Phonetics 2

Vowels in the mouth

Reference System

based on oral cavity and tongue

Cardinal vowels

Construction of „idealised vowels“

Cardinal vowels

[i], [e], [ε], [a], [u], [o], [ɔ], [ɑ]

Distinction of vowels

1.horizontal position

2.vertical position

3.vowel length/quality

Horizontal position

shows which part of the tongue is raised most during production - three sets: front, central, back

Vertical position

shows the degree of tongue raising - four sets: closed, half-closed, half-open, open

Vowel length

there are short vowels without a colon : vs. long vowels with a colon :

English vowels

Monophthong

Tongue remains in a stable position while articulation

Distinctive features of vowels

1.Position of the tongue (horizontal axis)

2.Openness/closeness of the mouth (vertical axis)

3.Long or short monophthong

Lexical set