Lesson 3- Detailed Study of English Vowels_Slideshow_part2

Lecturer: Mr.Aounali

LEVEL

Mohammed Kheider University

English Department Module: Phonetics Lesson 3: Detailed Study of English Vowels Objective: By the end of this course you’ll be able to: 1- Define the vowel sounds 2- Recognise the organs that contribute in vowels articulation 3- Distinguish between the vowels and the consonants. 4- Know the English vowel sounds 5- Know the Cardinal vowels

6- Use the previous properties and descriptions to determine the right vowels in words 7- Pronounce vowel sounds in some words with correct and natural pronunciation

3. Vowel quality description “Vowel is a speech sound produced by humans when the breath flows out through the mouth without being blocked by the teeth, tongue, or lips”. (Cambridge Learner’s Dictionary). There are twenty vowels in English. These are sub-divided into two: pure vowels(monothongs) impure vowels(diphthongs).

Articulatory Classification of Vowels: Vowels are described by the IPA using the three dimensions

of: 1- Closeness (The height of the tongue) 2-Frontness (The part of the tongue that is moved) 3-Rounding (The shape of the lips)

we have three horizontal labels for the position of the tongue (front, central and back) in the mouth opposing the soft palate.; on the other hand, we have four vertical lines for the shape of the tongue or the degree of opening of the mouth (close, close-mid, open-mid, open).

Vowels are described according to three criteria:

English Vowels 1-Tongue Height

2-Tongue Position

3-Lip Rounding

4 degrees:

3 places

3 shapes

4. Representing Vowels on Diagram

Lax vowels: A lax sound is said to be one produced with relatively little articulatory energy. The short vowels / ɪ, e, ʊ, ə, ʌ, æ, ɒ / are classed as lax Tense vowels: are usually referred to as the long vowels and the diphthongs which are produced with more efforts and energy. The long vowels / iː, ɔː, uː, ɜː, uː/ & all the diphthongs are classed as tense vowels.

Thanks for your kind attention For more information refer to: 1- English Pronunciation in Use:

Elementary Level, pp 68-74 Intermediate Level, pp 48-52 Advanced Level, pp 38-47

2- Jones, D. (1960) Outline of English Phonetics, (9th edition). Cambridge University Press.