Vowel Sounds:

Answer the following questions:

1. What’s a vowel sound?

2. In what way/s are vowels sounds described?
3. What’s the difference between pure vowels and diphthongs?
4. What are the English diphthongs? Describe them.
5. What’s a triphthong?
6. What are the English triphthongs? Describe them.

Answers:

1. A vowel sound is a sound in which there isn’t obstruction to the escape of air as it passes
from the larynx to the lips.
2. The vowel sounds are described by the different part of the tongue which is raised, the
extent of such rising and the position of the lips as well.
3. The main difference between “pure vowels” and diphthongs is that a pure vowel (or
monophthong) is a single sound, whereas a diphthong is the combination of two vowel
sounds.
4. The English diphthongs are sounds which consist of a movement or glide from one vowel
to another. The first part is much longer and stronger than the second part. There are
eight diphthongs and they are divided in three groups; centring (iᵊ-eᵊ-uᵊ) , closing ending
in /I/(ei-ai-ᵓi) , and ending in /u/ (au-ᵊu) . The centring diphthongs end with a glide
towards /ᵊ/ and for this reason they are called centring, because /ᵊ/ is a central vowel. The
closing diphthongs end with a glide towards /I/ or towards /ᶷ/. The glide is towards a
higher position in the mouth.
5. A triphthong is a glide from one vowel to another and then to a third, all produced rapidly
and without interruption.
6. The English triphthongs can be looked on as being composed of the five closing
diphthongs with a /ᵊ/ added on the end. These are those triphthongs: ei +ᵊ, ai+ᵊ, ᵓi+ᵊ, ᵊu+ᵊ,
au+ᵊ.
Diphthongs:

1_ How are monophthong and diphthongs the same and different?

2_ how many diphthongs are there in English? What subclasses can be distinguished?

3_Classify English diphthongs in detail. Provide examples.

4_What are triphthongs?

Answer:

1) Monophthong and diphthongs are the same because they are vowel sounds, but they are
different because Monophthong consists only in one sound, whereas diphthongs are the
combination of two vowel sounds. Vowels just involve the sound through the tract,
whereas diphthongs consist of the movement from one another vowel sound.
2) The English diphthongs are sounds which consist of a movement or glide from one vowel
to another. The first part is much longer and stronger than the second part. There are
eight diphthongs and they are divided in centring and closing.

3) centring diphthongs end with a glide towards / ə / and for this reason they are called
centring, because / ə / is a central vowel. There are three centring diphthongs: /ɪə/-/ʊə/-/eə/.

Examples: /ɪə/ pear /ʊə/ cure /eə/ square

/ ɪə/: the glide begins in the position for / ɪ /, moving down and back towards / ə/. The lips are
neutral but with a small movement from spread to open.

/ʊə/: the glide begins in the position for /ʊ/, moving forwards and down towards /ə/. The lips
are loosely rounded, becoming neutrally spread.

/eə/: the glide begins in the position for /e/, moving back towards /ə/. The lips remain neutrally
open.

Closing diphthongs end with a glide towards /ɪ/ or towards /ʊ/. The glide is towards a higher
position in the mouth. There are five closing diphthongs:

Ending in /ɪ/: /eɪ/, /ɔɪ/, /aɪ/.

Ending in /ʊ/: /əʊ/, /aʊ/.

/eɪ/: the glide begins in the position for /e/, moving up and slightly back towards /ɪ/. The lips are
spread. Example: face, day, steak.

/ɔɪ/: the glide begins in the position for /ɔː/, moving up and forwards towards /ɪ/. The lips start
open and rounded, and change to neutral.

/aɪ/: the glide begins in an open position, between front and centre, moving up and slightly
forward towards /ɪ/. The lips move from neutral, to loosely spread.

/əʊ/: the glide begins in the position for /ə/, moving up and back towards /ʊ/. The lips are neutral,
but change loosely rounded.

/aʊ/: the glide begins in a position quite similar to /ɑː/, moving towards /ʊ/. The lips start neutral,
with a movement to loosely rounded. The glide is not always completed, as the movement
involved is extensive.

4) A triphthong is a glide from one vowel to another and then to a third, all produced rapidly and
without interruption. The English triphthongs can be looked on as being composed of the five
closing diphthongs, with /ə/ added on the end. Thus we get:

/eɪ/ + / ə/ = /eɪə/ ( /aɪ/ + / ə/= / aɪə/(ire,etc) /ɔɪ/ + / ə/ =/ ɔɪə/ (oyer)

/əʊ/ + / ə/ = / əʊə/ (ower) /aʊ/ + / ə/ = / aʊə/ (hour, our)

28/08/13

Triphthong:

1. Define triphthong
2. Classify them
3. State difficulties that speakers and listeners encounter
3) The principal difficulty is that in present-day English the extent of the vowel movement is
very small, except in very careful pronunciation. Because of this, the middle of the three
vowels qualities of the triphthong can hardly be heard and the resulting sound is difficult
to distinguish from some of the diphthongs and long vowels. There is also the problem of
whether a triphthong is felt to contain one, or two syllables. Triphthongs in BBC
pronunciation are in a rather unstable state, resulting in the loss of some distinctions; it is
not easy to distinguish between ‘tyre’, ‘tower’ and ‘tar’.
Homework:
1)on the vowel diagram indicate the glides for the diphthongs in the following words:
a) fright b)home c)clear d)cow
2) transcribe the words above and describe the sounds in them.
3) Transcribe the following words. Describe the vowel sounds:
a) broad b)ward c)calf d)learn e)cool f)team g)sir h)seal i)curl
4) transcribe the following words and describes the glides :
a) way b)beer c)coil d)hair e) power f)player g)tired h)lawyer