Phonetics 2: Vowels

Today's Agenda

This session covers vowels, their description, IPA symbols for Canadian English vowels, vowels in other languages, the phonetics of signed languages, and information regarding Quiz 1.

Vowels vs. Consonants

Consonants: Produced by articulators approaching each other, creating constrictions in the vocal tract.
Vowels: Produced with an unobstructed airstream.

Review: Describing Consonants

Consonants are described using three parameters:

Place of articulation: Where the constriction occurs.
Manner of articulation: The nature of the constriction (e.g., stop, fricative).
Voicing: Position and activity of the vocal folds (voiced or voiceless).

Practice Examples:

Set A: $[z, l, r, d]$ - Share the same voicing (all voiced).
Set B: $[ʔ, k, p, t, θ]$ - Share the same manner (all voiceless, the specific sounds are a mix of stops and a fricative, but some commonality in production, for [ʔ, k, p, t] it's stops).
Set C: $[s, θ, z, h]$ - Share a common manner (all fricatives).

Describing Vowels

Vowel quality (how we perceive different vowels, e.g., $[i]$ vs. $[u]$ ) is determined by the configuration of the tongue and lips.
Challenges in English Vowels:
- Less transparent orthography compared to consonants.
- Difficult to objectively define articulations without imaging tools.
- Considerable dialectal variation in pronunciation.
Transcription: In this class, you must transcribe Standard Canadian English vowels using the provided symbols, disregarding dictionaries or online IPA translators.

Vowels of Canadian English

Canadian English vowels include both monophthongs and diphthongs:

Vowel Dynamism

Monophthongs: Maintain a stable vowel quality throughout their articulation. Example: $[i]$ in 'bee'.
Diphthongs: Exhibit a dynamic change in vowel quality during articulation. Example: $[aɪ]$ in 'bye'.

Canadian English Vowel Chart (IPA Symbols with Examples):

$[i]$ 'beat'
$[ɪ]$ 'bit'
$[e]$ 'bait'
$[ɛ]$ 'bet'
$[æ]$ 'bat'
$[u]$ 'boot'
$[ʊ]$ 'book'
$[o]$ 'boat'
$[ɑ]$ 'bot'
$[ʌ]$ 'buck'
$[ə]$ 'about' (schwa)

Diphthongs:

$[ɔɪ]$ 'boy'
$[aɪ]$ 'buy'
$[aʊ]$ 'bout'

Parameters Used to Describe Vowels

1. Tongue Height

Describes the vertical position of the highest point of the tongue in the mouth:

High: Tongue is raised. Example: $[i]$ in 'seed'.
Mid: Tongue is in a neutral position. Example: $[ɛ]$ in 'said'.
Low: Tongue is lowered. Example: $[æ]$ in 'sad'.
Illustrative image (blue line represents tongue shape): $[i]$ (high), $[æ]$ (low), $[u]$ (high), $[ɑ]$ (low).

2. Tongue Backness

Describes the horizontal position of the highest point of the tongue in the mouth:

Front: Tongue is moved forward. Example: $[e]$ in 'cape'.
Central: Tongue is in a central position. Example: $[ʌ]$ in 'cup'.
Back: Tongue is moved backward. Example: $[o]$ in 'cope'.

3. Lip Rounding

Describes the shape of the lips:

Rounded: Lips are rounded (e.g., for $[u]$ in 'who').
Unrounded: Lips are spread or neutral (e.g., for $[i]$ in 'he').

4. Tense vs. Lax Vowels

Tense Vowels: Produced with greater muscular tension and are longer in duration (e.g., $[i]$ in 'heat').
Lax Vowels: Produced with less tension and are shorter in duration (e.g., $[ɪ]$ in 'hit').
Note: Tense and lax counterparts may have slightly different tongue positions but are grouped by general height/backness (e.g., $[i]$ and $[ɪ]$ are both high front).
Class Grouping: Tense vowels for this class: $i, u, e, o, ɑ$ . Lax vowels for this class: $ɪ, ʊ, ɛ, ʌ, ə, æ$ .
Rule: In English, single-syllable words generally do not end in lax vowels.
- Examples: 'me' $[mi]$ (not $<em>[mɪ]$ ), 'say' $[se]$ (not $</em>[sɛ]$ ), 'who' $[hu]$ (not $<em>[hʊ]$ ), 'raw' $[rɑ]$ (not $</em>[ræ]$ ).
- Exceptions: Some interjections (e.g., 'huh' $[hʌ]$ , 'nah' $[næ]$ , 'yeah' $[jæ]$ , 'meh' $[mɛ]$ ), and some loanwords (e.g., 'pho' $[fʌ]$ ).

Comprehensive Vowel Descriptions

All English vowels are voiced.
All vowels are oral by default but can be nasalized.
Sagittal section images do not distinguish tense vs. lax.

Examples:

$[i]$ ('beet'): high, front, unrounded, tense.
$[u]$ ('boot'): high, back, rounded, tense.
$[ɑ]$ ('bot'): low, back, unrounded, tense.

Canadian English Vowel Chart: Monophthongs

(Visual representation in the slides, described here by position)

High Front: $i$ (beet), $ɪ$ (bit)
Mid Front: $e$ (bait, above schwa), $ɛ$ (bet)
Low Front: $æ$ (bat)
High Back: $u$ (boot), $ʊ$ (good)
Mid Back: $o$ (boat, above schwa), $ɔ$ (cot – note: slides place cot for $ɑ$ with a different dialectal context, but this is the formal symbol position)
Low Back: $ɑ$ (cot in Canadian English merger)
Central: $ʌ$ (but), $ə$ (above)

Practice: Describing Vowels

Describe $[æ]$ :
- Height: low
- Backness: front
- Rounding: unrounded
- Tenseness: lax
- English word: 'cat' $[kæt]$
Describe $[u]$ :
- Height: high
- Backness: back
- Rounding: rounded
- Tenseness: tense
- English word: 'tooth' $[tuθ]$
Describe $[ɛ]$ :
- Height: mid
- Backness: front
- Rounding: unrounded
- Tenseness: lax
- English word: 'shed' $[ʃɛd]$

Diphthongs in Canadian English

Diphthongs are dynamic, meaning articulators move during their production.
Represented by two symbols (start and end positions), but count as one sound. Example: $[aɪ]$ for 'ride'.

Canadian English Diphthongs

$[aɪ]$ as in 'ride'
$[aʊ]$ as in 'loud'
$[ɔɪ]$ as in 'choice'

Notes on Diphthongs

You will not be asked to describe diphthongs by height/backness/etc. because these properties change.
Transcription may vary across sources. In this class, use $[aɪ, aʊ, ɔɪ]$ . Other forms like $[aj, aw, oj/ɔj]$ or ligatures like [a͡ʊ] are not used.
Always refer to the LIN101 IPA reference guide for class transcription norms.

Full Descriptions of Front, Central, and Back Vowels

Front Vowels

$[i]$ : high, front, unrounded, tense (beat)
$[ɪ]$ : high, front, unrounded, lax (bit)
$[e]$ : mid, front, unrounded, tense (bait)
$[ɛ]$ : mid, front, unrounded, lax (bet)
$[æ]$ : low, front, unrounded, lax (bat)

Central/Back Vowels

$[u]$ : high, back, rounded, tense (boot)
$[ʊ]$ : high, back, rounded, lax (book)
$[o]$ : mid, back, rounded, tense (boat)
$[ɑ]$ : low, back, unrounded, tense (bot)
$[ʌ]$ : mid, central, unrounded, lax (buck)
$[ə]$ : mid, central, unrounded, lax (about)

Caret $[ʌ]$ vs. Schwa $[ə]$

These two vowels have essentially the same vocalic quality.
$[ʌ]$ is used in stressed syllables. Example: 'buses' $[bʌsəz]$ .
$[ə]$ is used in unstressed syllables. Example: 'banana' $[bənænə]$ .

Practice: Describing Vowels (Commonalities/Differences)

What do $[æ, i, ɪ]$ have in common? All are front vowels and unrounded.
What do $[e, o, ɛ]$ have in common? All are mid vowels.
Pair of vowels different in ALL properties? Example: $[u]$ (high, back, rounded, tense) vs. $[æ]$ (low, front, unrounded, lax).

Transcription Practice

'zoom': $[zum]$
'cake': $[kek]$
'yell': $[jɛl]$
'jade': $[dʒed]$

Vowels Before /r/

The sound /r/ (specifically retroflex approximant $[ɹ]$ ) significantly affects surrounding vowels, especially when in coda position (end of a syllable).
Transcriptions to use in this class:
- 'beer': $[biɹ]$ (not $*[bɪɹ]$ )
- 'bear': $[bɛɹ]$ (not $*[beɹ]$ )
- 'bar': $[baɹ]$ (not $*[bɑɹ]$ )
- 'bore': $[bɔɹ]$ (not $*[boɹ]$ )
- 'bird': $[bə˞d]$ ('schwar' vowel)

Dialectal Variation in Back Vowels

Differences exist in how back vowels are realized across dialects (Canadian English, some US English, RP - Received Pronunciation):

Example word	Canadian English	Some US Eng.	RP
'spa'	$[ɑ]$	$[ɑ]$	$[ɑ]$
'box'	$[ɑ]$	$[ɑ]$	$[ɒ]$
'dog'	$[ɑ]$	$[ɔ]$	$[ɒ]$
'bought'	$[ɑ]$	$[ɔ]$	$[ɔ]$

Canadian Vowel Merger: Canadian English exhibits an $[ɑ]$ - $[ɔ]$ merger for many words (e.g., 'bod' and 'bawd' might both be $[bɑd]$ ), making it difficult to distinguish sounds that are not contrastive in one's native language.

Vowel Systems Cross-Linguistically

Typology: The study of cross-linguistic patterning of sound structures to understand commonalities, rarities, and underlying reasons.
English Vowel Inventory: English has a relatively large vowel inventory (9-12 monophthongs depending on dialect).
Common Inventories: Most languages have fewer vowel contrasts, typically 3 or 5 vowels. Systems with fewer than 3 or more than 9 vowels are rare.
Most Common System: $i, u, a, e, o$
Vowel Universal Tendencies (the 'i-u-a triangle'):
- $/a/$ occurs most commonly.
- Followed closely by $i$ and $u$ .
Rounding Tendencies:
- Front vowels are generally unrounded (e.g., $[i, e, ɛ, æ]$ ).
- Non-low back vowels are generally rounded (e.g., $[ɔ, o, u]$ ).
- Low vowels are generally unrounded (e.g., $[æ, a, ɑ]$ ).
Why these patterns? Adaptive Dispersion Theory: Sound systems evolve to maximize perceptual contrasts, making it easier for listeners to distinguish between different words.
Difficulty with Non-Contrastive Sounds: Speakers often find it challenging to distinguish sounds that are not contrastive (do not create meaning differences) in their native language's phonology.
Vowels in Other Languages:
- French and Mandarin: Both feature a high front rounded vowel $[y]$ .
  - French: 'tu' $[ty]$ 'you' vs. 'petit' $[pəti]$ 'small' and 'tous' $[tu]$ 'all'.
  - Mandarin: '鱼' 'fish' $[y]$ vs. '衣' 'clothes' $[i]$ and '屋' 'house' $[u]$ .

What You Need to Know About Vowels

How to describe vowels using tongue height, backness, lip rounding, and tense/lax.
The descriptors and IPA symbols for all Canadian English vowels (refer to LIN101 phonetics reference).
You do not need to memorize IPA symbols for sounds not in Canadian English; their specifications and symbols will be provided when necessary.

Phonetics of Signed Languages

Modality in Language

Spoken Languages: Use the vocal modality (produced vocally, perceived aurally).
Signed Languages: Use the manual modality (produced manually, perceived visually).

Articulators in Signed Languages

Manual Articulators: Arms, hands, fingers. Described by joints and movements.
Nonmanual Articulators: Torso, head, facial features. Involve complex and varied movements.

Manual Articulator Joints

Six main joints: shoulder, elbow, radioulnar joint, wrist, base knuckles, and interphalangeal joints.

Manual Articulator Movements

Abduction and Adduction: Left-right and up-down movements from a frontal perspective.
Extension and Flexion: Front-back and up-down movements from a sagittal perspective.
Rotation.

Four Parameters for Describing Manual Articulators in Signed Languages

Handshape: The configuration of the base knuckles and interphalangeal joints.
- Example: ASL 'SORRY' (A handshape) vs. 'PLEASE' (open-B handshape).
Orientation: The direction the hand is facing, determined by the configuration of the other four joints.
- Example: ASL 'PROOF' (palm up) vs. 'STOP' (palm left).
Location: Where in space or on the body the sign is articulated.
- Example: ASL 'APPLE' (side of chin) vs. 'ONION' (temple).
Movement: How the manual articulators move.
- Example: ASL 'THINK' (moving in) vs. 'WONDER' (circling).

What You Need to Know About Signed Language Phonetics

Identify the two main categories of articulators (manual, nonmanual).
Understand the parameters used to categorize manual articulators (handshape, orientation, location, movement).
Recognize and describe how two minimally different signs contrast based on one of these four parameters.

Quiz 1 Information

Content

Describe all English consonant and vowel sounds using learned descriptors.
Know the IPA symbols for these sounds.
Recognize these sounds in English words.
You will NOT be asked to provide full transcriptions of English words.
Example Questions:
- Q1: What is the IPA symbol for a voiceless alveolar fricative? (Answer: $[s]$ )
- Q2: Describe the sound $[ʃ]$ in terms of place, manner, and voicing. (Answer: voiceless, post-alveolar, fricative)
- Q3: Which of the following English words contains a low vowel? (maid, mop, bad) (Answer: 'bad' $[bæd]$ )
- Lecture Engagement 3 access code: lax

Format

In-person, during your registered tutorial section.
$15$ minutes to complete.
A practice quiz with the same format will be available on Quercus.

Policies

Bring your TCard.
No aids are permitted.
Quizzes written in pencil cannot be regraded.
You must attend the tutorial section for which you are registered.

Action Items

Review the Week 3 To-Do list.
Read the assigned reading.
No required pre-tutorial exercises.
Complete the new (optional but recommended) practice exercises for Phonetics 2 on Quercus.
Study for Quiz 1.
Attend your registered tutorial on Monday to take Quiz 1.

Good luck on the quiz! $[ɡʊd lʌk ɑn ðə kwɪz]$

Phonetics 2: Vowels