«Система гласных cовременного английского языка»

English vowels

Vowels are sounds in which there is no obstruction to the flow of air as it passes from the lungs to the lips.

1. The Classification of English Vowels

All English vowels are classified according to the following principles:

1. according to the tongue height (close, close-mid, open-mid, open).

The tongue height can be changed by moving the tongue up or down

2. according to the changing the shape of the tongue (front, central, back).

It depends on what part of the tongue is the highest point

3. according to the positions of the lips (rounded, spread, neutral).

2. English Short Vowels

Short vowels are only relatively short, vowels can have different lengths in different contexts.

/i, e, æ, υ, , /

For /i, æ, e/ the lips are slightly spread.

For // the lip position is neutral

For // the lips are slightly rounded

For /υ/ the lips are rounded

There is one more short vowel //, this is a central vowel which is called schwa.

3. English Long Vowels

There are five long vowels /i:, з:,:, :, u:/, these are the vowels which tend to be longer than the short vowels in similar contexts.

For /i:/ the lips are only slightly spread.

For /з:, :/ the lip position is neutral.

For /u:/ the lips are only moderately rounded.

The length of all English vowels varies very much according to context and the presence or absence of stress. The five long vowels are different from the six short vowels not only in length but also in quality (resulting from differences in tongue shape and position, and lip position.

4. Diphthongs

Diphthongs are sounds which consist of a movement or glide from one vowel to another. A vowel which remains constant and does not glide is called a pure vowel. In the length, diphthongs are like the long vowels, but the first part is much longer and stronger than the second part.

The total number of diphthongs is eight. They are divided into 2 groups: centering and closing.

The centering diphthongs are called so because they glide towards the // (schwa) vowel, which is a central vowel.

The closing diphthongs have the characteristic that they all end with a glide towards close vowels /i, υ/. Because the second part of the diphthong is weak, they often do not reach a position that could be called close.

5. Triphthongs

The most complex English sounds of the vowel type are the triphthongs. They can be rather difficult to pronounce, and very difficult to recognize. A triphthong is a glide from one vowel to another and then to a third, all produced rapidly and without interruption. The triphthongs are composed of the five closing diphthongs // added on the end.

6. The Classification of Russian Vowels

The Russian vowel system is simpler than the English. It is composed of only 6 vowel sounds, which are distinguished by the following principles:

1. the position of the tongue in the horizontal plane (front, intermediate, back);

2. the position of the tongue in the vertical plane (close, half-close, open);

3. the position of the lips (rounded, unrounded).

The principle of duration does not appear in the Russian vowel system. However, vowels can be pronounced long, but only in stressed positions.

Russian vowels are not differentiated by the stability of articulation, so there are no diphthongs and triphthongs.

Thus, there are only 6 vowel sounds in modern Russian /a, э, и, о, у, ы/, all of which are monophthongs.