Classification of English vowels.

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Articulatory and Physiological Classification of English Consonants and Vowels.

Lecture 2

The main principles of division of speech sounds into the vowels and consonants are:

1. the presence or absence of obstruction;

2. the distinction of muscular tension;

3. the force of the air stream coming out of the lungs.

VOWELSare speech sounds based on voice. There is no obstruction in their articulation. The muscular tension is spread equally throughout the speech organs. The force of the air stream is rather weak. The quality of English vowels is determined by the main resonator – mouth cavity – it’s size, volume, shape. The resonator is modified by the tongue and lips.

CONSONANTSare sounds in the production of which there is an obstruction, the removal of which causes noise. Muscular tension is at the place of obstruction. The air stream is strong.

They can be classified according to the following principles.

1. According to the position of the tongue.(position of the bulk of the tongue in its horizontal and vertical position). The tongue can move forward and backward , may be raised and lowered in the mouth cavity.

Horizontal: fully back, back advanced, fully front, front retracted

Vertical: high, mid, low. Each of the subclasses is subdivided into vowels of narrow variation and vowels of broad variation.

2. According to the length.The vowels are divided into historically long and historically short.

Vowel length depends on a number of linguistic factors:

- position of the vowels in the word: /bi:/, /bi:d/, /bit/;

- word stress: a vowel is longer in stressed syllable, /ˈfɔ:kɑ:st/ /fɔ:ˈkɑ:st/;

- the number of syllables in the word. In one syllable word vowel is longer than in a polysyllabic word: /vɜ:s/ /ˌju:nɪˈvɜ:sɪtɪ/;

- The character of the syllabic structure (in words with open syllables vowel length is longer): /ɜ:/ / ɜ:n/ ;

- Sonority: vowels of low sonority are longer than vowels of greater sonority, /ɪ/ is longer than /ɒ/ , /i:/ is longer than / ɑ:/ .

3. According to the degree of tenseness. Traditionally long vowels are defined as tense and short are lax.

4. According to the position of the lips. (rounded, unrounded). The front and low vowels are articulated with spread or neutral lips while bach vowels have rounded lips.

5. According to the stability of articulation. Vowels can be divided into monophthongs (10); diphthongs (8) (falling – nuclear is stronger, rising – glide is stronger, level – both parts are equal); diphthongoids (2) – (is a vowel which ends in a different element, they are /i:/, /u:/, in allophonic transcription /ɪj^j/ /ʊu^w/.