ANALYZING VOWELS

PHONETICALLY
 Learning aim :
 The students can
distinguish the different
vowel sounds according NAMA KELOMPOK
to;
1. tongue position
1. Ruth Pipin M
2. length
3. rounding
2. Nuriza Aswa
4. nasality
5. diphthong
 TONGUE POSITION
Tongue position is described using two criteria: the height (how high is the

Tongue position is described using two criteria: the height (how high is the tongue) and the part of the
tongue involved in the production of the sound.
 
In English the tongue may either be high, i.e. when the speaker produces
e.g. /i:/, /u:/ in /bi:t/, /bu:t/ (beat, boot), intermediate, e.g. /e/, /ɔ:/ in /bet/,
/bɔ:t/ (bet, bought), or low, e.g. /æ/, /a:/ in /bæt/, /ba:t/ (bat, Bart).

a) tongue is at the highest b) tongue is at the lowest

English has three heights: high, mid and low.
The part of the tongue involved in the production of a vowel can also be illustrated
with the examples above. If you say [i:] and then [u:] just after it, you almost have the feeling
that you are moving your tongue backwards. This is because [i:] is a front vowel, and [u:] is
a back vowel, or in other words, the highest point in the pronunciation of [i:] is the front of
the tongue, whereas the highest point in [u:] is the back of the tongue. The picture gives you
two examples of tongue position:
a) is an example of the front of the tongue being at the highest
b) it Is the back of the tongue which is nearest to the palate

 (a) front and (b) back

 For example /ɜ/ is front and /ɔ:/ is back, and /æ/ front, /a:/ back. There are also vowels in between

front and back, called central, namely /ɜ:/, /ə/ as in /wɜ:d/, /fɔ:wəd/, /(word, forward, mud). /ɜ:/

for instance is between /e/ and /ɔ:/, as can be seen from /bed,/ /b ɜ:d, b ɔ:d], ( bed, bird, board).
 To give an accurate account of tongue position one has to combine height
 of the tongue and part of the tongue involved.

 a) height position for front vowels b) height position for back vowels
 Figure 18: tongue position

If you put 18a and 18b together and isolate tongue position, you get the following diagram:
 LENGTH

 There are two types of /i/ sound in English placed in two different positions. However for the
purpose of description, what is relevant is not the difference of position but that of the
perceived length of the vowel. Thus it is said that /i:/ is a long vowel and /I/ is a short one.
The same is valid for /u:/ - /ʊ/, /ɜ:/ - /ə/, /ɔ:/ - / ɒ/.
  
 Remember: Symbols for long vowels all have a colon.
  
 Phonologically, one can establish the rule such as only long vowels may be the last sound of a
syllable, whereas short vowels are always followed by at least a consonant. If we take away
the final /t/ from court,
 /kɔ:/ is a possible syllable (core) whereas /kɒ/ could not possibly occur. (Exceptions from
this are the three short vowels that occur in completely unstressed syllables, /sItI/,
/Intʊ/, /swetə/ [city, into, sweater]).
 ROUNDING

Rounding, also called Labialization, in phonetics, the production of a sound with the

lips rounded. Vowels, semivowels, and some consonants may be rounded. In English,
examples of rounded vowels are o in “note,” oo  in “look,” and the u sound in “rule”
and “boot”; w in “well” is an example of a rounded semivowel.

When a rounded vowel is pronounced, the lips form a circular opening,

and unrounded vowels are pronounced with the lips relaxed.
 NASALIT Y

Nasal, in phonetics, speech sound in which the airstream passes

through the nose as a result of the lowering of the soft palate
(velum) at the back of the mouth. ... Sounds in which the air
stream is expelled partly through the nose and partly through the
mouth are classified as nasalized.
For example :
Sit Sin Sing (ee)

Hand Ham (ae)

 DIPHTHONG

“Diphthong” comes from the Greek word diphthongs. It literally means

“having two sounds.” More specifically, diphthongs deal with vowels. Every
vowel has its own short sound and long vowel sound. However, diphthongs
come into play whenever a vowel makes a new and different sound, usually
because it’s working in conjunction with another vowel.
One of the best diphthong examples is the word “oil.” Here, we have two
vowels working side by side and, together, they create a sound different than
anything “O” or “I” alone can produce. And that’s just scratching the surface.
Let’s take a closer look.
Diphthongs and Gliding Vowels
A single vowel, such as the “O” or “I” in “oil” is called a monophthong (mono
for one, di for two). An example of a monophthong is the “O” in “hop.” But,
when we move from one vowel sound to another, such as the “oi” in “oil,”
it’s called gliding. As such, diphthongs are sometimes referred to as “gliding
vowels.”
Linguists love studying diphthongs because they vary between dialects,
languages, and continents. For example, New Yorkers adopted a diphthong
that features an “aw” sound. An example would be the way certain New
Yorkers pronounce “dog” in a manner that sounds more like “dawg.”
Likewise, folks over in Birmingham, England adopted a diphthong that
features an “oi” sound, among others. An example would be how certain folks
in Birmingham pronounce “nice” in a manner that sounds more like “noise.”
 Perhaps the easiest way to recognize a diphthong is to listen to the sound created by the
vowel or vowels when you say it out loud. If the vowel sound changes, you’ve got yourself a
diphthong. Without getting too detailed (or any more confusing), let’s look at eight of the
heavy-hitters.

/aɪ/
This diphthong uses letters and letter combinations like /i/, /igh/, and /y/ to form sounds
similar to “eye.” Here are a few more examples:
Cry
My
Like
Bright
Lime

/eɪ/
This diphthong uses letters and letter combinations like /ey/, /ay/, /ai/ and /a/ to form
sounds similar to “great.” Here are a few more examples:
Bake
Rain
Lay
Eight
Break
 /əʊ/
This diphthong uses letters and letter combinations like /ow/, /oa/ and /o/ to form
sounds similar to “boat.” Here are a few more examples:
Go
Oh
Slow
Loan
Though

/aʊ/
This diphthong uses letters and letter combinations like /ou/ and /ow/ to form sounds
similar to “ow!” Here are a few more examples:
Bound
House
Brown
How
Now
 /eə/
This diphthong uses letters and letter combinations like /ai/, /a/, and /ea/
to form sounds similar to “air.” Here are a few more examples:
Pair
Lair
Stare
Care
Bear

/ɪə/
This diphthong uses letters and letter combinations like /ee/, /ie/ and /ea/
to form sounds similar to “ear.” Here are a few more examples:
Career
Here
Near
Year
Pier
 /ɔɪ/
This diphthong uses letters and letter combinations like /oy/ and /oi/ to form
sounds similar to “oil.” Here are a few more examples:
Boy
Coy
Toy
Foil
Coin

/ʊə/
This diphthong uses letters and letter combinations like /oo/, /ou/, /u/,
and /ue/ to form sounds similar to “cure.” Here are a few more examples:
Fur
Sure
Lure
Pure
Mature