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HOW ARE VOWELS DESCRIBED? EXPLAIN USING THE VOWEL CHART QUADRILATERAL
1.0 Introduction
Most of us would know that a, e i, o, u are vowels. But, what does a vowel actually mean? Merriam Webster (n.d) defines vowel “as one of a class of speech sounds in the articulation of which the oral part of the breath channel is not blocked and is not constricted enough to cause audible friction”. In other words, as mentioned by Roach (2009) vowels are sounds in which there is no obstruction to the flow of air as it passes from the larnyx to the lips. It is articulated when a vioced airstream is shaped using the tongue and the lips to modify the overall shape of the mouth (Kelly, 2000).
All of vowels are produced with the vocal cords vibrating, therefore, said to be voiced sounds. There are twelve pure vowels or called as monophtongs in the English language, including 7 short vowels and 5 long vowels. (Koh, 2012).
Koh added, by using the vowel chart quadrilateral, there are four ways used to classify the different characteristic of vowel sounds (also called vowel qualities), which are the height of the tongue, the position of tongue, the shape of lips and finally the length of vowels. In the meantime, vowel chart quadrilateral is a graphic representation that is used to show the characteristic of vowels qualities as stated above in the articulation of the vowels. (English Phonetics : Classifying English Sound)
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Figure 1.0 : The Vowels Chart Quadrilateral
2.0 Height Of Tongue (Vertically : High-Mid-Low)
Figure 2.0 : The Height Of Tongue
(From : The Organ Of Speech)
The first matter in articulating vowels to consider is the height of the tongue or is called as the shape of tongue by Roach (2009).
According to Roach (2009), shape of the tongue is the vertical distance between the upper surface of the tongue and the palate. However, Baskaran (2005) mentioned it as “how close to the palate or how low in the lower jaw it goes”. Based on the Figure 2.0 above, we can summarized it as below :
Colours Of The Lines | Heights Of Tongue | Description | Examples Of Vowels |
Red | High | The tongue is positioned quite high near the palate in the mouth | /ɪ/ – sit/i:/ – see/u:/- boot/ʊ/ – book |
Green | Mid | The tongue is slightly below than the high position and is in the middle between the palate and the lowest tongue | /e/ – egg/ə/ – about/ɜ:/ – bird/ɔ:/ – saw |
Black | Low | The tongue is almost at the bottom of the mouth | /a:/ – far/^/ – but/æ/ – hat/ɒ/ – dog |
Table 1 : Features Of The Height Of Tongue
( Descriptions are taken from Baskaran, 2005)
3.0 Position Of The Tongue (Horizontally : Front-Centre-Back)
Roach (2009) stated the position of the tongue as “the part of the tongue, between front and back, which is raised highest”. The tongue moves variably from from the frontal region (below alveolar ridge) to the back portion ( below the velum area) (Baskaran, 2005).
Figure 3.0 : The Position Of Tongue
(From Wikimedia Commons)
By changing the shape of the tongue we can produce vowels in which a different part of the tongue is the highest point. That means, a vowel having the back of the tongue as the highest point is a back vowel, whereas the one having the front of the tongue as the highest point is called a front vowel. It is simplified as below :
Colours Of The Lines | Positions Of Tongue | Descriptions | Examples Of Vowel |
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Red | Front | The highest point of the tongue is in the far front towards alveolar / palatal region | /i:/ – eat/e/ – head/æ/ – fat |
Green | Centre | The highest point of the tongue is half-way between the front and the back, right in the centre of hard-palate | /ə/ – banana/ɪ/ – sing/ʊ/ – good/^/- under |
Black | Neutral | The highest point is slightly lowered than the centre position | /a:/ – class/ɜ:/ – her |
Blue | Back | The highest point of the tongue moves towards the back of the mouth, close to the velum | /ɒ/ – lost/ɔ:/ – four/u:/- use |
Table 2 : Features Of The Position Of The Tongue
( Descriptions are taken from Baskaran, 2005)
High front vowel [i:], as in eat | Low front vowel [a:], as in pat | High back vowel [u:], as in moo |
The body of the tongue is raised toward the palate and forward toward the lips. | The body of the tongue is low in the mouth and forward toward the lips. | The body of the tongue is raised toward the palate but also back towards the back of the throat. |
| | |
Table 3 : Comparison Of Features In The Position Of The Tongue
(From Describing Vowel Sounds)
4.0 Length Of Vowels (Tense And Lax)
In the English language, ‘tense and lax’ are often used interchangeably with ‘long and short’, respectively. Tenseness of articulators refer to the amount of muscular tension around the mouth when creating vowel sounds (Boyanova, 2010) Tense and lax are used to describe muscular tension. Tense vowels are produced with a placement of the tongue that results in greater vocal tract constriction than lax vowels, therefore tense vowels are longer than lax vowels. (Dobrovolsky et al., n.d.).
It is supported by Fromkin et al., (2011) who stated that the tense vowels are produced with greater tension of the tongue muscles than its counterparts (lax vowels).
Below is the table that shows both types of vowels:
Short Vowels | Long Vowels |
Vowel | Example Words | Vowel | Example Words |
ı | ship lip hit | i : | bee sea meal |
e | bed said leapt | ɜ : | burn worm turn |
æ | cat pan had | ɑ : | arm half car |
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^ | cut bung won | ɔ : | order law caught |
ɒ | pot hot long | u : | shoe sue lunar |
ʊ | put should look | | |
ə | astray agree annoy | | |
Table 4.0 : Long / Tense & Short / Lax Vowels
5.0 Lip – Shape
Vowels also differ as to whether the lips are rounded, spread or natural. Both Roach (2009) and Kelly (2000) stated 3 similar types of lip shape in articulating vowels. They are described in the Table 4 below :
Figure 4.0 : Types Of Lip Shapes
(From Kelly, 2005)
Types of Lip Shape/ Quoted Definition | Rounded | Spread | Natural |
By Kelly (2000) | The lips are pushed forward into the shape of circle | The corners of the lips moved away from each other, as when smiling | The lips are not noticeably rounded or spread |
By Roach (2009) | When the corners of the lips are brought towards each other and the lips are pushed forwards. | With the corners of the lips moved away from each other, as for smile | Where the lips are not noticeably rounded or spread |
Examples of Vowel | /u:/ boot/ʊ/ put/ɔ:/ bore/ɒ/ boat | /i:/ cheese | /ə/ paper |
Table 5.0 : Definitions Of Types Of Lip Shapes By Kelly & Roach
6.0 Conclusion
Length Of Vowels | Short / Lax | Long / Tense |
Height Of Tongue | | |
Position Of Tongue | | |
Shape Of Lip | | |
Example Words | Rhythm, Busy, Women | Shirt, Word, Pearl |
Table 6.0 : Comparison Of Vowels Qualities
By using the vowels chart quadrilateral, it is easier for us to observe the difference of vowel qualities which are consists of height of the tongue, the position of tongue, the shape of lips and finally the length of vowels. Undoubtedly, it is the best help us to understand and articulate vowel sounds better.
References
Boyanova. M., (2010).
English phonetics : classifying the vowel sounds Of English. Retrieved August 16, 2012 from http://www.studyenglishtoday.net/english-phonetics.html
Dobrovolsky, M., Katamba. F., (n.d).
Phonetics : The sound of language. Retrieved August 16, 2012 from .
Fromkin, V., & Rodman, R., & Hyams, N,. (2011).
An introduction to language ( 9th ed.) Canada : Wadsworth, Cengage Learning.
The Term Paper on English Sample Question Paper
... the way the lips, teeth, lower jaw, tongue, and palate are moved – just to make vowel and consonant sounds, is something animals ... the nightingale was enjoying. He feared that his unrivalled position would be usurped. (The Frog and The Nightingale) c) ... students’skill of expressing ideas in clear and grammatically correct English, presenting ideas coherently and concisely, writing a clear description, ...
Kelly, G. (2000).
How to teach pronounciation. Malaysia : Pearson Education Limited.
Koh, B.H., (2012).
Phonetics and phonology : TSL 3104 [Lecture’s Note]. Seremban ; IPG Kampus Raja Melewar.
Merriam Webster. (n.d).
Vowel. Retrieved August 16, 2012 from http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/vowel
Roach, P., (2009).
English phonetics and phonology : A Practical Course. United Kingdom : Cambridge University Press.
Hameem, T,. (2010).
The organs of speech. Message posted to http://tanvirdhaka.blogspot.com/2010/12/organs-of-speech.html
Week 7 Module 3.6 Describing vowel sounds. (n.d).
Retrieved August 16, 2012 from http://emedia.leeward.hawaii.edu/hurley/Ling102web/mod3_speaking/3mod3.6_vowels.htm
APPENDICES
Vowel Phonemes |
Lips loosely spread. Tongue lax with less tension than / i: / | | pit |
Lips loosely spread and slighly wider apart than / ɪ / | | pet |
Lips neutrally open and slightly wider apart than / e / | | pat |
Open lip-rounding, wide open jaws, back of tongue low. | | pot |
Lips neutrally open. Open jaws. Centralized quality. | | luck |
Lips loose, but closely rounded. Tongue not as tense as in / u: / | | good |
Lips in neutral position. Centralized. Tongue slightly higher than in /ʌ/ | | ago |
Lips spread. Tongue tense (front raised) with sides touching upper molars. | | meat |
Lips neutrally open and jaws far apart. Centre to back of tongue fully open. | | car |
Medium lip rounding. Tongue drawn back making no contact with upper molars. | | door |
Lips neutrally spread. Tongue slightly higher than /ə/ (no firm contact with upper molars) | | girl |
Lips closely rounded. Back of tongue high. Tense compared with /ʊ/ | | too |
The Organs Of Speech.
http://tanvirdhaka.blogspot.com/2010/12/organs-of-speech.html
Another important thing about the lips is that they can take different shapes and positions. Therefore, lip-rounding is considered as a major criterion for describing vowel sounds. The lips may have the following positions:
a. Rounded: When we pronounce a vowel, our lips can be rounded, a position where the corners of the lips are brought towards each other and the lips are pushed forwards. And the resulting vowel from this position is a rounded one. For example, /ə ʊ/.
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b. Spread: The lips can be spread. In this position the lips are moved away from each other (i.e. when we smile).
The vowel that we articulate from this position is an unrounded one. For example, in English /i: /is a long vowel with slightly spread lips.
c. Neutral: Again, the lips can be neutral, a position where the lips are not noticeably rounded or spread. And the articulated vowel from this position is referred to as unrounded vowel. For example, in English /ɑ: / is a long vowel with neutral lips.
(iv) The Teeth: The teeth are also very much helpful in producing various speech sounds. The sounds which are made with the tongue touching the teeth are called dental sounds. Some examples of dental sounds in English include: /θ/ð/.
(v) The Tongue: The tongue is divided into four parts:
a. The tip: It is the extreme end of the tongue.
b. The blade: It lies opposite to the alveolar ridge.
c. The front: It lies opposite to the hard palate.
d. The back: It lies opposite to the soft palate or velum.
The tongue is responsible for the production of many speech sounds, since it can move very fast to different places and is also capable of assuming different shapes. The shape and the position of the tongue are especially crucial for the production of vowel sounds. Thus when we describe the vowel sounds in the context of the function of the tongue, we generally consider the following criteria:
• Tongue Height: It is concerned with the vertical distance between the upper surface of the tongue and the hard palate. From this perspective the vowels can be described as close andopen. For instance, because of the different distance between the surface of the tongue and the roof of the mouth, the vowel /i: /has to be described as a relatively close vowel, whereas /æ / has to be described as a relatively open vowel.
• Tongue Frontness / Backness: It is concerned with the part of tongue between the front and the back, which is raised high. From this point of view the vowel sounds can be classified asfront vowels and back vowels. By changing the shape of the tongue we can produce vowels in which a different part of the tongue is the highest point. That means, a vowel having the back of the tongue as the highest point is a back vowel, whereas the one having the front of the tongue as the highest point is called a front vowel. For example: during the articulation of the vowel / u: / the back of the tongue is raised high, so it’s a back vowel. On the other hand, during the articulation of the vowel / æ / the front of the tongue is raise high, therefore, it’s afront vowel.
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English Phonetics : Classifying The Vowel Sounds Of English.
http://www.studyenglishtoday.net/english-phonetics.html
The classifcation of vowels is based on four major aspects:
Tongue height – according to the vertical position of the tongue (high vowels, also referred to as close; low vowels, also referred to as open; intermediate – close-mid and open-mid)
Frontness vs. backness of the tongue – according to the horizontal position of the highest part of the tongue.
Lip rounding – whether the lips are rounded (O-shape) or spread (no rounding) when the sound is being made.
Tenseness of the articulators – refers to the amount of muscular tension around the mouth when creating vowel sounds. Tense and lax are used to describe muscular tension.
Front vowels
(tongue body is pushed forward) Central vowels
(tongue body is neutral) Back vowels
(tongue body is pulled back)
High/close vowels
(tongue body is raised) // see
// sit // boot
// book
Mid vowels
(tongue body is intermediate) /e/ bait*
// bet // sofa**, // bird /o/ boat*
// bought***
Low/open vowels
(tongue body is lowered) // bat // under**
// father, // sock(BrE)
*In some American accents (especially Californian English), vowel sounds in words such as bait, gate, pane and boat, coat, note are not consider diphthongs. American phonologists often class them as tense monophthongs (/e/ and /o/).
**// is used in unstressed syllables, while // is in stressed syllables. The vowel // used to be a back vowel, and the symbol was chosen for this reason. This is no longer a back vowel, but a central one.
***A considerable amount of Americans don’t have the deep // in their vocabulary, they pronouce bought, ball, law with the deep // sound.
See also: IPA vowels chart
According to the position of the lips:
English front and central vowels are always unrounded.
English back vowels //, /, /o/, // are rounded (// vowel is unrounded).
Vowel Tenseness:
Tense vowels (produced with a great amount of muscular tension): Tense vowels are variable in length, and often longer than lax vowels.
Lax vowels (produced with very little muscular tension): Lax vowels are always short.
