ladies, cities

The short RP /ɪ/ is pronounced with a part of the tongue nearer to centre than to front. The tongue is raised just above the close-mid position. The lips are loosely spread. The tongue is lax. This vowel can be described as a centralised front unrounded vowel just above half-close position. This sound may occur in all--initial, medial and final—positions in the word.

2. /e/

Spellings of /e/

e bed, went, ten

ea breath, health, head

a many, Thames

During the production of short RP /e/, the front of the tongue is raised between the close-mid and open-mid position. The lips are loosely spread and are slightly wider apart. /e/ is a front unrounded vowel between half-close and half-open. This vowel does not occur in word-final positions in English words.

3. /æ/

Spellings of /æ/

a hand, lamp, bat

ai plaid, plait

i timbre

The front of the tongue is raised to a position just above open with side rims making a very slight contact with the back upper molars. The lips are neutrally open. This is a front unrounded vowel just below the half-open position. This sound does not occur in word-final positions.

4. /ʌ/

Spellings of /ʌ/

u cut, dull, sun

o son, among, wonder, one

ou country, southern, couple

oo blood, flood

oe does

The short RP /ʌ/ is articulated with a considerable separation of the jaws with the lips neutrally open. The centre of the tongue is raised just above the fully open position, no contact being made between the tongue and the upper molars. /ʌ/ can be described as a central unrounded vowel just above open. This sound does not occur in word-final positions.

5. /ɒ/

Spellings of /ɒ/

o dog, dock, holiday, revolver

a was, what, swan, want, watch, yacht

ou cough, trough, Gloucester

ow knowledge

au because, sausage, laurel

The short vowel is articulated with wide open jaws and slight open lip- rounding. The back of the tongue is in the fully open position, no contact being

made between the tongue and the upper molars. This is a back rounded vowel between half-open and half-close. This sound occurs in all places.

6. /ʊ/

Spellings of /ʊ/

u butcher, cushion, put

oo book, good, wool,

o wolf, woman, bosom

ou could, courier, would

This vowel is pronounced with a part of the tongue nearer to centre than to back, raised just above the close-mid position. The tongue is laxly held. No contact is made between the tongue and the upper molars. /ʊ/ is a back rounded vowel just above half-close. This sound does not occur in word-final positions.

7. /ə/

Spellings of /ə/

a woman, about, affect

o oblige, original

e gentlemen

er mother, father, grocer

re mitre, litre

i possible, animal, beautiful

u suppose

ar particular

or doctor, razor

our colour, odour

ure figure

ou famous

This vowel has a very high frequency of occurrence in unaccented syllables. Its quality is that of a central vowel with neutral lip position, having in non-final positions a tongue-raising between open-mid and close-mid. This is a central unrounded vowel just below half-open. This sound occurs in all places.

8. /i:/

Spellings of /i:/

ee tree, cheese, see

e complete, be, these

ea leaf, reason, reach

i machine, police, prestige

ie piece, field, siege

ei seize, receive

ey key

eo people

uay quay

The front of the tongue is raised to a height slightly below and behind the front close position. The lips are spread. The tongue is tense with the side rims making a firm contact with the upper molars. /i:/ is a centralised front unrounded vowel just above the half-close position. This sound occurs in all places.

9. /ɑ:/

Spellings of /ɑ:/

ar art, part, lark

ear heart, hearth

er clerk, Derby, sergeant

a last, past, dance

al calm, calm, palm

au laugh, aunt

This vowel is articulated with a considerable separation of the jaws and the lips neutrally open. A part of the tongue between the centre and back is in the fully open position. No contact is made between the rims of the tongue and the upper molars. This is a back open unrounded vowel. This sound occurs in all places.

10. /ɔ:/

Spellings of /ɔ:/

ar war, quart

or cord, horse, born

ore before, more

oar oar, board

oor door, floor

au fault, cause, daughter

aw saw, lawn, jaw

al all, talk, salt

ou bought, ought

oa broad

This RP vowel is articulated with medium lip-rounding. The back of the tongue is raise between the open-mid and close-mid positions. No contact is made between the tongue and the upper molars. /ɔ:/ can be described as a back rounded vowel between half-open and half-close. This vowel sound occurs in all places.

11. /u:/

Spellings of /u:/

u rude, use, rule

oo food, spoon, school

o do, who, move, lose, two

ou group, soup, wound

ew chew, flew, newt

ue blue

ui juice

oe shoe

This is close with varying degrees of centralization, lowering and unrounding. The articulation is tense, no firm contact is made between the tongue and the upper molars. This vowel does not normally occur before /ŋ/. /u:/ is a back close rounded vowel. This sound occurs in all places.

12. /ɜ:/

Spellings of /ɜ:/

er her, serve

err err

ur turn, church, curl

urr purr

ir sir, bird, girl

yr myrtle

yrr myrrh

w+or word, world, work

ear earth, heard, search

our journey, courtesy, scourge

This vowel is articulated with the centre of the tongue raised between close- mid position. No firm contact is made between the tongue and upper molars. The lips are neutrally spread. This is a central unrounded vowel between half- close and half-open. This sound occurs in all places.

Diphthongs

Diphthongs are otherwise called vowel glides. During the articulation of diphthongs, the tongue starts in the position required for the articulation of a particular vowel and moves in the direction of the position required for the articulation of a different vowel. The glide should take place within one syllable. The starting vowel is called the first element and the end vowel is called the second element. There are eight diphthongs.

Three diphthongs in RP glide in the direction of RP /ɪ/. The tongue- positions of these diphthongs are given in the following diagram.

1. /eɪ/

Spellings of /eɪ/ a...e ate, paste, make ai waist, aim, fail ay day, may, way ei eight, veil, weigh ey they, whey ea great, steak, break

The glide begins from slightly below the close-mid position and moves in the direction of RP /ɪ/. There is a slight closing movement of the lower jaw. The lips are spread. This is glide from a front unrounded vowel just below half- close to a centralised front unrounded vowel just above half-close. This glide can occur in all places.

2. /aɪ/

Spellings of /aɪ/ i...e time, write, hide ie die, lie, pie y cry, dry, by ye dye, y (non-finally) type, tyrant, cycle igh high, light, right

This diphthong begins at a point slightly behind the front open position and moves in the direction of the position associated with RP /ɪ/. The lips change from a neutral to a loosely spread position. This is a glide from a front unrounded vowel to a centralised front unrounded vowel just above half-close. This diphthong occurs in all places.

3. /ɔɪ/

Spellings of /ɔɪ/

oi boil, noise, choice oy boy, voyage, joy

The tongue glide begins at a point between the open-mid and open-back positions and moves in the direction of RP /ɪ/. The tongue movement extends from back to centralised front. The lips are open rounded for the first element, changing to neutral for the second. This is a diphthong from a back rounded vowel between open and half-close to a centralised front unrounded vowel just above the half-close position.

Diphthongs gliding towards /ʊ/: There are two diphthongs in RP gliding towards the direction of RP /ʊ/. Following is the tongue-position diagram of the diphthongs.

4. /əʊ/

Spellings of /əʊ/ o so, old, both o...e home, clone, pose oe toe, doe, hoe ow know, blow, pillow oa oak, road, toast ou soul, though, moult

The glide of RP /əʊ/ begins at a central position, between close-mid and open-mid. It moves in the direction of RP /ʊ/. There is a slight closing movement of the lower jaw. The lips are neutral for the first element but have a tendency to round on the second element. /əʊ/ is a glide from a back rounded vowel between open and half-open to a centralised front unrounded vowel just above the half-close position. This diphthong occurs in all places.

5. /aʊ/

Spellings of /aʊ/ ou house, sound, out ow allow, cow, crowd

The glide of RP /aʊ/ begins at a point between the back and front open positions, more fronted than the position for RP /ɑ:/. It moves in the direction of RP /ʊ/. The tongue may not be raised higher than the close-mid level. The lips change from a neutrally open to a weakly rounded position. This sound occurs in all places.

Diphthongs gliding towards /ə/:

There are three diphthongs in RP gliding in the direction of /ə/. The tongue position is explained in the following diagram:

6. /ɪə/

Spellings of /ɪə/ er material, hero, zero ere here, interfere, sincere ear dear, fear, year eer career, sneer, deer ia brilliant, media, industrial eu museum

eo theological, creosote ie soviet, spaniel, fierce io period, million, chariot iou previous io union, onion iu medium, stadium, delirium

The glide of RP /ɪə/begins with a tongue position approximately that used for /ɪ/, i.e. close-mid and centralized from front and moves in the direction of the more open variety of /ə/. The lips are neutral throughout with a slight movement from spread to open. /ɪə/ is a glide from a centralised front unrounded vowel just above half-close to a central unrounded vowel between half-close and half-open. This can occur in all places.

7. /ʊə/

Spellings of /ʊə/ oor poor, moor, boor our tour, dour, tournament ure pure, endure, cure ur curious, spurious, during ue cruel, fluent, puerile ua actual, mutual, usual

/ʊə/ glides from a tongue position similar to that used for /ʊ/ towards the more open type of /ə/. The lips are weakly rounded at the beginning of the glide, becoming neutrally spread as the glide progresses. /ʊə/ is a glide from a centralised back rounded vowel just above half-close to a central unrounded vowel between half-close and half-open. This glide can occur, medially and finally in a word. It does not occur initially.

8. /eə/

Spellings of /eə/ ar rarity, scarce are care, parent, fare air air, chair, affair ear bear, pear, swear ae aerobic, aerial, aeroplane

The glide of RP /eə/ begins in the open-mid front position. The lips are neutrally open throughout. /eə/ is a glide from a front half-open unrounded vowel to a central unrounded vowel between half-close and half-open. This glide occurs in all places.

Consonants

There are twenty-four distinctive in English RP.

Consonants are pronounced by stopping the air from flowing easily through the mouth, especially by closing the lips or touching the teeth with the tongue.

I. : /p,b,t,d,k,g/ A sound is articulated a stricture of complete closure and sudden release. The complete articulation of a pulmonic egressive plosive, or stop, consists of three stages: 1. the closing stage; 2. the compression stage; and 3. the release stage.

1. The closing stage: During the closing stage the articulating organs move together in order to form the obstruction.

2. The compression stage: During this stage, the lung action compresses the air behind the closure.

3. The release stage: During the release stage, the organs form the obstruction part rapidly and allow the compressed air to escape abruptly. It escapes with an explosion, hence ‘plosive’.

The RP plosive phonemes comprise three pairs: /p,b/ /t,d/ /k,g/

ii. : /p,b/ is generally bilabial. /t,d/ is generally alveolar and /k,g/ generally velar.

ii. Force of articulation: /p, t, k/ tend to be pronounced with more muscular energy and a stronger breath effort than /b, d, g/. /p, t, k/ are known as relatively strong or fortis and /b, d, g/ as relatively weak or lenis.

/p/ is a voiceless bilabial plosive. /b/ is a . /t/ is a voiceless alveolar plosive. /d/ is a voiced alveolar plosive. /k/ is a . /g/ is a .

II. : /ʧ,ʤ/ The term ‘’ denotes a concept which is primarily of phonetic importance. Any plosive whose release stage is performed in such a way that considerable friction occurs approximately at the point where the plosive stop is made, may be called ‘affricative.

Description: the soft palate is raised and the nasal resonator is shut off. The obstacle to the airstream is formed by a closure made between the tip,

blade and rims of the tongue and the upper alveolar ridge and side teeth. At the same time, the front of the tongue is raised towards the hard palate in readiness for the release. The closure is released slowly. The air escapes in a diffuse manner over the whole of the central surface of the tongue with friction occurring between the blade/front region of the tongue and the alveolar/front palatal section of the roof of the mouth. During the production of /ʧ/ the vocal folds are wide apart but may be vibrating for all or part of /ʤ/.

/ʧ/ is a voiceless palate-alveolar affricate. /ʤ/ is a voiced palate-alveolar affricate.

III. : /f,v,θ,ð,s,z,ʃ,ʒ,h/ In the articulation of a fricative consonant, two organs are brought and held sufficiently close together for the escaping airstream to produce local air turbulence. Like plosives and affricates, fricatives are characterized by a noise component.

During the articulation of/ f /, the soft palate is raised and the nasal resonator is shut off. The inner surface of the lower lip makes a light contact with the edge of the upper teeth, so that the escaping air produces friction. The vocal cords are wide apart. / f / is a voiceless labio-.

/v/ is articulated exactly like / f / except that during the articulation of /v/, the vocal cords vibrate producing . /v/ is a voiced labio-dental fricative.

/θ/: During the articulation of /θ/, the soft palate is raised and the nasal resonator is shut off. The tip and rims of the tongue make a light contact with the edge and inner surface of the upper incisors and a firmer contact with the upper side teeth, so that the air escapes between the forward surface of the tongue and incisors causes friction. The vocal cords are wide apart. /θ/ is a voiceless dental fricative.

/ð/ is articulated exactly like /θ/ except that during the articulation of /ð/ the vocal cords vibrate, producing voice. /ð/ is a .

/s/: During the articulation of /s/, the soft palate is raised and the nasal resonator is shut off. The blade of the tongue makes a light contact with the upper alveolar ridge. The side rims of the tongue make a close contact with the

upper side teeth. The airstream escapes by means of a narrow groove in the centre of tongue and causes friction between the tongue and the alveolar ridge. The vocal cords are wide apart. /s/ is a voiceless alveolar fricative.

/z/ is articulated exactly like /s/ except that during the articulation of /z/ the vocal cords vibrate, producing voice. /z/ is a voiced alveolar fricative.

/ʃ/: During the articulation of /ʃ/, the soft palate is raised and the nasal resonator is shut off. The tip and the blade of the tongue make a light contact with the alveolar ridge. The front of the tongue is raised at the same time in the direction of the hard palate and the side rims of the tongue are in contact with the upper side teeth. The escape of air is diffuse. The friction occurs between a more extensive area of the tongue and the roof of the mouth. The vocal cords are wide apart. /ʃ/ is a voiceless palate-alveolar fricative.

/ʒ/: /ʒ/ is articulated exactly like /ʃ/except that during the articulation of /ʒ/, the vocal cords vibrate producing voice. /ʒ/ is a voiced palate-alveolar fricative.

/h/: During the articulation of /h/, the air from the lungs escapes through a narrow glottis with audible friction. /h/ is a voiceless glottal fricative.

/ f / is a voiceless labio-dental fricative. /v/ is a voiced labio-dental fricative. /θ/ is a voiceless dental fricative. /ð/ is a voiced dental fricative. /s/ is a voiceless alveolar fricative. /z/ is a voiced alveolar fricative. /ʃ/ is a voiceless palate-alveolar fricative. /ʒ/ is a voiced palate-alveolar fricative. /h/ is a voiceless glottal fricative.

IV. Nasals: /m,n,ŋ/ Nasal consonants resemble oral plosives in that a total closure is made within the mouth. They differ from such plosives in that the soft palate is in its lowered position. This allows an escape of air into the nasal cavity and gives the sound the special resonance provided by the naso-

pharyngeal cavity. Since the airstream may escape freely through the nose, nasal consonants are . They differ from continuants such as fricatives in that no audible friction is produced and from the fact that they are usually voiced.

/m/: During the articulation of /m/, the two lips make a firm contact with each other, thereby shutting off the oral passage of air. The vocal cords vibrate producing voice. The soft-palate is lowered so that the air escapes freely through the nose. /m/is a voiced bilabilal nasal.

/n/: During the articulation of /n/, the oral closure is effected by the tip or blade of the tongue making a firm contact with the alveolar ridge. The soft palate is lowered and thus the nasal passage of air is open. The lung-air escapes freely through the nostrils. The vocal cords vibrate producing voice. /n/ is a voiced alveolar nasal.

/ŋ/: During articulation of /ŋ/, the oral closure is effected by the back of the tongue making a firm contact with the soft-palate. The soft-palate is lowered, thereby opening the nasal passage of air. The lung-air escapes freely through the nostrils. The vocal cords vibrate and produce voice. /ŋ/ is a .

V. Lateral : /l/ The soft palate is in its raised position and shuts off the nasal resonator. The tip of the tongue is in contact with the upper teeth ridge which allows the air to escape on both sides or on one side without any friction. The vocal cords vibrate, producing voice. /l/ is a voiced alveolar .

VI. : /r,j,w/An approximant is articulated with a stricture of open approximation. It is vowel-like in its articulation but is classified as a consonant because it always occupies the marginal C position in the structure of a syllable.

/r/: During the articulation of the approximant /r/, the soft palate is raised so as to shut off the nasal passage of air. The tip of the tongue is brought near the rear part of the teeth-ridge in such a way that there is sufficient gap between the two for the air to escape freely without any friction. The vocal cords vibrate, producing voice. /r/ is a voiced post-alveolar approximant.

/j/: During the articulation of /j/, the front of the tongue takes up a position necessary for the articulation of a vowel between front close and front half-close depending upon the closeness or openness of the vowel that follows /j/. The soft-palate is raised so as to shut off the nasal passage of air. The vocal cords vibrate, producing voice. The lips are spread but there may be anticipatory lip-rounding if /j/ is followed by a rounded vowel. /j/ is a voiced palatal approximant.

/w/: During the articulation of /w/, the back of the tongue assumes a position required for the articulation of a vowel between back close and back half-close depending upon the closeness or otherwise of the vowel that follows it. The soft-palate is raised so that the nasal passage of air is blocked completely. The lips are rounded. The vocal cords vibrate, producing voice. /w/ is a voiced labio-dental approximant.

/r/ is a voiced post-alveolar approximant. /j/ is a voiced palatal approximant. /w/ is a voiced labio-dental approximant.

S. Maran

Associate Professor and Head

PG and Research Department of English

Mannai Rajagopalasami Government Arts College

Mannargudi

Tiruvarur District

Tamil Nadu

India -- 614001