Lecture-3-English-vowels-updated-7.2023.pdf

Bài tập Anh 6

1. Lecture 3
English vowels
Prepared by Duong Minh Hoang
ENGLISH PHONETICS AND PHONOLOGY

2. 1. Definitions
Vowelscanbedefinedphonetically(basedonhowtheyareproduced)orphonologically(basedontheirpatterns
anddistributions).
Phoneticdefinitions:
▪Vowelsaresoundsthataremadewithopenapproximationofthearticulators,involving“littlecontactand
sometimesnoneatall”(Abercrombie,1967,p.55);
▪“Theprimaryarticulationofavowelisasoundproducedwithopenapproximation,thatis,withno
constrictionoftheairstreamwithinthevocaltract,whichwouldproduceaudiblefriction”(Brown&Miller,
2013,p.468);
▪“Phonetically,[vowels]aresoundsarticulatedwithoutacompleteclosureinthemouthoradegreeof
narrowingwhichwouldproduceaudiblefriction;theairescapesevenlyoverthecentreofthetongue”
(Crystal,2008,p.517);
▪“Vowelsaretheclassofsoundwhichmakestheleastobstructiontotheflowofair”(Roach,2011,p.100).

3. 2. The description of vowels
Airstreammechanism:
▪AllEnglishvowelsareproducedwithapulmonicegressiveairstream.
▪Othermechanismsarepossibleareusedforparalinguisticandextralinguisticpurposesonly.
Glottalsetting:
▪AllEnglishvowelsarevoiced;
▪Othermodesofphonationareusedparalinguisticallyandextralinguisticallyonly.
Airflowchannel:
▪All English vowels are oral sounds with central airflow;
▪Vowels may have allophonic nasal quality in certain contexts.
2.1. Articulation

4. Configurationofthemouth:Allvowelsinvolvedouble
articulation(equalstricturesofopenapproximation)
madebythelipsandthetongue.
▪Thelipscanbespread,neutral,orrounded;
▪Thetonguehasaregularlycurvedconvexsurface
withdifferentpartsraisedfordifferentvowels
withinthevowelspace.
→Theauditoryqualityofavoweldependsontheoverall
configurationofthesupra-laryngealvocaltract.
The tilted oval space of the vowel space, within
which the highest point of the tongue body is placed
in the production of vowels (Laver, 1994)

5. Fourextremepointswithinthevowelspacecanbeidentified,correspondingtothefourvowels[iuaɑ].
Theovalusedtorepresentthevowelspaceisstylizedforconvenience,givingatwo-dimensionalvowelchart.
2.2. The vowel chart and cardinal vowels
Tongue arch for [i] Tongue arch for [u]
Tongue arch for [a] Tongue arch for [ɑ]
Illustrations from Collins et al. (2019)

6. In1917,DanielJonesproposedthesystemofcardinalvowelsthat
canbeusedasreferencepointstolocatevowelsonthechart.
▪Cardinalvowel1[i]isproducedwiththelipsspreadandthe
tongueashighandasfarforwardaspossiblewithoutcreating
friction;
▪Cardinalvowel5[ɑ]isproducedwiththelipsinaneutral
configurationandthetongueisaslowandasfarbackas
possiblewithoutcreatingfriction;
▪Cardinalvowels2[e],3[ɛ],and4[a]formaseriesof
equidistantstepsatthefront;
▪Cardinalvowels6[ɔ],7[o],and8[u]formaseriesof
equidistantstepsattheback,withanincreaseinlip-rounding.
Daniel Jones
(1881 –1967)
Source: Google Image
Primary cardinal vowels (Roach, 2009)

7. The cardinal vowels 1 –8 are known as the primary cardinal vowels.
Each cardinal vowel is labelled based on the vertical dimension (close, close-mid, open-mid, and open), the
horizontal dimension (front, central, and back), and lip shape (roundedand unrounded).
▪CV1 [i]: front close unrounded;
▪CV2 [e] front close-mid unrounded;
▪CV3 [ɛ]: front open-mid unrounded;
▪CV4 [a]: front open unrounded;
▪CV5 [ɑ]: back open unrounded;
▪CV6 [ɔ]: back open-mid rounded;
▪CV7 [o]: back close-mid rounded;
▪CV8 [u]: back close rounded.
Recording by Peter Ladefoged(1925-2006)
Primary cardinal vowels (Roach, 2009)

8. Distinctionsoflengthatthephonemiclevelalwaysgoalongwithdifferencesinphoneticquality.
E.g./iː/isnearCV1andtendstobelong,while/ɪ/isbetweenCV1andCV2andtendstobeshort.
Distinctionsoflengthattheallophonicleveldependonthefollowingsounds.
E.g./iː/decreasesinlength:bee>>bead>>beat
2.3. Vowel length
2.4. Steadiness of articulation
Iftheactivearticulatorsremaininonepositionduringthemedialphase,amonophthongisproduced.
E.g.[ɛ]inbet,[ʊ]input,[ɔː]infour,etc.
Iftheactivearticulatorschangefromonepositiontoanotherduringthemedialphase,adiphthongisproduced.
E.g.[aɪ]intry,[eɪ]instay,[əʊ]inno,etc.

9. 3. Transcribing vowels
3.1. IPA symbols
Different authors use different set of symbols to represent vowels.
Publications Symbols for British English vowels
Jones et al. (2011), Ogden (2009),
Roach (2009), and Wells (2008)
iː ɪ e æ ɜː ə ʌ uː ʊ ɔː ɒ ɑː ɪə eə ʊə aɪ eɪ ɔɪ əʊ aʊ
Crystal (2019) iː ɪ e æ ɜː ə ʌ uː ʊ ɔː ɒ ɑː ɪə ɛəʊə aɪ eɪ ɔɪ əʊ aʊ
Collins etal. (2019) iː ɪ e æ ɜː ə ʌ uː ʊ ɔː ɒ ɑː ɪə ɛːʊə aɪ eɪ ɔɪ əʊ aʊ
Crutteden (2014) iː ɪ e aɜː ə ʌ uː ʊ ɔː ɒ ɑː ɪə ɛːʊə aɪ eɪ ɔɪ əʊ aʊ
Carr (2013), Ladefoged & Johnson
(2014), and Tench (2011)
iː ɪ ɛæ ɜː ə ʌ uː ʊ ɔː ɒ ɑː ɪə ɛəʊə aɪ eɪ ɔɪ əʊ aʊ
Giegerich (1992) iɪ ɛaɜə ʌ uʊ ɔɒ ɑɪə ɛəʊə aɪ eɔɪ oaʊ

10. 3.2. Lexical sets
The lexical sets to describe English vowels were proposed in Wells (1982).
Lexical set Members of the set
FLEECE eat, meet, see, teach, etc.
KIT it, sit, hit, bit, etc.
DRESS met, let, strength, ten, etc.
TRAP cat, hat, clap, hand, etc.
NURSE hurt, heard, girl, bird, etc.
STRUT love, hut, mud, son, etc.
GOOSE school, fool, shoe, true, etc.
FOOT good, full, put, look, etc.
THOUGHT four, more, lord, door, etc.
LOT not, pot, cot, hop, etc.
PALM star, guard, yard, part, etc.
Lexical set Members of the set
NEAR near, beer, deer, fear, etc.
SQUARE bear, pear, dare, fair, etc.
CURE sure, tour, poor, etc.
FACE name, hate, tape, made, etc.
PRICE cry, hide, mice, fight, etc.
CHOICE boy, noise, coin, toy, etc.
GOAT no, dose, cope, boat, etc.
MOUTH now, round, bounce, loud, etc.

11. 4. English vowels
4.1. Monophthongs
Ɛ
iː
ɪ
æ
ə/ɜː
ʌ
Lip shape:
▪Rounded: [uː, ʊ, ɔː, ɒ];
▪Unrounded: the others.
Tongue height:
▪Close: [iː ɪ ʊ uː];
▪Close-mid: [ɔː];
▪Open-mid: [ɛ ə ɜː];
▪Open: [æ ʌ ɑː ɒ].
ʊ
ɔː
ɒ
ɑː
uː
The vowel chart for GB monophthongs
Front Central Back
Close
Close-mid
Open-mid
Open

12. Ɛ
iː
ɪ
æ
ə/ɜː
ʌ
Frontness:
▪Front: [iː ɪ ɛ æ];
▪Central: [ə ɜː ʌ];
▪Back: [uː ʊ ɔː ɒ ɑː].
Duration:
▪Long: [iː uː ɜː ɔː ɑː];
▪Short: [ɪ ʊ ɛ ə æ ʌ ɒ].
→Length alone is non-contrastive in English, and the length of
a vowel is subject to adjustments in certain phonetic contexts.
→Alternative terms: tensevowels and laxvowels.
ʊ
ɔː
ɒ
ɑː
uː
The vowel chart for GB monophthongs
Front Central Back
Close
Close-mid
Open-mid
Open

13. 4.2.1. Centring diphthongs
4.2. Diphthongs
[ɪə] [ɛə] [ʊə]
Description
Glidebeginsinposition
for[ɪ],movesbackwardsand
downwardstowards[ə];lips
neutral,withslightmovement
fromspreadtoopen.
Glidebeginsinfront
open-midposition,move
backwardstowards[ə];lips
neutrallyopenthroughout.
Glidebeginsinposition
in[ʊ],movesforwardsand
downwardstowards[ə];lips
weaklyroundedbecoming
neutrallyspread.
Illustration
black: GB
red: variants
(Crystal, 2019)
Notes
Monophthongizedto[ɪː]for
someyoungspeakers
Monophthongizedto[ɛː]for
mostspeakers
Monophthongizedto[ɔː]for
mostspeakers,especiallyin
sure,poor,&tour

14. 4.2.2. Closing diphthongs
4.2.2.1. Ending in [ɪ]
[eɪ] [aɪ] [ɔɪ]
Description
Glidebeginsfromslightly
belowfrontclose-mid
position,movesupwardsand
slightlybackwardstowards
[ɪ];lipsspread.
Glidebeginsslightlybehindfront
openposition,movesupwardsand
towards[ɪ];lipschangefrom
neutraltolooselyspread;obvious
closingmovementofthelower
jaw.
Glidebeginsbetweenback
close-mid andopen-mid
positions,movesupwardsand
forwardstowards[ɪ];lipsopen
roundedchangingtoneutral.
Illustration
black: GB
red: variants
(Crystal, 2019)
Notes
Amoreopenstartingpoint
amongyoungspeakers
Abackerstartingpointamong
youngspeakers
Acloserstartingpointamong
youngspeakers

15. 4.2.2.2. Ending in [ʊ]
[əʊ] [aʊ]
Description
Glidebeginsincentralposition
betweenclose-midandopen-mid,moves
upwardsandbacktowards[ʊ];lipsneutral
changingtoslightlyrounded.
Glidebeginsbetweenbackandfrontopen
positions,movesupwardsandslightlybackwards
towards[ʊ];lipschangingfromneutrallyopento
slightlyrounded;jawmovementquiteextensive.
Illustration
black: GB
red: variants
(Crystal, 2019)
Notes Transcribed as [oʊ] for the GA accent Can be transcribed as [ɑʊ]

16. 4.3. Distribution
Vowels that can occur in stressed syllables: all except the schwa [ə].
Vowels that can occur in unstressed syllables: all, but predominantly five weak vowels:
4.3.1. Vowels in stressed and unstressed syllables
Weak vowel Name Examples Notes
[ə] schwa banana, computer, bonusthe most common sound in English
[ɪ] weak KIT ignore, damage, wanted
▪used to be very common in the suffixes -lessand -
ness, now increasingly replaced by [ə]
▪still common in words like pocket, cabbage& -es/-
eddistinctions (centered vs. scented; losers vs. loses)
[ʊ] weak FOOT accurate, regular
now becoming increasingly rare and can be replaced
by weak GOOSE or schwa
[i] weak FLEECE happy, lazy, money, glorious
used to be identical to weak KIT but now more like
weak FLEECE (HappYtensing)
[u] weak GOOSE strenuous, continuous
used to be identical to weak FOOT, but now more like
weak GOOSE

17. Inaclosedsyllable(asyllableendingwithaconsonant),anyvowelcanoccur.
Inanopensyllable:
▪Ifthesyllableisstressed,onlylongmonophthongsanddiphthongscanoccur.
E.g.decree[dɪˈkriː],deny[dɪˈnaɪ],*[bɪ,bɛ,bæ,bʌ,bʊ,bɒ].
▪Ifthesyllableisunstressed,onlylongmonophthongs,diphthongs,andthefiveweakvowelscanoccur.
E.g.causality[kɔːˈzæləti],direct[daɪˈrekt],away[əˈweɪ],believe[bɪˈliːv],happy[ˈhæpi].
4.3.2. Vowels in open and closed syllables

18. 5. Allophonic variants of the English vowels
A vowel is shortened before a voiceless (fortis) consonant.
5.1. Pre-fortis clipping
Vowels Context ArticulationNarrow transcription Examples
Any vowel
Before a voiceless
(fortis) consonant
Shortened
Long vowels: [i, u, etc.]
Short vowels: [ɒ̆, ɛ̆, etc.]
beat[bit]vs. bead [biːd]
hit[hɪ̆t]vs. him [hɪm]
5.2. Nasalization
A vowel is nasalized (the velum is lowered during the offset phase) before a nasal.
Vowels Context Articulation Narrow transcription Examples
Any vowel Before a nasal Nasalized [ʌ̃, ɛ̃, etc.]
tenth [tɛ̃nθ]
tomb [tũːm]

19. 6. The Great Vowel Shift and recent developments
TheGVSwasachainshiftthathappenedbetween
1400and1700,separatingMiddleEnglishfrom
ModernEnglish.
TheGVSaffectedlongvowels,movingthemina
circularpattern:
▪Theopenvowel[aː]and[ɛːeːɔːoː]wereraised
(movingupastepfromtheiroriginalpositions).
▪Theclosevowels[iː]and[uː]were
diphthongized;
6.1. The Great Vowel Shift
name [aː]→[ɛː] →[eː] name
feet [eː] -------------→[iː] feet
greet [ɛː] →[e] →[iː] greet
ride [iː] →[əɪ] →[aɪ] ride
boote[oː]-------------→[uː] boot
boot [ɔː] -------------→[o] boat
hous[u:] →[əʊ] →[aʊ] house
The Great Vowel Shift
(Zsiga, 2013)
Some words after the GVS (Algeo, 2010)

20. ForyoungGBspeakers:
▪[uː]and[ʊ]arecentral(GOOSE-fronting);
▪[ɛ]isnearCV3;
▪[æ]isnearCV4,becoming[a](TRAP-lowering);
▪[ɒ]isbetweenCV5andCV6;
▪[ɔː]isnearCV7(THOUGHT-raising).
6.2. Recent developments
6.2.1. The anticlockwise vowel shift
uː
ʊ
ɔː
ɛ
æ
ɒ
ɛ
a
uː
ʊ
ɔː
ɒ
20
th
century pronunciation
21
st
century pronunciation
(Carley et al., 2018)

21. Centringdiphthongsare‘destinedtobelostfromtheGBaccent’(Carleyetal.,2018,p.144):
▪[ɛə]hasbecome[ɛː];
▪[ɪə]hasbecome[ɪː]forsomespeakers;
▪[ʊə]hasbeenincreasinglyreplacedby[ɔː].
6.2.2. Monophthonging of centring diphthongs
6.2.3. HappYtensing
Incertainphoneticenvironments,[i](weakFLEECE)hasreplaced[ɪ](weakKIT):
▪inword-finalposition(happy,lazy,money);
▪inmorpheme-finalposition(anti-,multi-,semi-);
▪beforevowels(react,alien,piano,area);
▪inword-initialbe-(before),de-(delete),e-(elect),pre-(predict)andre-(repeat).

22. References
Abercrombie, D. (1967). Elements of general phonetics. Edinburgh University Press.
Algeo, J. (2010). The origins and development of the English language(6
th
ed.). Cengage Learning.
Carley, P., Mees, M. I., Collins, B. (2018). English phonetics and pronunciation practice. Routledge.
Carr, P. (2008). A glossary of phonology.Edinburgh University Press.
Carr, P. (2013). English phonetics and phonology: An introduction(2
nd
ed.). John Wiley & Sons.
Chambers, J. K., & Trudgill, P. (1998).Dialectology. Cambridge University Press.
Collins, B., Mees, I. M., & Carley, P. (2019).Practical English phonetics and phonology: A resource book for students
(4
th
ed.). Routledge.
Crutteden, A. (2014). Gimson’s Pronunciation of English(8
th
ed.). Routledge.
Crystal, D. (2008). A dictionary of linguistics and phonetics (6
th
ed.). John Wiley & Sons.
Crystal, D. (2019). The Cambridge encyclopedia of the English language (3
rd
ed.). Cambridge University Press.
Giegerich, H. J. (1992).English phonology: An introduction. Cambridge University Press.
IPA. (2020). The International Phonetic Alphabet –revised to 2020. The International Phonetic Association.

23. Jones, D., Roach, P., Hartman, J., Setter, J. (2011). Cambridge English pronouncing dictionary(18
th
ed.). Cambridge
University Press.
Ladefoged, P., & Johnson, K. (2014).A course in phonetics (7
th
ed.). Cengage learning.
Laver, J. (1994). Principles of phonetics. Cambridge University Press.
Laver, J. (2017). Linguistic phonetics –the sounds of languages. In Aronoff, M & Rees-Miller, J (Eds.), The handbook
of linguistics(2
nd
ed., pp. 161-184). Blackwell.
Lieberman, P. (2018, June 30). Why human speech is special. https://www.the-scientist.com/features/why-human-
speech-is-special--64351
Katz, W. (2013).Phonetics for dummies. John Wiley & Sons.
McMahon, A. (2020).An introduction to English phonology (2
nd
ed.). Edinburgh University Press.
Niebergall, A., Zhang, S., Kunay, E., Keydana, G., Job, M., Uecker, M., & Frahm, J. (2013). Real‐time MRI of
speaking at a resolution of 33 ms: undersampled radial FLASH with nonlinear inverse reconstruction.Magnetic
Resonance in Medicine,69(2), 477-485.
Ogden, R. (2009). An introduction to English phonetics. Edinburgh University Press.
Reed, M., & Levis, J. (Eds.). (2019).The handbook of English pronunciation. John Wiley & Sons.
Roach, P. (2009). English phonetics and phonology: A practical course (4
th
ed.). Cambridge University Press.

24. Roach, P. (2011). Phonetics –A little encyclopaedia of phonetics.
https://www.peterroach.net/uploads/3/6/5/8/3658625/english-phonetics-and-phonology4-glossary.pdf
Sapir, E. (1921).Language: An introduction to the study of speech. Harcourt.
Seikel, J. A., Drumright, G. D., Hudcock, J. D., (2021). Anatomy & physiology for speech, language, and hearing (6
th
ed.).
Plural Publishing, Inc.
Small, H. L. (2020). Fundamentals of phonetics: A practical guide for students(5
th
ed.). Pearson.
Tench, P. (2011).Transcribing the sound of English. Cambridge University Press.
Wells, J. C. (1982).Accents of English: Volume 1. Cambridge University Press.
Wells, J. C. (2008). Longman pronunciation dictionary(3
rd
ed.). Pearson Education Ltd.
Yavas, M. (2016).Applied English phonology(3
rd
ed.). John Wiley & Sons.
Zsiga, C. E. (2013). The sounds of language: An introduction to phonetics and phonology. John Wiley & Sons.
Zsiga, C. E. (2020). The phonology/phonetics interface. Edinburgh University Press.
Zuraw, K., & Peperkamp, S. (2015). Aspiration and the gradient structure of English prefixed words. Proceedings of the 18th
International Congress of Phonetic Sciences, 1-5.