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3.Classification of English vowel phonemes

**English vowel phonemes are classified according to seven principles:** the position of the bulk of the tongue (horizontal movement), the height of the raised part of the tongue (vertical movement), the position of the lips, the degree of tenseness, the stability of articulation, the length, and the character of the end.

**According to the horizontal movement of the tongue**, vowels are classified into front, front-retracted, central, back-advanced and back.

**Front vowels** — the bulk of the tongue is in the most forward position. The sounds are [iː], [e], [æ].

**Front-retracted vowels** — the tongue is in the front part but less forward. The vowel is [ɪ].

**Central vowels** — the tongue is neither advanced nor retracted. The vowels are [ə], [ɜː], [ʌ].

**Back-advanced vowels** — the back of the tongue is in the back part but less back. The vowels are [ʊ], [ɑː].

**Back vowels** — the tongue is in the most backward position. The vowels are [ɔː], [ɒ], [uː].

**According to the vertical movement of the tongue**, vowels are divided into close (high), mid-open (mid) and open (low).

**Close vowels** — the tongue is in the highest position. The vowels are [iː], [ɪ], [ʊ], [uː].

**Mid-open vowels** — the tongue is in the medium position. The vowels are [e], [ɜː], [ə], [ɔː].

**Open vowels** — the tongue is very low. The vowels are [ɑː], [æ], [ɒ], [ʌ].

**According to the position of the lips**, vowels are rounded and unrounded. Rounded vowels are [ʊ], [uː], [ɒ], [ɔː]. Unrounded vowels are [ɪ], [iː], [e], [æ].

**According to length**, vowels are long and short. Short vowels are [ɪ], [e], [ʊ], [ɒ], [æ]. Long vowels are [iː], [ɔː], [ɑː], [uː].

**According to tenseness**, vowels are tense and lax. Long vowels are usually tense. Short vowels are lax.

**According to stability of articulation**, vowels are monophthongs, diphthongs and diphthongoids.

**A monophthong** is a vowel in the articulation of which the organs of speech do not change their position. E.g. [ɪ], [ɒ], [ʊ], [æ].

*A diphthong** is a vowel in the articulation of which the organs of speech change their position. It has a nucleus (strong) and a glide (weak). There are eight diphthongs: [eɪ], [aɪ], [ɔɪ], [aʊ], [əʊ], [ɪə], [eə], [ʊə].

**Diphthongoids** are vowels in the articulation of which the organs change slightly. They are [iː] and [uː].

**According to the character of the end**, vowels are checked and unchecked. Checked vowels have a strong end and are immediately followed by a consonant. Unchecked vowels have weakening towards the end.