II. Classification of english vowels according to the position of the lips

According to the lip position vowels may be rounded and unrounded (labialized and non-labialized).

Rounded vowels are those in the production of which the lips are more or less rounded and slightly protruded.

The English rounded vowels are / ɒ /, /ɔ:/, u:/, /u:/, and the nuclei of /ɜu/, / ɔɪ/.

The Ukrainian rounded vowels are /y/, /o/.

Unrounded vowels are produced when the lips are spread or neutral.

III. Classification of english vowels according to their length

According to their length vowels may be long and short. And English long vowels are /i:/, /a:/, /ɔ:/,/u:/, /ɜ:/. The following English vowels may be described as short: /ɪ/, /e/, /æ/, /ə/, /ʌ/, /ɒ/, /u/.

There is no differentiation of Ukrainian vowel phonemes according to length.

4. Classification of english vowels according to the degree of tenseness

According to the degree of tenseness vowels are divided into tense and lax.

In pronouncing the English long vowels the organs of speech are more tense than in pronouncing short vowels. That is why the English long vowels are tense, and all the English short vowels are lax.

Ukrainian vowel phonemes are not differentiated according to their tenseness, but one and the same vowel is more tense in a stressed syllable than in an unstressed one.

ARTICULATION OF ENGLISH VOWELS

MONOPHTHONGS

In pronouncing the vowel /i:/ the tongue moves forward and upward. The front of the tongue is raised high in the direction of the hard palate but not so high as to cause the air stream to produce audible friction. During the articulation of the vowel the tongue slightly changes its position: the front of the tongue moves from a more open and retracted position to a closer and more advanced one as a result of which the vowel is diphthongized.

The lips are spread or neutral. The opening between the jaws is rather narrow.

Thus the vowel /i:/ may be defined as front, close (narrow variety), unrounded, diphthongized, long and tense.

Graphic notations:

e – in the open syllables: me, Peter

ee – need, feel, tree

ea – meat, read, sea

ie – field, niece, piece

ei – ceiling, seize, receive

LISTEN AND REPEAT:

a tree, three leaves, a bee, a sheep, a fleet at sea; ice cream for tea;

Steven is greedy; he eats three pieces of cheese. Asleep, Steven dreams of Eve. He sees Eve fleeing from three beasts.

/i/

In pronouncing the vowel /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 opening between the jaws is narrow. The lips are spread or neutral.

The vowel /i/ is short, and like all the other short vowels, it is lax.

The vowel /i/ may be defined as front-retracted, close (broad variety), unrounded, short and lax.

Graphic notations :

i, e, y, – in closed syllables: in, big, did, pretty, rhythm.

i, e, y, – in unstressed suffixes and prefixes: invent, begin, busy, very, spelling

a – in noun-forming suffixes –age, –ate: language, luggage, graduate

LISTEN AND REPEAT:

ink, a ship, a fish, a biscuit, a thin whistle, a big pig, a little kitten, a kitchen sink with dishes in it.

Which of the six thin women is a wicked witch?

Compare the two vowels: /i:/ and /i/.

A sheep, a ship, a bean, a bin, a meal, a mill, a lead, a lid. Jean likes Jim…but Jim doesn’t like Jean. Sleepy Freda seeks size six slippers to fit her feet. Fish and chips are cheap and easy to eat.

/e/

In pronouncing the vowel /e/ the bulk of the tongue is in the front part of the mouth cavity. The front of the tongue is raised in the direction of the hard palate, but a little less than for the /i/– vowel. The lips are spread. The opening between the jaws is medium. The vowel /e/ is short and lax.

It may be defined as front, mid-open (narrow variety), unrounded, short and lax.

Graphic notations:

e – in closed syllables; red, let, spend.

ea – head, bread, leather

a – many, any, ate

LISTEN AND REPEAT:

A leg, a tent, a penny, a letter, a wren’s nest, seven pets, a treasure chest, ten well-dressed men, a wedding-dress. Eleven hens with twelve eggs in ten nests.

/æ/

The vowel /æ/ is pronounced with the bulk of the tongue in the front part of the mouth cavity. The tongue is rather low in the mouth. The front of the tongue is slightly raised, but not so high as for /e/.The lip position is neutral. The opening between the jaws is wide.

The vowel may be defined as front, open (broad variety), unrounded, short.

Graphic notations:

a – in closed syllables: pan, can, family

LISTEN AND REPEAT:

a hand, a map, a stamp, a flag, a tank, a jazz band, a fat man clapping his hands; a black cat catching a fat rat.

Anne has plaits and black slacks. Harry has a hacking jacket. Harry and Anne are standing hand-in-hand.

Compare the two sounds : /e/, / æ /.

a pet, a pat, one man, many men, a net, a gnat, pedaling, paddling.

Ted has Dad’s at on his head, jack has a check cap in his hand, Jack’s Czech friend Franz is very expansive. Franz’s French friend is very expensive.

/a:/

The vowel /a:/ is pronounced with the bulk of the tongue in the back part of the mouth cavity. The back of the tongue is only slightly raised. In fact it is in the lowest position in the mouth. The lips are neutral. The opening between the jaws is fairly wide.

The vowel /a:/ is defined as back-advanced, open (broad variety), unrounded, long and tense.

Graphic notations:

a – in stressed syllables: car, star, carpet.

a + two consonants (except ll): grass, half, after, bath.

au – aunt, laugh.

LISTEN AND REPEAT:

a heart, a harp, a bard, an arm, a castle, a palm, a carpet, a fast car, a farm-cart; a dark barn in a large farm-yard. Mark can’t park his car in the barn because of a calf and a cart blocking the farm-yard.

/ ɒ /

In pronouncing / ɒ / the tongue is held in a position which is further back than of /a:/. The lips are slightly rounded. The opening between jaws is wide.

This vowel may be defined as back, open (broad variety), slightly rounded, short and lax.

Graphic notations:

o – in closed syllables: on, not, stop, office, doctor.

a – want, quality

au – sausage, Austria.

LISTEN AND REPEAT:

a dog, a fog, a blot, a shop, a lot of knots; a dog squatting on a rotten log. John, Olive. John is strong, Olive is a shopper. Olive watches John load a locked strong-box on a yacht in a lock at the docks.

Mind the difference between the two vowels: /a:/ and / ɒ /

a darn, a don, a tart, a tot, a shark, a shock, a Rajah, Roger. This cross-country runner is last. This cross-country runner is lost.

/ɔ:/

The vowel /ɔ:/ is pronounced with the bulk of the tongue in the back part on the mouth cavity. The back of the back of the tongue is raised in the direction of the soft palate, higher than for / ɒ /. The lips are rounded and slightly protruded to form an opening which is much smaller than for / ɒ /. The opening between the jaws is medium.

The vowel /ɔ:/ may be defined as fully back, mid-open (broad variety), rounded, long and tense.

Graphic notations:

or – in stressed syllables: corn, born, force.

aw – law, drawn, jaw.

ou – bought, course.

au – audible, fault, daughter, caught.

a – all, chalk, water, quarter, war.

Ore, oor, oar, our – ore, door, board, four, court.

LISTEN AND REPEAT:

a thought, a talk, a yawn, a call, a walk, a stormy dawn. Maud, Paul. Maud is short. Paul is short. Maud is walking on the lawn. Paul is crawling along a wall. Maud warns Paul “You’ll fall!” “Not at all,” reports Paul.

Mind the difference between two vowels: / ɔ:/ and / ɒ/

a cork, a cock, a dawn, a don, a sport, a spot, a corset, to cosset, a warm hot water bottle, a dog’s paw.

/u:/

In pronouncing the English /u:/ the bulk of the tongue is in the back part of the mouth cavity. The back of the tongue is raised in the direction of the soft palate higher than for /u/, and is more retracted. It is long and tense. During the pronunciation of /u:/ the tongue moves from a more advanced and open position to a closer and more retracted position as the result of which the vowel is diphthongized. At the beginning of /u:/ the lips are fairly rounded. Towards the end the lips are still more rounded. The opening between the jaws is narrower than for the phoneme /u/.

The vowel /u:/ may be defined as back, close (narrow variety), diphthongized, rounded, long, tense.

Graphic notation:

oo – not before k: soon, school, boot.

u – in open syllable s: rule, June, music.

o – to, lose.

Ou – wound, group, soup, through.

ew, ue, ui, oe – news, crew, due, suit, shoe.

LISTEN AND REPEAT:

a new moon, a rude, uncouth youth, a brute, a goose, a stool, two new shoes, a few used boots. Hugh, Sue. Hugh’s tooth is loose. Sue is beautiful. Hugh shoots a moose and loses his loose tooth. Sue is foolish and stupid at school as a rule.

/u/

The vowel /u/ is pronounced with the bulk of the tongue in the back part of the mouth, but somewhat advanced. The back of the tongue is raised in the direction of the front part of the soft palate, higher than for / ɔ:/. The lips are slightly rounded.

It may be defined as back-advanced, close (broad variety), slightly rounded, short and lax.

Graphic notations:

oo – mostly before k: book, look, good, room, wool, foot.

u – put, bush, full.

o – wolf, woman.

ou – would, could.

LISTEN AND REPEAT:

a butcher, a cook, a bull, a rook, a wood. The cook looks at her cookery-book. She puts some sugar in the pudding.

Mind the difference between the two vowels: /u/ and /u:/.

The pudding looks good. Look at Luke, pulling a poor fool out of the pool in the wood. This foolish, bookish Duke is too full of good food to move a foot.

/ʌ/

The vowel /ʌ/ is pronounced with the central part of the tongue raised in the direction of the juncture of the hard and soft palate. The lips are spread. The opening between the jaws is not so wide as for /a:/.

It may be defined as central, open (narrow variety), unrounded, short and lax.

Graphic notations:

u – in closed syllables: must, but, under.

o – in closed syllables: son, month, brother.

ou – country, young.

oo – flood.

LISTEN AND REPEAT:

A paff, a cup, a glove, a gun, a jump, a duck, a country cousin, a lovely crusty battered bun for supper. Cuthbert puts some mustard in his mother’s custard. A thump. Cuthbert’s young brother wonders why mother doesn’t love her other son.

Compare the two vowels: / æ /, /ʌ/.

a hat, a hut, a battler, a butler, a stamp, a stump, a banker, a bunker.

These windows were shattered. These windows were shuttered. Mashed potatoes with butter. Mushed potatoes with batter.

Mind the difference between the two vowels : /a:/ and / ʌ /

a park, a puck: a carp, a cup; a larva, a lover; a barking dog, a bucking horse.

Compare the two vowels : / ʌ / and / ɒ /:

a dun, a don; a hug, a hog; a suck, a sock; a buddy, a body.

The zoologist wonders about bugs. The botanist wanders about bogs.

/ɜ:/

In pronouncing the vowel /ɜ:/ the tongue is almost flat. The central part of the tongue is raised almost as high as for /e/. The lips are spread or neutral. The opening between the jaws is narrow.

The vowel /ɜ:/ may be defined as central, mid-open (narrow variety) unrounded, long and tense.

Graphic notations:

ir, ur, er, yr – under stress: firm, turn, person, myrtle.

ear – earn, pearl, heard.

wor – worm, worse.

our – journey, courtesy.

LISTEN AND REPEAT:

Myrtle, her purse, her curl, her jersey, her skirt, a dirty turtle. An early bird with a squirming earth-worm.

A serpent lurking amid the ferns. Pearl. Pearl is a circus girl. An earl gave Pearl a fur and a circlet of pearls for her thirty-first birthday.

/ə/

The vowel /ə/ is pronounced with the central part of the tongue raised a little, but less than for /ɜ:/. The lips are neutral. The opening between the jaws is narrow.

The vowel /ə/ may be defined as central, mid-open (broad variety), unrounded, short and lax. The vowel /ə/ only occurs in unstressed positions. There is no vowel in Ukrainian that fully coincides in quality with the English neutral vowel.

Graphic notations:

It is represented by almost any vowel letter or combination of vowel letters.

i, a, e, o, u – possible, canal, president, custom, suggest.

LISTEN AND REPEAT:

a balloon, a banana, a cactus, a cormorant, an abacus, a fashionable photographer, an adventurous professor; an amateur astrologer; a professional astronomer.

Alderman Sir Edward Anderson is a prosperous government official at the Treasury. The comfortable apartment of Sir Edward Anderson at Aldeburgh.

DIPHTHONGS

The diphthong /ei/

The diphthong /ei/ is pronounced with the bulk of the tongue in the front part of the mouth cavity. During the pronunciation of the nucleus of this diphthong the front of the tongue is raised in the direction of the hard palate, as for /ei/. Thus the nucleus of the diphthong /ei/ is practically the same as the vowel /e/, that is front, mid-open, unrounded of the narrow variety. After completing the nucleus the front of the tongue glides still higher, moving in the direction of /i/ though the actual formation of /i/ is not accomplished. During the pronunciation of both the nucleus and the glide the lips are slightly spread. The opening between the jaws is rather narrow, a little wider for the nucleus than for the glide.

Graphic notations:

a – in open syllables: name, safe

ei, ey – under the stress: vein, they, grey

ai – before a consonant: sail, main

ay - under the stress : day, play

ea – great, break

eigh – eight, neighbour.

LISTEN AND REPEAT:

a space-ship, a baby whale, a sailor, a mate, a great wave, daybreak, a grey rainy day. A train waiting at a railway station. James bakes eight cakes. June plays with trains and planes. James. Jane. James takes a cake from Jane’s plate.

The diphthong /ai/

The diphthong /ai/ is pronounced with the bulk of the tongue in the front of the mouth cavity, but slightly retracted. During the pronunciation of the nucleus of the diphthong the front of the tongue is slightly raised but lower than for / æ /. Thus the nucleus may be defined as front-retracted, open, unrounded of the broad variety. During the glide the front of the tongue moves higher, in the direction of /i/, but without reaching it. The glide of /ai/ sounds, in fact, like a weak /e/.

The opening between the jaws is rather wide for the nucleus and much narrower for the glide.

Graphic notations:

i, y – in open syllables: time, my, type.

igh – high, light, might.

ie,ye – tie, rye, dye.

i+ nd – kind, find.

i+ld – child, mild.

Ei – neither, height.

ign – sign.

LISTEN AND REPEAT:

An eye, a wide smile, a stile, a bicycle, a child, a white kite flying high in the sky; five white mice. Clive. Dinah Clive climbs high spires at night. Dinah is quite nice, but frightfully shy. Clive decides to invite Dinah to dine. He tries to find a fine white wine.

Compare:

ei / ai

to lay, to lie, a pain, a pine, hate, height, the lake that I like. David baits his hook and a whiting bites it.

ei / e

a taste, a test, a sailor, a seller, they raced, I rest. David failed his exam. So he felled the examiner. Jane sails boats. Jean sells boots.

The diphthong / ɔi /

During the pronunciation of the nucleus of the diphthong / ɔi / the bulk of the tongue is slightly raised, though it is not so low as for the vowel / ɒ /. The lips are slightly rounded. Thus the nucleus may be defined as back, open, slightly rounded of the narrow variety.

In the pronunciation of the glide the tongue moves forward and upward, that is in the direction of the position for /i/, without actually reaching it. The glide sounds like a weak /e/. The opening between the jaws is wide for the nucleus and much narrower for the glide.

Graphic notations:

oi, oy – coin, oil, noise, boy, enjoy.

LISTEN AND REPEAT:

Mr. Hoyle, a boy; Mr. Hoyle toils with the soil. The boy is adroit with his quoit. A choice, moist oyster. A loyal royalist. Roy, Joyce. Roy is a noisy boy. Joyce is spoilt and coy. Joyce enjoys annoying Roy. Roy destroys Joyce’s choicest toys.

Compare: ɔi / ai

Good boys, goodbyes, a point, a pint, a foil, a file. Joyce walks off with poise. Giles walks off with pies.

The diphthong /au/

The nucleus is pronounced with the bulk of the mouth, but slightly retracted. The front of the tongue is slightly raised. Thus the nucleus may be defined as front-retracted, open, unrounded, of the broad variety. In pronouncing the glide the tongue moves higher and backward, that is in the direction of /u/, without actually reaching its position. As a result the glide of /au/ often sounds like a weak /o/. The opening between the jaws is wide for the nucleus and much narrower for the glide.

Graphic notations:

ou – house, sound, round

ow – how, town

ough – bough, plough

LISTEN AND REPEAT:

A cow, a scowl, a cloud, a scout, a plough, a rout. This owl has found a brown mouse on the ground. A hound with a grouse in its mouth. Proud. Cowed. Mountains and fountains. A round house. The loud shouts and howls of the crowd of louts from the town drown the sound of the vows of the devout on the mound.

The diphthong /ɜu /

During the pronunciation of the nucleus the central part of the tongue is in the /ɜ:/ position. The nucleus of /ɜu/ is mixed, mid-open, unrounded of the narrow variety. During the glide the back of the tongue rises higher, moving in the direction of /u/. The glide is rather distinct in stressed syllables and sounds like the vowel /u/.

The lips are neutral at the beginning of the diphthong but during the glide they are almost as much rounded as for /u/.

Graphic notations:

o – in open syllables: note, go, open, also.

oa + consonant – boat, road, load.

ow – snow, low, fellow.

ou – shoulder, though, boulder.

o + ld – told, cold

o+ll – roll, poll

o + st – most, post

LISTEN AND REPEAT:

a goat, a cone, a rose, a note, an overcoat, poached eggs on toast, an old coastal boat. Joan! Joe. Joan is combing her golden hair. Joe has a noble, Roman nose. Joe and Joan go for a stroll. Joe shows Joan his roses. Joan won’t go home alone, so Joe goes home with Joan.

Compare:

ɜu/ɔ:

a phone, a faun, a load, a lord, a stoker, a stalker. John has bought his adoring daughter Joan a motor-boat.

ɜu/ɜ:

coals, curls, a joke, a jerk, floating, flirting

ɜu/u:

a hope, a hoop, a roller, a roller, a goal, a goal, a ghoul

ɜu/au

a bow, a bow, a crone, a crown, a foal, a fowl, a cold figure.

The diphthong /iə /

During the pronunciation of the nucleus the bulk of the tongue is in the front part of the mouth cavity. The front of the tongue is raised to the position of the vowel /i/.

Thus the nucleus of /iə/ is front-retracted, close, unrounded of the broad variety. In pronouncing the glide the tongue moves back and down towards /ə/, the articulation of which is fully accomplished. When the diphthong / iə / occurs in an open syllable and is followed by a pause, the glide sounds like the vowel / ʌ /. The lips are neutral.

Graphic notations:

ere – here, sincere

eer – deer, pioneer

ear – clear, near, tear

ier – fierce, pierce

ea – idea, real

LISTEN AND REPEAT:

Seer, a spear, fear, a deer, a tear, a theatre, a dreary peer sneers in the grand tier. At the rear they near the peer and jeer. But here, clearly the cheers for the hero are really fierce. The weary hero is nearly in tears.

The diphthong / ɛə /

During the pronunciation of the nucleus the balk of the tongue is in the front part of the mouth. The front of the tongue is mid-way between the position for /e/ and /æ/, the nucleus of /ɛə / is more open than the vowel /e/. The lips are spread and neutral. Thus the nucleus of /ɛə / may be defined as front, mid-open, unrounded of the broad variety.

In pronouncing the glide the bulk of the tongue moves to the position for /ə/. When the diphthong occurs in a word-final position, the glide may sound like / ʌ /.

Graphic notations:

are – stare, care, parents.

air – pair, stairs, affair

ear – bear, wear, tear

ere – there, where

LISTEN AND REPEAT:

tear, swear, share, despair, various pairs of things to wear. Mary. Mary is scared of fairies in the dairy. Sarah. Sarah has fair hair. Pair-haired Sarah stares warily at the hairy bear glaring from his lair.

The diphthong /uə/

During the pronunciation of the nucleus the bulk of the tongue is in the back part of the mouth cavity, but slightly advanced. The back of the tongue is raised so high as for the vowel /u/.

Thus the nucleus of /uə/ may be defined as back-advanced, close, slightly rounded of the broad variety. In pronouncing the glide the tongue moves down to the position of the vowel which is actually pronounced.

Graphic notations:

oor – poor, moor

ur (e)- jury, rural, plural, cure, pure.

The Classification of English Consonant Phonemes

Consonants are usually classified according to the following principles:

1. According to the active organs of speech which form the obstruction and according to the place of obstruction.

2. According to the manner of the production of noise and according to the type of obstruction.

3. According to the work of the vocal cords.

4. According to the position of the soft palate.