Page 163 - DENG504_LINGUISTICS

Unit 11: Allophones–Allophonic Variation in English Speech: Difference between Monopthong and Diphthong Glides

Front Vowels, /i:, l, e, æ/: The defining characteristics of a front vowel is that the tongue is positioned Notes
as far in front as possible in the mouth without creating a constriction that would be classified as a
consonant. Front vowels are sometimes also called bright vowels because they are perceived as
sounding brighter than the back vowels. The different front vowels are:
1. /i:/ (the phoneme spelled ee in beet): high front vowel, also called close unrounded vowel. It
appears in both accented and unaccented positions. Examples of accented /i:/ are: bel’icve, ’seizure,
etc. and examples of unaccented /i:/ are: decrease, secrete, etc.
2. /l/ (the phoneme is spelled i in bit): high front vowel. this vowel is articulated slightly further
back and slightly lower than the preceding vowel /i/. It is also called centralised front half-close
unrounded vowel. This vowel sound also appears in both accented and unaccented positions.
Examples for accented /l/ are: for ’bid. ’dimple, ’sister, etc. and examples of unaccented /i/ are:
engine, folly, etc.
3. /e/ (the phoneme is spelled e in bet): mid front vowel. This vowel is articulated slightly further
back and slightly lower than the preceding vowel /l/. This vowel is also seen as front unrounded
vowel between half-close and half-open. This vowel sound, usually, appears in accented position
in words like, ’celebrate, ’definite, etc., but sometimes it can also be used in unaccented position in
words like, insect, inquest, etc.
4. /æ/ (the phoneme is spelled a in bat): low front vowel. this vowel is also described as front
unrounded vowel between the half-open and half-closed positions. It appears in both accounted
and unaccented positions. Examples for accented /æ/ are: ‘absent, ‘calendar, ‘camphor, etc. and
examples for unaccented /æ/ are: canteen, stampede, etc.

A monophthong is a “pure” vowel sound, one whose articulation at both beginning and
end is relatively fixed, and which does not glide up or down towards a new position of
articulation. Whereas a diphthong is a contour vowel—that is, a unitary vowel that
changes quality during its pronunciation, or “glides”, with a smooth movement of the
tongue from one articulation to another, as in the English words eye, boy, and cow.

Back Vowels, /a:, v, , νν νν ν, u:/: The defining characteristic of a back vowel is that the tongue is positioned
as far back as possible in the mouth wirhout ceating a constriction that would be classified as a
consonant. Back vowels are sometimes also called dark vowels because they are perceived as sounding
darker than the front vowels.
1. /a:/ (the phoneme is spelled a in arm): low back vowel. This vowel sound is produced when
central back part of tongue is lowered, and air comes out. It is called back open unrounded vowel.
/a:/ sound usually appears in accented positions like ‘car, ‘bar, etc.
2. /a/ (the phoneme spelled o in cot): mid back vowel. It is articulated at a bit higher position than
/a:/. This vowel is then described as a back rounded vowel just above the open position. It also,
usually, appears in accented syllables.
3. / /: (the phoneme spelled au in caught): mid back vowel. This vowel is articulated slighter further
forward and slightly lower than is the preceding vowel /o/. It is described as a back rounded vowel
between half-open and half-close. It mostly appears in accented syllables, e.g. ‘crawl, ‘yawn, etc.
4. /ν/: (the phoneme spelled u in put): high back vowel. This vowel is articulated slightly further
forward and slightly lower than is the preceding vowel /u/. It is a centralised back rounded
vowel just above half-close. This vowel sound appears in both accented and unaccented positions.
Examples of accented /ν/ are: ‘woman, ‘sugar, ‘bullock, etc. and examples of unaccented /υ/ are:
manhood, fulfill, careful, etc.

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