Lecture 2 - Vowels of Lecture Phonetics & Phonology has content: Definition, Classification (According to the height to which the tongue is raised, According to the part of the tongue which is raised, According to the degree of lip rounding), Describing vowels, Identifying vowels, Diphthongs, Triphthongs. | Lecture 2: Vowels 1. 2. • • • 3. 4. 5. 6. Definition Classification According to the height to which the tongue is raised According to the part of the tongue which is raised According to the degree of lip rounding Describing vowels Identifying vowels Diphthongs Triphthongs 1 Definition • Vowels are the sounds in the production of which none of the articulators come very close together so the passage of air-stream is relatively unobstructed and the air can get out freely. • Vowels are the type of sounds that depend mainly on the variations in the position of the tongue. They are normally voiced. • Vowels can be classified according to three variables: a. Tongue height. b. Part of the tongue which is raised c. Degree of lip rounding 2 3 According to tongue height • According to the height to which the tongue is raised we have: 1. High vowels: are those in the production of which the tongue is high in the mouth. It is raised above its rest position. .: Low vowels: are those made with the tongue below its rest position. .: Mid vowels: are those made with the tongue neither high nor low in the mouth. .: 4 2. 3. According to the part of the tongue raised • 1. According to the part of the tongue which is raised we have: Front vowels: are those in the production of which the front of the tongue is the highest point. . 2. Back vowels: are those in the production of which the back of the tongue is the highest point. . 3. Central vowels: are those made with neither the front nor the back of the tongue. The tongue is neither high nor low in the mouth when central vowels are produced. . 5
