British English Vowels (RP)

LAX VOWELS

TENSE VOWELS

LAX VOWELS

close

front

back

open

KIT

FOOT

DRESS STRUT TRAP

LOT

CLOSE (HIGH)

BACK

OPEN (LOW)

preview:
The 6 lax vowels are ALWAYS SHORT

fen bit not very clever

fen bit not verld klefi

preview:
The 6 lax vowels are ALWAYS SHORT

fen bit not very television

fenn

verry tellevision (telly)

8

preview:
The 6 lax vowels are ALWAYS SHORT

fen bit not very television

fenn bitt.....? nott....? verry tellevision (telly)

9

preview:
English vowels MUST NOT BE PREASPIRATED not nott (noht) bit bitt (biht) stop stopp (stohp) better better (behter) supper supper (shper)
10

TENSE VOWELS

CLOSE (HIGH

FLEECE
KIT

GOOSE
FOOT

BACK

DRESS

NURSE

THOUGHT
STRUT TRAP LOT

PALM
OPEN (LOW)
12

CLOSE (HIGH

BACK

OPEN (LOW)

13

English Diphthongs - di-phthong .... fong

English Diphthongs pure vowels diphthongs

English Diphthongs

how "pure" are the "pure" vowels?

CLOSE (HIGH

BACK

OPEN (LOW)

17

1 Rising to KIT

18

2 Rising to FOOT

19

3 Centring to Schwa

20

21

22

SQUARE words are spelled

-airfair chair stair cairn -arefare care mare stare
23

NEAR words are spelled

-eerbeer engineer queer -ierfierce pier

24

But words spelled with -ear-, ere-, -eirare variable SQUARE bear pear wear heir their where there theyre NEAR fear clear rear weir here were idea hero
25

Vowels - summary

CLOSE (HIGH

FLEECE
KIT

GOOSE
FOOT

BACK

DRESS

NURSE THOUGHT
STRUT TRAP LOT

PALM
OPEN (LOW)

CLOSE (HIGH

BACK

OPEN (LOW)

28

CLOSE (HIGH

BACK

OPEN (LOW)

29

Vowels - summary
Learn chart positions: front central - back close (high) mid open (low Learn symbols and keywords for 6 lax vowels + schwa 5 tense vowels 8 diphthongs (diphthongs are also tense vowels)

Difference between lax and tense vowels

lax vowels are short tense vowels are long but are subject to clipping

31

Clipping
A tense vowels (or diphthong) is CLIPPED (shortened) when a fortis consonant immediately follows it.
32

Preview: FORTIS and LENIS consonants

16 consonants occur in PAIRS, fortis and lenis FORTIS consonants are unovoiced LENIS consonants are often (but not always) voiced
(This is not the only distinction between fortis and lenis. Well discuss this later.)

33

Preview: FORTIS and LENIS consonants

fortis: lenis:
pie, buy tie, die key, gay fine, vine

church, judge
mission, vision ice, eyes think, this
34