Chapter 2

2.1 Articulators above the larynx

2.2 Vowel and consonant
2.3 English short vowels
2.1 Articulators above the larynx

Organs of speech
 States of the soft palate

The soft palate is lowered, and The soft palate is raised,

the oral cavity is shut, so the air blocking the air to the nasal
escapes through the nose. cavity, so the air escapes only
through the mouth.
Different parts of the tongue
 2.2 Vowel and consonant
Vowel and consonant can be distinguished in terms of:
 the way they are produced
Vowels are made with no obstruction to the airflow from the larynx to the lip
while consonants are produced with certain obstruction to the airflow.
 their different distributions
Vowels typically occur at the center of the syllable while consonants typically
occur at the margins.
Example:
talk /tɔːk/
center
margin margin
 Vowels in general
Vowels are different in terms of:
 tongue height: the vertical distance between the upper
surface of the tongue and the hard palate
 Frontness and backness: which part of the tongue,
between front and back, is raised the highest
 lip position: whether the lips are rounded, spread, or
neutral when producing these vowels
tongue height difference between iː and æ
 Cardinal vowels

- A set of vowels which are arranged in

a close-open, front-back diagram.

- They are not the vowels of any

particular language.

- These cardinal vowels are a standard

reference system that helps us to
Primary cardinal vowels describe, classify and compare vowels.
 2.3 English short vowels
 The symbols for English short vowels: ɪ, e, æ, ʌ, ɒ, ʊ

Primary cardinal English short vowels

vowels