PHONETICS: IPA VOWELS

VOWELS
• Little obstruction of the airstream in the vocal
tract
• Voiced
• Nucleus of syllable
VOWELS
 VOWELS
1. Relative position along a high/low axis: high,
mid, low
2. Relative position along a front/back axis:
front, central, back
3. Relative degree of muscular tension: lax/tense
4. Whether there is lip rounding or not
 VOWEL NAMES
•  
Epsilon [
Ash [æ]
Close o [o]
Open o [ɔ]
Wedge [
Schwa [ə
Upsilon [ʊ]
George Yule_table. 3_4
© Cambridge University Press 2019
 VOWELS
[i] high front tense vowel as in “eat”
[I] high front lax vowel as in “it”
[e] mid front tense vowel as in “ate”
[ɛ] mid front lax vowel as in “head” or “bed”
[æ] low front vowel as in “cat” “hat”
[ɑ] low back vowel as in “father”
[ɔ] mid back vowel as in “for”
[o] mid back tense vowel as in “boat”
[ʊ] high back lax vowel as in “would” “good”
[u] high back tense vowel as in “boot”
[ə] reduced, unstressed, mid-central vowel
[ʌ]full, unreduced stressed low-mid central vowel
 MID-CENTRAL VOWELS
[ə] reduced, unstressed, mid-central vowel

This symbol is called the schwa. It represents a

sound in unstressed position. e.g.
above
1st syllable is unstressed = schwa
2nd syllable is stressed = wedge

[ʌ]full, unreduced stressed low-mid central vow

The wedge is used in a stressed position as in
but, up, cover
[bʌt] [ʌp] [kʌvər]
 VOWELS
Diphthong—a vowel in which there is a change in
the quality during a single syllable. In other words,
there is a glide from one point of articulation to
another

Monophthong—the vowel has a single unchanging

quality.
 DIPHTHONGS
[aɪ] as in “hide” “eye” “my”
[aʊ] as in “how” “cow”
[ɔɪ] as in “boy”

[eɪ]
[oʊ]
George Yule_fig. 3_2
© Cambridge University Press 2019
 CLASSIFICATION OF NORTH AMERICAN CONSONANT PHONEMES

Manner of Place of Articulation

Articulation  
Bilabial Labiodental Dental Alveolar Palatal Velar Glottal
Stop            
voiceless p t k
voiced b d g

Fricative              
voiceless f θ s ʃ h
voiced v ð z ʒ
 
Affricate              
voiceless tʃ
voiced dʒ
   
Nasal              
voiced m n ŋ
 
Liquid              
voiced l r
 
Glide              
voiceless      
voiced w j
 
 LET’S PRACTICE
--What is /i/ called?
--What is /I/ called?
--What is /o/ called?

--Write down what is a low front vowel?

--a mid back tense vowel?
--a high back lax vowel?