Demonstrate with examples and vowel diagram, the classification of

Vowels in English Phonology.

What is a vowel?
Vowel, in human speech, is a sound in which the flow of air from the lungs passes through the
mouth, which functions as a resonance chamber with minimal obstruction and without audible
friction. Vowels are one of the two principal classes of speech sounds, the other being
the consonant. Semivowels are sounds produced in the same manner as vowels but are used
and perceived as consonants. Examples include the y in “yawn” and the w in “walk.”
Vowels vary in quality, in loudness and also in quantity (length). They are usually voiced, and
are closely involved in prosodic variation such as tone, intonation and stress. The
word vowel comes from the Latin word vocalis meaning "vocal". In English, the word vowel is
commonly used to refer both to vowel sounds and to the written symbols that represent them.
Example: the ‘i' in “kit,” and the ‘a’ in “bag.” Although usually produced with vibrating vocal
cords, vowels may be pronounced without such vibration, resulting in a voiceless, or whispered
sound. From the viewpoint of articulatory phonetics, vowels are classified according to the
position of the tongue and lips and, sometimes, according to whether or not the air is released
through the nose.
Difference between phonetic and phonological vowel
There are two types of vowel, one phonetic and the other phonological:

 In the phonetic definition, a vowel is a sound, such as the English "ah" or "oh”, produced with

an open vocal tract; it is median (the air escapes along the middle of the tongue), oral (at least
some of the airflow must escape through the mouth), frictionless and continuant. There is no
significant build-up of air pressure at any point above the glottis.

 In the phonological definition, a vowel is defined as syllabic, the sound that forms the peak of a
syllable. A phonetically equivalent but non-syllabic sound is a semivowel. In oral languages,
phonetic vowels normally form the peak (nucleus) of many or all syllables,
whereas consonants form the onset and (in languages that have them) coda.

Vowels Diagram

IPA: Vowels
 Front Central Back

i ɨ
Close

y ʉ u
ɪ
Near-close
ʊ
ʏ
e ɘ
Close-mid

ø ɵ o

Mid ə
ø̞ o̞
ɛ ɜ
Open-mid

œ ɞ ɔ
æ
Near-open ɐ

a
ä
Open

ɶ ɒ

Classification of vowels
The traditional view of vowel production, reflected for example in the terminology and
presentation of the International Phonetic Alphabet, is one of articulatory features that
determine a vowel's quality as distinguishing it from other vowels. Daniel Jones developed
the cardinal vowel system to describe vowels in terms of the features of tongue height (vertical
dimension), tongue backness (horizontal dimension) and roundedness (lip articulation). These
three parameters are indicated in the schematic quadrilateral IPA vowel diagram on the right.
There are additional features of vowel quality, such as the velum position (nasality), type
of vocal fold vibration (phonation), and tongue root position
On the articulatory level the vowels change in the:
 Stability of articulation,
 Height
 Backness
 Tenseness
 Lip position
1. STABILITY OF ARTICULATION
All English vowels are divided into three groups: monophthongs, diphthongs and
diphthongoids.
Monophthongs or pure vowels are vowels the articulation of which is almost unchanging. The
quality of such vowels is relatively pure. The English monophthongs are: [ı], [e], [æ], [], [a:],
[Ŋ], [Ɔ:], [ʊ], [з:], [ә].
In the pronunciation of diphthongs the organs of speech glide from one vowel position to
another within one syllable. The starting point, the nucleus, is strong and distinct.
The glide which shows the direction of the quality change is very weak. The English diphthongs
are: [eı], [aı], [Ɔı], [aʊ], [əʊ], [eə], [ɪə], [ʊə].
In the pronunciation of diphthongoids the articulation is slightly changing but the difference
between the starting point and the end is not so distinct as it is in the case of diphthongs. There
are two diphthongoids in English: [i:], [u:].

2. HEIGHT
A high vowel or close vowel (such as ‘i' in “machine” and ‘u' in “rude”) is pronounced with the
tongue arched toward the roof of the mouth. A low vowel or open vowel, such as ‘a’ in “father”
or “had”) is produced with the tongue relatively flat and low in the mouth and with the mouth
open a little wider than for high vowels. A mid vowel (such as ‘e’ in “head” and ‘o’ in “coal”)
have a tongue position between the extremes of high and low.
The International Phonetic Alphabet defines seven degrees of vowel height, but no language is
known to distinguish all of them without distinguishing another attribute:

 close (high)
 near-close (near-high)
 close-mid (high-mid)
 mid (true-mid)
 open-mid (low-mid)
 near-open (near-low)
 open (low)
3. BACKNESS
High, middle, and low vowels are also classified according to a front-to-back dimension. A front
vowel is pronounced with the highest part of the tongue pushed forward in the mouth and
somewhat arched. The ‘a’ in “had,” the ‘e’ in “head,” and the ‘i’ in “fit” are front vowels. A back
vowel—e.g., the ‘u' in “rule” and the ‘o’ in “pole”—is produced with the back part of the tongue
raised toward the soft palate (velum).
4. LIP POSITION
The shape of the mouth cavity is very dependent on the position of the lips.
 When the lips are neutral or spread, the vowels are called unrounded vowels: [i:], [ı], [e],
[æ], [], [a:], [з:], [ә].
 When the lips are drawn together so that the opening between them is more or less round,
the vowels are called rounded vowels: [Ŋ], [Ɔ:], [ʊ], [u:].

5. TENSENESS

Additional articulatory features describing vowel articulation are wide and narrow, tense

(fortis) and lax (lenis). Wide and narrow refer to the tongue-root position. To form a narrow
vowel, the tongue root is retracted toward the pharyngeal wall, and the pharynx is narrowed.
To form a wide vowel, the tongue root is advanced so that the pharynx is expanded. Tense and
lax are less clearly defined terms. Tense vowels are articulated with greater muscular effort,
slightly higher tongue positions, and longer durations than lax vowels. Tense vowels
are [i] and [o]. Lax vowels are [ɪ] and [ɔ]. 

Name- ANKIT KUMAR

Sec- F
Rollno- 19 BCE 047
Sno- 10