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Phonetics: Vowels

Phonetics: Vowels. LING 400 Winter 2010. Vowels. Upper and lower articulators relatively far apart cf. manner of articulation. A five vowel system. e.g. Spanish. Spanish vowels. Lip rounding. A third parameter of vowel systems (height – backness – rounding) Vowels of Spanish

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Phonetics: Vowels

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  1. Phonetics: Vowels LING 400 Winter 2010

  2. Vowels • Upper and lower articulators relatively far apart • cf. manner of articulation

  3. A five vowel system e.g. Spanish

  4. Spanish vowels

  5. Lip rounding • A third parameter of vowel systems • (height – backness – rounding) • Vowels of Spanish • [i] = high front unrounded vowel • [e] = mid front unrounded vowel • [u] = high back rounded vowel • [o] = mid back rounded vowel • [ɑ] = low back unrounded vowel • Most languages: high or mid back vowels tend to be round; other vowels unround

  6. Vowel quality vs. quantity • Vowel “quality” • height: high vs. mid vs. low • backness: front vs. central vs. back • rounding: rounded vs. unrounded • Vowel “quantity”: long vs. short

  7. Danish vowel length contrasts http://www.phonetics.ucla.edu/course/chapter9/danish/danish.html

  8. Modern English vowels • Middle English > Modern English • Long vowels (600 years ago) >now ‘tense’ • Short vowels > ‘lax’ • “Tenseness” • Positions of tongue or lips • “more extreme”: tense • less extreme: lax • Duration • “usually longer”: tense • shorter: lax

  9. English also has • Monophthongs vs. diphthongs • Monophthong = 1 vowel quality • hawed[ɑ] • Diphthong = sequence of vowel qualities • hide [ɑɪ]

  10. Western North America lax vowels lax vowels lax vowels [eɪ] = [ej]; [oʊ] = [ow]

  11. Further east in North America [ɔ] is a lax vowel, according to textbook

  12. [ɑ] vs. [ɔ] A female speaker from New York City • cot [ɑ] caught [ɔ] • Polly [ɑ] Paulie [ɔ] • Don [ɑ] dawn [ɔ]

  13. Vowel summary • Main parameters • Tongue height • Tongue backness/advancement • Rounding • Some languages • Length • Tenseness • Monophthongs vs. diphthongs

  14. Question • Try to describe some vowel or consonant in a language you know that is not one of the speech sounds of English. Be sure to name the language.

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