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Classifying The Vowels Sounds of English

The document classifies English vowels based on four aspects: 1) tongue height, 2) tongue frontness/backness, 3) lip rounding, and 4) tenseness of articulators. Vowels are categorized as high/close, mid, or low/open based on tongue height. They are further classified as front, central, or back based on tongue position. Lip rounding and tenseness of muscles around the mouth also distinguish vowel sounds. This comprehensive classification system provides a framework for describing English vowel phonology.

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Manuel Ocaña
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551 views2 pages

Classifying The Vowels Sounds of English

The document classifies English vowels based on four aspects: 1) tongue height, 2) tongue frontness/backness, 3) lip rounding, and 4) tenseness of articulators. Vowels are categorized as high/close, mid, or low/open based on tongue height. They are further classified as front, central, or back based on tongue position. Lip rounding and tenseness of muscles around the mouth also distinguish vowel sounds. This comprehensive classification system provides a framework for describing English vowel phonology.

Uploaded by

Manuel Ocaña
Copyright
© Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Classifying the Vowels Sounds of English

The classification of vowels is based on four major aspects:

1. Tongue height - according to the vertical position of the tongue (high


vowels, also referred to as close; low vowels, also referred to as open;
intermediate - close-mid and open-mid)
2. Frontness vs. backness of the tongue - according to the horizontal
position of the highest part of the tongue.
3. Lip rounding - whether the lips are rounded (O-shape) or spread (no
rounding) when the sound is being made.
4. Tenseness of the articulators - refers to the amount of muscular tension
around the mouth when creating vowel sounds. Tense and lax are used to
describe muscular tension.

Front vowels Central vowels Back vowels


   (tongue body is pushed (tongue body is (tongue body is pulled
forward) neutral) back)
High/close
vowels / / see / / boot
  
(tongue body / / sit / / book
is raised)
Mid vowels
(tongue body /e/ bait* /o/ boat*
/ / sofa**, / / bird
is / / bet / / bought***
intermediate)
Low/open
vowels / / under**
/ / bat / / father, / / sock(BrE)
(tongue body
is lowered)

*In some American accents (especially Californian English), vowel sounds in words such
as bait, gate, pane and boat, coat, note are not consider diphthongs. American phonologists
often class them as tense monophthongs (/e/ and /o/).
**/ / is used in unstressed syllables, while / / is in stressed syllables. The vowel / /
used to be a back vowel, and the symbol was chosen for this reason. This is no longer a
back vowel, but a central one.
***A considerable amount of Americans don't have the deep / / in their vocabulary, they
pronouce bought, ball, law with the deep / / sound.

See also: IPA vowels chart 

According to the position of the lips:


 English front and central vowels are always unrounded.
 English back vowels / /, / , /o/, / / are rounded (/ / vowel is
unrounded).

Vowel Tenseness:

 Tense vowels (produced with a great amount of muscular tension): / /, /


/, / /, / /, / /. Tense vowels are variable in length, and often longer
than lax vowels.
 Lax vowels (produced with very little muscular tension): / /, / /, / /, /
/, / /, / /, / /. Lax vowels are always short.

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