Vowels Traditional Classification Traditional Vowel Classification Classify vowels

Vowels Traditional Classification

Traditional Vowel Classification Classify vowels according to: – – – Tongue movement Lip rounding tension

Tongue Movement Involves 2 dimensions: – Tongue advancement (horizontal movement) front – to back – advancement -- horizontal Tongue height (vertical movement) low to high – height -- vertical

Front-Back (advancement) Front vowels – tongue in front; most of resonating cavity in back of mouth Central vowels – half of resonating cavity in front; half in back Back vowels – tongue in back; resonating cavity in front of mouth

High-Low (Height) High vowels – tongue at highest position Mid vowels – tongue at mid position Low vowels – tongue at lowest position

Advancement + Height = 9 position Front low Central mid Back high

9 logical positions Advancement Front Central Back Height Vowels high [ , ] mid [ , ] 5 FRONT low [ ] VOWELS high none mid [ , , ] 4 CENTRAL low [ ] VOWELS high [ , ] mid [ , ] 5 BACK low [ ] VOWELS

Front Vowels [ ]: front, high, tense, unround – – Air passes over tense part of tongue; teeth are almost closed Often substituted in final unstressed syllable [b ] [ ]: front, high, lax, unround – – Used in stressed or unstressed syllable Often substitute [ ] for [ ] in foreign dialects, EX. [b ] ~ [ ] “busy”

Front Vowels [ ]: front, mid, tense, unround – When elongated, is a diphthong [ ]: front, mid, lax, unround – – Shorter in duration than [ ] Combines with [r] to get [ r] [ ]: front, low, neutral tension, unround – – Lowest of front vowels Tongue low and flat Mouth open more than for any other vowel Often nasalized

Central Vowels More difficult to teach because there is a lot of variation in central tongue positioning. [ ]: central, mid, lax, neutral lip rounding – – – Used in unstressed words in weak or connected speech [ ] Often interchanged with [ ] in unstressed syllables [ ] ~ [ ] “heaven” [ ]: central, low, tense, neutral lip rounding – Always occurs in stressed syllables [ ]

Central Vowels [ ]: central, mid, tense, neutral lip rounding – Stressed vocalic [r]; [ ] and [ ] [ ]: central, mid, lax, neutral lip rounding – – Unstressed vocalic [r] Most often in final positions [ ]

Central Vowels [ ] and [ ]: These 2 vowels are [r] colored vowels – – – difficult to teach Often misarticulated Both have retroflex Tongue-tip is curled or pulled back Tongue is arched in middle [ ] – stress depends on forcefulness, duration, and amplitude

Back Vowels All back vowels are found arching of tongue is more prominent in the back of the mouth [ ]: back, high, tense, round – – Is the highest and most rounded of back vowels Mouth opening is narrower than for any other vowel [j] often accompanies [u] [juz] ~ [uz]; [kjut] ~ [kut] Easier to teach because of its distinctive features [ ]: back, high, lax, round – Lips aren’t as round as [u]

Back Vowels [ ]: back, mid, tense, round – – – Lips are completely rounded; muscles are tense [o] glides easily into diphthong [ ] Diphthong occurs in accented syllables usually in final position [ ] ~ [ ] [ ]: back, mid, lax, round – More prominent in Northeastern dialects; not common in Southern dialects; frequently collapses to [ ] in Southern dialects. EX. “caught” [k t] ~ “cot” [k t] [ ]: back, low, neutral in tension, round – – – Very little rounding Tongue is relaxed and mouth is in smiling-like position “cot” [k t] ~ “tot” [t ]