Vowels in multi-syllabic words: schwa

 Example: the vowel presented in bold letters in the

following words:
 above, soda, sofa, comma, arena, patina, photograph
 called schwa and written [].
 Characteristics:
 made at approximately the same place as []
 central vowel as it is farther forward than the back vowels and
farther back than the front ones
 mid, lax, and unrounded vowel
 primarily in unstressed syllables

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Phono VB2 - N.H.Oanh 09/18/2020 2
  Listen to the words and underline the
syllable that has the SCHWA sound.

1.Feature 6. Recognize
2.Lengthen 7. Ability
3.Temporary 8. Decision
4.Energy 9. Creation
5.Consumer 10.Assert

NTTU_Speaking2_Ms. N.H.Oanh 09/18/2020 3

  Look at the words below and decide where
in the word the schwa sound occurs.
 Write the schwa symbol over the correct
part of the word.
 The first one has been done for you.
 Hint:
One word has two examples of schwa.
All the others have only one.

NTTU_Speaking2_Ms. N.H.Oanh 09/18/2020 4

  In this exercise, look at these sentences
and decide where the schwa sound occurs.
 It may occur more than once in each sentence.
 The minimum number of schwas in a sentence
is 1, the maximum 7.

NTTU_Speaking2_Ms. N.H.Oanh 09/18/2020 5

  Listen to each of the words.
 Which word does not contain the //
sound?

Group 1 Group 2 Group 3 Group 4 Group 5

listen horse doctor teacher answer
banana butter question hat mother
cup flower window pizza shop

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NTTU_Speaking2_Ms. N.H.Oanh 09/18/2020 7
NTTU_Speaking2_Ms. N.H.Oanh 09/18/2020 8
 VOWELS

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 VOWELS:
Long vowels

 Symbols for long vowels: , , , ,


 Tend to be longer in similar contexts
 Consist of one single vowel plus a length mark
made of two dots
 Different from short vowels
 in length
 in quality,
 in tongue shapes
 lip positions
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 VOWELS:
Long vowels


 example words: 'beat', 'mean’, 'peace’
 nearer to cardinal vowel no.1 []
 closer and more front than 
 lip position: only slightly spread

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 VOWELS:
Long vowels


 example words: 'bird', ‘fern’, 'purse’
 mid-central vowel
 lip position: neutral

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 VOWELS:
Long vowels

 example words: ‘card', ‘half’, 'pass’
 Open vowel in the region of cardinal vowel no. 5
[]
 lip position: neutral

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 VOWELS:
Long vowels


 example words: ‘board', ‘torn’, ‘horse’
 tongue height for this vowel is between
cardinal vowel no. 6 [] and no. 7 []
 almost fully back
 lip position: strongly rounded

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 VOWELS:
Long vowels


 example words: ‘food', ‘spoon’, ‘loose’
 nearest cardinal vowel to this is no. 8 []
 less back and less close
 lip position: moderately rounded

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 VOWELS: Diphthongs
 a vowel with a change in quality during a single syllable.
 similar to the long vowels
 a diphthong is a combination of two vowels pronounced
within one syllable
 the first part is much longer and stronger than the second
part
 The first element of a diphthong is called the NUCLEUS and is a
strong, clear and distinct vowel sound;
 the second element is called the GLIDE which is weak in the
articulation of a diphthong.

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 VOWELS: Diphthongs
 Classification

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 VOWELS: Diphthongs
 Centring diphthongs
 glide towards the  (schwa) vowel
, , 

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 VOWELS: Diphthongs
 Centring diphthongs
:
 example words: 'beard', 'weird', 'fierce‘
 The starting point is a little closer than  in 'bit', 'bin'.

:
 example words: 'aired', 'cairn', 'scarce') This diphthong
 begins with a vowel sound that is more open than the e of 'get', 'men’.


 example words: 'moored', 'tour', 'lure’)
 has a starting point similar to  in 'put', 'pull'.

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 VOWELS: Diphthongs
 Closing diphthongs:
 all end with a glide towards a closer vowel
a glide from a relatively more open towards a relatively
closer vowel is produced
 three closing diphthongs glide towards 
 two closing diphthongs glide towards 

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 VOWELS: Diphthongs
 Closing diphthongs:
 three closing diphthongs glide towards 

 example words: 'paid', 'pain', 'face’
 The starting point is the same as the  of 'get', 'men'


 example words: 'tide', 'time', 'nice‘
 This diphthong begins with an open vowel which is between front and back; it
is quite similar to the  of the words 'cut', 'bun‘.


 example words: 'void', ‘join', 'voice'
 The first part of this diphthong is slightly more open than  in 'ought', 'born'.

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 VOWELS: Diphthongs
 Closing diphthongs:
 two closing diphthongs glide towards 
 the tongue moves closer to the roof of the mouth there is at the same time a
rounding movement of the lips

 example words: 'load', 'home', 'most’
 The vowel position for the beginning of this is the same as for the "schwa" vowel 
 Lip position: rounded


 example words: 'loud', ‘gown', ‘house
 This This diphthong begins with a vowel similar to . Since this is an open vowel, a
glide to  would necessitate a large movement, and the tongue often does not reach
the  position’
 Lip position: slightly rounded
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 VOWELS: Diphthongs

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 VOWELS: Triphthongs
 most complex English sounds of the vowel type
 
 a glide from one vowel to another and then to a
third, all produced rapidly and without interruption
 composed of the five closing diphthongs described in
the last section, with added on the end

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 PRACTICE 1
 Compare and contrast the following pairs of
primary cardinal vowels
  (pit vs pet)
  (pet vs pat)
  (bat vs but)
  (dug vs dog)
  (lock vs look)

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  
close (Close-)mid
- Front
- Spread (unrounded)
- Short
e.g.: pin – pen

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  
(close-) mid open
- Front
- Spread (unrounded)
- Short
e.g.: pen – pan

Phono VB2 - N.H.Oanh 09/18/2020 27

  
central Front
- Open
- Unrounded (// is neutral and // is
spread)
- Short
e.g.: bun – ban

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  
central back
Unrounded (neutral) rounded
- Open
- Short
e.g.: hut – hot

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  
Close open
- back
- Short
- rounded
e.g.: good - God

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 PRACTICE 2
 On the vowel diagram provided, indicate
the glides for the diphthongs in the
following words:
a) fright
b) home
c) clear
d) cow

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  
//
/

/

/ //
/ 
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 PRACTICE 3
 Write the symbols for the long vowels in
the following words:

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 PRACTICE 4
 Write the symbols for the diphthongs in the
following words

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 PRACTICE 5
 Transcribe the following words.
 Some words can be nouns, verbs or adjectives.

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