2 English Vowels

A Vowel Sounds
We can define speech sounds in two ways. The phonetic definition classifies speech sounds
by the way we produce them. The phonological definition considers their distribution, i.e. in
what positions in a word they can occur, and their context next to what other sounds they
occur.

Phonetic characteristics Phonological characteristics

Vowels ▪ Vocal fold vibration ▪ Occurs at the center of syllable –
▪ Absence of obstruction in the a group of phonemes that are
vocal tract (the air flows freely) pronounced together

English vowels are also divided into three types depending on the number of vowel sounds
they consist of:

▪ Monophthongs are single vowel sounds that may be long and short.
▪ Diphthongs are double vowel sounds formed by gliding (moving) from one vowel
position to another.
▪ Triphthongs are triple vowel sounds made by gliding from one vowel position to a
second and then to a third.

B Vowel classification
The quality of a vowel depends on the position (height) and shape of the tongue, and the
shape of the lips.

▪ Tongue height is the vertical distance between the upper surface of the tongue and
the palate.
Using this criterion, the main distinctions are open and close. If the distance is small,
then the vowels are called close, if it is big then the vowels are open. Figure 1 shows
that the tongue in the articulation of the vowel /i:/ is high in the mouth – it is a close
vowel – and that for /æ/ there is a big space between the surface of the tongue and
the roof of the mouth so /æ/ is an open vowel. Some vowels are neither close nor
open, they are mid-vowels like /e/.

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 Figure 9: Tongue height for the vowels /i:/ and /æ/

▪ The tongue shape depends on which part of the tongue, between front and back is
raised highest.
Here we talk about front and back vowels. In figure 2, both /i:/ and /u:/ are close
vowels, but for /i:/ (a front vowel) the front part of the tongue is raised the highest,
whereas for /u:/ (a back vowel) the back of the tongue is raised the heist. Some vowels
are neither front nor back so they are central. For instance, the vowel /ə/ that ends
the word camera is a mid-central vowel.

Figure 10: Tongue shape for /i:/ (left) and /u:/ (right)

▪ Lip-shape: Vowel quality also varies depending on whether the lips are rounded,
spread or in a neutral position. For rounded vowels, the corners of the lips are brought
towards each other and the lips are pushed forwards (e.g. /u:/). When the lips are
spread, the corners are moved away from each other (e.g. /i:/). Some vowels are
made with a neutral lip position: the lips are neither rounded nor spread (e.g. /ɜː/)

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 Figure 11: Lip shape for rounded position, spread position and neutral position

C Monophthongs
Monophthongs are single vowel sounds that may be long and short.

▪ The English short vowels are: /ɪ/, /e/, /æ/, /ʌ/, /ə/, /ɒ/, /ʊ/
▪ The long vowels are: /i:/, /ɜ:/, /u:/, /ɑ:/, /ɔː/.

The precise length of English vowels varies depending on:

▪ Context: For instance, when a vowel is followed by a voiceless consonant, it is shorter

than when it stands before a voiced consonant. (e.g. beat, bit, bet all have shorter
vowels than bead, bid, bed).
▪ Stress: When a vowel occurs in an unstressed syllable, it is shorter than when it is in
a stressed syllable. Compare record (v) /rɪˈkɔːd/ and record (n) /ˈrekɔːd/. The long
vowel in the noun is not as long as the on the one in the verb.

Figure 12: The vowel quadrilateral for English vowels (RP)

▪ Front vowels: Vowels for which the tongue front is raised highest.
▪ Back vowels: Vowels for which the tongue back is raised highest.
▪ Central vowels: Vowels for which the part between the tongue front and back is raised
highest.
▪ Mid-vowels: Vowels which are neither open nor close.
▪ Open vowels: Vowels for which there is (relatively) much space between the surface
of the tongue and the roof of the mouth.
▪ Close vowels: Vowels for which there is (relatively) little space between the surface of
the tongue and the roof of the mouth.
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 To produce a correct short vowel, it is not enough to simply cut the
long vowel short. Long vowels differ from short ones not only in
quantity (length) but also in quality (they sound different). You
can see this difference in the vowel quadrilateral.

close; back; more open and less

close; front; more close and
back than /u:/; rounded lips
front than /ɪ/; spread lips
close; front; less front and more
open than /i:/, slightly spread lips close; back; slightly rounded
lips

mid; central; neutral

lip position
mid; central; neutral lip
position. this vowel has a
name “schwa”
mid; back; much
more close than /ɒ/;
mid; front; more open strong lip-rounding
than /ɪ/; slightly spread
lips

open; back; slightly

open; central; more rounded lips
open and slightly more
front than /ə/; neutral
lip position
open, front, /æ/ is much
more open than /e/; much open; back; much more back and lightly
more front than /ɑ:/; more open than /æ/; neutral lip position
slightly spread lips

Sounds Examples Sounds Examples

/i:/ beat, heel, leave /ɜ:/ fir, curse, learn
DVD
/ɪ/ bit, hill, live /ʊ/ pull, could, foot
/e/ bet, pen, dead /u:/ pool, cooed, food
/æ/ bat, pan, dad /ɒ/ pot, shot, spot
/ʌ/ but, some, rush /ɔː/ port, short, sport

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 /ə/ about, printer, tomorrow /ɑ:/ part, half, father
Characteristics of Vowels
The following characteristics of vowel sounds are necessary for clear articulation.

▪ The tongue, lower jaw, and lips are important in vowel articulation.
▪ The tip of the tongue is placed behind the lower teeth for all vowel sounds.
▪ The front of the tongue humps or bunches toward the front palate for the front vowels
▪ The center of the tongue humps or bunches toward the center palate for the central
vowels.
▪ The back of the tongue humps or bunches toward the soft palate for the back vowels.
▪ High vowels are articulated with the jaws close together.
▪ Mid vowels are articulated with the tongue and jaw lower.
▪ Lower vowels are made with the tongue and jaw lowest of all.
▪ The lips are more spread in the high front vowels than in the low front vowels.
▪ The lips are more rounded in high back vowels than in low back vowels.
▪ The soft palate is raised for all vowels.

D Diphthongs
A diphthong consists of two vowel sounds; it consists of a glide from one vowel to a another.

Sounds Examples
/ɪə/ hear, peer, queer, near, beer
DVD
/eə/ hair, pair, stare, where, bear
/ʊə/ poor, lure, moor, moored
/eɪ/ stay, taste, faint, name
/aɪ/3 stay, height, tight, climb, fine
/ɔɪ/ coy, host, coin, spoil, joy
/əʊ/ code, host, no, row, boast
/aʊ/ cow, house, now, loud, row

Diphthongs can be classified according to the movement that is made in going from the first
to the second element: if the second element is closer than the first, then a closing glide is
made; if the second element is more central then a centering movement happens.

3
You may see this diphthong written an /ʌɪ/ symbol which is more a modern version of RP

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 Figure 12: The classification of diphthongs

Pronunciation note

A diphthong begins in one vowel and moves in the direction of another vowel. The quality of
the vowel sounds which make up diphthongs is not usually exactly the same as that of a
similar long or short vowel. For example, the starting point for /aɪ/ is an open vowel which is
more back than /æ/ and more front than /ɑ:/. From this starting point the tongue moves
towards the position for /ɪ/ but does not really reach its destination. Figure 13 illustrates the
diphthongs glides.

Figure 13: The gliding movements of the English diphthongs

Furthermore, the first part of a diphthong is normally louder and longer than the second,
which is short and quieter. Nevertheless, diphthongs are not pronounced as monophthongs.
Made is /meɪd/, not /med/.
Some learners of English have a tendency to mispronounce /eɪ/ as /æɪ/ (a non-existing
diphthong in RP). Thus, a word like eight is mispronounced /æɪt/ instead of /eɪt/. while this

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 is perfectly natural for speakers of, for example, the London dialect of British English, it is not
correct in standard pronunciation.

E Triphthongs
Triphthongs glide rapidly from one vowel to another and then to a third.

Sounds Examples
/eɪə/ layer, player
/aɪə/ liar, fire, wire, choir
/ɔɪə/ loyal, royal
/əʊə/ lower, mower
/aʊə/ hour, power, sour, flower

Pronunciation note
In present-day English, the middle of the three vowels can hardly be heard and the resulting
sounds are sometimes difficult to distinguish from diphthongs or long vowels. For example,
many speakers say /aə/ instead of /aʊə/ (hour), or /eə/ instead of /eɪə/ (layer).

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