english mystery 2

Introduction: Phonetics & Phonology

At the end of the course, the students should be able to produce, correctly pronounce and discriminate English vowels and consonants. The course should help the students acquire pronunciation without too many traces of [mother tongue] articulation and intonation.• … so that participants can not only improve their own pronunciation, but also make use of the theoretical information to guide their teaching practice.The main emphasis is on acquiring the practical ability to make and hear differences between sounds and to identify common pronunciation problems.

Introduction: Phonetics & Phonology

• Mastery of English pronunciation is a key to successful communication in all contexts of English use.

• Vitanova and Miller (2001) reported an ESL research subjects, conceiving that ‘improving pronunciation is very helpful to my career, because the ability of verbal communication is very important to a nurse’. By contrast, it is widely argued that failure to produce correct English pronunciation ‘… can undermine learners’ self-confidence, restrict social interactions, and negatively influence estimations of speaker’s credibility and abilities’ (Florez 1989). Indeed, it is likely that an EFL learner may take refuge into silence instead of mispronouncing a word in such as a way that mayresult in a negative estimation of their ‘credibility and abilities’.

Introduction: Phonetics & Phonology

** Defining Phonology ** Phonology is a branch of linguistics that studies the changes in sounds when they occur in different linguistic environments and the patterns of sounds in the language.Phonology is a branch of linguistics that studies the changes in sounds when they occur in different linguistic environments and the patterns of sounds in the language.

Introduction: Phonetics & Phonology

• • Phonemes are contrastive units of sound that are used to change meaning.

• • E.g. Pat fat: if we change the sound we change the meaning.

Introduction: Phonetics & Phonology

• • Phonetics is a branch of linguistics that is concerned with describing, classifying, and transcribing speech sounds:

• • - Description of sounds: how sounds are articulated

• • - Classification of sounds: naming sounds• • - Transcription of sounds: a method of

writing speech sounds in a systematic and consistent way

Introduction: Phonetics & Phonology

Allophones• Phonetic variants of phonemes• Phonemes are realized by allophones.• Many allophones for a particular phoneme• Phonemes are abstract but allophones are concrete

entities of speech.• Allophones will occur in a particular phonetic context.• In English, if we change allophones we get the same

word but when a phoneme is changed we get a different word.

Introduction: Phonetics & Phonology• There are no one to one correspondence between letters and

sounds in English.• - Different letters may represent a single sound, e.g. too/two /u:/• -A single letter may represent different sounds, e.g. dad /æ/.. Father

/a:/• - A combination of letters may represent a single sound, e.g.

phone /f/• - A specific combination of letters may represent different sounds,

e.g. gh spaghetti /g/ enough /f/• Some letters have no sounds at all in content words, that is,

silent..e.g. know• Some sounds are not represented in the spelling..e.g. Cute /kju:t/

Introduction: Phonetics & Phonology

• Homographs are words that are spelt the same but pronounced differently..e.g. addict (n) and addict (v)

• Homophones are words that are spelt differently but pronounced the same..e.g. sea /si:/ and see /si:/

Introduction: Phonetics & Phonology

• These include immersion programs, (natural) exposure to the language, (formal and informal) listening programs, and phonetic courses. Of course, all or many of these ways can be incorporated into the same educational program.

Introduction: Phonetics & Phonology

• Phonetic course should focus more on pronunciation practice and less on phonetic information in order to help the students overcome their pronunciation difficulties.

Introduction: Phonetics & Phonology

• Just compare heart, beard, and heard,• Dies and diet, lord and word,• Sword, and sward, retain and Britain.• Now I surely will not plague you• With such words as plague and ague.• But be careful how you speak:• Say break and steak, but bleak and streak;• Cloven, oven, how and low,• Script, receipt, show, poem and toe.

The International Phonetic Alphabet recognises the following places of articulation (among others):

Bilabial The point of maximum constriction is made by the coming together of the two lips.

Labiodental The lower lip articulates with the upper teeth. Dental The tip of the tongue articulates with the back or bottom of the top teeth.

Alveolar The tip or the blade of the tongue articulates with the forward part of the alveolar ridge. A sound made with the tip of the tongue here is an apico-alveolar sound; one made with the blade, a lamino-alveolar.

Postalveolar The tip or the blade of the tongue articulates with the back area of the alveolar ridge.

Palatal The front of the tongue articulates with the domed part of the hard palate.

Velar The back of the tongue articulates with the soft palate.

Uvular The back of the tongue articulates with the very back of the soft palate, including the uvula.

Pharyngeal The pharynx is constricted by the faucal pillars moving together (lateral compression) and, possibly, by the larynx being raised. "It is largely a sphincteric semi-closure of the oro-pharynx, and it can be learned by tickling the back of the throat, provoking retching" (Catford 1978:163).

Glottal The vocal folds are brought together; in some cases, the function of the vocal folds can be part of articulation as well as phonation, as in the case of [] and [h] in many languages.

1.Exo-labial (outer part of lip)2.Endo-labial (inner part of lip)3.Dental (teeth)4.Alveolar (front part of alveolar ridge)5.Post-alveolar (rear part of alveolar ridge slightly behind it)6.Pre-palatal (front part of hard palate that arches upward)7.Palatal (hard palate)8.Velar (soft palate)9.Uvular (a.k.a. Post-velar; uvula)10.Pharyngeal (pharyngeal wall)11.Glottal (a.k.a. Laryngeal; vocal folds)12.Epiglottal (epiglottis)13.Radical (tongue root)14.Postero-dorsal (back of tongue body)15.Antero-dorsal (front of tongue body)16.Laminal (tongue blade)17.Apical (apex or tongue tip)18.Sub-laminal (a.k.a. Sub-apical; underside of tongue).

English: Places of articulation (active and passive)

The soft palate or velum

We have two positions for the soft palate:1) Soft palate is raised =velic closure

- Nasal cavity is closed off- Air escapes through the mouth

All sounds in English are oral sounds except the nasals

2) Soft palate is lowered- it allows air to escape through the nasal

cavity = a nasal sound

Glottis

The space between vocal cordsThree positions for the glottis:

1) Glottis open: a voiceless sound. Folds are wide apart allowing the air from the lungs to escape freely

2) Glottis narrowed= a voiced sound. Folds near each other. As the air passes through the glottis it causes the vocal cords to vibrate3) Glottis closed= a glottal stop. The glottal stop (?) is produced when the air is compressed momentarily behind a close glottis and then the air is suddenly released as the vocal folds come apart, e.g. battle /ba?l/

Classification of Consonants

1) Voicing2) Place of articulation3) Manner of articulation

Place of Articulation

•Articulators: Organs within the oral cavity that are responsible for speech•Two types of articulators:

Active Articulators (like the tongue)Passive Articulators (like the hard palate)

Place of articulation for English sounds

1) Bilabial: made with upper and lower lip.2) Labiodentals: Lower lip and upper front teeth.3) Dental: tongue tip and upper front teeth.4) Alveolar: tongue tip or blade and alveolar ridge.5) Post Alveolar: tongue blade and back of alveolar ridge.6) Palatal: front of the tongue and hard palate.7) Velar: back of the tongue and soft palate.8) Glottal: in the glottis.

Manner of Articulation (How is the sound produced?)

There are 3 major ways:1) Blockage of oral cavity (Plosives or stops and

nasals)2) Narrowing of oral cavity (Fricatives and

Affricates)3) No narrowing or blockage (open approximation)(Approximants (glides) and lateral approximants)

All sounds in English except the nasals are oral sounds, i.e. produced with the soft palate raised so that the air is free to escape through the mouth.

Plosives

Plosives are produced with complete closure of the articulators in the oral cavity so that the air stream is blocked or stopped and the air stream is compressed then released.As the articulators come apart the airstream is released with an explosive force. The soft palate is raised so that the air is free to escape through the mouth

Classification of Plosives

* Sound Voicing Place Manner* /p/ Voiceless Bilabial Plosive* /b/ Voiced Bilabial Plosive* /t/ Voiceless Alveolar Plosive* /d/ Voiced Alveolar Plosive* /k/ Voiceless Velar Plosive* /g/ Voiced Velar Plosive

Manner of Articulation (How is the sound produced?)

* Aspiration is a period of voicelessness that is accompanied by a puff of air which occurs when the plosives /p,t,k/ are followed by a vowel on a stressed syllable, e. g. [pʰ].

* It causes a delay in voice onset time (VOT), e.g. Pie [pʰaI]

* Bye [baI]--< X* Nasals are produced with complete closure of

articulators in the oral cavity with the soft palate lowered so that the air escapes though the nose

Classification of nasals:

* Sound Voicing Place Manner* /m/ Voiced Bilabial Nasal* /n/ Voiced Alveolar Nasal* /ŋ/ Voiced Velar Nasal

Fricatives

* Fricatives are produced with the articulators close together causing a narrowing of the oral cavity so that the airstream is partially obstructed causing friction.

Classification of Fricatives

* Sound Voicing Place Manner* /f/ Voiceless labiodental fricative* /v/ Voiced labiodental Fricative* /θ/ Voiceless dental fricative* /ð/ voiced dental fricative* /s/ voiceless alveolar fricative* /z/ voiced alveolar fricative* /ʃ/ voiceless post-alveo fricative* /ʒ/ voiced post-alveo fricative* /h/ voiceless glottal fricative

Consonants

Sound keyword/p/ pen/b/ baby/t/ tea/d/ day/k/ key/g/ get/f/ fat/v/ view

Consonants

Sound keyword/θ/ thin/ð/ this/s/ sea/z/ zoo/ʃ/ shoe/ʒ/ beige/h/ hot

Sound keyword/tʃ/ cheap/dʒ/ jam/m/ more/n/ no/ŋ/ sing/l/ light/r/ right/w/ wet/j/ yes

Vowels

/i:/ seat

/I/ sit

/e/ set

/æ/ sat

/ə/ about

/3:/ bird

/ʌ/ but/ʊ/ foot/u:/ too/ɔ:/ thought/ɔ/ hot/a:/ father

Diphthongs

/eI/ face

/aI/ price

/ɔI/ boy-choice

/aʊ/ how, mouth

/ əʊ/ no

Centralizing Diphthongs

/Iə/ near

/eə/ square

/ʊə/ poor

Fricatives

Fricatives can be classified as sibilants and non-sibilants. Sibilants are sounds produced with hissing and buzzing noise = /s, z, ʃ, ʒ/Non-sibilants are /f,v, h, θ,ð/

Affricates

* Affricates can be defined as a plosive followed by a fricative produced at the same place of articulation.

* Classification of Affricates* Sound Voicing Place Manner* / tʃ/ Voiceless Post-alveo Affricate* /dʒ/ Voiced Post-alveo Affricate* / tʃ/ and /dʒ/ are sibilants.

Lateral approximant

* Lateral approximant is made with the tongue blocking the roof of the mouth and with sides of the tongue lowered.

* Classification of lateral approximant* Sound voicing Place Manner* /l/ voiced alveolar lateral appr

Approximants or glides and Classification of approximants

* Approximants or glides are produced with articulators wide so that the airstream goes through the oral cavity without interference.

* Classification of approximants* Sound voicing Place Manner* /w/ voiced bilabial Approximant* /j/ voiced palatal Appro* /r/ voiced alveolar Appro

Retroflex r

* The retroflex [r] which occurs in run [rΛn] and rat [ræt], is found in many varieties of English.

* One way to be produced involves turning the tip of the tongue upward (without touching the palate) while the sides of the tongue rest against the sides of the back upper teeth.

* Another type involves bunching the tongue together toward the back part of the palate while the tip of the tongue remains low.

Manner of Articulation (How is the sound produced?)

* Obstruents are sounds that do not allow the airstream to pass freely=

* Plosives, fricatives, affricates* Sonorants are sounds that allow the air stream to

pass freely=* Nasals, approximants, lateral approximants,

vowels* Voiceless= Fortis* Voiced= Lenis

Manner of Articulation (How is the sound produced?)

ConsonantsSonorants

Obstuents Nasals Plosive

Affricates Approximants

FricativesLateral

** Fortis / Lenis **

* Fortis Lenisarticulation strong articulation weak Voiceless Voiced

Manner of Articulation (How is the sound produced?)

* Vowels are shortened before a fortis consonant in monosyllabic words

* = pre-fortis clipping. For example, ‘But’ ‘t’ is fortis and voiceless , therefore the vowel is shorter

• * Vowels are longer before lenis consonants. For example,

‘bud’ ‘d’ is voiced and lenis, therefore the vowel is longer.• * Fortis sounds [ ] are produced with a greater degree of ˉ

muscular tension and breath pressure.* Lenis sounds [ ] are produced with less. ̆�

Broad and Narrow Transcription

* Broad or phonemic transcription excludes some of the finer phonetic detail in the presentation of sounds.

* Narrow or phonetic transcription tends to include many of the modifications and details of sounds.

Vowels

• Vowels are voiced sounds that are produced with no interference of the airstream.

* Vowels differ in length and quality.* Vowels are syllabic , they occupy the center of

a syllable.

Vowels

Simple vowels diphthongs Short vowel long vowelShort simple vowels = / I , e , æ , ɒ , ʊ , ^ / and / ə / * / I , e , æ , ɒ , ʊ , ^ /= they all occur in closed

syllables. (Followed by a consonant)* Long simple vowels = / i: , u: , a: , Ɔ: , ɜ: / * / I(happy) , u (thank you)/ = short weak forms of /

i: , u: / and = occur in unstressed syllables.

Classification of Vowels

There are 4 Parameters regarding classification of vowels: 1) Tongue Height: position of tongue on a vertical scale. Vowels made high in the mouth are called closed vowels.Vowels made low in the mouth are called open vowels.2) Tongue Backness = position of tongue on a horizontal scale.Ex: front back See sue /i:/ /su:/3) Lip Rounding = some sounds are produced with rounded protruded lips.Back vowels are produced with lips rounded.Front vowels are produced with lips spread or unrounded.

Manner of Articulation (How is the sound produced?)

4) Tenseness (for “long vowels” and diphthongs more energy)= vowels produced with greater force of articulation. The degree to which the root of the tongue is pulled forward and bunched up.Tense vowels tend to be slightly higher than their lax vowelsTense vowels (beet and boot)Lax Vowels or “short vowel” (which are the opposite of tensed vowels )= vowels produced with less force of articulation. They are applicable to Simple vowels. The mid central vowels may be retroflexed.

* Lax vowels (bit and put) In the production of vowels the front of the tongue may be slightly lower than that used in the production of consonantal [r].

Manner of Articulation (How is the sound produced?)

* Two types of retroflex vowels are distinguished in English.

* The retroflex [ɝ] is commonly found in stressed syllables in items like ‘bird’ and ‘third’.

* The retroflex [ɚ] is frequently found in unstressed syllables such as in mother and runner.

Diphthongs

* A Diphthong is a smooth glide from one vowel position to another, the whole glide acts like one of the long simple vowels.

* A diphthong is a combination of two vowels in which one serves as the center of the syllable peak (the nucleus) and the other (the glide) moves into or away from it.

* We have offgliding diphthongs and ongliding diphthongs.* In offgliding diphthongs, the glide occurs after the nucleus.* Those in which the glide occurs first are called ongliding

diphthongs or the semi vowels.

Diphthongs

• The offgliding diphthongs can be divided into three types:• 1)Fronting diphthongs:the glide is towards a front vowel /I/.• / eI/ (face) ; aI (try); and ƆI(boy) • 2) Centralizing diphthongs: the glide is towards the central

vowel / ə /.• / Iə(near) ; eə(square) ; and ʊ ə(tour) • 3) Backing diphthongs: the glide is towards a back vowel / ʊ /

• / əʊ , aʊ / (go) + (house)

Triphthongsand

Allophonic Variation

* A triphthong is a glide from a vowel to another and then to a third all produced rapidly and without interruption.

* Ex: Hour / haʊə / & dryer / draIə/

** Allophonic Variation **Allophones: are in complementary distribution. Each allophone occurs in a unique linguistics environment.

Aspiration and

Allophones of / p /

* Aspiration is a period of voicelessness that is accompanied by a puff of air which occurs when the voiceless plosives /p,t,k/ are followed by a vowel on a stressed syllable=[h] .

* It causes a delay in Voice Onset Time (VOT). * Ex. Pit [phIt ] ** Allophones of / p / **• / p / is realized in 4 different ways :• 1) Aspirated / p / = [ ph ]* Occurs at the beginning of a stressed syllable and followed by

a vowel.* Ex. Pot [ ph ɔt ]

Aspiration and

Allophones of / p /

2) Unaspirated / p / = [ p ] A. When preceded by / s / Ex. Spot [ spɔt ] Spit [spIt]

B. Between vowels when the following vowel is Unstressed. Ex. Rapid [ IræpId ] ( 1st syllable is stressed & 2nd syllable is unstressed )

3) Released / p / = [ p ]Articulators move a part.Occurs at the beginning or in the middle. Ex. Pit [phIt ]

Aspiration and

Allophones of / p /

4) Unreleased / p / = [ p ̚ ]Articulators don’t move a part.Occurs at the end of the word.Ex. Tap [ thæp ̚ ] ; & Stop [ stɔp ̚ ] .(All stops at the end of the word are Unreleased).( The aspiration is just for voiceless stops / p , t , k / )

Linguistic Environment

The effect of neighboring sounds :Ex. Speak [spi:k ] “ /p/ is unaspirated because / p / is preceded by / s / “* Ten [ tẽn ] “ / e / is nasalized because / e /

occurs before a nasal sound / n / * / p / should be unreleased because it occurs at the

end of the word but because the word cup occurs within a sentence , so / p / is released because we have to pronounce the following word .

Position of occurrence within a larger unit

• Ex. (1) cup of tea cup [ k^p] (2) He has a cup cup [ k^p ̚ ]/ p / here is unreleased because there is no following word .

* In “Cup” / p / should be unreleased (held) because it occurs at the end of the word; but in “Cup of Tea” because the word cup occurs within a sentence , so / p / is released because we have to pronounce the following word .

* / p / in “Cup” is unreleased because there is no following word.

The effects of suprasegmental features (stress).

* Ex. rapid [ IræpId ] ( here because / p / occurs in unstressed syllable it’s unaspirated ) .

* Repeat [riIphi:t ] ( here because / p / occurs in stressed syllable it’s aspirated)

* Allophones are NOT contrastive (don’t change meaning) .

* Ex. Tin [ thIn ] Pin [ phIn ] << “t” and “p” are two different phonemes because if we change one phoneme we get another meaning.

* But allophones do not change meaning.

The effects of suprasegmental features (stress).

** Free Variation *** When an allophone doesn’t occur in

complementary distribution.* ~ This is because of:* Social Factors.* Different dialects.* Linguistics Factors.* Fast speaking causes omission of words.

Allophones of / l / **

/ l / can be realized in 4 forms :• clear / l / • dark / ɫ /• Voiceless / l ̥̥̥̥̥̥̥̥̥ /• Syllabic / l ̩ / ** Clear / l / ** Clear / l / = occurs before vowels. At the beginning. EX. Live [ lIv ]Clear /l/ is produced with the tongue tip or blade on the alveolar ridge, with the air escaping over the sides of the tongue. The front of the tongue is relatively high and the back somewhat lowered.

Dark / l /

Dark / l / = occurs after vowels.On the final position or before consonants and velarized • Between dark & clear / l / there is a little difference in

pronunciation, because we produce the dark / l / with less air. Is produce with the back of the tongue raised towards the soft palate = [ ɫ ]

Ex. filled [ fIɫd ] Fill [fIɫ]

With dark /l/, the tip and back of the tongue are relatively high while the center is lowered.

Devoiced / l /

• Devoiced / l / = [ l ̥̥̥̥̥̥̥̥̥ ]* When preceded by a voiceless sound,

e.g. / p , k / the / l / becomes devoiced * Ex. play [pl ̥̥̥̥̥̥̥̥̥eI] clay [kl ̥̥̥̥̥̥̥̥̥eI] • Devoiced means a sound that is normally

voiced, but in certain environments is produced with no vibration of vocal folds.

Syllabic Consonants

• Syllabic Consonants: can occupy the center of a syllable, that is, the position of the vowel in Unstressed syllables.

* = [ l ] this is a mark or a sign under the

following sounds to show that this consonant acts as a vowel:

* = / m, n, l, r /* Syllabic consonants are longer.

Syllabic / l /

[ļ] can be syllabic at the end of the words in an unstressed syllable. Example • Apple [ Iæpəl ] [ Iæp ļ ]

Syllabic / m, n /

* A general rule for syllabic /m,n/:* /m, n / is syllabic if preceded by the alveolar

stops / t , d / .* Ex. Written [ IrItən ] Rhythm [rIðəm]* [ IrItņ ] [rIðm ̩]

* Garden kingdom * [ Iga:rdən ] [kIηdəm]• [ Iga:rdņ ] [kIηdm ̩]

Devoiced Approximates

* / w / is devoiced when preceded by / t , k / (voiceless sounds)

• Ex. twice / twaIs /* / j / is devoiced when preceded by / p , t , k / • Ex. pure / pjʊə / tune / tju:n / cute / kju:t /* / r / devoiced when preceded by / p , t , k /

Ex. Pray / preI / tray / treI / cream / kri:m /

Shortened Consonants

* They occur before a consonant with the same manner of articulation.

Ex. clap / klæp / longer clapped / klæpt / shorter

Lengthened Consonant

Lengthened Consonant [ : ]* A consonant is longer at the end of a phrase or a sentence.* / s / is lengthened at the end of the words when the consonant

cluster / -ts / is deleted .* Ex. tests / tests / [te:s ] • lasts [la:s:]

Length of / m, n /

* They are long before voiced consonants.* But short before voiceless consonants.• Ex. Send / send / voiced (Longer)• Sent / sent / voiceless (Shorter)• Lambs / læmz / voiced (Longer)• Lamp / læmp / voiceless (Shorter)

Retroflexed Consonants

* Sounds produced by curling the tip of the tongue up and back so that the underside touches or is near the alveolar ridge.

* (like Hindi and some American dialects)/ r , t , d , n /Ex. finger [ fIηgə (ŗ) ] Singer[s Iηə (ŗ)]

The Glottal stop

* It is possible to completely close the vocal bands and then release them in a rather abrupt manner. The resulting sound is referred to as a glottal stop.

* Glottal replacement = the sound /t/ is replaced by a glottal stop [ʔ] before a consonant.

* Ex. Button [I b^ t ən] [I b^ tņ](syllabic) [ b^ʔn](glottal)

* Britain [brIt ən] [ brI tņ] (syllabic) [brIʔ n](glottal)

* Right away [raItəweI] [raIʔəweI] (glottal)

Flaps

Flaps are obstruents that involve a rapid closing and opening of the obstruction at some place of articulation.

Flaps involve one brief tap of the articulator so that considerably less pressure is built up than in the case of a regular stop.

In American pronunciation, the alveolar t and d between vowels are are produced as flaps [ř or ɾ], as in ‘batted’ [bæɾd].

Between vowels, nasals may also be produced with a flap-like quality [ň] as in the rapid pronunciation of ‘wanted’ [wΛňId].

Laterals can occasionally become flapped [Ĭ] as in ‘belly [beĬ I]

Velar Plosives

• Fronted= velar plosives become more fronted before front vowel.

• Ex. Key [ ki:] < “means to the front”

Velar Plosives

* Backed = velar plosives become more backed before back vowels

* Ex: school [sku:ł] > “means to the back”

Alveolar consonants

* Dental=[ -] alveolar consonants become dentals before dental consonants

• Ex. Tenth [teņθ]* When a sound is articulated at a point further

forward than that indicated by the conventional symbol, we say it is fronted.

* A placement of the tongue at a point behind our designated position is called backing.

VOICED /t/

t- voicing[t ̬]/t/ between vowels is voiced* Ex. Pretty [ prIt ̬i]

Partial Devoicing

If we listen carefully to the production of the final [z] in ‘rose’, we find that it fades into voicelessness after starting out as a voiced segment.

We indicate this partial devoicing by adding an arrow to the devoicing symbol [o~] ̆ ̆ e.g [rəʊzo~]

Length of vowels

* A vowel is Longest in an open syllable.* A vowel is longer when preceded by a voiced

consonant (‘bud’)[bΛ.d]* A vowel is longest before a nasal (‘bun’)—>• [bΛ:n]* A vowel is shortest before a voiceless

consonant. (‘but’)[bΛt]

Length of vowels

LongestSea (1) Seen (3) CV nasal voiceless / si: / / si:d /

ShorterSeed (2) Seat (4)

voiced / si:n / / si:t /

Nasalized vowels

* Vowels before a nasal are produced with the soft palate lowered so that the air escapes through the nasal cavity.

* [ ~ ] * Ex. Ban [bæ~n ] but not Bat / bæt /

Rhotacized vowel

A Vowel has /r/ quality before /r/ consonant. [ ɝ]Ex. Sir[ s3:r] [sɝ]

Vowel Rounding

• Rounding usually accompanies back vowels and front vowels are usually are unrounded.

• There are several different conventions for indicating the rounding of front vowels and the unrounding of back vowels.

• A widely used convention employs an umlaut to shift the front vowels to the back and vice versa.

• Thus [Ü] is a rounded high front tense vowel and [ï] is an unrounded high back tense vowel.