VOWEL TRANSCRIPTION

WHAT IS A VOWEL?Vowels are phonemes that are produced

without any appreciable constriction or blockage of air flow in the vocal tract.

See Table 4.1 for a description of vowel in English

VOWEL ARTICULATORS Tongue – primary articulator of vowels Jaw/mandible - movements Pharynx – size and shape

AIRSTREAM Passes through vocal cavity with

virtually no obstruction by the tongue or other major articulators

PRODUCTION Vowel phonemes are categorized in

relation to the position of the body of the tongue in the mouthTongue height – refers to how high or low in

the oral cavity the tongue is when producing the vowel.

Tongue advancement – how far forward or backward in the mouth the tongue is when producing a particular vowel

 VOWEL QUADRILATERAL

VOWEL QUADRILATERAL AND TONGUE

VOWEL QUADRILATERAL AND TONGUE

TONGUE POSITIONS

EMPTY VOWEL CHART

VOWEL CHART Which IPA symbols go with each

word????

VOWEL CHART Which IPA symbols go with each

word????

LIP CONFIGURATION Roundness Retracted

ROUNDNESS

TENSENESS Tense – usually longer in duration and

require more muscular effort Capable of ending stressed open syllables

Lax Never end a stressed open syllable

TENSENESS

TYPES OF VOWELS Monophones – have one primary

articulatory position in the vocal tract. Diphthongs – have two distinct

articulatory positions; two vowels which comprise oneOnglide – first element of a diphthongOffglide – second element of a diphthong

In English the offglide is produced at a higher position than the onglide

DIPHTHONGS // // // // //

Draw lines starting in the onglide and ending in offglide.

FRONT VOWELS /i/,//, /e/, /e /, //, //

/i/ Highest and most fronted of all vowel One of the point vowels Lips retracted, Tense – capable of ending one-syllable

open words

/I/ High vowel Is lax Occurs in closed syllables Used in words with unstressed syllables

ending in “y” – “crazy” or when preceding “ng”

Rhotic vowel /Ir/ “hear”

/e, e I / High-mid vowel Retracted Tense /e I / - stressed /e I / this diphthong is an allophonic

variation /e I / Used in stressed syllables and at end

of words regardless of stress

// Known as the Epsilon Low mid front vowel Retracted and lax Often occurs in front of /r/ - “hair”,

“”fair”

// Lowest of five point vowels Retracted and lax No monosyllable end with //

FRONT VOWEL SOUNDS VISUALFront vowel sounds

BACK VOWELS /u/, //, //, //, //, /a

/u/ One of the two highest vowels (together

with /i/ Considered another point/corner vowel Rounded, tense Found at the end of one syllable words Is preceded by /j/ in words such as

“few,music,few/

// High vowel Rounded and lax No open syllable ends with // Rhotic vowel /r/ - “tour, lure”

/o/, /o/ High mid, rounded, tense Like /e/, the stressed form takes a

diphthong /o/, an allophone Similar to /eI/, the /o/ is used with words

that end with this sound

// Open ‘o’ Rounded, back, tense Not used too much, and usually

replaced by // Rhotic vowel /r/ ‘corn, bored, foreign’

// Low-back, retracted, tense Point vowel The only retracted back vowel Many used instead of // Rhotic vowel /r/ - bark, art

BACK VOWEL SOUNDS VISUALBack vowel sounds

CENTRAL VOWELS //, //, //, //, //

//, // Schwa and turned v Retracted and lax Vocal tract in its most neutral configuration // - unstressed, // stressed Turned v usually does not occur in open syllables

except for the word “the” May be confused for //

//, // // schwar Rhotacization // Rounded and lax // Rounded and tense, the only central vowels that

is tense, found at the end of one syllable words // Produced in unstressed syllables //Produced in stressed syllables May be confused with other rhotic vowels -/Ir/, /r/

// Occurs in diphthongs /I/ - ‘kite’

BACK VOWEL SOUNDS VISUALBack vowel sounds