SPEECH SOUNDS

SPEECH SOUNDS
ACCORDING TO VOICE:

• VOICED • VOICELESS / UNVOICED

(produced WITH vibration of the (produced WITHOUT vibration of
vocal folds) the vocal folds)
e.g. /u:/ • e.g. /p/
SPEECH SOUNDS
ACCORDING TO THE WAY THEY ARE UTTERED:

• SPEECH SOUND PROPER • GLIDES

(sounds produced on purpose, you (sounds produced unconsciously,
are conscious of what you are usually when you change from one
doing to produce them correctly) sound to another) e.g. pet / 'pˬeˬt/
e.g. / i:/
SPEECH SOUNDS
ACCORDING TO WHERE THE AIR ESCAPES THROUGH:

• ORAL • NASAL
(when the air escapes through the (when the air escapes through the
mouth cavity) nasal cavity)
e.g. /ɑ:/ e.g. /m/
VOWEL SOUNDS
CHARACTERISTICS
VOWEL SOUNDS ARE:
• VOICED ( they are produced with vibration of the vocal folds)
• SPEECH SOUND PROPER (they are produced on purpose)
• ORAL SOUNDS (the air scapes through the mouth)
• MONOTHONGS (they consist of one sound, either long or short)
• PRODUCED WITH NO FRICTION, NARROWING OR OBSTRUCTION IN THE MOUTH
CAVITY
• THE HEART OF THE SYLLABLE (they are the most important element in a syllable)
VOWEL AREA IN THE MOUTH CAVITY
(FORMED BY JOINING THE 4 LIMIT/EXTREME POSITIONS OF THE TONGUE F OR
THE PRODUCTION OF VOWEL SOUNDS)

1 as high and forward as possible /i:/

1 4 as low and advanced as possible /æ/
8 5 as low and retracted as possible /ɑ:/
8 as high and retracted as possible /u:/
4

5
SYSTEM OF CARDINAL VOWELS
LIMITS (EXTREME POSITIONS) OF A VOWEL DIAGRAM DESIGNED BY DANIEL
JONES IN 1917 FOR TEACHING PURPOSES –

REFERENCE POINTS FOR ALL L ANGUAGES

CARDINAL VOWELS / VOWEL CHART
PART OF THE TONGUE RAISED

FRONT CENTRAL BACK

CLOSE 1 8
HEIGHT
TO WHICH HALF-CLOSE 2 7
THE TONGUE
IS RAISED HALF-OPEN 3 6

OPEN 4 5
VOWEL CHART
 VOWEL CHART
PART OF THE TONGUE RAISED

FRONT CENTRAL BACK

CLOSE

HEIGHT HALF-CLOSE
TO WHICH
THE TONGUE
IS RAISED
HALF-OPEN

OPEN
CLASSIFICATION OF VOWEL SOUNDS

• According to voice (voiced/voiceless)

• According to the part of the tongue raised (front/central/back)
• According to the height to which the tongue is raised (close /half-close/half-
open/open)
• According to muscular tension (tense/lax)
• According to lip position (rounded: open lip rounding/close lip rounding)
(unrounded: spread/neutral)
CLASSIFICATION OF VOWEL SOUNDS
• /i:/ voiced – front – close – tense – unrounded spread
• /ɪ/ voiced – front – almost half-close – lax – unrounded neutral
• /e/ voiced – front – half-close/half-open – lax – unrounded neutral
• /æ/ voiced – front – half-open/open – lax – unrounded spread
• /˄/ voiced – central – almost half-open – lax – unrounded neutral
• /ɑ:/ voiced – back – open – tense – rounded: open lip rounding
• /ɒ/ voiced – back - half-open/open – lax – rounded: close lip rounding
• /ɔ:/ voiced – back – almost half-close – tense – rounded: close lip rounding
• /ʊ/ voiced – back - almost half-close – lax - rounded: close lip rounding
• /u:/ voiced – back – close – tense – rounded: close lip rounding (lips pushed forward)
• /ɜ:/ voiced – central – half-close/half-open – tense – unrounded neutral
• /ǝ/ voiced – central – half-close/half-open - lax – unrounded neutral (SCHWA)
Two other possible vowel sounds: /i/ - /u/ only in word-final positions,e.g. city/sɪti/