Vowels - Part B (Lectures)

About how many vowels are there in most (English) dialects?

11 plus 3 diphthongs = 14

15 if you include /ɔ/

Test for / ʊ / vs. / ə /

Check the LIPS: /ʊ/ has rounded lips

/ʌ/ (caret) or /ə/ (schwa)?

The ‘caret’ vowel /ʌ/ is close to schwa, but a little lower and back

• In fast speech the English word but can be pronounced /bət/

• But when stressed in a sentence, it will be a little different: /bʌt/

  

/ʌ/ (caret) or /ʊ/ (‘hooked u’)

Use /ʌ/ (caret) in stressed syllables (e.g., cup /kʌp/), and /ʊ/ (hooked u) in stressed syllables before /l/ or in words with a high back lax vowel (e.g., foot /fʊt/).

What are the 3 English diphthongs?

/aɪ/, /aʊ/, /ɔɪ/

May be a 4th: [eɪ]

Why are diphthongs considered a single sound?

Diphthongs are considered a single sound because the tongue moves smoothly from one vowel position to another within the same syllable, without a break

Diphthong /aɪ/

Starts at /a/ and glides to /ɪ/, as in the word 'fly'.

Diphthong /aʊ/

Starts at /a/ and glides to /ʊ/, as in the word 'mouth'.

Diphthong /ɔɪ/

Starts at /ɔ/ and glides to /ɪ/, as in the word 'boy'.

This diphthong occurs in most dialects of English. Occurs in the words “toy, Roy,” and “boyd”

Diphthong [eɪ]

the vowel /e/ also predictably surfaces as a slight diphthong

in most dialects of English, as [eɪ]

This is not always shown in broad transcription though, because it is predictable (just always surfaces this way, in most dialects of English)

Open O /ɔ/

• /ɔ/ is a mid-back rounded vowel, similar to /o/ but slightly different.

• in between /o/ and /ɑ/

• Common in many dialects of English as a distinctive vowel

• Canadians lost it through Caught-Cot Merger

Caught-Cot Merger

A phenomenon where /ɔ/ becomes /ɑ/ in certain dialects of English, notably in Canadian English.

When do Canadians sometimes say [ɔ] - exception to Cot-Caught Merger?

• only predictably, when /o/ occurs before an /ɹ/ you get [ɔɹ], hence ‘sorry’ surfaces as [sɔɹi]

• Many more recent US dialects don’t even do that! They say [saɹi]

How front/back divides in vowels

How high/mid/low divide in vowels