Vowels

1
Vowels

• LIN 3201

2
Vowels vs. Consonants

• Vowels
• Pulmonic Egressive Airstream
• Usually voiced, but can be voiceless
• Maintainable articulations
• More open than approximants all equal to or more
  open than i
• Serve as the nucleus of a syllable (carry pitch,
  tone)

• Consonants
• Many different airstreams pulmonic glottalic or
  velaric
• Voiced or voiceless
• Maintainable and momentary articulations
• Less open than i no more open than
  approximants
• Found at edges of syllables, before and after
  vowels

3
Some caveats about vowels

• Vowels are naturally more difficult than
  consonants because there are no physical
  boundaries from one to another
• Vowels form a continuum, so some of the
  delineation of vowels is acoustic and auditory,
  not articulatory

4
A caveat for native speakers of American
Englishes

• Your natural tendency is
• to GLIDE vowels

5
What is a GLIDE?

• Vowels are produced either as PURE vowels or
  GLIDED vowels
• A PURE vowel means that throughout the production
  of the vowel the tongue stays in the same
  location and maintains the same sound during the
  entire production of the vowel
• i.e. i, e, o, u

6

• A GLIDED vowel is a slightly longer vowel, in
  which the tongue moves towards or from production
  of second vowel during the production
• GLIDES are combinations of vowels with
  semi-vowels j, w or ?
• i.e. uw, oj

7
Wait a seca semi-vowel?

• The approximants j, w and ? are considered
  semi-vowels
• although they share many characteristics with
  vowels, they can not serve as syllable nuclei
  (the center of the syllable)
• Considered non-syllabic versions of i, u
  and y
• They combine with vowel as vowel glides

8

• GLIDES may be considered
• ON-GLIDES -
• glide occurs in syllable initial position
• Articulates as rapid glide movement from high
  vowel position j, central vowel position?,
  low vowel position w or retroflex ? to
  following vowel
• Examples jo, wa. ?e
• OR
• OFF-GLIDES
• Glide occurs in syllable final position
• Rapid gliding movement toward high vowel position
  j, central vowel position ?, low vowel
  position w or retroflex ?
• Examples ow, ay

9
So just remember

• Be VERY careful
• to produce
• PURE vowels
• when needed

10
4 Parameters for Vowels

• 1. Tongue Height (high, mid, low)
• (close, close-mid, open-mid, open in IPA)
• 2. Tongue Backness (front, central, back)
• 3. Tongue Tenseness (tense or lax)
• 4. Lip Rounding (rounded or unrounded)

11
(No Transcript)
12
Tongue Height

• Location, or vertical placement of tongue in the
  mouth
• High, High-Mid, Mid, Low-Mid, Low
• IPA Close, Close-Mid, Open-Mid, Open
• High i, y, ?, ?, ?, u
• Mid (Mid-High/Mid-Low) e, o, ? ?, ?
• Low a, æ, ?

13
Tongue Backness

• Location, or horizontal placement, of tongue in
  the mouth
• Front, Central, Back
• Front i, e, ?, æ, a
• Central ?, ?, ?
• Back y, ?, o, u, ?

14
Lip Rounding

• Whether lips are rounded or unrounded during
  vowel production
• Rounded y, u, o
• Unrounded i, e, ?

15
The front, unrounded vowels

1. i close
2. ? close/close-mid
3. e close-mid
4. ? open-mid
5. æ open-open-mid
6. a open

16
The back, rounded vowels

• u close
• ? close/close-mid
• o close-mid
• ? open-mid