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Unit 16: Varieties of English Cardinal Vowel System

English triphthongs: The very existence of triphthongs in present-day English is a controversial Notes
problem. There is hardly any phonetic evidence for the surival of the respective structures at
least in RP. The controversial sequences occur wbefore the rhotic r when the non-centrig
diphthongs are followed by schwa. Thus [aw], []w], [ew], [c υ ], [a υ ] become [awe], []we], [ew]] ,
[baw-]], [υ ]a c in fire, employer, layer, mower, power. As Roca and Johnson point out, the actual
pronunciation of these vocalic sequences tends either to break them into the diphthong and the
following simple vowel (schwa) - e.g buyer b[ a1 - c , or to reduce the diphthong to a simple
]
vowel followed by schwa - e.g. buyer [ba ], Triphthongal sequences are quite common in Romanian
e
ă
as proved by examples like leoa rcă , aripioar beai, vreau, i-ai, miau, luai, luau, miei, leoa rcă .
Vowels in the Languages of the World

• We earlier looked at a classification of vowels using parameters based on labels referring to
articulation -height & backness of tongue body and lip position.
• In practice, most vowel description is based on auditory evaluation or on acoustic measurement.
• The standard IPA vowel chart provides reference points for a primarily auditory comparison of
vowel qualities.

The reference system for vowels is based on the concept of (CV’s), devised by Daniel
Jones (1881-1967) Jones proposed a set of 8 reference vowels.

Cardinal Vowels recorded by Jones in 1965 when he was 75.

Frontness/Backness
Front Central Back
1 i u 8 High

2 e o 7 Higher Mid
Height
3 ε c 6 Lower Mid
4 a α 5 Low
Primary cardinal vowels with rising intonation
The Secondary Cardinal Vowels are reference vowels with opposite lip position.

Front Central Back
9 y m 16 High

10 r p 15 Higher Mid
11 œ v 14 Lower Mid
12 Œ α 13 Low
The secondary cardinal vowels
The choice of 8 vowels in the Primary Cardinal Vowel system was probably strongly influenced by
the vowel system of late 19th/early 20th century French which included 8 vowels somewhat similar
to the them (plus three front rounded vowels, and four nasalized vowels).
Jones was a teacher of the phonetics of French, and the French phonetician Paul Passy was the President
of the International Phonetic Association when the system was adopted by the IPA as its framework
for vowel classification).

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