• Definition

• Classification

• Allophonic rules
Definition
Vowels are sounds in which
there is no obstruction to the
flow of air as it passes from
the larynx to the lips.
• English Phonetics and phonology/ A
practical course (Peter Roach, 2000)

Eg: /e/, //, //

CLASSIFICATION

20 vowels are divided into 2 groups:

• Monothongs (12 vowels)

• Diphthongs (8 vowels)
MONOTHONGS

• Definition

• Classification

• Description
DEFINITION OF MONOTHONGS

Monothongs are simple or pure vowel

sound in which the speech organs
remain in the same position throughout
the duration of the vowel’s articulation.
• OXFORD, Advanced learner’s Encyclopedic
dictionary, 1992
CLASSIFICATION
12 monothongs are classified in terms of

1. The front/back position of the tongue

2. The height of the bulk of the tongue

3. The degree of the lip-rounding

4. The length of the sound

CLASSIFICATION
1. The position of the tongue
Front Central Back

i u
 

e 


æ 


CLASSIFICATION
2. The height of the tongue

i u
High
 

e  Middle


æ  Low


CLASSIFICATION
3. The degree of the lip-rounding

Close
i u
 
Half-close

e 

Half-open

æ 

Open

CLASSIFICATION
4. The length of the sound

SHORT VOWELS LONG VOWELS

 i
 
 
 u
 
e
æ
 Front Central Back
Close
i u
High
 
Half-close

e  Middle

Half-open

æ  Low

Open 
 Front Central Back
Close
•heed •shoe
High
•hid •put
Half-close
•the
•head •saw Middle
•bird
Half-open

•had •cut •hot Low

Open •hard
DESCRIPTION OF MONOTHONGS

• Articulatory description

• Common spellings
 /i/
ARTICULATORY DESCRIPTION
• Front of tongue raised below

and behind front close position

sheet
• Lips spread

• Tongue tense

• Tongue rims firmly contact

upper molars
 /i/
• COMMON SPELLINGS

Spellings Examples

ee tree, cheese, canteen

e complete, evening, these
ea leaf, reason, sea
ie piece, field, siege
ei/ ey seize, key, receive
i police, machine, suite
• Exceptions: Quay, people
 //
ARTICULATORY DESCRIPTION
• Part of tongue raised above
close-mid position
• Lips loosely spread
shit
• Tongue lax
• Tongue rims lightly
contact upper molars
*Note: []
[] in unaccented syllable

Eg: quality, sincerity, palace except in manage, village

 //
• COMMON SPELLINGS

Spellings Examples

i ship, it, bin

y city, symbol, rhythm
e pretty, houses, except
ie ladies, cities, companies
a village, private, climate

• Exceptions: Build, Sunday (weekdays), business,

women, minute
Compare /i/ & //

sheet

shit
 /e/
ARTICULATORY DESCRIPTION
• Front tongue raised between
close-mid and open-mid position
• Lips loosely spread, slightly wider
bed
apart
• Tongue more tense than /i/
• Tongue rims lightly contact
upper molars
 /e/
• COMMON SPELLINGS

SPELLINGS EXAMPLES

e bed, pen, bell

ea dead, head, breath
a any, many, Thames

• Exceptions: says, said, bury, ate, again,

friend.
 /æ/
ARTICULATORY DESCRIPTION
• Mouth more open than /e/
• Front tongue raised
above open position
• Lips neutrally open bad

• Tongue rims slightly contact

back upper molars
 /æ/
• COMMON SPELLINGS

Spellings Examples

a hand, marry, man

• Exceptions: plaid, plait, reveille, timbre

Compare /e/ & /æ/

bed

bad
 //
ARTICULATORY DESCRIPTION

• Jaws separated

• Lips neutrally open heart

• Tongue put down and back

• Tongue rims no contact upper

molars
 //
• COMMON SPELLINGS

Spellings Examples

a father, after, bath

ar marvellous, car, dark
ear heart, hearth
er clerk, sergeant
al calm, half, palm
au aunt, laugh
• Exceptions: reservoir, memoir, repertoire
(French originated)
Compare // & /æ/
hat

heart
 //
ARTICULATORY DESCRIPTION

• Jaws separated

• Lips neutrally open

• Tongue put down and back cup

• Tongue rims no contact

upper molars
 //
• COMMON SPELLINGS

Spellings Examples

u drug, dull, cut

o son, love, won
ou country, couple, enough
oo blood, flood
oe does
Compare // & /æ/

cap

cup
 / /
ARTICULATORY DESCRIPTION

• Lips medium-rounded

• Back tonge raised between port

open-mid and close-mid position

• Tongue no contact upper molars

 / /
• COMMON SPELLINGS

Spellings Examples
ar, or war, horse, born
ore before, more, score
our court, four
oar, oor floor, board, roar
au, augh cause, daughter, fault
a all, salt, water
aw awesome, saw, yawn
ou bought, ought
• Exceptions: broad, {sure, pure, cure [/j/]}
 //
ARTICULATORY DESCRIPTION

• Jaws wide open

• Lips slightly rounded

pot
• Back tongue in fully open position

• Tongue no contact upper molars

 //
• COMMON SPELLINGS

Spellings Examples

o dog, holiday, gone

a what, watch, quality
ou, ow cough, knowledge, trough
au because, sausage, Austria

• Exceptions: yatch
jt

Compare // & / /

pot

port
 /u/
ARTICULATORY DESCRIPTION

• Tongue in back position

• Lips closely rounded

pool

• Tongue no contact upper molars

 /u/
• COMMON SPELLINGS

Spellings Examples

u rude, crucial, June

oo food, moon, spoon
o who, move, lose
ou group, through, wound
ew chew, flew, threw
ue, ui, oe blue, juice, shoe
 //
ARTICULATORY DESCRIPTION

• Tongue in close-mid position

• Lips closely, loosely rounded

pull

• Tongue no contact upper molars

 //
• COMMON SPELLINGS

Spellings Examples

u butcher, full, sugar

oo book, wood, good
o wolf, woman, bosom
ou could, courier, should

• Exceptions: worsted
Compare // & /u/

pull

pool
 / /
• COMMON SPELLINGS

Spellings Examples
er, err perfect, err, serve
ur, urr church, turn, purr
ir, yr sir, girl, myrrh
wor word, work, worse
ear earth, heard
our journey, courtesy, scourge
• Exceptions: colonel ['k:nl]
 //
ARTICULATORY DESCRIPTION

• Tongue between close-mid,

water
open-mid position

• Lips neutrally spread

• Tongue no contact upper molars

 //
• COMMON SPELLINGS
Spellings Examples
i possible
e gentlemen
a woman
u suppose
ar particular
er mother
or doctor
Note: unaccented vowels: affect, accept, razor
Diphthongs

• Definition

• Classification

• Description
DEFINITION OF DIPHTHONGS
• Sounds that consist of a movement or glide from
one vowel to another.The first part of a diphthong
is always longer and stronger than the second
part, as the sound glides into the second part of
the diphthongs the loudness of the sound
decreases. The length of a diphthong is equivalent
to that of a long monothong.

• Example: /e/, //
CLASSIFICATION OF DIPHTHONGS

Diphthongs

Centring Closing

Ending in /
/ Ending in // Ending in //

/e
/ /
/ /
/ /e/ /ai/ // /
/ /a/
• Centring diphthongs /e/ // //

Diphthongs that glide from front/ back position

to more central position. [/
/]

• Closing diphthongs /e/ /ai/ / / // /a/

Diphthongs that glide from a more open to a

closer position. [//, //]
 //
ARTICULATORY DESCRIPTION
beer
• Glide begins from close-mid

position, like // to open position,

like //

• Lips slightly move from spread to

open
 //
• COMMON SPELLINGS
Spellings Examples
er, ere material, hero, here
ear, eer dear, fear, career
ia material, brilliant, familiar
ea idea, area,
eu, eo, eou museum, theological, creosote
ie fierce, spaniel
io, iou period, opinion, previous
iu medium,stadium, union
• Exceptions: weird [wid]
 /e/
ARTICULATORY DESCRIPTION
chair

• Glide begins from open-mid

front position, like /e/ to more

open, like //

• Lips neutrally open

 /e/
• COMMON SPELLINGS

Spellings Examples

ar, are care, share, parent

air air, chair, affair

ear bear, wear, swear

• Exceptions: heir, their, there, mayor, prayer

 //
ARTICULATORY DESCRIPTION
tour
• Glide begins from close-mid
position, like // to more open,
like //

• Lips from slightly rounded to

spread
 //
• COMMON SPELLINGS

Spellings Examples

oor poor, moor, boor

our tour, amour, tournament
ure pure, cure, endure
ur curiuos, during, insurance
ue, ua cruel, fluent, mutual

Exceptions: jewel
du

l

du
l
, arduous
 dju
s

 dju
s

 dju
s

 /e/
ARTICULATORY DESCRIPTION
tail

• Glide begins from close-mid

front, like /e/ to more central,
like //

• Lower jaws slightly moves

• Lips spread
 /e/
• COMMON SPELLINGS

Spellings Examples
A Ape, late, make
Ai Waist, rail, aim
Ay Day, may, say
Ei, ey Veil, weigh, they
Ea Great, break, steak

• Exceptions: gauge, gaol, fete, suede

Café, saute, fiancé (French originated)
 /ai/
ARTICULATORY DESCRIPTION
• Glide begins from open front
position, like /a/ to //

• Lower jaws close gradually fine

• Lips change from neutral to

loosely spread
 /ai/
• COMMON SPELLINGS

Spellings Examples

i time, write, climb

ie die, lie, pie
y, ye cry, dry, type
igh high, light

• Exceptions: (n)either, aisle, height

 / /
ARTICULATORY DESCRIPTION
boy

• Glide begins from open-mid

back position, like / / to //

• Lips change from rounded to

neutral
 / /
• COMMON SPELLINGS

Spellings Examples

oi Boil, point, noise

oy Boy, toy, voyage

• Exceptions: buoy
b

b

 //
ARTICULATORY DESCRIPTION
phone
• Glide begins from central, open-
mid and close mid position like
// to //

• Lower jaw close slightly

• Lips change from neutral to

rounded
 //
• COMMON SPELLINGS

Spellings Examples

o Old, so, go
oe Toe, doe, hoe
ow Know, blow, pillow
oa Oak, road, soap
ou Soul, though, shoulder

• Exceptions: mauve, brooch, sew, don’t, won’t,

plateau, bureau, chauffeur
 /a/
ARTICULATORY DESCRIPTION
house

• Glide begins from between

back and front open position,
like / æ / to //

• Tongue at close-mid level

• Lips change from neutrally

open to slightly rounded
 /a/
• COMMON SPELLINGS

Spellings Examples

ou Out, doubt, house

ow Allow, crowd, cow
TRIPHTHONGS

• Definition
Sounds that consist of a movement or glide
from one vowel to another and then to a
third. There are 5 triphthongs composed of
the 5 closing diphthongs and /
/ added at
the end.
 TRIPHTHONGS
•  +  = 
fire, liar, society
• e +  = e
player, greyer, layer
•  +  = 
loyal, enjoyable
•  +  = 
slower, lower
•  +  = 
power, hour, flower
Allophonic rules for English
vowels
4. [+front] / [+vowels]


Retracted before
syllable final /l/

• Front vowels [ /i/, //, /e/, /æ/ ] become

retracted in syllables closed by /l/.

• Example:

pal /pl/ ~ pad / pd/

heel / hi:l/ ~ heed / hi:d/

• The Nature Of Syllable
• The Structure Of Syllable
• Syllable Division
• Strong And Weak Syllables
 CENTRE
• A single vowel in isolation

• Has little or no obstruction

to airflow and sounds
comparatively loud
 Onset & Coda

In comparison with the centre, onset and

coda have greater obstruction to airflow

and less loud sound.

 Onset & Coda
• Onset:
A syllable has more than just silence preceding the
centre of the syllable -> it has an onset.
b /, key /k
bar /b ki:/, more / m /
• Coda:
A syllable has more than just silence following the
centre of the syllable -> it has a coda.
m/, ought /
am /  t
 t/, ease /i
i z
i z/
• Onset + Coda
run /rrn/, sat /sst/, fill /ffl/
On Phonological Grounds
• What can occur in initial position?
A word can begin with a vowel or with 1, 2 or 3
consonants. No word begins with more than 3
consonants.

• What can occur in final position?

A word can end with a vowel or with 1, 2, 3 or 4
consonants. No word ends with more than 4
consonants.
 SYLLABLE CODAS

• At the end of a word:

• No consonant -> Zero Coda

• One consonant -> final consonant

• Two or more consonants together -> a

final consonant cluster

FINAL CONSONANT CLUSTER

• Final two-consonant cluster

Pre-final /m, n, , l, s/ + final
bmp/, bent /be
bump /b ben
bent/, bank /b
b
bk/, belt /be
bel
belt/,
 s
 sk/
ask /

Final + Post-final
s, z, t, d, 

bets
bets/, beads /bed
bets /bet bedz
bedz/, backed /bk
bkt
bkt/, bagged
b d/, eighth /et
/b et
et/
FINAL CONSONANT CLUSTER

• Final three-consonant cluster

Pre-final + Final + Post-final

Final + Post-final 1 + Post-final 2

 Table 4: Final three-consonant clusters

Pre-final Final Post-final

helped he l p t

banks b  k s

bonds b n d z

twelfth twe l f 
 Table 5: Final three-consonant clusters

Pre- Post- Post-

Final
final final 1 final 2

fifths f - f  s

next ne - k s t

lapsed l - p s t
 FINAL CONSONANT CLUSTER

• Final four-consonant cluster

Pre-final + Final + Post-final + Post-final 2

Final + Post-final 1 + Post-final 2 + Post-final 3

 Table 6: Final four-consonant clusters

Pre- Post- Post-

Final
final final 1 final 2

twelfth twe l f  s

prompts pr
pr m p t s
 Table 7: Final four-consonant clusters

Pre- Post- Post- Post-

Final
final final 1 final 2 final 3

sixths s - k s  s

texts te - k s t s
Note:
• Syllabic Consonants

students /stju dnts

stju dnts/
dnts
pre- post-
initial
initial initial

ONSET + VOWEL + CODA

pre- post- post- post-

final final final 1 final 2 final 3
 SYLLABLE

RHYME

ONSET PEAK CODA

E.g.

• Pat, cat, sat not pat, pad, pack

 SYLLABLE DIVISION
Maximum Onsets Principle:
Consonants are assigned to the right-hand
syllable as far as possible within the
restrictions governing syllable onsets and
codas.
Restrictions:
No word begins with more than 3 consonants.
No word ends with more than 4 consonants.
E.g.

extra
• e.kstr

e.kstr

• ek.str

ek.str

• eks.tr

eks.tr

• ekst.r

ekst.r

• ekstr.

ekstr.

STRONG & WEAK SYLLABLE

• ‘Strong’ and ‘weak’ are terms used to refer to

phonetic characteristics of syllables.
• Strong and weak syllables are determined by:
- stress
- intonation
- elision
 STRONG SYLLABLE

• Strong syllable has as its peak one of

the vowel phonemes (or possibly a

triphthong), but not

,




i
,

i

u
.
 WEAK SYLLABLE
In comparison with strong syllable, the

vowel in weak syllable tends to be shorter,

of lower intensity, and different in quality.

teacher /ti t&

ti t&
/, struggle /str
str
l/

l
 WEAK SYLLABLE
Weak syllable can only have 4 types of peak:
• The vowel /
/ (schwa)
• A close front unrounded vowel in the general area
of
i
and

(symbolised i)
• A close back rounded vowel in the general area of
'/ (symbolised u)
/u:/ and /'
• Syllabic consonants

/ vowel (schwa)
The /

In quality:

• Mid (half-way between close and open)

• Central (half-way between front and back)

 Common Spellings
Weak form Strong Form

‘a’ attend

tend/ r
kt
/
character /k

‘ar’ a ts/
a
particular /p
tikjul
/ march /ma

‘ate’ intimate / ntm

t/ eit/
ei
mate /mei

‘o’ carrot /kr

t/
u/

u
potato /p
teit
u

‘or’ forget /f
 et
o idz

mortgage /mo
 Common Spellings
Weak form Strong form

‘e’ violet
va

l
t/ settlement
seetlm
nt/

‘u’ autumn
 t

m
butter
b
t

‘er’ perhaps
p
hps/ merge
m++ d

‘ough’ thorough
r

though
*
'

'


'

‘ou’ callous
kl

s/ go /
u/

u
 Close front vowel
• Phonetic symbol: /i/
• Common spellings:

Final ‘y’ or ‘ey’ : happy /hpi/

Prefix ‘re’ ‘pre’ ‘de’ : react /rikt/

Suffix ‘iate’ ‘ious’ : appreciate

pri &iet/

Unstressed words : he /hi/, she /&i/

‘the’ /*i/ precedes a vowel
 Close back vowel

• Phonetic symbol: /u/

• Common spellings:

Unstressed words: you /ju/, to /tu/, who /hu/

Before another vowel within a word: influenza

-nfluenz


 Syllabic Consonants
• Definition:

Syllabic consonant stands as the peak of the

syllable instead of the vowel. It is usual to
indicate that a consonant is syllabic by means
of a small vertical mark ( )

n/
• Phonetic symbols: /n / /ll/ /m
/ m/ /rr/
 /ll/
Common spellings
• Words ending with one or more consonant letters
followed by ‘le’

with alveolar consonant preceding
cattle /ktl/, wrestle /resl/

with non-alveolar consonant preceding
couple /kpl/, struggle /str l/
• Words ending with one or more consonant letters
followed by ‘al’ or ‘el’
panel /'pnl/, petal /petl/, parcel /p sl

 Note

Syllabic Non-syllabic

coddling /kdl
codling / kdl

Hungary /h ri/ hungry /h ri/

 n/
/n
Common spellings
• After alveolar plosives t, d
threaten /retn/, student /stju dnt

• After labiodental fricative f, v

often /fn/, seven /sevn/
 /m/ //
Only occur as a result of processes such
as assimilation and elision

happen /hpm /

thicken /k/
 /r/
Very common in most American accents

British accent American accent

particular particular

p
tkj
l


prtk
lr/