Department of English

B.S English (Session 2017-21)

Course: Introduction to Linguistics

Semester: First Credit hours: 03

Instructor: Muhammad Ishaq Malik

Lecture: #

Vowels

Vowels include the sounds we ordinarily represent as the letters <a, e, i, o, u>, as well as a
number of other sounds for which the ordinary alphabet has no unique symbols. Vowels are
distinguished from consonants in several ways. As we have seen, consonants are produced by
constricting the airstream to various degrees as it flows through the oral tract. Vowels are
produced with a smooth, unobstructed airflow through the oral tract. Differences in vowel
quality are produced by different shapes of the oral cavity. Characteristic vowel qualities are
determined by (a) the height of the tongue in the mouth; (b) the part of the tongue raised
(front, middle, or back); and (c) the configuration of the lips (rounded, neutral or straight).

English Vowels

English Vowel sounds are generally divided into three categories monothongs (short and long
vowels), diphthongs and triphthongs. But we’ll discuss monothongs and diphthongs.

Monothongs

Monothongs are divided into two categories as short and long vowels. There are seven short
vowels in English. Symbols for these short vowels are; , , , , , , . Each vowel
sound is generally described according to the position of tongue.

English Short Vowels

I (example words: 'bit', 'pin', 'fish') This vowel is in the close front and nearer into the
centre and lips are slightly spread.
 (example words: 'bet', 'men', 'yes') This is a front vowel. The lips are slightly spread.

(example words: 'bat', 'man', 'gas') This vowel is front, but not quite as open. The lips are
slightly spread.

(example words: 'cut', 'come', 'rush') This is a central vowel, and the diagram shows that
it is more open than the open-mid tongue height. The lip position is neutral.

(example words: 'pot', 'gone', 'cross') This vowel is not quite fully back, and between
open-mid and open in tongue height. The lips are slightly rounded.

(example words: 'put', 'pull', 'push') This is a lower-back vowel as it is produced at the
back of the tongue. The lips are rounded.

There is one other short vowel, for which the symbol is . This central vowel - which is
called schwa - is a very familiar sound in English; it is heard in but in the middle.

Long Vowels

There are the five long vowels; these are the vowels which tend to be longer than the short
vowels in similar contexts. It is necessary to say "in similar contexts" because the length of
all English vowel sounds varies very much according to their context (such as the type of
sound that follows them) and the presence or absence of stress. To remind you that these
vowels tend to be long, the symbols consist of one vowel symbol plus a length mark made of
two dots .

These are the symbols af long vowels:

(example words: 'beat', 'mean', 'peace') This vowel is closer and more front than is the
short vowel of 'bid', 'pin', 'fish' described. The lips are only slightly spread and this results in a
rather different vowel quality.

(example words: 'bird', 'fern', 'purse') This is a mid-central vowel which is used in most
English accents as a hesitation sound (written 'er'), but which many learners find difficult to
copy. The lip position is neutral.
 (example words: 'card', 'half, 'pass') This is an open vowel but not produced totally at
the back. The lip position is neutral.

(example words: 'board', 'torn', 'horse') The tongue height for this vowel is higher and
this vowel is almost fully back and has quite strong lip-rounding.

(example words: 'food', 'soon', 'loose') This vowel is much less back and less close,
while the lips are only moderately rounded.

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