INTRODUCTION
In this unit, you are exposed to the patterning, grouping and organisation of the vowel sounds according to their relative duration; according to the part of the tongue raised or lowered and according to the extent of the raising of the tongue towards the roof of the mouth.
The English language has a total of twenty vowels: twelve pure vowels and eight diphthongs. Pure vowels, also called monophthongs, are those vowels which are produced by the movement of the tongue in one direction only. Pure vowels are also described as simple vocalic sounds that are said to have ‘a steady state articulation’, implying that the tongue, lips and jaw achieve, however briefly, a stable configuration, commonly called Target Configuration, if produced in isolation (Clark & Yallop, 1990:73). It is common knowledge that the tongue and lips undergo transitions in anticipation of a sound that follows or was produced before another sound but these transitions notwithstanding, a vowel sound which appears to have a stable auditory quality qualifies to be called a pure vowel.
The diphthongs are often characterised by a glide from one vowel position to another. In such vocalic sounds, according to Clark & Yallop, (1990: 73), ‘the glide component is so prominent even though it is still heard as a single sound.’ Unlike the pure vowels, they are not tied to conventional numbers. The word diphthong comes from Greek. It means ‘double sound.’ The first vowel in a diphthong marks the starting point while the second sound marks the direction of tongue movement. The first vowel is often longer and louder than the second. Diphthongs are often transcribed, using diagraphs made up of two vowel symbols, which represent the starting point and the direction of movement of the tongue during articulation. The eight English diphthongs are thus:
[ei] as in day, make, great, late
[ai] as in time, light, try, buy
[oi] as in boy, noise, joy, buoy
[）u] as in both, soap, know, sold
[au] as in sound, town, owl, cow
[i）] as in dear, idea, hero, here
[u）] as in poor, sure, tour, truant
[e）] as in share, pair, wear, Mary
In addition to eight diphthongs, we also have five triphthongs. In careful and slow pronunciation, it is often possible to distinguish three vowel sounds articulated together. These are called triphthongs. For example, a careful pronunciation of the vowel in the word ‘tower’ shows three vowels in one sound thus: [tou）].
In English, there are five triphthongs made up of the five closing diphthongs with schwa [）] added to them. Thus we have: PLS CORRECT ALL PHONEME SYMBOLS, USING MY PREVIOUS CORRECTIONS EARLIER.
[ei] + [）] – [ei ）] as in player, layer
[ai] + [）] – [ ai）] as in fire, tyre
[oi] + [）] – [ oi）] as in royal, loyal
[）u] + [）] – [ ）u）] as in sower, lower
[au] + [）] – [ au）] as in flower, tower
In each case, the glide is from the first sound to the second and to the third. As already noted, it is only the slow and careful English speaker whose speech can feature these complex vowels. In rapid or normal speech, triphthongs are often reduced to long vowels and diphthongs with the middle vowel heard only slightly or not at all. The grouping of these vowels can be seen at a glance in Section 3.1 below.
3.1 Grouping of the Vowel Sounds of English
The vowel sounds of English may be grouped, first, following the relative duration of the sounds. Here, four subgroups are generally recognised. These are:
i) Long monothongs (pure vowels): [i:, o:, o:, u:, ）:]
ii) Diphthongs (glides): [ei, oi, oi, ）u, ou, i）, e）, u）]
iii) Trigpthongs [ei）, oi）, oi）, ）u）, ou）]
As you already know, the above are all long vowels.
iv) Short monophthongs (pure vowels): [I, Λ, e, æ, D, u, ）]
Secondly, the vowel phonemes of English may be grouped according to the part of the tongue raised. There are three subgroups of vowels here:
i) Front [i:, I, e, æ]
ii) Back [D, o:, u, u:]
iii) Central[Λ, ）, 3:]
There is a vowel that does not neatly fit into any of these three subgroups. It is [o:] [a:]?? usually grouped as nearer back than front. CLASSIFY CORRECTLY!!
Thirdly, the vowel phonemes of English may be grouped according to the extent of raising of the tongue towards the roof of the mouth. Six subgroups are generally noted here:
i) Close [i:, u:]
ii) Half-close[I, u]
iii) Half-open[o] [e]??
iv) Between ii) and iii) [e, ）:, ）]??
v) Open [o:] [a:]??
vi) Between iii) and v) [æ]??
The close vowels [i:, u:] may, alternatively, be grouped as high vowels; the half-close and half-open [o, u, o] may be said to be mid vowels while the open vowel [o:] may be said to be low vowels.
With regard to the position of the lips at the time of pronunciation,
i) [u:, o:]- USE ROUNDED VS UNROUNDED
ii) [u, o]- OR ROUNDED, NEUTRAL, SPREAD.
iii) [i:, o, e, æ, o, ）:, ）, o:] are realised with spread or neutral lips.
Self Assessment Exercise
How are diphthongs and triphthongs similar to long monophthongs?
4.0 CONCLUSION
In this unit, you have studied four main groups in relation to the vowel sounds of English. You have also seen that the vowels of English are quite complex and can pose problems of organisation, patterning or grouping. However, the different formats of patterning based on the duration of pronunciation, the extent to which the tongue is raised, and lip rounding were all used as the parametric determinants of the vowels of English. Parameters tense/lax (fortis/lenis), oral/nasal not necessary for English vowels but need mentioning don’t you think?
5.0 SUMMARY
From this unit, you have learnt the grouping of vowels according to:
i) their relative duration;
ii) the part of the tongue raised towards the roof of the mouth;
iii) the extent of raising of the tongue; and
iv) according to the position/shape of the lips.
6.0 TUTOMARKED ASSIGNMENT
Attempt a brief grouping of vowels sounds of English according to the part of the tongue raised to the roof of the mouth and the extent of such a raising.
7.0 REFERENCES/FURTHER READING
Abercrombie, D. (1975). Elements of general phonetics. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press.
Eka, D. & Inyang, U. (1996). Aspects of spoken language. Calabar: BON Universal
Eka, D. (1996). Phonological foundations of English. Uyo: Scholars Press (Nig.) Ltd.
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