Phonetics Vowels LING 400 Winter 2010 Vowels n

Vowels n Upper and lower articulators relatively far apart n cf. manner of articulation

A five vowel system e. g. Spanish Tongue advancement (backness) front central back V

Spanish vowels front high mid low central back [misɑ] [musɑ] ‘Mass’ [mesɑ] ‘muse’ [moskɑ]

Lip rounding n. A third parameter of vowel systems n (height – backness –

Vowel quality vs. quantity n Vowel “quality” – height: high vs. mid vs. low

Danish vowel length contrasts http: //www. phonetics. ucla. edu/course/chapter 9/danish. html

Modern English vowels n Middle English > Modern English – Long vowels (600 years

English also has n Monophthongs vs. diphthongs – Monophthong = 1 vowel quality §

Western North America front central back unrounded high heed [i] hid [ɪ] who’d [u]

Further east in North America high front central back unrounded heed [i] hid [ɪ]

[ɑ] vs. [ɔ] A female speaker from New York City cot [ɑ] n Polly

Vowel summary n Main parameters – Tongue height – Tongue backness/advancement – Rounding n

Question n Try to describe some vowel or consonant in a language you know

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Phonetics: Vowels LING 400 Winter 2010

Vowels n Upper and lower articulators relatively far apart n cf. manner of articulation

A five vowel system e. g. Spanish Tongue advancement (backness) front central back V o we l ( T o n g u e) h ei g h t high i u mid e o low ɑ

Spanish vowels front high mid low central back [misɑ] [musɑ] ‘Mass’ [mesɑ] ‘muse’ [moskɑ] ‘table’ ‘housefly’ [mɑsɑ] ‘dough’

Lip rounding n. A third parameter of vowel systems n (height – backness – rounding) n Vowels of Spanish – [i] = high front unrounded vowel – [e] = mid front unrounded vowel – [u] = high back rounded vowel – [o] = mid back rounded vowel – [ɑ] = low back unrounded vowel ØMost languages: high or mid back vowels tend to be round; other vowels unround

Vowel quality vs. quantity n Vowel “quality” – height: high vs. mid vs. low – backness: front vs. central vs. back – rounding: rounded vs. unrounded n Vowel “quantity”: long vs. short

Danish vowel length contrasts http: //www. phonetics. ucla. edu/course/chapter 9/danish. html

Modern English vowels n Middle English > Modern English – Long vowels (600 years ago) >now ‘tense’ – Short vowels > ‘lax’ n “Tenseness” – Positions of tongue or lips § “more extreme”: tense § less extreme: lax – Duration § “usually longer”: tense § shorter: lax

English also has n Monophthongs vs. diphthongs – Monophthong = 1 vowel quality § hawed [ɑ] – Diphthong = sequence of vowel qualities § hide [ɑɪ]

Western North America front central back unrounded high heed [i] hid [ɪ] who’d [u] hood [ʊ] mid hayed [eɪ] hoed [oʊ] low had [æ] head [ɛ] lax vowels HUD [ʌ] sod [ɑ] [eɪ] = [ej]; [oʊ] = [ow]

Further east in North America high front central back unrounded heed [i] hid [ɪ] mid hayed [eɪ] head [ɛ] low who’d [u] hood [ʊ] hoed [oʊ] HUD [ʌ] had [æ] [ɔ] is a lax vowel, according to textbook hawed [ɔ] sod [ɑ]

[ɑ] vs. [ɔ] A female speaker from New York City cot [ɑ] n Polly [ɑ] n Don [ɑ] n caught [ɔ] Paulie [ɔ] dawn [ɔ]

Vowel summary n Main parameters – Tongue height – Tongue backness/advancement – Rounding n Some languages – Length – Tenseness n Monophthongs vs. diphthongs

Question n Try to describe some vowel or consonant in a language you know that is not one of the speech sounds of English. Be sure to name the language.