(PHONETICS AND PHONOLOGY)

SESSION 2
I. Differences between consonants
and vowels
II. Vowels (Short & Long)
III. Dipthongs
IV. Tripthongs
I. DIFFERENCES BETWEEN CONSONANTS AND VOWELS
1. Manner of articulation: The way the sound is produced
/ how the air stream is obstructed

 Consonants: sounds in which there is obstruction to the flow of air

as it passes from the larynx to the lips/ through the vocal tract.
e.g. /p/ the air stream is obstructed totally
/b/ the air stream is obstructed partially

 Vowels: sounds in which there is no obstruction to the flow of air

as it passes from the larynx to the lips/ through the vocal tract.
e.g. /ɑ:/ the air escapes freely
I. DIFFERENCES BETWEEN CONSONANTS AND VOWELS
2. Distribution: The position of occurrence of the sound
in an English syllable
 Consonants: found at the beginning and end of syllables/
no or many consonants occurring before or after the vowel
e.g. are /ɑː(r)/ on /ɒn/ car /kɑː(r)/ play /pleɪ/
spring /sprɪŋ/ banks /bæŋk/ texts /tekts/
 Vowels: found in the middle of syllables/
one and only one vowel as the centre/ peak of the syllable
e.g. cat /kæt/ food /fuːd/ could /kʊd/ /kəd/
II. VOWELS
1. Definition
- Vowels are sounds in which there is no obstruction to
the flow of air as it passes from the larynx
to the lips/ through the vocal tract.

- In English, there are 12 simple vowels/ pure vowels/

monothongs
+ 7 short vowels: /ɪ e æ ə ʊ ʌ ɒ/
+ 5 long vowels: /iː ɜː ɑː ɔː uː/
II. VOWELS
+ 7 short vowels: /ɪ e æ ʌ ʊ ɔ ɒ/

/ɪ/ bit , pin, fish /ʊ/ foot, pull, push

/e/ bed, men, yes /ʌ/ cut, come, rush

/æ/ bat, man, gas /ɒ/ hot, gone, cross
/ə/ about, oppose, perhaps
II. VOWELS
+ 5 long vowels: /iː ɜː uː ɔː ɑː/
/iː/ beat, mean, peace
/ɜː/ bird, fern, purse
/uː/ food, soon, loose
/ɔː/ board, torn, horse
/ɑː/ card, half, pass
II. VOWELS
+ 8 compound vowels/ dipthongs
/ɪə/ beard, weird, fierce
/eə/ aired, cairn, scarce
/ʊə/ moored, tour, lure
/eɪ/ paid, pain, face
/aɪ/ tide, time, nice
/ɔɪ/ void, loin, voice
/əʊ/ load, home, most
/aʊ/ loud, gown, house
II. VOWELS
+ 5 tripthongs
/eɪə/ layer, player
/aɪə/ liar, fire
/ɔɪə/ loyal, royal
/əʊə/ lower, mower
/aʊə/ power, hour
II. VOWELS
2. Description/ Classification of Simple Vowels
▪ Tongue position/ Tongue height: The vertical distance between
the upper surface of the tongue and the palate
(Close/ High, Close-mid, Open-mid, Open/Low)
e.g. /iː/ in ‘see’ (close) /æ/ in ‘cat’ (open)

▪ Tongue shape/ Frontness or backness: The part of the tongue,

between front and back, which is raised the highest (Front, Back)
e.g. /iː/ in ‘see’ (front) /uː/ in ‘too’ (back)
/æ/ in ‘cat’ (front) /ɑː/ in ‘car’ (back)
▪ Lip shape: Round, Spread, Neutral
e.g. /ʊ/ (rounded) /ɪ/ (spread) /ə/ (neutral)
II. VOWELS
2. Description/ Classification of Simple Vowels
▪ Length of sound & tension of muscles:
(Long/ Tense, Short/ Lax)
+ Short vowels: relatively short
+ Long vowels: longer than short vowels
in similar context
e.g. /ɪ/ close – front – spread – short – lax
/iː/ close – front – spread – long – tense
II. VOWELS
CARDINAL VOWELS: a standard reference system,
not the vowels of any particular language.
II. VOWELS
ENGLISH SHORT VOWELS: 6 short vowels
II. VOWELS
ENGLISH LONG VOWELS: 5 long vowels
II. VOWELS
3. English Vowel Chart
II. VOWELS
4. Characteristics
 Shortening: Vowels are a bit shortened
when preceding a final voiceless consonant.
e.g. bit /bǐ t/ beat /biːt/ → /bi˅t/

 Nasalisation: Vowels are nasalised

when preceding a final nasal.
e.g. pin /pɪ̃n/ time /taɪ̃m/ singer /ˈsɪ̃ŋə/
III. DIPTHONGS
1. Definition
- Dipthongs: sounds which consist of a movement
or glide from one vowel to another.
- The first part is much longer than the second part
→ the last part must not be made too strongly.

 8 dipthongs: /ɪə//eə//ʊə/
/eɪ//aɪ//ɔɪ/ /əʊ//aʊ/
III. DIPTHONGS
2. Dipthong tree
III. DIPTHONGS
- The centring dipthongs glide towards the ə (shwa)
vowel: /ɪə//eə//ʊə/ e.g. beard, scarce, tour.
II. DIPTHONGS
- The closing dipthongs glide towards a closer vowel ɪ or ʊ:
/eɪ//aɪ//ɔɪ/ /əʊ//aʊ/ e.g. pain, time, voice, home, house.
III. DIPTHONGS
3. Dipthong chart
IV. TRIPTHONGS
➢ Definition:
- Tripthongs: a glide from one vowel to another and then to
a third, all produced rapidly and without interruption.

- 5 tripthongs = 5 closing dipthongs + ə

/eɪ+ə//aɪ+ə//ɔɪ+ə//əʊ+ə//aʊ+ə/
e.g. /eɪə/ layer, player
/aɪə/ liar, fire
/ɔɪə/ loyal, royal
/əʊə/ lower, mower
/aʊə/ power, hour
TO CONSOLIDATE SESSION 2 AND
PREPARE FOR SESSION 3
1. Review Unit 2
2. Do Test 2
3. Finish Written Exercises
4. Do Recorded Exercises
Audio Unit 2 & Unit 3 (pp.170-173)
5. Read Unit 3 at home