The Sound System of English I

UNIT 6
Front vowels

Joaquín Romero
Dpt. of English and German Studies
Universitat Rovira I Virgili

Grau d’Anglès
i" ɪ"
UNIT 6. Front vowels
e"
ɛ"
æ"

phonological description

alternative transcriptions /iː/, /iy/"

most common spellings -ee- -oe-
-ea- -eo-
other spellings -e- -ae-
-ie-
-ei-
-ey-
-i-
-y-
U6-1
i" ɪ"
UNIT 6. Front vowels
e "
ɛ"
æ

sound distribution INITIAL

MIDDLE
FINAL
+ /r/
allophonic variations schwa insertion before /l/, /r/
feel, fear /fil/, /fir/→ [fiəɫ], [fiər]"
dialectal variations diphthongization in
Southern British and Australian
feet, mean /fit/, /min/→ /fɪit/, /mɪin/"

laxing in word-final position

in conservative R.P.
baby /ˈbebi/→ /ˈbebɪ/"
U6-2
i" ɪ"
UNIT 6. Front vowels
e "
ɛ"
æ"

length differences
/i/→ [i]+[voiceless] /i/→ [iː]+[voiced]"
leaf
heat
leak
teeth
piece

U6-3
 "
i
e " ɪ" UNIT 6. Front vowels

ɛ"
æ"

phonological description

alternative transcriptions /i/"

most common spellings -i- -e-
-y- -a-
other spellings -ei-
-o-
-ui-
-u-

U6-4
 "
i
e " ɪ" UNIT 6. Front vowels

ɛ"
æ"

sound distribution INITIAL

MIDDLE
FINAL
+ /r/
allophonic variations neutralization of /i/ and /ɪ/ + /r/"
/pil/, /pɪl/ but /pir/, */pɪr/"
dialectal variations neutralization of /ɪ/ and /ɛ/ before
/n/ in Southern American
tin, ten /tɪn/, /tɛn/→ /tɪn/, /tɪn/"

U6-5
 "
i
e " ɪ" UNIT 6. Front vowels

ɛ"
æ"

length differences
/ɪ/→ [ɪ]+[voiceless] /ɪ/→ [ɪː]+[voiced]"
rip
hit
hiss
pick
lit

U6-6
i "
e
UNIT 6. Front vowels
ɪ"

ɛ"
æ"

phonological description

alternative transcriptions /ei/, /eɪ/, /ey/"

most common spellings -a- -ea-
-ai- -et-
other spellings -ay- -ee-
-ei-
-au-

U6-7
i " UNIT 6. Front vowels

e ɪ"

ɛ"
æ"

sound distribution INITIAL

MIDDLE
FINAL
+ /r/
allophonic variations schwa insertion before /l/"
jail, pale /dʒel/, /pel/→ [dʒeəɫ], [peəɫ]"
dialectal variations clearer diphthongization in
British English [eɪ]"
say, pay [seɪ], [peɪ]"
lowering of first element in
Cockney and Australian
[eɪ]> [æɪ]"
U6-8
i " UNIT 6. Front vowels

e ɪ"

ɛ"
æ"

length differences
/e/→ [e]+[voiceless] /e/→ [eː]+[voiced]"
safe
late
face
grace
h

U6-9
i " UNIT 6. Front vowels
ɪ"
e "
ɛ æ"
phonological description

alternative transcriptions /e/"

most common spellings -e- -ea-
-a-
other spellings -ai-
-ie-
-u-
-eo-

U6-10
i " UNIT 6. Front vowels
ɪ"
e "
ɛ æ"
sound distribution INITIAL
MIDDLE
FINAL
+ /r/
allophonic variations neutralization of /ɛ/ and /æ/ + /r/
merry, marry→ /mɛri/, /mɛri/"
dialectal variations closed variant [e] in Southern
AmE and old-fashioned British
red, let [red], [let]"

U6-11
i " UNIT 6. Front vowels
ɪ"
e "
ɛ æ"
length differences
/ɛ/→ [ɛ]+[voiceless] /ɛ/→ [ɛː]+[voiced]"
bet
sent
peck
dense
set

U6-12
i " UNIT 6. Front vowels
ɪ"
e "
ɛ"
æ
phonological description

alternative transcriptions /a/"

most common spellings -a- -al-
-ai-
other spellings -au-
-i-

U6-13
i " UNIT 6. Front vowels
ɪ"
e "
ɛ"

æ
sound distribution INITIAL
MIDDLE
FINAL
+ /r/
allophonic variations neutralization of /ɛ/ and /æ/ + /r/
carrot, arrow /kɛrət/, /ɛro/ (*[ær])"
raised, diphthongized and
nasalized before /n/, /m/
man, lamb [me᷉ə᷉n], [le᷉ə᷉m]"

dialectal variations BrE /ɑː/ in front of fricatives

glass, dance /glɑːs/, /dɑːns/"
U6-14
i " UNIT 6. Front vowels
ɪ"
e "
ɛ"
æ
length differences
/æ/→ [æ]+[voiceless] /æ/→ [æː]+[voiced]"
cap
hat
batch
lack
half

U6-15