Articulation of vowels

The Traditional Cardinal Vowel and the Sound Foundations phonemic chart

Traditionally the front–back and high–low co-ordinates of tongue position have been
shown on a vowel box (Fig. 9a). A great number of different vowel sounds are possible
within this vowel box, yet each language makes use of only a few of them, dividing up
the space available to suit its own requirements.

The traditional vowel diagram (Fig. 9a) is transferred to the Sound Foundations phonemic
chart (Fig. 9b) to give the layout shown in Fig. 9c. Fig. 9d shows how the chart relates to
the mouth.

Fig. 9a Fig. 9b Fig. 9c

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Docente: Verónica Varela
HIGH or CLOSE VOWELS: The highest part of the tongue is close to the roof of the mouth
/i:/
The tongue is tense and in the high front position (tongue tip just behind lower front
teeth)
The sides of the tongue touch the upper molars
The lips are spread with some muscular tension as if towards a half smile
The jaw is relatively closed
/ ɪ/
The part of the tongue slightly nearer the centre is raised
It is not as high as /i: /
The tongue is more relaxed
The sides of the tongue may just touch the upper molars
The lips are loosely spread
The jaw is fairly closed

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Docente: Verónica Varela
/u: /
The tongue is tense and in the high back position.
The lips become rounded as if towards a whistling position
The jaw is fairly closed

/ʊ/

It is not as high as /u: /

The lips are loosely rounded
The tongue is relatively relaxed
The jaw is fairly closed

Prácticas Discursivas de la Comunicación Oral I – Evening Shift

Docente: Verónica Varela
MID VOWELS: the highest point of the tongue is mid way between close and open

/e/

The tongue is in the mid front position and it`s tenser than for /ɪ/.

The sides of the tongue may touch the upper molars.

The lips are loosely spread

The jaw is a bit more open than for /iː/ and a bit more closed than for /æ/. In other
words, for /e/the jaw is half way open.
/ ə/

The central vowel / ə/ can claim to be the ‘smallest’ English vowel sound. It is the only
sound with a name, schwa, which is from Hebrew and means something like “a neutral
vowel quality,” literally “emptiness” or “nothing”.

It is the only vowel that is always unstressed, never stressed.

It has a neutral and central setting. This means that the tongue is in mid or neutral
position with mouth and tongue relaxed. There is no muscle tension, as if the tongue is at
rest. And the lips are neutral, neither rounded nor spread, in fact also quite at rest. It is
known as a centre vowel because the tongue, jaw and lips are all in a relaxed, neutral
posture.

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Docente: Verónica Varela
/ɜ:/

This is also a centre vowel. The tongue is in the same position as for / ə/, or it may be
just a little further back. It needs some lenght.

The tongue and jaw position are neutral

The mouth and tongue are relaxed.

The lips are also relaxed and neutrally spread.

The tip of the tongue may be touching or close to the lower front teeth.

/ɔ:/

The tongue is in a mid back position

The rounding of the lips is probably not as tight or as forward as for /u: /. They are lightly
rounded.

Notice the contrast in this vowel position between the forward posture of the lips and
the back posture of the tongue. The jaw is neutral

Prácticas Discursivas de la Comunicación Oral I – Evening Shift

Docente: Verónica Varela
OPEN OR LOW VOWELS: there is a considerable distance between the highest point of
the tongue and the roof of the mouth.

/æ/
The tongue is low in the mouth. It is in a low front position.
The lips should be open and spread.
The jaw is open.

/ʌ/
The tip of the tongue may be touching or close to the lower front teeth.
The lips are neutrally open and relaxed
The jaw is open and relaxed
/ɑ: /
The tongue is low in the mouth, and also relatively back. (saying this sound enables a
clearer view of the top of the air passage, so a doctor might ask a child to say /ɑː/ in
order to examine the top of the pharynx)
The lips are quite open and rather rounded, but not pushed forward or pouted in any
way. The jaw is relatively open.

Prácticas Discursivas de la Comunicación Oral I – Evening Shift

Docente: Verónica Varela
/ɒ/

The tongue is back, and low.

The lips are rounded though not as forward as for /ɔː/ and /uː/.

The jaw is low creating quite a large resonant space in the mouth.

References:
Wells, J.S. (2000). Longman Pronunciation Dictionary. Longman. Hong Kong
Underhill, A.(1994) Sound Foundations. Heinemann. Oxford, UK.

Baker, Ann. (2006). Ship or Sheep? Third edition. C.U.P. Cambridge, UK.

García Lecumberri, M.L. & J.A. Maidment (2000). English Transcription Course. London:
Arnold

Kelly, G. ((2004). How to Teach Pronunciation Pearson Education limited. Essex, England.
Underhill, A. The Blog. Retrieved from https://www.adrianunderhill.com/the-pronunciation-blog/

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Docente: Verónica Varela
Professor Daniel Jones

Daniel Jones, the preeminent British phonetician of the 20th century, was born in
London on 12 September 1881. He was educated at University College School and
Cambridge University. His entire career was spent at University College London (UCL),
where in 1912 he founded the first British university phonetics department. Jones’s
system of Cardinal Vowels is one of his most lasting legacies. Developed by 1917, it is still
to this day employed in much current linguistic descriptive work. Jones also defined a
socially determined type of British English (which he labeled “Received Pronunciation,” or
“RP”) which could be used as a standard for phonetic description and as a model for non-
native learners.

Prácticas Discursivas de la Comunicación Oral I – Evening Shift

Docente: Verónica Varela