British English Vowels

(RP)

LAX VOWELS

TENSE VOWELS

LAX VOWELS

close

front

back

open

KIT

FOOT

DRESS
STRUT
TRAP

LOT

BACK

FRONT

CLOSE (HIGH)

OPEN (LOW)

preview:
The 6 lax vowels are ALWAYS SHORT

fen
bit
not
very
clever

fen
bit
not
verld
klefi

preview:
The 6 lax vowels are ALWAYS SHORT

fen
bit
not
very
television

fenn

verry
tellevision (telly)
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preview:
The 6 lax vowels are ALWAYS SHORT

fen
bit
not
very
television

fenn
bitt.....?
nott....?
verry
tellevision (telly)
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preview:
English vowels MUST NOT BE
PREASPIRATED
not
nott (noht)
bit
bitt (biht)
stop
stopp (stohp)
better
better (behter)
supper
supper (shper)
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TENSE VOWELS

CLOSE (HIGH

FLEECE

GOOSE

DRESS

FOOT

BACK

FRONT

KIT

NURSE
THOUGHT
STRUT
TRAP

LOT

PALM
OPEN (LOW)

12

BACK

FRONT

CLOSE (HIGH

OPEN (LOW)

13

English Diphthongs
-
di-phthong
.... fong

English Diphthongs
pure vowels
diphthongs

English Diphthongs

how "pure" are the "pure"

vowels?

BACK

FRONT

CLOSE (HIGH

OPEN (LOW)

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1 Rising to KIT

18

2 Rising to FOOT

19

3 Centring to Schwa

20

21

22

SQUARE words are spelled

-airfair
chair
stair
cairn

-arefare
care
mare
stare
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NEAR words are spelled

-eerbeer
engineer
queer

-ierfierce
pier

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But words spelled with -ear-, ere-, -eirare variable SQUARE

NEAR
bear pear wear
fear clear rear
heir their
weir
where there
here
theyre
were
idea
hero
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Vowels - summary

CLOSE (HIGH

FLEECE

GOOSE

DRESS

FOOT

BACK

FRONT

KIT

NURSE
THOUGHT
STRUT
TRAP

LOT

PALM
OPEN (LOW)

BACK

FRONT

CLOSE (HIGH

OPEN (LOW)

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BACK

FRONT

CLOSE (HIGH

OPEN (LOW)

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Vowels - summary
Learn chart positions:
front central - back
close (high) mid open (low
Learn symbols and keywords for
6 lax vowels + schwa
5 tense vowels
8 diphthongs (diphthongs are also tense
vowels)

Difference between lax and

tense vowels
lax vowels are short
tense vowels are long but are
subject to clipping

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Clipping
A tense vowels (or
diphthong) is
CLIPPED (shortened)
when a fortis
consonant immediately
follows it.
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Preview:
FORTIS and LENIS consonants
16 consonants occur in PAIRS, fortis
and lenis
FORTIS consonants are unovoiced
LENIS consonants are often (but not
always) voiced
(This is not the only distinction between fortis
and lenis. Well discuss this later.)

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Preview:
FORTIS and LENIS consonants
fortis:
lenis:
pie, buy

church, judge

tie, die

mission, vision

key, gay

ice, eyes

fine, vine

think, this
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