Vowel phonemes. Description of-principal variants

a) Monophthongs, cr Simple Vowels

Vowels are best of all learnt when the teacher directs-the-attention of the pupils to the position of the tongue and the lips.The descrip­tion of the vowels should be accompanied by appropriate diagrams o£ the tongue position, because a vowel is "voice modified by different shapes of the supra glottal passages, especially, the mouth and the lips." *

No. I /i:/

The bulk of the tongue is in the front part of the mouth cavity, the space in the back part of the mouth cavity is empty.

The middle and the fore parts of the tongue are raised to the front part of the hard palate, but not so high as in the pronunciation of the Russian /и/.

In the course of the /I:/ articulation the bulk of the tongue may move from a more retracted and low position, to the more front and ad­vanced position. The slight movement of the tongue which results in the instability of the /i:/articulation occurs within the front and high position (narrow variation) of the bulk of the tongue.

"The front of the tongue starts at the /i/ position and glides up and toward the /i:/ position, sometimes^even overshooting it and ending

Sweet H. The Sounds of English.— Oxford, 1929.— P. 22.

up in the HI position. Thus, this diphthongoid may be represented in allophonic transcription as follows: [li'J.¹

Most RP speakers pronounce this sound as a stable vowel. Its idiolectal variation—a narrow diphthongal glide (in open syllables, before lenis and nasals) is considered as "vulgar" and many educated speakers attempt to avoid it. /i:/ can be defined as:

I. unrounded;

II. front (a) fully front, high;

(b) narrow variation of the high posi­tion of the tongue;

III. tense;

IV. long;

V. monophthong.

In the English I'v.f articulation the tongue is tense, the side rims of it make> firm contact with the upper teeth. The lips are spread. The Russian /и/ is pronounced with the almost neutral position of the lips.

Care should be taken not to confuse the English J'v.I with the Rus­sian faf.

пил — pi:l рис — rees низ — niece сил — seal чик — cheek

In the pronunciation of /i:/ its positional length should be ob-served: the longest in the open position, shorter in the position before a voiced consonant, the shortest before a voiceless consonant, cf. bee — bead — beat.

Graphic Equivalents of the f'v.f Phoneme

/i:/ is pronouncedVhen spelt:

e be /bi:/—быть ее see /si:/—видеть ea tea /tl:/—чай ie piece /pi:s/—кусок ei ceiling /'si:hg/—потолок i in French borrowings: machine /msijiin/—машина In Latin and Greek words: ae Caesar />si:z3/—Цезарь oe Oedipus /'irdtpss/—Эдип ey key /ki:/—ключ ay quay /ki:/—набережная eo people /ip£:pl/— народ

^l Vassilyev V. A. Op. cit,- P. 95. 106

No. 2 /i/

The bulk of the tongue is in the front part of the mouth cavity but slightly retracted. The front of the tongue is raised in the direc­tion of the hard palate, but not so high as for /i_:/. The lips are spread and neutral. The position of the tongue does not change during its articulation.

/i/ can be defined as: I. unrounded;

II. front (a) front-retracted; yß V

(b) broad variation of the high po- i 4 ]

sition of the tongue; (ч

III. lax; ---- n / /

IV. short; * '

V. monophthong.

/i:/ and hi are different phonemes. This can be proved by the min­imal pairs:

eat —it sheep—ship beet—bit seek—sick

feel —fill eel —ill lead—lid deed—did

heat —hit meal —mill leek —lik bead—bid

leave—live feet —fit peak—pick peel'—pill

Graphic Equivalents of the /i/ Phoneme

/i/ is pronounced when spelt:

i lid /lid/—крышка

у very /Iven/—очень, lymph /hmf/—лимфа, gladly /'glaedh/—охотно

ey whiskey /'wiski/—виски

e, a before /biifo:/—прежде, touches /'Utfiz/—трогает, courage

/'клпаз/—смелость

ie studies /'stAdiz/—изучает, sieve /siv/—сито ai captain /'keeptm/—капитан, mountain /'mauntin/—гора ui biscuit /ibiskit/—сухое печенье, circuit /'s3:kit/—цепь; контур ei forfeit /ifo:fit/—лишиться чего-л.

It is also pronounced in the following words: busy /'bizi/—занятой, minute /'mmit/—минута, Sunday /isAndi/— воскресенье, Monday /iniAndi/—понедельник, Tuesday /'tju:zd(e)i/— вторник, Wednesday /iwenzd(e)i/—среда, Thursday /I9a:zd(e)i/ — четверг, Friday/'fraidi/—пятница, Saturday /isaetad(e)i/—суббота, forehead /'fond/—лоб, breeches /ibri(:)tfiz/—бриджи, coffee /ikofi/— кофе, England/iiflgbnd/—Англия, the English/lirjgliJV—англичане, business /ibizms/—дело, занятие, women /iwimm/—женщины, mis­chief /imistfif/—вред

No. 3 /e/

The bulk of the tongue is in the front part of the mouth cavity. The front of the tongue is raised to the hard palate but not so high as in the III production. The lips are slightly spread. The position of the bulk of the tongue does not change during the /e/ articulation.

/e/ can be defined as:

I. unrounded;

II. front (a) fully front, mid-open;

(b) narrow variation of the medium position of the tongue;

; V. monophthong. To practise the /e/ articulation contrast exercises are very helpful;

III. lax;

IV. short;

bit—bet beet—bit—bet

lid—led lead—lid—led

pick—peck peak—pick—peck

Sid—said seed—Sid—said

knit—net neat—knit—net

hid—head heed—hid—head

Graphic Equivalents of the /e/ Phoneme

/e/ is pronounced when spelt:

e red /red/—красный

ea bread /bred/—хлеб

eo jeopardy /'c^epadi/—опасность

ei leisure /'less/—досуг

ie friend /frend/—друг

ai said /sed/—сказал

ay says /sez/—говорит

a any /leni/—какой-нибудь, несколько

u bury /'ben/—зарывать, хоронить

ее threepenny /'бгерэш/—трехпенсовик

No. 4 /ж/

The bulk of the tongue is in the front part of the mouth cavity,
but rather low: the lower jaw is quickly and energetically lowered as
soon as the vocal cords start vibrating. The
front of the tongue is slightly raised, but not so
high as for /e/. The lips are neutral. It is longer
before voiced lenis consonants, and nasals, e. g. bag,
mad, man. 2

/«/ can be defined as:

I. unrounded;

II. front (a) front, low;

(b) broad variation of the low position of the tongue;

III. lax;

IV. short;¹

V. monophthong.

^l The extension of /as/could be regarded as being in free variation 108

To practise the /да/ articulation contrast exercises are very helpful;

guess—gas bed —bad net —gnat set —sat said—sad met —mat bet —bat men—man head—had

beet—bit—bed—bad peak— pick—peck—pack
lead—lid—led—-lad seek—sick—sec—sack
leek—lick—lack deed—did—dead—dad

Graphic Equivalents of the /se/ Phoneme

/ae/ is pronounced when spelt:

a sat /saet/—сидел ai plaid /plaad/—плед

It is also pronounced in the following words: champagne /Jaem'pem/—шампанское, absolutely /igabsalurth/—аб­солютно, abstract /'aebstraekt/—абстрактный, ambition /aera'bijsn/— честолюбие

No. 5 /a/

The bulk of the tongue is low, in the back of the mouth cavity,
but somewhat advanced. The back part of the tongue is slightly raised.
The lips are neutral. The mouth is open (the opening between the
jaws is rather wide). It is long, but the position of
the bulk of the tongue does not change during its /,

articulation. W*~"^=zt4

Ы can be defined as: (j/ 4

I. unrounded;.,---- _ч \

П. back (a) back-advanced; Q \\

open (b) broad variation of the low position of / /I

the tongue; ----- ^ I l\

III. tense;

IV. long;

V. monophthong.

To practise the /at/ articulation contrast exercises are recommended:

bead—bard bee—bar

lead—lard tea—tar

heat—heart fee—far

sheep—sharp key—car

Graphic Equivalents of the /a/ Phoneme

/a/ is pronounced when spelt:

a staff /sta:f/—штаб аг far /fa/—далекий аи aunt /ant/— тетя er clerk /klctk/—клерк ear heart /hoi/—сердце

IC9

No. 6 /d/

The bulk of the tongue is low in the mouth cavity, but not so low-as in the la/ articulation. It is farther in the mouth cavity than its the fa/ articulation. The back of the tongue is raised a little bit more-than for /a/. This sound is short and is pronounced with the energd-ic downward movement of the lower jaw. Thelips-are slightly rounded. The Russian /of is closer, /u/ can be defined as:

I. siighly rounded;

II. back (a) fully back;

open (b) broad variation of the low position of the tongue;

III. lax;

IV. short;
V. monophthong.

To practise the hi articulation contrast exercise should be done (see No. 7 /o:/ hereinafter).

Graphic Equivalents of the /of Phoneme

/D/ is pronounced when spelt:

о not /nut/—не

a what /wot/—что

au because /bi'kDz/—потому что

It is pronounced in the words:

Gloucester /igbsta/—Глостер, knowledge /inuhcfe/—знание, yacht /jut/—яхта, Warwick/'wDrik/—г. Уорик, Washington /'wdJirjtan/— г. Вашингтон

No. 7 /э:/

The bulk of the tongue is in the back part of the mouth cavity.

The back of the tongue is raised a little higher to the soft palate than

in the /o/ articulation. The lips are rounded and slightly protruded.

The opening between the lips is smaller than for

/d/. This vowel is long.

I. rounded;

Л. back (a) fully back;

mid-open (b) broad variation of the mid-open position of the tongue;

Ш, tense;

IV. long;

V, monophthong.

The Russian/o/is pronounced with the more rounded and protrud­ed lips. The bulk of the tongue in the articulation of the Russian M occupies the closer position. The Russian /o/ is a diphthongoid, it begins with the /y/ glide. Its allophonic transcription is [yo].

No

Not to confuse h:I with hi the following contrast exercise can be recommended:

cord—cod sport—spot caught—cot naught—not port—pot sought—sot

Graphic Equivalents of the /o:/ Phoneme

/э:/ is pronounced when spelt:

о before r: horse /ha:s/—лошадь

oo» floor /to:/—пол

ou» your /jo:/—ваш

oa» oar /d:/—весло

a» war /wd:/—война

eo in the word Georgia /'dgoidgis/—Грузия и штат Джорджия в США

oa broad /bro:d/—широкий

ough thought /ÖD:t/—мысль

a water /'wo:ta/—вода

au pause /pa:z/—пауза

augh taught /to:t/—учил

al walk /wo:k/—ходить

aw law Ih'.l —закон

No. 8 /u/

The bulk of the tongue is in the back part of the mouth cavity, but somewhat advanced. It is raised in the direction of the front part of the soft palate, higher than for /o:/. The lips are slightly rounded.

/u/ can be defined as:

I. slightly rounded;

II. back (a) back-advanced;

(b) broad variation of the high position of the tongue;

III. lax;

IV. short;

V. monophthong.

Graphic Equivalents of the /u/ Phoneme

/u/ is pronounced when spelt:

u put /put/—класть

о woman /'wumen/—женщина

oo book /buk/—книга

ou! could /kud/—мог (бы)

ull pull /pul/—тянуть

ush push /puJV—толкать

Ш

No. 9 /u:/

The bulk of the tongue in the /u:/ articulation is in the back part of the mouth cavity, retracted more than for /u/. The back of the tongae is raised higher in the direction of the soft palate than in the/u/ production, /u:/ may be a diphthongoid, then its beginning is a short /u/, which glides to more tense and labialized /u:/, which in the end has a /w/ glide. Allophonic transcription of the diphthongoid In:! can be represented as follows: [uu^w]. The Russian /y/ is pronounced with

the lips more rounded and protruded. The bulk of

the tongue is tense, /u:/ can be defined as:

I. rounded;

II. back (a) fully back;

high (b) narrow variation of the high position of the tongue;

III. tense;

IV. long;

V. monophthong.

In order not to confuse the pronunciation of /u:/ and /u/ which are different phonemes, the following exercise is recommended:

pool—pull toot —took fool—full coot —could goose—good pood—good boot —book

Graphic Equivalents of the /u:/ Phoneme

/u:/ is pronounced when spelt:

a true /tru:/—верный

oo tool ytu:l/—инструмент

о who /hu:/—который

ои soup /su:p/—суп

ui fruit /fru:t/-—плод

eu rheumatism /iru:matizm/—ревматизм, sleuth /slu:9/—сыщик

ew crew /kru:/—команда, экипаж

/ju:/ is pronounced when spelt:

и tune /tju:n/—мелодия не due /dju:/—надлежащий ugn impugn /raipju:n/—оспаривать ui suit /sju:t/—мужской костюм eau beauty /'bjurti/—красота

No. 10 /л/

_ш The central part of the tongue is raised in the direction of the juncture of the hard and soft palate. The tongue is a little higher than for /cc/. The lips are spread.

/л/ can be defined as:

I. unrounded;

II. central mid (a) narrow variation of the low

position of the tongue;

III. lax;

IV. short;

V. monophthong.

To practise the /л/ articulation contrast exercises are very helpful, e.g.

Bart—-but darn—done march—much carp —cup cart—cut calm—come dark —duck charm—chum

Graphic Equivatents of the /л/ Phoneme

/л/.is pronounced when spelt:

u sun /8лп/—солнце

о come /клт/~приходить, London /Плпйэп/—Лондон

oo blood /bUd/—кровь

ou touch /UtjV—трогать, enough /i'nAf/-— довольно, достаточно

No. 11 /з:/

The central part of the tongue is raised almost as high as for /еЛ Its surface is more or less flat, the middle of the tongue is slightly higher. The lips are spread. Since.we cannot say that-the bulk of the tongue occupies the front or back position, it is convenient to define this position of the tongue in the /s:/ articulation as mixed.

/з:/ can be defined as: I. unrounded;

(a) (b)

3-

II. (a) mixed;

narrow variation of the mid-open position

(____ 4 \ ___ of'the tongue;

4 III- tense; IV. long; V. monophthong.,

To practise the /§:/ articulation it is useful to do the following con-irast^exercises:

bed—bird all —earl torn —turn full—furl ten — turn four — fur board—b ir d pull — pearl Ben—burn form—firm court —curt took—Turk

Graphic Equivalents of the /з:/ Phoneme

/з:/ is pronounced When spelt:

ir birth /Ьз:6/—рождение у г myrtle /ima:tl/—мирт

Из

er serve /ss:v/—служить

ear earn /a:n/—зарабатывать

wor word /W3:d/—слово

our journey /'(^з:ш/—путешествие

ur turn Дз:п/—вертеть, поворачивать

No. 12 /э/

The central part of the tongue is raised a little bit less than for /з:/. The lips are neutral. In speech /э/ is easily affected by the neighbouring sounds and acquires different shades which are subdi­vided by G. P. Torsuyev¹ into (1) /л/ shade, (2) /e:/, (3) /ы/ shade, (4) /з7 schade.

1. /л/ shade of /a:/ phoneme is observed in final position, before
a pause: comma /1кг>тэ^А/, butter /<Ьл1э^л/.

2. /з:/ shade is observed in all positions, with the exception of
those mentioned (as 1, 3), for example: above /э'Ьлу/, along

/эПг/.

3. /ы/ shade is observed when /з/ is preceded or followed by the
/k, g/ phonemes: again /sigem/, ca«c/ /Ira'nael/.

4. /з7 shade is observed before the terminal /z, d/: te#m /Uetaz/,
covered

/э/ can be defined as:

I. unrounded;

II. (a) mixed;

(b) broad variation of the mid-open position of the tongue; Ш. lax;

IV. short;

V. monophthong.

Graphic Equivalents of the /э/ Phoneme

It can be stated, that almost every vowel in the unstressed po­sition can be pronounced as /a/, for example:

/e/ sense /sens/ смысл—nonsense /inunsans/ бессмыслица /ж/ man /тжп/ человек—milkman/ /Imilkman/ молочник /э:/ ford /b:d/ брод—Oxford /toksfod/ Оксфорд /a:/ sir /sa:/ сэр—yes, sir /'jes sa/ да, сэр

/ei/ relation /пЧефп/ отношение, связь—relative /Irelativ/ род­ственник, etc.

Questions

1. Why is it important to direct the attention of the pupils to the movement of the lips and the tongue in teaching vowels? 2. What do you know about vowel No. 1? (a) description of the articulation; (b) definition; (c) comparison with the similar Russian vowel /и/;

i Торсу ев Г. П. Фонетика английского языка.— М., 1950.—С ЮЗ* 111

<d) rules of reading. 3, What do you know about vowel No. 2? (a) des­cription of the articulation; (b) definition; (c) comparison with vowel No. 1; (d) rules of reading. 4. What do you know about vowel No. 3? (a) description of the articulation; (b) definition; (c) compari­son with vowel No. 2; (d) rules of reading. 5. What do you know about vowel No. 4? (a) description of the articulation; (b) definition; (с)-comparison with vowels Nos 3, 1,2; (d) rules of reading. 6. What do-you know about vowel No. 5? (a) description of the articulation; (b> definition; (c) comparison with vowel No. 10; (d) rules of reading. 7. What do you know about vowel No. 6? (a) description of the ar­ticulation; (b) definition; (c) comparison with vowel No. 7; (d) rules-of reading. 8. What do you know about vowel No. 7? (a) description of the articulation; (b) definition; (c) comparison with the Russian hi; (d) rules of reading. 9. What do you know about vowel No. 8> (a) description of the articulation; (b) definition; (c) comparison with vowel No. 9; (d) rules of reading. 10. What do you know about vowel No. 9? (a) description of the articulation; (b) definition; (c) comparison* with. Russian /y/ and English /it/; (d) rules of reading. 11. What d» you know about vowel No. 10? (a) description of the articulation; (b) definition; (c) comparison with vowel No. 5; (d) rules of reading. 12. What do you know about vowel No. 11? (a) description of the articu­lation; (b) definition; (c) rules of reading. 13. What do you know-about vowel No. 12? (a) description of the articulation; (b) definition^ {c) rules of reading.

Exercises