PRESENTATION VOWELS CONSONANTS (1. Monothongs (Short long vowels) 2. Diphthongs 3. Triphthongs )

A vowel is a sound that needs an open air passage in the mouth. The air passage can be modified in terms of shape with different mouth and tongue shapes producing different vowels. A consonant is formed when the air stream is restricted or stopped at some poins between the vocal cords and the lips

upper teeth

upper teeth

lower teeth

alveolar ridge

alveolar ridge

hard palat e

hard palat e

toung e

toung e

soft palate (velum)

soft palate (velum)

pharyn x

pharyn x

larynx

The main organs of Speech

vocal cords

vocal cords

different mouth and tongue shapes

producing different vowels.- A consonant is formed when the air

stream is restricted or stopped at some poins between the vocal cords and the

lips

Example: “sit”- the central sound in the word

“sit” is a vowel The first and the third sound are consonants

VOWELS AND CONSONANTS

I VOWELS Vowels are divided into three types:

1 Monothongs (Short & long vowels)

2 Diphthongs

- 3 Triphthongs

1 Monothongs: Short vowels:

The symbol of short vowels are:

They can be described as follows:

Front Centre Back Close

Front Centre Back Close

egg bet men get

/e/ does not occur in word-final position in English

Front Centre Back Close

Example words:

man add fat thank

Front Centre Back Close

Example words:

/Λ/ does not occur in word-final position

Front Centre Back Close

Example words:

on pod cross gone

/D/ does not occur in word-final position

Front Centre Back Close

put good pull could

/υ/ does not occur in word-initial position

Front Centre Back Close

ago mother banana

/∂/ is the only vowel sound in English with a name /∂/ is called ‘schwa” All unstressed English vowels tend to be realised as /∂/

2 Long vowels, diphthongs and

Front Centre Back Close

Close - mid

Open - mid

Open

i: /i:/ is a close, long, front

vowel made with spread lips

Example words:

eat see free read

Front Centre Back Close

bird sir girl term

/3:/ does not occur in US English.

Front Centre Back Close

Example words:

art far calm card

/a:/ does not occur in US English.

Front Centre Back Close

Close - mid

Open - mid

Open

is a long, half-open, back vowel pronounced with lip-rounding

Front Centre Back Close

Example words:

too food soon

/u:/

2.2 Diphthongs

The total number of diphthongs is eight

They are divided into three groups as this diagram :

The centring diphthongs glide towards the /∂/ (schwa) vowel as the symbols

indicate:

Centring diphthongs

/I∂/: The starting point is

a little closer than /I/ in

“bit”, “bin”

Example words:

beard ear beer

/I∂/

Centring diphthongs

/e∂/: This diphthong begins with the same vowel sound as the /e/ of “get”,

“men”

Example words:

air hair there

/e∂/

Closing diphthongs

/ ai /: This diphthong begins with a open vowel which is between front and back; it

is quite similar to the / Λ / of the words “cut”, “son”

Example words:

time nice high

/ai/

Closing diphthongs

: The first part of this diphthong has the same quality as in “ought”,

Closing diphthongs

It starts near the centre of the mouth in British English and moves toward / υ / It’s narrower and is pronounced with more lip-rounding in US English

Example words:

known go home

Closing diphthongs

This a wide diphthong begins is with a vowel similar to / a: / but a little more front Because this is an open vowel, a glide to would

necessitate a large movement

2.3 Triphthongs

A triphthong is a glide from one vowel to another and then to a third, all produced rapidly and without

interruption

2.3 Triphthongs

The triphthongs compose of

five closing diphthongs with added on the end:

/∂/

c

II CONSONANTS

- The labial or bilabial: Where the lips come

together

- The dental: Where the tip or the blade of the

tongue comes in contact with the upper teeth

- The Labiodental- where the lower lip and the

upper teeth come together

- The alveolar: The tongue blade is pressed

against the alveolar ridge which is directly behind the upper teeth

- The palatal - alveolar: The front of the tongue

approximates to the hard palate

- The velar: The back of the tongue is pressed

against the area where the hard palate begins

The common places of articulations:

1 Plosives

Plosives: Complete closure of the oral cavity The oral cavity stops because the nasal cavity is closed as well (there is no airflow

through the nose)

1 Plosives

/p/ and /b/ are bilabial

1 Plosives

/t/ and /d/ are alveolar:

1 Plosives

/k/ and /g/ are velar:

1 Plosives

/p/, /t/ and /k/ are voiceless

/b/, /d/ and /g/ are voiced

2 Fricatives.

Fricatives are consonants with the characteristic that when they are produced, air escapes through a small passage and makes a hissing sound

2 Fricatives

/f/ and /v/ are labiodental fricatives:

(fan, safer, saver, half, love)

2 Fricatives

/θ/ and /δ/ are dental fricatives: (clothe, with, mother, tooth, thumb, through,)

2 Fricatives.

/s/ and /z/ are alveolar fricatives: (sip, zip, facing, rice, rise)

2 Fricatives

/∫/ and /ʒ/ are palato-alveolar: and /

(finish, ship, garage, usual)

2 Fricatives

/f/, /θ/, /s/, /∫/ are voiceless

/v/, /δ/ , /z/, /ʒ / are / voiced

3 Affricates.

Affricates are combination of sound They

begin as plosives and end as fricatives

3 Affricates

/t∫/ and /dʒ / are the only two affricate phonemes

in English The place of articulation is the same

as for /∫/ and /ʒ/ that is palato - alveolar This

means that the /t/ component of of /t∫/ has a

place of articulation rather further back in the

mouth than the /t/ plosive usually has When /t∫/

is final in the syllable it has the effect of

shortening a preceding vowel /t∫/ and /dʒ / have rounded lips

(chin, watch, John, orange)

3 Affricates

/t∫/ is voiceless

/d

/dʒ / is voiced

4 Nasals

There are three nasal consonants:

/m/, /n/, /ŋ/

These sounds involve the complete closure

of the mouth The soft palate (velum) is lowered, diverting the air through the nose In English, the vocal cords vibrate in the production of nasals

and so English nasals are voiced

map, nose, sing

5 Laterals

These sounds involve partial closure in the mouth The air stream is blocked by the tip of the tongue but allowed to escape around the sides of the tongue

Laterals can be found in initially, medially and finally, and their distribution are therefore not particularly limited

(leaf, tall, clear, peel)

6 Semi – Vowels: /j/ and /w/

/j/ and /w/ are the consonants found at the beginning of words such as: “yet”, “wet” are made without closure in the mouth They normally occur

at the beginning of a word or syllable These

phonemes is that they are phonetically like

vowels but phonologically like consonants

The articulation of /j/ is practically the same as

that a front close vowel such as /i:/

The articulation of /w/ is closely similar to /u:/

/r/ only occurs before vowels.

(press, red, arrive, hearing)

5 Consonants clusters.

The English language permits a number

of consonant clusters such as /dr/, /spl/, /st/…

These can be summarised in two groups:

- consonant clusters in initial position

- consonant clusters in final position

5.1 Consonant clusters in initial position

The maximum cluster of consonants in an initial position in English is three

- If there are three consonants, the first must be

/s/, the second must come from the set /p,t,k/,the

third must come from the set /l, r, w, j /

p + l/ r/j: splash, sprain, spurious /spju∂ri∂s/

s + t + r/ j: strain, stew /stju/

k + l/r/w/j: screech, sclera

squander /skwDnder/ skew /skju/

- If there are two consonants in the cluster, the

first must come from the set /p, t, k, b, d, g, f, v, θ,

s, ∫, h/

p + l/r/j: play, pray, pure

k + l/r/j/w: climb, crab, cure, queen

b + l/r/j: blue, bruise, beauty

t + r/j/w: tray, tune, twin

g + l/r/j/w: glow, grow, argue, Gwen

f + l/r/j: fly, fry, fury

h + j: huge

θ + r/j/w: through, thews, thwart

s + r/j/w/p/t/k/m/n: slow, suit, sweet, spoil,

steal, sky, smother, snow

5.2 Consonant clusters in final position

English permits up to four consonants in word final position The common types of clusters can be established, starting with vowel-

consonant- consonant (VCC) or

vowel-consonant vowel-consonant- vowel-consonant (VCCC) or vowel-consonant- consonant-consonant-

consonant (VCCCC)

5.2 Consonant clusters in final position

5.2 Consonant clusters in final position

5.2 Consonant clusters in final position

VCCCC

Good bye!

5.2 Consonant clusters in final position

mince, buns Vowel-Consonant-Consonant (VCC)