Page 162 - DENG504_LINGUISTICS

Linguistics

Notes 1. raising or lowering the body of the tongue
2. pushing the tongue forward or pulling it back
3. rounding the lips

Figure 11.1 Tongue position for [i]

Figure 11.2 Tongue position for [ æ ]

Figure 11.3 Tongue position for [u]

We can classify vowels by answering the following questions:
1. How high is the tongue?
HIGH , MID , LOW
2. Is the tongue advanced or retracted?
FRONT , CENTRAL , BACK
3. Are the lips rounded?
ROUNDED, UNROUNDED
4. Is the tongue tense?
TENSE, LAX
• Compare the vowels in ‘beat’ and ‘bit’, or ‘bait’ and ‘bet’.
• TENSE vowels ([i], [u], [e], [o]) are produced with greater tension of the tongue muscles
than their LAX counterparts (all others). TENSE vowels are phonetically longer than LAX
vowels.
11.3 Monopthongs and Diphthongs Glides

The Monophthongs: As explained in the chart of vowel sounds above, there are twelve monophthongs.
Monophthongs can be divided into three categories depending upon the different placement of tongue
in the mouth. They are-front vowels, back vowels and central vowels.

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