I/ Definition:

A vowel is a sound in the production of which the

air passage through the mouth is free. All vowels
are voiced sounds.
In the English language vowels can be classified into
pure vowels and diphthongs.
A pure vowel (monophthong) is an unchanging
sound in the pronunciation of which the organs of
speech do not perceptibly change the position
throughout the duration of the vowel in a syllable.
A diphthong is a vowel in the production of which
there is a change in quality during a single
syllable.
VOWELS
 II/ Classification:
• In the production of the English sounds, the tongue
may move forward or backward or it may be raised
or lowered. Pure vowels may be classified according
to the following principles:
 PRINCIPLES /CRITERIA

1.Tongue part
2.Tongue height
3.Lip shape
4.Vowel length
 1. The tongue part: (The raised part of the tongue)
• According to which part of tongue is raised, vowels
can be front , central and back.
 a) Front vowels:
• There are 4 front vowels in English language in the
production of which the front of the tongue is raised
in the direction of the hard palate. The front vowels
are: /i:/, / ɪ /, /e/, / æ /
 b) Back vowels:
• There are 5 back vowels in the production of which
the back of the tongue is raised in the direction of
the soft palate. The back vowels are: /u:/, / ʊ /, /a:/,
/ ɔ /, / ɔː/
 c) Central/ Mid vowels:
• There are vowels immediate between front or back.
We’ll call them central vowel sounds. In the
articulation of these sounds, the center (or middle)
of the tongue is raised toward the palate. The central
vowels are: /ɜ:/, /ǝ/, /ʌ/
 2. The tongue height: (The height of the raised part
of the tongue)
• According to the height of which the part of the
tongue is raised, vowel can be close ( or high),
open( or low), mid-open/mid-close.
 a) Close (or high) vowels:
• There are four close ( or high) vowels in the
production of which one part of the tongue comes
close to the palate without touching it and the air
passage is narrow, but not so much as to form a
consonant. The close vowel are /i:/, / ɪ /, /u:/, /ʊ/
 b) Open (or low) vowels:
• There are four open (or low) vowels in the
production of which one part of the tongue is very
low and the air passage is very wide. The open
vowel are /æ/, /a:/, /ɔ/, /ɔ:/
c) Mid-open or Mid-close vowel:
• There are Mid-open or Mid-close vowels in the
production of which the tongue is half-way between
its high and low position. Eg: /e/, /æ/, /Ʌ/, /ɜ:/
 3. The shape of lips: (Lip rounding/ According to
the lip shape)
• According to the lip position, vowels can be
rounded, neutral or unrounded (spread); rounded
vowels.
 a) Rounded vowels:
• There are rounded vowels in the production of
which the lips are drawn together so that the
opening between them is more or less round, e.g.
/ʊ/, /u:/, /ɔ/, /ɔ:/.
 c) Neutral vowels:
• There are neutral vowels in the production of which
the lips are not noticeably rounded or spread. e.g. /ə/
 c) Unrounded :( Spread vowels):
• There are unrounded or spread vowels in the
production of which the lips may be spread out so as
to leave a long narrow opening between them, e.g.
/i:/, /I/, /e/, /æ/
 4. The vowel length:
• According to the length vowels may be short or
long. The colon (:A) is used with the phonetic
symbols for the vowels which are long, e.g. /i:/ ,/u:/,
/a:/, /ↄ:/
neutral
Describe these following vowels
1. /e/ Front, mid, unrounded, short sound.
2. /i:/ Front, close, unrounded, long sound.
3. / ɪ / Front, close, unrounded short sound.
4. /u:/ Back, close, rounded, long sound.
5. /ɜ:/ Central, mid, neutral, long sound.
6. /ʊ/ Back, close, rounded, short sound.
7. /æ/ Front, open, unrounded, short sound.
8. /ɔ:/ Back, mid, rounded, long sound.
9. /Ʌ/ Central, mid, neutral, short sound.
10./a:/ Back, open, rounded, long sound.
11. /ə/ Central, mid, neutral, short sound.
12. / ɔ / Back, open, rounded, short sound.