CHAPTER 8: short vowels

2012

Vowels are formed by modifying the shape of the vocal tract above the larynx. The air is not constricted as much as in the production of consonants. Vowels are always voiced. In the same way as consonants can be described using voice, place and manner labels, vowels can be described with reference to the tongue height and backness and the degree of lip rounding.

Tongue height, tongue backness and lip rounding If you make the vowels in the words see and cat you will feel that the tongue is closer to the roof of your mouth in see than in cat. This is a difference is tongue height and we describe the vowel in see as being relatively close and that in cat as being relatively open. In both of these vowels the front of the tongue is highest in the mouth. In both see and cat it is the front of the tongue that it highest in the mouth. If you make the vowel in the word calm, you will feel that the back of the tongue is the highest in the mouth. This is also the case for the vowel in too although this vowel is closer than the vowel in calm. You should also be able to feel that in the vowel of see the lips are spread, whilst in too they are rounded.

The vowel quadrilateral and the cardinal vowel.

The vowel quadrilateral is a four sided shape used as a reference chart for describing vowels. Tongue height is shown on the vertical axis and tongue backness on the horizontal axis. If two symbols appear together, the one to the right is rounded. The cardinal vowels are reference points on the vowel quadrilateral. Cardinal 1 for example is defined as the vowel that is as close and as front as possible without making friction. Cardinal 4 is the most front and open vowel. Cardinals 2 and 3 lie roughly equally between cardinals 1 and 4. Cardinal 5 is the most open and back vowel and cardinal 8 is the closest and backest vowel. Cardinals 6 and 7 lie roughly equally between 5 and 8. We will not learn about them in any more detail but they allow us to describe other vowels in relation to them and the quadrilateral.

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CHAPTER 8: short vowels

2012

Front Close Close-mid

1.

Central

Back
8.

2.

7.

Open-mid Open English Short Vowels

3.

6.

4.

5.

as in bit is more open and central than cardinal 1, the lips are spread as in bed is between cardinals 2 and 3, the lips are spread as in ban is a front vowel not quite as open as cardinal 4 as in but is a central vowel, slightly more open than open mid, the lips are neutral as in pot is less back and less open than cardinal 5, the lips are slightly rounded as in pull is more open and central than cardinal 8, the lips are rounded as in about is central and mid, it is only found in weak syllables Schwa+r basically just sounds like an r sound (r sound). Actually, it is an r soundthat also creates a syllable. While most non-native speakers understand and expect the schwa+r sound in words spelled er, ir, and ur, this lesson explains why other vowel+r spellings may be pronounced schwa+r. It may not surprise you that syllable stress is involved! If you listen closely to all six of those words, you will notice that their vowel sound is taken over by the r sound. In words with schwa+r, only the r sound, and not the vowel, is heard. Listen to the words again: her, stir, blur, burn The vowel system of varieties of English verb bird

Nidzarzulfriansyah.blogspot.com

CHAPTER 8: short vowels

2012

Schwa
name comes from the Hebrew point system devised to indicate vowels in a writing system that normally didn't use them. The phoneme and the associated grapheme - a turned e [ ] - were identified in the late 19th Century. It has been part of the IPA (International Phonetic Association) notation since it was first published in 1897.

10 spellings of shwa in TO reduces to 3 in Chekt Speling

In the terminal position with syllabic r l m n, the shwa is not denoted. With nonsyllabic terminal consonants, [a'] or an apostrophe is used. In the initial position [a'] is used.
TO
of Schwa

Spelling Example Word

CCS
shwapostra'fi

Example Word

CCS
shwapostra'fi

a ai e i o u u..e au ou oi

alone, pedal a'lo'n, pedl about, ago a'baut, a'go' mountain, captian mauntn, captn fountain fauntn silent, camel sylnt, caml system, totem sistm, to'tm victim, raison victm, reizn easily iza'li pistol, reason pistl, risn atom, phantom a.tm, fa.ntm circus, album sirk's, albm author, gardener othr, gardnr torture torchr glamour gla.mr authority, author a'thoriti, othr another a'nu'thr limouisine, lemon lima'zin, limn sailor, camouflage seilr, cama'fla2 tortoise torta's torture, torchr

Context and example Underlying Phonetic (= tongue position) (1) non-final fatigue // central (2) adjacent to velars long ago // slight raising and retraction (3) final father, comma, China // slight lowering

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