PHONOLOGY

“VOWELS AND DIPHTHONGS”

BY:

GROUP 1
Widiana 1502050127

Sri rahay 1502050133

Nur auli mutia 1502050136

Mutiara ulfa 1502050161

Dinda sari utami 1502050163

Leli Roswinda 1502050185

Class : VI - C Morning English Department

Lecturer: Yayuk Hayulina S.Pd.,M.Hum

FACULTY OF TEACHING TRAINING AND EDUCATION

MUHAMMADIYAH UNIVERSITY OF NORTH SUMATERA

2018
 VOWEL
a. Definition of Vowel
Vowel is a speech sound in which the mouth is open and the tongue is not
touching the top of the mouth, the teeth. Eg: a, i, u, e, o, the letter “y” can be both
consonant and vowel. In the word “yellow” the “y” is a consonant, but in the word
happy, the “y” is a vowel [i]. As a consonant, Y has the consonant sound [y] (i.e., a
semivowel sound), usually at the beginning of the word and only in the syllable before a
vowel.
[i]: any, city, carry, funny, mystery, synonym;
[ai]: my, cry, rely, signify, nylon, type;
[y]: yard, year, yes, yet, yield, you
In phonetics, a vowel is a sound in spoken language, with two competing
definition. In the more common phonetic definition, a vowel is a sound
pronounced with an open vocal tract, so that the tongue that’s not touch the lips or
rough of the mouth, such as the English “ah” "ah" /ɑː/ or "oh" /oʊ/, there is no
build-up of air pressure at any point above the glottis.
The word vowel comes from the Latin word vocalis, meaning “vocal”
(relating to voice). In English, the word vowel is commonly used to mean both
vowel sounds and the written symbols that represent them.

Three major factors in the production of vowels are the openness, or

height, of the mouth, the position of the tongue, and the roundness of the lips.
 If vowel is produced while the mouth is almost closed, it would be
considered a close if the vowel is slightly more open, it would be
considered a mid vowel. And if the mouth is open very tall, it would be
considered an open vowel.
 If the tongue is positioned near the front of the mouth, any vowel produced
would be a front if the tongue were set slightly more back in the mouth,
the vowel would be a central vowel. If the tongue were set in the far back
of the month, the vowel would be a back vowel.
 If a vowel is produced while the lips and rounded, it would be considered
a rounded. If the vowel is produced while the lips are relaxed, it would be
considered an unrounded vowel.

IPA (International Phonetics Assocition) Vowel Chart

b. Part of Vowel
1) Short vowel is a simple (non-complex) vocalic segment
occurring within the nucleus of a syllable (McCully, 2009:
223). The following is an overview (oral cavity) for short vowel
known as ‘vowel trapezium’.
 Short Vowel Trapezium (McCully, 2009: 113)

2) Long vowels are vowels associated with two X-slots within the
syllabic nucleus. Examples include /i:/ (/hi:d/, heed) and /ɔ:/ (/hɔ:l/,
hall). (McCully, 2009: 220). The following is the vowel
trapezium for long vowel:

Long Vowel Trapezium (McCully, 2009: 134)

c) The examples of Vowel

Vowel (Vokal)
Short Long
ə Bingo /bIŋgəʊ/ i: Sheep /ʃiːp/
Bestial /bestIəl/ Shield /ʃiːld/
Chapter /’tʃæə (r)/ She /ʃiː/
Away /ə’weI/ Meet /mi:t/
Ago /ə’gəʊ/ Eat /i:t/
Seat /si:t/
e Enter /’entə(r)/ ɔ: Forecast /fɔ:kɑ:st/
Chemist /’kemIst/ Forefront/’fɔ:frʌnt/
Basic /’beIsIk/ Sordid /sɔ:dId/
Pen /pen/ Saw /sɔ:/
Ten /ten/ Also /‘ɔ:lsəʊ/
Cell /sel/ Call /kɔ:l/
ʌ Shun /ʃʌn/ ɑ: Smart /smɑ:t/
Shrug /ʃrʌg/ Spark /spɑ:k/
Shrub /ʃrʌb/ Spar /spɑ: (r)/
Cup /k ʌp/ Car /kɑ:/
Come /k ʌm/ Father /’fɑ:ðə/
Us /ʌs/ Hard /hɑːd/
Part /pɑːt/
Bar /bɑː/
ɒ Potty /’pɒti/ u: Shoe /ʃu:/
Potter/’pɒtə/ Shoot /ʃu:t/
Pot /pɒt/ Shrewd /ʃru:d/
Not/nɒt/ Food /fuːd/
Gone /gɒn/ Too /tu:/
Got /gɒt/ You /ju:/
ʊ Gold /gəʊld/ ɜ: Berserk/bə’zɜ:k/
Goat /gəʊt/ Extovert/’ekstrəvɜ:t/
Shout /ʃaʊt/ Curve /kɜ:v/
Good /gʊd/ Bird /bəːd/
Look /lʊk/ Shirt /ʃəːt/
Put /pʊt/ Sir /səː/
I Ship /ʃIp/
Shift / ʃIft/
Shin /ʃIn/
Hit /hIt/
Bit /bIt/
Lick /lIk/
æ Scan/sk æn/
Sedan/ sI’dæn/
 Prank/præŋk/
Plan /plæn/
Bad /bæn/
Cat /kæt/

DIPHTHONG

A diphthong is a term for of a vowel sound that is created by two vowels

working together .There is only one sound, but two vowels are used to make the
sound. Some describe the sound as a “gliding” from one of the vowels to the other
without separating the sound. A diphthong is always stressed on its first
component: [au], [eu]. A diphthong forms one syllable. Depending on your
accent, you may use up to 8 diphthongs in English pronunciation, and here they
are, in rough order of popularity:

1. EYE /aɪ/
An /aɪ/ is what you use to see with…. It’s generally spelt with an ‘i’ like in
LIKE, RIGHT and TIME, but it’s also spelt with ‘y’ as in CRY & MY.

/aɪ/ starts with the jaw open and the tongue more or less in the centre [ɑ] then it
glides to [i]; /aɪ/ I SPY. It starts more open and back in posh I SPY. It might start
to the front in Northern English I SPY. Example, I spy with my little eye,
something beginning with ‘d’… dinosaur /ˈdʌɪnəsɔː/

My /mʌI/

Wise /wʌIz/

High /hʌI/

Thai /tʌI/

Island /’ʌIlənd/
2. A /eɪ/
/eɪ/ is the first letter of the Roman alphabet. The sound is found in words spelt
with ‘a’ like MAKE, RAIN & STAY, and others spelt with an ‘e’ like EIGHT
and STEAK.

In most British accents it sounds pretty similar starting with the tongue at the front
of the mouth with the jaw half open [e] and then closing to [i] – so in GB (Great
Britain) English it’s /eɪ/ – RAINY DAY. Some Northern accents make it into a
long single vowel [eː] RAINY DAY, in Geordie that’s [eə] so RAINY DAY.
Brummies also pronounce /eɪ/ when there’s a ‘y’ at the end of a word…. lovely!

Rain /reIn/

Pain /peIn/

Raise /reIz/

Brain /breIn/

Train /treIn/

Complain /kəm’pleIn/

3. OH /əʊ/
/əʊ/ is what you say when you’re surprised by something OH! or with slightly
different intonation, when you are intrigued by something OH! Its spelling
nearly always includes an ‘o’ like in GO, SHOW, LOAN & THOUGH, though
some other spellings can occur like SEW.

In GB (Great Britain) English /əʊ/ starts in the centre of the mouth [ə] and moves
to the back rounded [u]; /əʊ/ DON’T GO, but it changes dramatically in different
accents. The Queen and incredibly posh speakers would start at the front of the
mouth and might make it very long [ɜːʊ] DON’T GO, whereas in some Northern
areas of England you’ll hear a single vowel [o] DON’T GO, and in multicultural
London you’ll probably hear [ɒu] DON’T GO.

Go /gəʊ/

So /səʊ/

Sow /səʊ/

Bowl /bəʊl/
Slow /sləʊ/

4. OW /aʊ/
/aʊ/ is what you say when something hurts: OW! It’s normally spelt OU like in
ROUND & MOUSE, or OW like in BROWN & HOW.

In GB English you start with an open jaw [a] and move to back rounded [u] so
/aʊ/ HOW PROUD! Some Scots say [uː] HOW PROUD. Posh speakers might
start it closer to the back and make it a bit long HOW PROUD, Londoners have
been known to make one long vowel at the front [aː] HOWPROUD. In the West
Country, you’ll hear [ɛʊ] HOW PROUD.

Cow /kaʊ/

Now /naʊ/

Brown /braʊn/

Found /faʊn/

Cloud /klaʊd/

Mound /maʊnd/

5. AIR /eə/
/eə/ is what you breathe, except in London of course, where it’s known as smog.
The sound is found in words with combinations of AR like PAIR,
STARE,AEROPLANE, & BEAR.

/eə/ has turned into a long monophthong (single) vowel [ɛː] for many speakers of
GB English these days, so instead of [eə] CARE BEAR, it’s [ɜː] CARE BEAR –
so not a huge difference then. In Scouse it’s more like /ɜː/ CARE BEAR in
American you’d always pronounce the ‘r’ CARE BEAR. Posh and old fashioned
speakers would definitely make it a diphthong CARE BEAR.

Hair /hɛː/

There /ðɛː/

Square /skwɛː/
Stair /stɛː/
Prepare /prɪˈpɛː/

6. EAR /ɪə/
An /ɪə/ is what you use to hear with. It is commonly found in words containing ‘e’
and ‘r’ like CAREER, HERE, NEAR & YEAR, but it’s found in words without
‘r’ too like IDEA.

In GB English, /ɪə/ starts at the front [i] and moves to the centre [ə]; /ɪə/
NEAR HERE, but more and more speakers are just making one long [ɪ] sound so
NEAR HERE. Scots would say the ‘r’, so NEARHERE and really posh people
would open more and make the second sound longer NEAR HERE.

Ear /ɪə/
Near /nɪə/
Here /hɪə/
Fear /fɪə/
Clear /klɪə/

7. OY /ɔɪ/
/ɔɪ/ is what you say to grab someone’s attention: OY! It’s found in words spelt
OY like TOY, BOY & ANNOY and in words spelt with OI like FOIL & COIN.

The pronunciation of /ɔɪ/ doesn’t vary much from region to region starting with
the tongue at the back and rounded lips [ɔ] and gliding to [i] so /ɔɪ/ – ROYAL
SOIL. It’s not very common – only about 1 in every thousand sounds an English
speaker makes, though you might hear it more often than that in London: OY!
COME BACK HERE!

Toy /tɔI/

Boy /bɔI/

Joy /jɔI/

Coin /kɔIn/
Annoy /əˈnɔɪ/

Void /vɔId/

Soil /sɔIl/

8. Where is /ʊə/?
We don’t teach the sound /ʊə/ any more at Pronunciation Studio, why? Because
we don’t say it, we say /ˈbɔː/ instead of /ˈbʊə/, /ˈtɔː/ instead of /ˈtʊə/ and /məˈnjɔː/
instead of /məˈnjʊə/. But if you really really want to to use it, it starts rounded at
the back and moves to the centre: /ʊə/.

Sure /ʃʊə/
Poor /pʊə/
Pure /pjʊə/
Secure /sɪˈkjʊə/
Manicure /ˈmanɪkjʊə/
Mature /məˈtʃʊə/
Europe /ˈjʊərəp/

NARROWER TRANSCRIPTION

1) Brackets

As transcription becomes narrower, or more precise, it is more common to

use brackets to surround IPA symbols than slashes, which you have noticed
already. The reason for this is a distinction between phonetics and phonemics, but
that’s a topic of linguistics beyond the scope of this article.

The examples are:

Lack [læk]

Fubar [fu:bar]

Cool [kul]
 2) LENGTH

You might have heard of long vowels and short vowels as a feature of
languages such as Finnish, Japanese, or Ancient Greek. However, English also
features length in its vowels, though in a subtler way.

Think of the difference in vowel length between “city” and “clean.” To

mark a vowel as long, linguists use a colon-like symbol. For example, “clean”
would be written as [kliːn], while “city” would remain [ˈsɪti] (or [ˈsɪɾi], if you’re
American).

Note, though, that this is characteristic of a narrower transcription of

English and therefore seldom required. Though in other languages, vowel length
can affect the meaning of certain words, in English, it does not.

The examples are:

Feet /fi:t/ - fit /fIt/

Beet /bi:t/ - big /bIg/

Food /fuːd/ - Good /gʊd/

3) NASALIZATION

In some accents, especially American accents, the /æ/ vowel is not always
completely pure. When it comes directly before a nasal consonant, it becomes a
bit distorted, or “nasalized,” as if it is anticipating the consonant that comes after
it.

For example, though a British person would say the word “man” with a
clean / /, an American would nasalize the / /, making it sound almost like an [eə]
sound. To indicate nasalization, you can put a tilde above the vowel, so /m n/
would become [m n].

The examples are:

Prank/præŋk/

Man /mæn/

Rabbit /’ræbIt/

Crab /kræb/
 4) ASPIRATION

Aspiration is the breathiness given to a consonant, typically a voiceless stop,

making it sound harsher. If you hold your hand up to your face and pronounce the
word “pan,” you might feel a burst of air come from your mouth.

Now, pronounce the word “span,” and notice that some of that breathiness
might go away. This is the phenomenon of aspiration, and it makes a huge
difference in the meaning of Korean words, for example.

However, it is not such a big deal in English, which is why the indication of
aspiration in IPA is considered part of a narrower transcription. It is indicated by a
small “h” next to the IPA symbol, so a sound like /t/ would become [t h] in most
cases.

The examples are:

Pan /pan/

Pin /pIn/

Pinch /pIn(t)ʃ/

Peach /pitʃ/

Speech /spitʃ/

5) UNRELEASED STOPS

It is also typical for stop sounds to not have a release when they occur at the ends
of words. For example, even though /p/ is typically aspirated as [p h], when it
comes at the end of a word like “stop,” the sound has no audible release and there
is no sound of aspiration.

To represent this, we would write /p/ as [p ]. With the /t/ sound in American
English, it becomes so extreme that it is replaced entirely by a glottal stop.

The examples are:

Stop /stɑp/

Lip /lIp/

Touch /tətʃ/

Expert /’ɛk,spərt/
References

Website: PronunciationStudio.com

Link:https://pronunciationstudio.com/pronunciation-guide-diphthong-vowel-
sounds/
Accesed date: April,10th 2018 (11.20)

Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary. 2010. New 8th edition. Oxford university

press.

Hayulina, yayuk. 2018. Phonology. Universitas Muhammadiyah Sumatera Stara