Short Vowels in English: Phonetics, Spelling, and Minimal Pairs

Chapter 9

Short Vowels

Vowels that have a shorter duration than their long counterparts.

ă

[æ] in ask [æsk]

ĕ

[Ɛ] in bed [bƐd]

ĭ

[ɪ] in hid [hɪd]

ŏ

[ɑ] in stop [stɑp]

ŭ

[ʌ] (stressed or single syllable) or [ə] (unstressed syllable)

Phonetic Symbol [æ]

Represents the short vowel sound as in 'ask'.

Sound Class

Short Vowel

Tongue Position - [æ]

Height: Low-Front, Depth: Low-Back, Tension: Lax

Lips - [æ]

Unrounded

How the Sound is Produced - [æ]

Airflow from the lungs activates the vibration of the closed vocal folds.

Rules for Spelling and Pronunciation of the [æ] Sound

[æ] is represented mostly by the 'a' letter.

Different Spellings of the [æ] Sound

a At, au Laugh, ai Plaid

Words that Include the [æ] Sound

Initial: Axle, Medial: Average, Final: Apple

Contrast Minimal Pairs - [æ] / [ɑ]

Cast / cost

Phonetic Symbol [Ɛ]

[ԑ] representing the short vowel sound as in 'bed'.

Tongue Position - [Ɛ]

Height: Lower, Depth: Mid-front, Tension: Lax

Different Spellings of the [Ɛ] Sound

e Bed, a Bare, ea Leather

Contrast Minimal Pairs - [Ɛ] / [æ]

Net / gnat

Phonetic Symbol [ɪ]

[ɪ] representing the short vowel sound as in 'bit'.

Tongue Position - [ɪ]

Position: (Lower) High-Front, Tension: Lax

Different Spellings of the [ɪ]

i Fish, o Women, e Pretty

Contrast Minimal Pairs - [ɪ] / [ԑ]

Lid / led

Phonetic Symbol [ɑ]

[ɑ] representing the back vowel sound as in 'father'.

Tongue Position - [ɑ]

Position: Low-Back, Tension: Lax

Different Spellings of the [ɑ] Sound

a Far, aa Bazaar, o On

Contrast Minimal Pairs - [ɑ] / [æ]

Rot / rat

Phonetic Symbols [ə] and [ʌ]

Central stressed [ᴧ] and central unstressed [ə].

How the Sound is Produced - [ə]

Airflow from the lungs passes through the closed vocal folds.

Different Spellings for the [ʌ] Sound

u Cup, o Ton, a Alone

Competency Quiz

1. Tax, 2. Ask, 3. Classic, 4. Cat, 5. Half, 6. Add

[æ]

Phonetic Symbol representing a short vowel sound.

Tongue Position for [æ]

Height: Low-Front, Depth: Low-Back, Tension: Lax, Lips: Unrounded

How the Sound [æ] is Produced

Airflow from the lungs activates the vibration of the closed vocal folds; sound enters the oral cavity; the tongue is positioned on the floor of the mouth (low) and with minimal tension (lax).

Contrast Minimal Pairs for [æ]

[æ] / [ɑ]: Cast / cost; [æ] / [ᴐ]: Bad / bed; [æ] / [ԑ]: At / ought.

[Ɛ]

Phonetic Symbol representing a short vowel sound.

Sound Class for [Ɛ]

Short Vowel

Tongue Position for [Ɛ]

Height: Lower, Depth: Mid-front, Tension: Lax, Lips: Unrounded

How the Sound [Ɛ] is Produced

Airflow from the lungs activates the vibration of the adducted vocal folds; sound enters the oral cavity; the tip of the tongue is centered behind the lower front teeth.

Rules for Spelling & Pronunciation of the [Ɛ]

In a word/syllable that contains only one vowel, the [Ɛ] is usually a short vowel unless it is at the end of a word.

Contrast Minimal Pairs for [Ɛ]

[Ɛ] / [æ]: Net / gnat; [Ɛ] / [eɪ]: Debt / date; [Ɛ] / [ɪ]: Bed / bid.

[ɪ]

Phonetic Symbol representing a short vowel sound.

Sound Class for [ɪ]

Short Vowel

Tongue Position for [ɪ]

Position: (Lower) High-Front, Lips: Unrounded, Tension: Lax

How the Sound [ɪ] is Produced

Airflow from the lungs activates the vibration of the adducted vocal folds; sound enters the oral cavity; tip of the tongue is in contact behind the bottom front teeth.

Rules for Spelling and Pronunciation of the [ɪ] Sound

When a single vowel is between 2 consonants or a syllable, it is usually a short vowel.

Different Spellings of the [ɪ] Sound

i Fish, o Women, e Pretty, u Busy, ui Build, y Hymn, ea Dear, ee Been, ie Pierce, ei Forfeit, ia Carriage, ai Fountain, a Senate.

[ɑ]

Phonetic Symbol representing a back vowel sound.

Sound Class for [ɑ]

Back vowel

Tongue Position for [ɑ]

Position: Low-Back, Lips: Unrounded, Tension: Lax

How the Sound [ɑ] is Produced

Airflow from the lungs activates the vibration of the adducted vocal folds; sound enters the oral cavity; the tongue rests on the floor of the mouth.

Rules for Spelling & Pronunciation of the [ɑ]

When the letter 'a' is followed by 'r' the vowel becomes [ɑ].

[ə] and [ʌ]

Phonemic Symbols for central stressed [ʌ] and central unstressed [ə].

How the Sound [ə] and [ʌ] is Produced

Airflow from the lungs passes through the closed vocal folds to create vibration and sound waves.

Different Spellings for the [ʌ] and [ə] Sounds

o Lemon, u Cup, a Alone, i Pencil, o Ton.

Short Vowel [æ]

Sound class of a short vowel represented by the phonetic symbol [æ] in words like ask [æsk].

Short Vowel [Ɛ]

Sound class of a short vowel represented by the phonetic symbol [Ɛ] in words like bed [bƐd].

Short Vowel [ɪ]

Sound class of a short vowel represented by the phonetic symbol [ɪ] in words like hid [hɪd].

Short Vowel [ɑ]

Sound class of a back vowel represented by the phonetic symbol [ɑ] in words like stop [stɑp].

Short Vowel [ʌ]

Sound class of a central stressed vowel represented by the phonetic symbol [ʌ] in stressed syllables.

Short Vowel [ə]

Sound class of a central unstressed vowel represented by the phonetic symbol [ə] in unstressed syllables.

Production of [æ]

Airflow activates vibration of closed vocal folds, tongue positioned low with minimal tension.

Spelling of [æ]

[æ] is mostly represented by the letter 'a' in closed syllables without a final e.

Different Spellings of [æ]

a in at, au in laugh, ai in plaid.

Words with [æ] Initial

Axle, Apple.

Words with [æ] Medial

Average, Factory.

Words with [æ] Final

Baa, Catch.

Contrast Minimal Pairs [æ] / [ɑ]

Cast / cost.

Contrast Minimal Pairs [æ] / [ᴐ]

Bad / bed.

Contrast Minimal Pairs [æ] / [ԑ]

At / ought.

Production of [Ɛ]

Airflow activates vibration of adducted vocal folds, tongue positioned mid-front.

Spelling of [Ɛ]

[Ɛ] is usually a short vowel unless at the end of a word.

Different Spellings of [Ɛ]

e in bed, a in bare, ea in leather.

Production of [ɪ]

Airflow activates vibration of adducted vocal folds, tongue positioned high-front.

Different Spellings of [ɪ]

i in fish, o in women, e in pretty.

Production of [ɑ]

Airflow activates vibration of adducted vocal folds, tongue positioned low-back.

Different Spellings of [ɑ]

a in far, aa in bazaar, o in on.

How [ə] is Produced

Airflow creates vibration, tongue retracted, sides closed against upper molars.

Different Spellings for [ə]

o in lemon, u in cup, a in alone.

Different Spellings for [ʌ]

u in cup, ou in rough.

Short Vowel ă

[æ] in ask [æsk]

Short Vowel ĕ

[Ɛ] in bed [bƐd]

Short Vowel ĭ

[ɪ] in hid [hɪd]

Short Vowel ŏ

[ɑ] in stop [stɑp]

Short Vowel ŭ

[ʌ] (stressed or single syllable) or [ə] (unstressed syllable)

Contrast Minimal Pairs [Ɛ] / [æ]

Net / gnat, Letter / latter

Contrast Minimal Pairs [ɪ] / [ԑ]

Lid / led, Bid / bed

Contrast Minimal Pairs [ɑ] / [æ]

Rot / rat, Box / backs

Contrast Minimal Pairs [ᴧ] / [ᴐ] or [ɑ]

Shuck / shook, Putt / pot, Come / calm

How the Sound is Produced [æ]

Airflow from the lungs activates the vibration of the closed vocal folds, sound enters the oral cavity, tongue is positioned on the floor of the mouth (low) with minimal tension (lax).

How the Sound is Produced [Ɛ]

Airflow from the lungs activates the vibration of the adducted vocal folds, sound enters the oral cavity, tip of the tongue is centered behind the lower front teeth.

How the Sound is Produced [ɪ]

Airflow from the lungs activates the vibration of the adducted vocal folds, sound enters the oral cavity, tip of the tongue is in contact behind the bottom front teeth.

How the Sound is Produced [ɑ]

Airflow from the lungs activates the vibration of the adducted vocal folds, sound enters the oral cavity, tongue rests on the floor of the mouth.

How the Sound is Produced [ʌ]

Airflow from the lungs passes through the closed vocal folds to create vibration and sound waves, sound waves are directed into the oral cavity.

How the Sound is Produced [ə]

Airflow from the lungs passes through the closed vocal folds to create vibration and sound waves, sound waves are directed into the oral cavity.

Rules for Spelling and Pronunciation of [æ]

[æ] is represented mostly by the 'a' letter; it is a short ă [æ] when in a closed syllable without the final e.

Words that Include the [æ] Sound Initial

Axle.

Words that Include the [æ] Sound Medial

Average.

Words that Include the [æ] Sound Final

Apple.

Rules for Spelling & Pronunciation of [Ɛ]

[Ɛ] is usually a short vowel unless at the end of a word.