Articulatory

Phonetics
and the
International
Phonetic Alphabet

Readings and
Other Materials

Review
Articulatory Phonetics IPA: The Vowels

and the International Phonetic Alphabet Practice

 Articulatory
Course Readings Phonetics
and the
International
Phonetic Alphabet

Readings and
Other Materials
Course Readings
Handouts
Online Tutorials

Review
The following readings have been posted to the Moodle
IPA: The Vowels
course site: Practice
I Contemporary Linguistics: Chapter 2 (pp. 34-40)
 Articulatory
Handouts for This Lecture Phonetics
and the
International
Phonetic Alphabet

Readings and
Other Materials
Course Readings
Handouts
Online Tutorials

Review
For this lecture, you should have printed out the following
IPA: The Vowels
handout, which was posted to the course website: Practice
I Chart of IPA Symbols
 Articulatory
Online Tutorials Phonetics
and the
International
Phonetic Alphabet

Readings and
Other Materials
Course Readings
Handouts
Online Tutorials

Review
Some helpful online tutorials (and related stuff) have IPA: The Vowels
been posted to the course website, under the page Practice
“Readings and Tutorials”
 Articulatory
Review: Phonetics
and the
The Need for a Phonetic Alphabet International
Phonetic Alphabet

Readings and
Other Materials

Review
I For the next few weeks, we’ll be studying the sound
IPA: The Vowels
systems of human languages
Practice

I Therefore, we need a way of representing speech

sounds (phones)
I Conventional spelling systems (like for English) are
no good for this:
I They are ambiguous (‘read’ ≈ ‘reed’ or ‘red’)
I They only represent some phones
 Articulatory
Review: Phonetics
and the
The International Phonetic Alphabet International
Phonetic Alphabet

Readings and
Other Materials

The International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) Review

IPA: The Vowels

I A unambiguous notation that represents the phones Practice

of all the worlds languages

I Every phone is represented by one symbol
I Every symbol represents only one phone

I The symbols are defined by a description of the

sound’s articulatory phonetics
I (How the sound is produced / articulated)
 Articulatory
Review: Phonetics
and the
Articulatory Phonetics of Consonants International
Phonetic Alphabet
In English, there are four (main) parameters for describing the
articulatory phonetics of consonants:
Readings and
I Voicing: whether the sound is voiced or voiceless Other Materials

Review
I Nasality: whether the sound is nasal or oral
IPA: The Vowels
I Place of Articulation: where the vocal tract is manipulated Practice
I Bilabial
I Labio-Dental
I Dental
I Alveolar
I Alveopalatal
I Palatal
I Velar
I Glottal
I Manner of articulation: how the vocal tract is manipulated
I Stop
I Fricative
I Affricate
I Approximant
 Articulatory
Review: Phonetics
and the
Articulatory Phonetics of Consonants International
Phonetic Alphabet

Readings and
Other Materials

Review

IPA: The Vowels

Some IPA Symbols and their Definitions:
Practice

[t] voiceless oral alveolar stop

[m] voiced nasal bilabial stop
[T] voiceless oral dental fricative
[j] voiced oral palatal approximant
 Articulatory
Today Class: Phonetics
and the
International
Phonetic Alphabet

Readings and
Other Materials

Review
I We will now extend this discussion to vowels:
IPA: The Vowels
I We’ll discuss their articulatory phonetics Practice
I We’ll define the IPA symbols used for their
transcription

I We will practice IPA transcription of English

sentences together.
 Articulatory
The Articulatory Phonetics of Vowels Phonetics
and the
International
Phonetic Alphabet

Readings and
Other Materials
I To define the IPA symbols for vowels, we will need to
Review
discuss their articulatory phonetics
IPA: The Vowels
The Articulatory Phonetics
of Vowels
Vowel Height
I In English, there are four main parameters for Vowel Backness
Lip Rounding

describing the articulatory phonetics of a vowel: Tenseness

Diphthongs
The Major Diphthongs
Tongue Height (how close to roof of the mouth) The Minor Diphthongs

Tongue Backness (how far back in mouth) Practice

Lip Rounding (whether lips are ‘puckered’)

Tongue Tenseness (how ‘tense’ the tongue is)
 Articulatory
Vowel Height Phonetics
and the
International
Phonetic Alphabet

Readings and
Other Materials

I One key difference between vowels: their ‘height’ Review

IPA: The Vowels

I The distance b/ the tongue and the roof of the mouth The Articulatory Phonetics
of Vowels
Vowel Height
Vowel Backness
Lip Rounding
Tenseness
Diphthongs
The Major Diphthongs
The Minor Diphthongs

Practice
 Articulatory
Vowel Height Phonetics
and the
International
Phonetic Alphabet

Readings and
Other Materials

I One key difference between vowels: their ‘height’ Review

IPA: The Vowels

I The distance b/ the tongue and the roof of the mouth The Articulatory Phonetics
of Vowels
Vowel Height
Vowel Backness

I To feel this, alternate between saying “heat” and “hat” Lip Rounding
Tenseness
Diphthongs
I “Heat”: your tongue is near the roof of your mouth The Major Diphthongs
The Minor Diphthongs

I “Hat”: your tongue is lower to your jaw Practice

I (and your jaw is also lowered some, too...)
 Articulatory
Vowel Height Phonetics
and the
International
Phonetic Alphabet

When describing height, three values are used:

Readings and
Other Materials

Review
I High: very close to the roof of the mouth
IPA: The Vowels
[i] “ee”-sound (heat) The Articulatory Phonetics
of Vowels
[u] “oo”-sound (hoot) Vowel Height
Vowel Backness
Lip Rounding

I Mid: mid-way between roof of mouth and jaw Tenseness

Diphthongs

[e] “ay”-sound (hate) The Major Diphthongs

The Minor Diphthongs

[o] “oh”-sound (hope) Practice

I Low: lowered to the jaw

[æ] “a”-sound (hat)
[A] “ah”-sound (hot)
 Articulatory
Vowel Backness Phonetics
and the
International
Phonetic Alphabet

Readings and
Other Materials

Review
I Another key difference between vowels: ‘backness’ IPA: The Vowels
I How far back in the mouth the tongue is positioned The Articulatory Phonetics
of Vowels
Vowel Height
Vowel Backness
Lip Rounding
Tenseness
Diphthongs
The Major Diphthongs
The Minor Diphthongs

Practice
 Articulatory
Vowel Backness Phonetics
and the
International
Phonetic Alphabet

Readings and
Other Materials

Review
I Another key difference between vowels: ‘backness’ IPA: The Vowels
I How far back in the mouth the tongue is positioned The Articulatory Phonetics
of Vowels
Vowel Height
Vowel Backness
Lip Rounding
I To feel this, alternately say “heat” and “hoot” Tenseness
Diphthongs
The Major Diphthongs
I “Heat”: your tongue is ‘bunched up’ near the front The Minor Diphthongs

Practice
I “Hoot”: your tongue is ‘bunched up’ near the back
 Articulatory
Vowel Backness Phonetics
and the
International
When describing backness, three values are used: Phonetic Alphabet

I Back: close to the back of the mouth Readings and

Other Materials
[u] “oo”-sound (hoot) high back Review
[o] “oh”-sound (hope) mid back IPA: The Vowels

[A] “ah”-sound (hot) low back The Articulatory Phonetics

of Vowels
Vowel Height
Vowel Backness

I Central: midway between back and front Lip Rounding

Tenseness
Diphthongs

[2] “uh”-sound (cut) low central The Major Diphthongs

The Minor Diphthongs

[@] “uh”-sound (sofas) mid central Practice

[1] “uh”-sound (roses) high central

I Front: at the front of the mouth

[i] “ee”-sound (heat) high front
[e] “ay”-sound (hate) mid front
[æ] “a”-sound (hat) low front
 Articulatory
Rounding Phonetics
and the
International
Phonetic Alphabet

Readings and
Other Materials
I So far, the parameters for describing vowels involve
Review
the position of the tongue... IPA: The Vowels
The Articulatory Phonetics

I But another difference involves the lips: ‘rounding’ of Vowels

Vowel Height
Vowel Backness
I Whether the lips are ‘rounded’ (puckered) when you Lip Rounding

make the sound Tenseness

Diphthongs
The Major Diphthongs
The Minor Diphthongs

Practice
 Articulatory
Rounding Phonetics
and the
International
Phonetic Alphabet

Readings and
Other Materials
I So far, the parameters for describing vowels involve
Review
the position of the tongue... IPA: The Vowels
The Articulatory Phonetics

I But another difference involves the lips: ‘rounding’ of Vowels

Vowel Height
Vowel Backness
I Whether the lips are ‘rounded’ (puckered) when you Lip Rounding

make the sound Tenseness

Diphthongs
The Major Diphthongs
The Minor Diphthongs
I To feel this, alternately say “heat” and “hoot” Practice
I “Hoot”: your lips are puckered and extended
I “Heat”: your lips are not puckered in this way
 Articulatory
Rounding Phonetics
and the
International
When describing rounding, two values are used: Phonetic Alphabet

I Rounded: lips are rounded when vowel is made Readings and

Other Materials

[u] “oo”-sound (hoot) high back rounded Review

[o] “oh”-sound (hope) mid back rounded IPA: The Vowels

The Articulatory Phonetics

[O] “aw”-sound (caught) mid back rounded of Vowels

Vowel Height
Vowel Backness
Lip Rounding
I Unrounded: lips are not rounded when vowel is made Tenseness
Diphthongs
The Major Diphthongs
[i] “ee”-sound (heat) high front unrounded The Minor Diphthongs

[e] “ay”-sound (hate) mid front unrounded Practice

[æ] “a”-sound (hat) low front unrounded

[A] “ah”-sound (hot) low back unrounded
 Articulatory
Rounding Phonetics
and the
International
When describing rounding, two values are used: Phonetic Alphabet

I Rounded: lips are rounded when vowel is made Readings and

Other Materials

[u] “oo”-sound (hoot) high back rounded Review

[o] “oh”-sound (hope) mid back rounded IPA: The Vowels

The Articulatory Phonetics

[O] “aw”-sound (caught) mid back rounded of Vowels

Vowel Height
Vowel Backness
Lip Rounding
I Unrounded: lips are not rounded when vowel is made Tenseness
Diphthongs
The Major Diphthongs
[i] “ee”-sound (heat) high front unrounded The Minor Diphthongs

[e] “ay”-sound (hate) mid front unrounded Practice

[æ] “a”-sound (hat) low front unrounded

[A] “ah”-sound (hot) low back unrounded
I Note: In English, all rounded vowels are back vowels.
I Note: In some parts of the US, people don’t have [O]
I For them, “cot” and “caught” both have [A]
 Articulatory
Tenseness Phonetics
and the
International
Phonetic Alphabet

I The final parameter for vowels is ‘tenseness’

Readings and
I Before we define it, let’s get an intuitive feel for it. Other Materials

Review

IPA: The Vowels

The Articulatory Phonetics
of Vowels
Vowel Height
Vowel Backness
Lip Rounding
Tenseness
Diphthongs
The Major Diphthongs
The Minor Diphthongs

Practice
 Articulatory
Tenseness Phonetics
and the
International
Phonetic Alphabet

I The final parameter for vowels is ‘tenseness’

Readings and
I Before we define it, let’s get an intuitive feel for it. Other Materials

Review

I Alternate between saying “heat” and “hit”. IPA: The Vowels

The Articulatory Phonetics
A few things seem to happen: of Vowels
Vowel Height
I “Heat”: vowel lasts longer than with “hit” Vowel Backness
Lip Rounding
I “Heat”: tongue is closer to the roof of mouth Tenseness
Diphthongs
I “Heat”: tongue ‘tensed’ more than with “hit” The Major Diphthongs
The Minor Diphthongs

Practice
 Articulatory
Tenseness Phonetics
and the
International
Phonetic Alphabet

I The final parameter for vowels is ‘tenseness’

Readings and
I Before we define it, let’s get an intuitive feel for it. Other Materials

Review

I Alternate between saying “heat” and “hit”. IPA: The Vowels

The Articulatory Phonetics
A few things seem to happen: of Vowels
Vowel Height
I “Heat”: vowel lasts longer than with “hit” Vowel Backness
Lip Rounding
I “Heat”: tongue is closer to the roof of mouth Tenseness
Diphthongs
I “Heat”: tongue ‘tensed’ more than with “hit” The Major Diphthongs
The Minor Diphthongs

Practice
I Alternate between saying “sale” and “sell”.
A few things seem to happen:
I “Sale”: vowel lasts longer than with “sell”
I “Sale”: tongue is closer to the roof of mouth
I “Sale”: tongue ‘tensed’ more than with “sell”
 Articulatory
Tenseness Phonetics
and the
International
Phonetic Alphabet

These differences between “heat/hit” and “sale/sell”

illustrate tenseness. Readings and
Other Materials

Review

IPA: The Vowels

In describing tenseness, two values are used: The Articulatory Phonetics
of Vowels
Vowel Height

I Tense Vowels (“heat”, “sale”) Vowel Backness

Lip Rounding

I Pronounced with greater “tensing” of the tongue Tenseness

Diphthongs
I Tongue is closer to roof of the mouth The Major Diphthongs
The Minor Diphthongs
I Pronounced with greater duration (length) Practice

I Lax Vowels (“hit”, “sell”)

I Pronounced with less “tensing” of the tongue
I Tongue is further from roof of the mouth
I Pronounced with less duration (length)
 Articulatory
Tenseness Phonetics
and the
International
Phonetic Alphabet

Readings and
Other Materials

Review

IPA: The Vowels

I Let’s now run through all the tense vowels and all the The Articulatory Phonetics
of Vowels
lax vowels of English. Vowel Height
Vowel Backness
Lip Rounding
Tenseness
Diphthongs
I By doing this, we will also exhaustively list all the IPA The Major Diphthongs
The Minor Diphthongs
symbols for the (simple) vowels of English.
Practice
 Articulatory
Tenseness Phonetics
and the
International
Phonetic Alphabet

Readings and
The Tense Vowels: Other Materials

Review

IPA: The Vowels

[i] ‘ee’-sound (heat) high, front , unrounded, tense The Articulatory Phonetics
of Vowels
[e] ‘ay’-sound (hate) mid, front , unrounded, tense Vowel Height
Vowel Backness
[u] ‘oo’-sound (hoot) high, back , rounded, tense Lip Rounding
Tenseness
[o] ‘oh’-sound (hope) mid, back, rounded, tense Diphthongs
The Major Diphthongs
[A] ‘ah’-sound (hot) low, back, unrounded, tense The Minor Diphthongs

Practice

As we will see, there are many more lax vowels in English

than tense vowels...
 Articulatory
Tenseness Phonetics
and the
International
Phonetic Alphabet

The Lax Vowels: Readings and

Other Materials

Review
[I] ‘i’-sound (hit) high, front, unrounded, lax IPA: The Vowels
[E] ‘e’-sound (sell) mid, front, unrounded, lax The Articulatory Phonetics
of Vowels

[æ] ‘a’-sound (hat) low, front, unrounded, lax Vowel Height

Vowel Backness
Lip Rounding
Tenseness

[1] “uh”-sound (roses) high, central, unrounded, lax Diphthongs

The Major Diphthongs

[@] “uh”-sound (sofas) mid, central, unrounded lax The Minor Diphthongs

Practice
[2] “uh”-sound (cut) low, central, unrounded, lax

[U] “u”-sound (put) high, back, rounded, lax

[O] “aw”-sound (caught) mid, back, rounded, lax
 Articulatory
Diphthongs Phonetics
and the
International
Phonetic Alphabet

Readings and
Other Materials
We’ve just learned: Review

IPA: The Vowels

I The four parameters for describing the articulatory The Articulatory Phonetics
of Vowels

phonetics of (English) vowels Vowel Height

Vowel Backness
Lip Rounding
I The IPA symbols for all of the (simple) vowel sounds Tenseness
Diphthongs
of English... The Major Diphthongs
The Minor Diphthongs

Practice
 Articulatory
Diphthongs Phonetics
and the
International
Phonetic Alphabet

Readings and
Other Materials
We’ve just learned: Review

IPA: The Vowels

I The four parameters for describing the articulatory The Articulatory Phonetics
of Vowels

phonetics of (English) vowels Vowel Height

Vowel Backness
Lip Rounding
I The IPA symbols for all of the (simple) vowel sounds Tenseness
Diphthongs
of English... The Major Diphthongs
The Minor Diphthongs

Practice
But, we’re not done yet...
...because we haven’t yet talked about diphthongs
 Articulatory
What is a ‘Diphthong’? Phonetics
and the
International
Phonetic Alphabet

Readings and
I Pure Vowel: One that does not show a noticeable Other Materials

change in quality during its production Review

IPA: The Vowels

I That is, the vowel ends in the same place it starts The Articulatory Phonetics
I Basically, it’s just one single, simple sound of Vowels
Vowel Height
I Examples: “bah”, “bee”, “boo” Vowel Backness
Lip Rounding
Tenseness
Diphthongs
I Diphthong: One that does show a noticeable The Major Diphthongs

change in quality during its production The Minor Diphthongs

Practice
I That is, the vowel ends differently from how it starts
I Basically, it’s a combination of vowel sounds
I Examples: “buy”, “boy”, “bow” (of a ship)
 Articulatory
The Major Diphthongs Phonetics
and the
International
Phonetic Alphabet

Readings and
[aj] “eye”-sound eye, lie, buy, rye, etc. Other Materials

[aw] “ow”-sound now, how, bow, loud etc. Review

IPA: The Vowels

[Oj] “oy”-sound boy, toy, joy, Freud etc. The Articulatory Phonetics
of Vowels
Vowel Height
Vowel Backness

Note: Lip Rounding

Tenseness

As with affricates, the IPA representation of a diphthong is Diphthongs

The Major Diphthongs

a pair of symbols: The Minor Diphthongs

Practice
I The first is the sound the diphthong starts with
I The second is the sound the diphthong ends with
 Articulatory
The Minor Diphthongs Phonetics
and the
International
Phonetic Alphabet

I These are not the only diphthongs of English... Readings and

Other Materials

Review

IPA: The Vowels

The Articulatory Phonetics
of Vowels
Vowel Height
Vowel Backness
Lip Rounding
Tenseness
Diphthongs
The Major Diphthongs
The Minor Diphthongs

Practice
 Articulatory
The Minor Diphthongs Phonetics
and the
International
Phonetic Alphabet

I These are not the only diphthongs of English... Readings and

Other Materials

I But before I introduce you to the others, I need to Review

make a confession... IPA: The Vowels

The Articulatory Phonetics
of Vowels
Vowel Height
Vowel Backness
Lip Rounding
Tenseness
Diphthongs
The Major Diphthongs
The Minor Diphthongs

Practice
 Articulatory
The Minor Diphthongs Phonetics
and the
International
Phonetic Alphabet

I These are not the only diphthongs of English... Readings and

Other Materials

I But before I introduce you to the others, I need to Review

make a confession... IPA: The Vowels

The Articulatory Phonetics
of Vowels
Vowel Height
I I lied to you earlier when I said the following: Vowel Backness
Lip Rounding
I English contains the following vowels: [e], [o] Tenseness

I [e] is the sound in “hate”, [o] is the sound in “hope” Diphthongs

The Major Diphthongs
The Minor Diphthongs

Practice
 Articulatory
The Minor Diphthongs Phonetics
and the
International
Phonetic Alphabet

I These are not the only diphthongs of English... Readings and

Other Materials

I But before I introduce you to the others, I need to Review

make a confession... IPA: The Vowels

The Articulatory Phonetics
of Vowels
Vowel Height
I I lied to you earlier when I said the following: Vowel Backness
Lip Rounding
I English contains the following vowels: [e], [o] Tenseness

I [e] is the sound in “hate”, [o] is the sound in “hope” Diphthongs

The Major Diphthongs
The Minor Diphthongs

I The Truth: Practice

I Modern American English does not have the pure

vowels [e] and [o]
I In Modern American English, the sounds in “hate”
and “hope” are diphthongs
 Articulatory
The Minor Diphthongs Phonetics
and the
International
Phonetic Alphabet

I Pronounce the word “lay” very slowly Readings and

Other Materials

Review

IPA: The Vowels

The Articulatory Phonetics
of Vowels
Vowel Height
Vowel Backness
Lip Rounding
Tenseness
Diphthongs
The Major Diphthongs
The Minor Diphthongs

Practice
 Articulatory
The Minor Diphthongs Phonetics
and the
International
Phonetic Alphabet

I Pronounce the word “lay” very slowly Readings and

Other Materials
I It starts off as an [e]... Review
I But, it ends somewhere different (near [i]) IPA: The Vowels
I So, we really represent this sound in IPA as [ej] The Articulatory Phonetics
of Vowels
Vowel Height
Vowel Backness
Lip Rounding
Tenseness
Diphthongs
The Major Diphthongs
The Minor Diphthongs

Practice
 Articulatory
The Minor Diphthongs Phonetics
and the
International
Phonetic Alphabet

I Pronounce the word “lay” very slowly Readings and

Other Materials
I It starts off as an [e]... Review
I But, it ends somewhere different (near [i]) IPA: The Vowels
I So, we really represent this sound in IPA as [ej] The Articulatory Phonetics
of Vowels
Vowel Height
Vowel Backness
I Pronounce the word “low” very slowly Lip Rounding
Tenseness
Diphthongs
The Major Diphthongs
The Minor Diphthongs

Practice
 Articulatory
The Minor Diphthongs Phonetics
and the
International
Phonetic Alphabet

I Pronounce the word “lay” very slowly Readings and

Other Materials
I It starts off as an [e]... Review
I But, it ends somewhere different (near [i]) IPA: The Vowels
I So, we really represent this sound in IPA as [ej] The Articulatory Phonetics
of Vowels
Vowel Height
Vowel Backness
I Pronounce the word “low” very slowly Lip Rounding
Tenseness
I It starts off as an [o]... Diphthongs
The Major Diphthongs
I But, it ends somewhere different (near [u]) The Minor Diphthongs

I So, we really represent this sound in IPA as [ow] Practice

 Articulatory
The Minor Diphthongs Phonetics
and the
International
Phonetic Alphabet

I Pronounce the word “lay” very slowly Readings and

Other Materials
I It starts off as an [e]... Review
I But, it ends somewhere different (near [i]) IPA: The Vowels
I So, we really represent this sound in IPA as [ej] The Articulatory Phonetics
of Vowels
Vowel Height
Vowel Backness
I Pronounce the word “low” very slowly Lip Rounding
Tenseness
I It starts off as an [o]... Diphthongs
The Major Diphthongs
I But, it ends somewhere different (near [u]) The Minor Diphthongs

I So, we really represent this sound in IPA as [ow] Practice

I We call [ej] and [ow] the ‘minor diphthongs’ of

English.
 Articulatory
Practice Time! Phonetics
and the
International
Phonetic Alphabet

Readings and
Other Materials

I You now know all the IPA symbols necessary for Review

IPA: The Vowels

phonetic transcription of English.
Practice

I Let’s put this knowledge to practice!

I Feel free to consult the chart of IPA symbols you

(were supposed to have) brought to class!
 Articulatory
Practice Time! Phonetics
and the
International
Phonetic Alphabet

Readings and
Other Materials

Review

IPA: The Vowels

Let’s read the following together:
Practice

[f@nAl@Ã1sts m2st kip Dejô iôz spEktækjul1ôli klin]

 Articulatory
Practice Time! Phonetics
and the
International
Phonetic Alphabet

Readings and
Other Materials

Review

IPA: The Vowels

Let’s read the following together:
Practice

[f@nAl@Ã1sts m2st kip Dejô iôz spEktækjul1ôli klin]

(Phonologists must keep their ears spectacularly clean.)
 Articulatory
Practice Time! Phonetics
and the
International
Phonetic Alphabet

Readings and
Other Materials

Review

Let’s read the following together: IPA: The Vowels

Practice

[ju majt fajnd D@ An lajn tutOôi@lz An D@ klæs wEbsajt hElpf2l]

 Articulatory
Practice Time! Phonetics
and the
International
Phonetic Alphabet

Readings and
Other Materials

Review

Let’s read the following together: IPA: The Vowels

Practice

[ju majt fajnd D@ An lajn tutOôi@lz An D@ klæs wEbsajt hElpf2l]

(You might find the on-line tutorials on the class website
helpful.)