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Schwa Description /Ə

The document describes the phonetic properties of 14 English vowels: schwa, dress, fleece, kit, foot, goose, force, lot, start, strut, nurse, trap, using the same criteria - voicing, nasal resonator, relative length, degree of opening, part of the tongue, lip shape, and tongue tension. Each vowel is defined with a single sentence noting its distinguishing phonetic characteristics.

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40 views3 pages

Schwa Description /Ə

The document describes the phonetic properties of 14 English vowels: schwa, dress, fleece, kit, foot, goose, force, lot, start, strut, nurse, trap, using the same criteria - voicing, nasal resonator, relative length, degree of opening, part of the tongue, lip shape, and tongue tension. Each vowel is defined with a single sentence noting its distinguishing phonetic characteristics.

Uploaded by

camila
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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SCHWA DESCRIPTION /ə/

Voicing Voiced
Nasal resonator Shut off – oral sound
Relative length Relatively short
Degree of opening Between open-mid and close-mid
Part of the tongue Centre
Lip shape Unrounded: neutral
Tongue tension Lax

DRESS DESCRIPTION /e/


Voicing Voiced
Nasal resonator Shut off – oral sound
Relative length Relatively short
Degree of opening Just above open-mid
Part of the tongue Fully front
Lip shape Unrounded: loosely spread
Tongue tension Lax (it’s a checked vowel)

FLEECE DESCRIPTION
Voicing Voiced
Nasal resonator Shut off – oral sound
Relative length Relatively long
Degree of opening Just below close
Part of the tongue Just behind fully front
Lip shape Unrounded: spread
Tongue tension Tense (it isn’t a checked vowel)

KIT DESCRIPTION /i:/


Voicing Voiced
Nasal resonator Shut off – oral sound
Relative length Relatively short
Degree of opening Just above close-mid
Part of the tongue Centralised front
Lip shape Unrounded: loosely spread
Tongue tension Lax (it’s a checked vowel)
FOOT DESCRIPTION /ʊ/
Voicing Voiced
Nasal resonator Shut off – oral sound
Relative length Relatively short
Degree of opening Just above close-mid
Part of the tongue Centralised back
Lip shape Unrounded (modern) closely rounded (traditional)
Tongue tension Lax (it’s a checked vowel)

GOOSE DESCRIPTION /u:/


Voicing Voiced
Nasal resonator Shut off – oral sound
Relative length Relatively long
Degree of opening Just below close
Part of the tongue ● Centralised monophthong [ ] or diphthong [ ]
● Fully back before velarized lateral [ ]

Lip shape Unrounded (modern) rounded (traditional)


Tongue tension Tense (it isn’t a checked vowel)

FORCE DESCRIPTION /ɔ:/


Voicing Voiced
Nasal resonator Shut off – oral sound
Relative length Relatively long
Degree of opening Just below mid-close (modern) between mid-close and
mid-open (traditional)
Part of the tongue Fully front
Lip shape Rounded: medium lip rounding
Tongue tension Tense (it isn’t a checked vowel)

LOT DESCRIPTION /ɒ/


Voicing Voiced
Nasal resonator Shut off – oral sound
Relative length Relatively short
Degree of opening Just below open-mid
Part of the tongue Fully back
Lip shape Rounded: slight open lip rounding
Tongue tension Lax (it’s a checked vowel)
START DESCRIPTION /ɑ:/
Voicing Voiced
Nasal resonator Shut off – oral sound
Relative length Relatively long (slight pre-fortis clipping so as not to confuse
with STRUT
Degree of opening Fully open
Part of the tongue Between centre and back
Lip shape Unrounded: neutrally open
Tongue tension Tense (it isn’t a checked vowel)

STRUT DESCRIPTION /ʌ/


Voicing Voiced
Nasal resonator Shut off – oral sound
Relative length Relatively short
Degree of opening Just above fully open
Part of the tongue Centralised back (modern) or central (traditional)
Lip shape Unrounded: neutrally open
Tongue tension Lax (it’s a checked vowel)

NURSE DESCRIPTION /ɜ:/


Voicing Voiced
Nasal resonator Shut off – oral sound
Relative length Relatively long (slight pre-fortis clipping so as not to confuse
with SCHWA
Degree of opening Between mid-open and mid-close
Part of the tongue Central
Lip shape Unrounded: neutrally spread
Tongue tension Tense (it isn’t a checked vowel)

TRAP DESCRIPTION /æ/


Voicing Voiced
Nasal resonator Shut off – oral sound
Relative length Relatively short, but it can be lengthened before voiced
consonants
Degree of opening Just above open
Part of the tongue Fully front
Lip shape Unrounded: neutrally open
Tongue tension Lax (it’s a checked vowel)

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