Description of vowels in general and of Polish vowels in detail
Contents:
1.
Vowel chart and cardinal vowels ............................................................................................................. 2
1.1.
2.
3.
4.
Secondary cardinal vowels..................................................................................................................... 2
Acoustic structure of vowels .................................................................................................................... 3
2.1.
Fundamentals ........................................................................................................................................ 3
2.2.
F1, F2 and vowel quality ........................................................................................................................ 3
Vowels in the world’s languages .............................................................................................................. 4
3.1.
Perception of vowels .............................................................................................................................. 4
3.2.
Vowel systems around the world ........................................................................................................... 5
Factors affecting vowel quality ................................................................................................................ 5
4.1.
Lip rounding ........................................................................................................................................... 5
4.2.
Nasalization, nasality............................................................................................................................. 6
4.2.1.
Articulatory and acoustic characteristics ...................................................................................... 6
4.2.2.
Synchronic and asynchronic articulation ...................................................................................... 7
5.
4.3.
Rhotacisation ......................................................................................................................................... 8
4.4.
Voice quality .......................................................................................................................................... 9
Polish vowels ........................................................................................................................................... 9
5.1.
Oral vowels (based on Wiśniewski)........................................................................................................ 9
5.1.1.
Vowel chart: vowel phonemes and allophones .......................................................................... 10
5.2.
Interferences between Korean and Polish (for Korean students!) ....................................................... 11
5.2.1.
Comparison of the vowel systems of Korean and Polish ............................................................ 11
6.
5.3.
Pronunciation rules .............................................................................................................................. 11
5.4.
Lip gestures .......................................................................................................................................... 12
Exercises: Oral vowels ............................................................................................................................ 12
6.1.
Vowel /y/ in contrast ........................................................................................................................... 12
6.1.1.
y/ - /i/ .......................................................................................................................................... 12
6.1.2.
y/ - /e/ ......................................................................................................................................... 13
6.1.3.
y / - /o/, /y/ - /u/, /y/ - /a/ .......................................................................................................... 13
6.2.
Vowel /a/ in contrast .......................................................................................................................... 13
6.2.1.
a/ - /e/ ......................................................................................................................................... 13
6.2.2.
a/ - /u/, /a/ - /o/, /a/ - /i/ ............................................................................................................ 14
6.3.
Vowel /o/ in contrast .......................................................................................................................... 14
6.3.1.
o/ - /u/ ........................................................................................................................................ 14
6.3.2.
o/ - /e/, /o/ - /i/........................................................................................................................... 14
6.4.
Vowel /e/ in contrast .......................................................................................................................... 15
6.4.1.
e/ - /u/, /e/ - /i/ ........................................................................................................................... 15
6.5.
Vowel /u/ in contrast .......................................................................................................................... 15
6.5.1.
u/ - /i/ .......................................................................................................................................... 15
7.
Nasal vowels .......................................................................................................................................... 15
7.1.
Word final position .............................................................................................................................. 15
7.2.
[ę], [ą] before [l] or [ł] .......................................................................................................................... 16
7.3.
[ę], [ą] before a plosive or affricate ..................................................................................................... 16
7.4.
[ę], [ą] before a fricative (Fri, except for /ɕ/, /ʑ/).................................................................................. 18
7.5.
[ę], [ą] after a non-palatal consonant (C) and before the alveolo-palatal consonant /ɕ/, /ʑ/ .............. 18
7.6.
[ę], [ą] after a palatalized or alveolo-palatal consonant (PC) and before the alveolo-palatal
consonant /ɕ/, /ʑ/ .............................................................................................................................................. 18
1. Vowel chart and cardinal vowels
Vowels of the languages are described with a reference to the vowel chart – a space that represents a
continuum of possibilities and shows limits of possible vowel quality. If we want to introduce a new
vowel we can plot it on the vowel chart.
Vowel chart refers to two dimensions which play role in the distinction of a vowel quality: the degree
of backness and height (i.e. the vertical and horizontal position of the body of the tongue respectively).
At the perimeter of the vowel chart, cardinal vowels are located. Their qualities are clearly defined,
therefore can be used as a reference for the description of the quality of other vowels.
In the description of the vowels of a specific language the symbols of the nearest cardinal vowels are
chosen.
front
high
mid
high
central
mid
mid
low
back
low
low
Figure 1: Cardinal vowels plotted on the vowel chart.
In the articulation of the four cardinal vowels /i/, /a/, /ɑ/ and /u/ the tongue takes an extreme position:
front high, front low, back low and back high respectively.
The articulatory and acoustic differences between the neighboring vowels are not equal, which is also
reflected in the vowel chart: the smallest distance can be noticed between /a/ and /ɑ/, significantly
greater between /a/ – /u/ and /i/ – /u/. The greatest difference exists between /a/ and /i/ and is reflected
by the longest side of the figure.
1.1. Secondary cardinal vowels
The cardinal vowels have an increasing degree of lip rounding: /i/ – spread lips, /ɑ/ – neutral lip
position, /u/ – fully rounded. In general, the degree of lip rounding increases with vowel backness and
affects formant frequencies (they become lowered), but in an asymmetrical manner: the effect is
greater in F3 for front vowels and in F2 for back vowels.
All vowels which have lip rounding similar to that of the nearest cardinal vowel distances on the
vowel chart are accurately reflected by measurements of the formant frequencies (inversed F1 –
height, the difference between F2 and F1– backness). However, this is not the case when a vowel
differs from the adjacent cardinal vowel in terms of the degree of lip rounding – front rounded or back
unrounded vowels would be misplaced on the chart. Therefore, a space of secondary cardinal vowels
was defined.
Figure 2: Secondary cardinal vowels: the degree of lip rounding
decreases inversely compared to cardinal vowels (from P. Ladefoged, A course in phonetics).
Secondary cardinal vowels have the same position of the tongue as the cardinal vowels, but an
opposite degree of lip rounding which decreases from /y/ (fully rounded) to /ɯ/ (unrounded).
2. Acoustic structure of vowels
2.1. Fundamentals
Sound wave – a complex wave including a number of harmonics (pure tones).
Vocalic sounds – two vowels of the same pitch (i.e. the rate of repetition of the sound wave as a whole
is the same) have different quality when the overtones (i.e. the smaller variations within each
repetition) differ. These smaller variations result from the filtering effect of the vocal tract which takes
a different shape when different vowels are articulated.
Figure 3: Vowel /ɑ/ and /i/ pronounced at the same pitch (F0=700Hz), you can see different overtones that determine
the quality of the two vowels (from P. Ladefoged, Vowels and consonants).
2.2. F1, F2 and vowel quality
The air in the vocal tract is set into vibration by the pulses of the air from the vocal folds. Every
moment the folds open and close the air above them is set into vibration. The shape of the vocal tract
is complex and thus there will be different resonances – the body of air before the raised tongue (in the
mouth) and behind it (in the throat) will be vibrating at a different frequency. The rate of the vibration
in the front of the vocal tract will be higher, because smaller bodies of air have a higher resonant
frequency. The resonances in the vocal tract are called formants.
You can hear the overtones characteristic of the vowels of a different quality by whispering them. Start
with the front high vowel, go through the vowel chart and finish at the high back vowel (e.g. pik, pyk,
pek, pak, pok, puk). You should get a general impression of a descending pitch (due to lowering of
F2).
Generally, the frequency of F2 decreases as the body of the tongue moves from the front to the back of
the vocal tract. The frequencies of F1 reflect the horizontal position of the tongue and decrease from
low to high vowels.
Figure 4: The range of formant frequencies of Polish vowels pronounced in the context of the 6 Polish vowels
pronounced by 10 speakers (after W. Jassem)
3. Vowels in the world’s languages
In order to describe the vowels in terms of their formant frequencies, tongue and lip gestures we can
refer to a continuous vowel space (Fig.5).
Figure 5: The possible vowel space (from Ladefoged, Vowels and consonants).
3.1. Perception of vowels
The perception of vocalic sounds is very sensitive and listeners can actually distinguish
between vowels whose formant frequencies differ only by 12 Hz in some regions of the vowel space
(D. Kewley-Port, after P. Ladefoged). It is also possible for some listeners to distinguish among 40
vowel heights and from 5 to 30 degrees of vowel backness. However, these distinctions are not
linguistically significant (e.g. they play no role in word disambiguation), but can be used for accent
identification.
3.2. Vowel systems around the world
Generally, there are great differences among languages as regards the number of vowels used, e.g.
some aboriginal languages of Australia use only three vowels, but have a complex consonantal system.
However, the number of vowels can not be taken as a predictor of the number of consonants in the
language, e.g. Hawaiian 5 V and 8 C, Zulu 5 V and 44 C.
Ladefoged: there are probably no languages that use less than 3 vowels and these are symbolized by
letters: i, a, o or i, a, u (uncertain: Kabardian, Caucasus, maybe 2 V). The choice of these vowels is
determined by their position on the perimeter of the vowel space, which ensures an effective way of
distinguishing words.
One of the factors affecting the development of vowel systems was forming patterns. As the auditory
space for possible vowels is triangular, it seems that the most beneficial is the selection of the most
distant vowels (i, a, o or i, a, u) and adding two more vowels, so that the resulting vowel space is
symmetrical.
According to P. Ladefoged, about 20% of the world’s languages use five contrasting vowels and a
preference for odd number of vowels is observed, which is related to the triangular shape of the vowel
space.
Taking into account various languages, vowels are not evenly distributed in the possible vowel space:
the left-hand half of the space (i, e, a) is more densely “populated” than the upper right half (o, u).
The most effective use of vowels is ensured by such distribution in the vowel space, where one vowel
is located at the bottom of the space and others are distributed evenly on either side.
Audio examples of languages using five contrasting vowels (including Spanish, Japanese, Hawaiian
and Swahili) can be found at http://www.phonetics.ucla.edu/vowels/chapter3/table3.html.
Figure 7: Vowel chart of Spanish
vowels.
Figure 6: The vowel system of Spanish plotted on the possible vowel space.
The order of the letters in the Latin alphabet: a, e, i, o, u also reflects the frequency of the occurrence
of the vowels in languages with 5 contrasting vowels (the same concerns Polish vowel system).
More than 5 vowels can be found in: Californian English (14), BBC English (20), German, Swedish
(especially in dialects), Dutch dialect of Weert (28: 12 long, 10 short and 6 diphthongs).
4. Factors affecting vowel quality
4.1. Lip rounding
Lip rounding is another quality (beside tongue height and backness) contrasting vowels. The degree of
lip rounding increases with vowel backness i.e. back vowels are produced with a greater degree of lip
openness than front vowels, therefore they become rounded to a greater extent (cf sec. Error!
Reference source not found.).
In theory, any vowel can be pronounced with a smaller of greater degree of lip rounding.
Regular (i.e. phonological) distinctions are made in a number of European languages e.g. French or
German.
Figure 8: Vowel contrasts in French.
czworobok samogłoskowy niemieckich i franc.
Figure 9: Vowel contrasts in German.
4.2. Nasalization, nasality
4.2.1. Articulatory and acoustic characteristics
Generally, during the articulation of vowels the velum is raised and the airstream from the lungs is
blocked off from the nasal tract. However, vowels can be also produced with the velum lowered – it
receives a new quality and is described as nasal or nasalized vowel.
Figure 10: Vocal tract during articulation of a
nasal vowel (from W. Jassem, Acoustic phonetics).
The terms nasal and nasalized vowel refer to different acoustic
and articulatory phenomena:
a) nasalized vowels: affected by the nasal characteristics of
surrounding nasal stops – they assimilate to the nasal properties
of the adjacent nasal stop (English)
b) nasal vowels: regardless of the context they have a nasal resonance (French, Polish): nasal formant
ca. 250Hz, and two linguistically significant formants above that
The air does not need to escape through the nasal cavity for a sound to be nasal. It is enough if the
nasal tract remains opened during the articulation in which case there is an additional nasal resonance.
Nasalization does not affect all the oral vowels in the same way:
Figure 11: Formant structure of nasalized
vowels (top) and oral (bottom) in the same
phonetic context.
a) nasal vowels are characterized by
wider bandwidth of F1
b) the F1 of oral vowels is well
defined and has greater amplitude (it
is narrower and darker)
c) increased F2 bandwidth in “men”
and “man”, additionally increased F1
frequency
4.2.2. Synchronic and asynchronic articulation
Nasal vowels can be articulated in two manners depending on the behavior of the soft palate and
“participation” of the nasal cavity:
a) Synchronic articulation (monophtongal nasal vowels as in e.g. French)
The soft palate remains lowered from the start to the end of the articulation of the vowel. The oral and
nasal tract “participate” simultaneously in the articulation of the vowel. Resonances resulting from
changes in the shape of the oral tract (-> tongue position) occur simultaneously with those produced
by airstream vibration in the nasal cavity.
b) asynchronic articulation (diphtongal nasal vowels as in Polish)
The soft palate becomes lowered with some delay relative to the start of vowel articulation. The nasal
resonance is not synchronized with the flow of the airstream through the oral tract and movement of
the body of the tongue. Resonances in the nasal cavity occur with a delay relative to resonances in the
oral tract. In such scenario a diphthong consisting of two segments (an oral vowel followed by a nasal
or nasalized approximant) is produced.
The asynchronic articulation of nasal vowels is reflected in the spectrogram.
The part of the display corresponding to the oral vowel has formant frequencies characteristic of that
vowel. The display changes with the occurrence of the nasal segment – the frequencies of the F2 and
F3 as well as the energy of all the formants decrease. The transitions of F2 are characteristic of the
subsequent nasal segment.
Figure 12: A spectrogram showing the polisegmental structure of Polish nasal vowel [ę].
4.3. Rhotacisation
In the pronunciation of vowels the tip of the tongue remains normally inactive. However, it can be
raised towards the palate (without coming into contact with it) to produce a vowel of a new quality.
This process is known as Rhotacisation or r-coloring.
Figure 13: Vocal tract during articulation of a erotic
or rhotacized vowel (from W. Jassem, Acoustic phonetics).
We distinguish between rhotacized and rhotic vowels on the basis of
similar factors as in case of nasal and nasalized vowels:
a) rhotacized vowels are affected by the characteristics the adjacent
/r/ sound to which they assimilate (e.g. varieties of English and
Chinese)
b) rhotic vowels – the r-colouring occurs irrespective of the adjacent
consonantal /r/ sound, even if there is no /r/ in the nearest context (rare)
The characteristic acoustic feature of the rhotic and rhotacized vowels is the lowered frequency of F3
in comparison to the corresponding oral vowels.
Figure 14: The spectrogram showing the structure of „standard” oral and rhotacized vowels (from P. Ladefoged, A
course in phonetics). The arrow indicates the lowered F3 of the vowel /ɝ/.
4.4. Voice quality
breathy voiced – Gujarati
creaky voiced – Mazatec
tense–voice – Mpi
The number of vowel qualities is very large if we take into account all possible differences in vowel
height, backness, lip rounding, nasalization, Rhotacisation and voice quality.
An example of a very interesting language is !Xóõ (a Bushman language spoken in the region of the
Kalahari Desert):
 a rich consonantal system (over 50% of the words begin with a click of some sort, numerous
ejectives),
 a complex vowel system: /a/, /o/, /u/: plain (regular voicing), pharyngealized (with a more
constricted pharynx), strident (epiglottalized: lower part of the epiglottis near larynx
tightened) and breathy
5. Polish vowels
5.1. Oral vowels (based on Wiśniewski)
5.1.1. Vowel chart: vowel phonemes and allophones
Figure 15: Polish vowel chart (after M. Wiśniewski, Phonetics and phonology of contemporary Polish). Phones are
marked in red circles; the rest of the symbols corresponds to allophonic variants.
Vowel phonemes: /i/, /ɨ/, /e/, /a/, /o/, /u/
Allophonic variants: /ä/, /ö/, /ü/, /ȯ/, /ė/ (it will not be requested to consider the allophones in the
transcription of Polish utterances)
Vowel contrasts on the basis of the tongue position:
a) in the horizontal space:
high: /i/, /ɨ/, /ü/, /u/
mid-high (allophones): /ė/, /ȯ/, /ö/
mid: /e/, /o/
low-mid (allophones): /ä/
low: /a/
b) in the vertical space:
front: /i/, /ė/, /e/
front centralised: /ɨ/,
central: /a/
central centralised: /ä/
back centralised: /ö/, /ü/
back: /u/, /ȯ/, /o/
Table 1: Cross sections of the position of the tongue during the articulation of Polish vowel phonemes.
5.2. Interferences between Korean and Polish (for Korean students!)
5.2.1. Comparison of the vowel systems of Korean and Polish
There are nine* vowels in Korean and a length distinction which is not used consistently.
The distinction between /e/ and /ɛ/ is not consistently made and in the speech of some younger
speakers in the area of Seoul it is completely lost. For those speakers who do not make the distinction
/e/ seems to be the dominant form.
Figure 16: Korean short (the left diagram) and long vowels (right). The position of Polish vowels on the chart is
marked in circles (the left diagram). The Polish high front-centralized vowel /ɨ/ is given in SAMPA transcription – /y/.
Expected interferences between Korean and Polish:
a) Polish vowels: /i/, /e/, /a/, /o/, /u/ may be replaced by the closest (in the sense of articulatory
gestures) Korean vowels: /i/, /ɛ/, /a/, /o/ and /ɯ/. These substitutions may lead to perception of
a foreign accent, but they should not affect speech comprehensibility, except for /ɯ/ which is a
rounded vowel and has quite distinct acoustic and auditory features than the unrounded /u/.
b) /ɨ/ (/y/ in SAMPA) can be realized as Korean /i/ - you can avoid this kind of a
mispronunciation by setting the tongue and lips as for the realization of Korean /i/ but with the
tongue slightly lower and moved back and your lips slightly more rounded
5.3. Pronunciation rules
1. Unlike the allophones, the vowel phonemes /i/, /ɨ/, /e/, /a/, /o/, /u/ can be pronounced in
isolation. Except for /ɨ/, they are realized after a pause and at the beginning of the word (pl:
nagłos).
2. /ɨ/ never occurs after palatal or alveolo-palatal C, or after /l/: in these contexts /i/ is used – this
is also reflected in the orthographic transcription e.g. zima, cis, kupi, lipa
3. /e/, /a/, /o/, /u/ never occur in the middle of word in the in the context of an adjacent palatal,
alveolo-palatal C or /j/: in such positions /ė/, /ä/, /ö/, /ü/ are pronounced
palatal + /e/, /a/, /o/, /u/ + palatal -> palatal + /ė/, /ä/, /ö/, /ü/ + palatal
siać, nieść, zionie, dziubie
/j/ + /e/, /a/, /o/, /u/ + /j/ -> /j/ + /ė/, /ä/, /ö/, /ü/ + /j/
jej, jajko, jojo, jujuba
/j/ + /e/, /a/, /o/, /u/ + palatal -> /j/ + /ė/, /ä/, /ö/, /ü/ + palatal
jeść, Jaś, wiośnie, Józio
palatal + /e/, /a/, /o/, /u/ + /j/ -> palatal + /ė/, /ä/, /ö/, /ü/ + /j/
dzieje, dzisiaj,
4.
/e/, /a/, /o/, /u/ never occur word-finally after palatal, alveolo-palatal C or /j/ or in the middle
of the word after /j/ and before a non-palatal C. In theses contexts /ė/, /ä/, /ö/, /ü/ will be
realized.
palatal C + /e/, /a/, /o/, /u/ -> palatal +/ė/, /ä/, /ö/, /ü/
konia, życie, dziadzio, Jasiu,
/j/ + /e/, /a/, /o/, /u/ + non-palatal C -> /j/ + /ė/, /ä/, /ö/, /ü/ + non-palatal C
piasek, wiedza, kiosk, biust
palatal + /e/, /a/, /o/, /u/ + non-palatal C -> palatal + /ė/, /ä/, /ö/, /ü/ + non-palatal C
ciepły, przedsionka, Ziuta
Generally, it is the left context that matters: there will always be /ė/, /ä/, /ö/, /ü/ after a palatal C or /j/
and /e/, /a/, /o/, /u/ after a pause, a vowel or a non-palatal consonant.
The right context is not that significant: at the end of the word and before a non-palatal consonant both
/e/, /a/, /o/, /u/ and /ė/, /ä/, /ö/, /ü/ can occur.
5.4. Lip gestures
As mentioned already in sec.Error! Reference source not found. the degree of lip rounding increases
with vowel backness. Therefore, if we list Polish vowels from the front ones to the back ones, we will
receive a sequence of an increasing lip rounding:
/i/, /ɨ/, /e/ – spread lips
/a/ – neutral lip position
/o/, /u/ – fully rounded (labialized)
Labialization is a secondary feature, because the quality of the vowels is primarily determined by the
vertical position of the tongue.
6. Exercises: Oral vowels
6.1. Vowel /y/ in contrast
6.1.1. /y/ - /i/
bić-być
wił-wył
tik-tyk
miła-myła
piły-pyły
pisk-pysk
wybił-wybył
nowi-nowy
ładni-ładny
wyszły-wyszli
My musimy umyć nasz nowy, ładny samochód.
Zegar tyka: tik - tak, właśnie wybił drugą.
Miła pani zmyła lepki pył z twarzy.
Tymek wypił wielki łyk wody.
bitɕ bɨtɕ
viw vɨw
tik tɨk
miwa mɨwa
piwɨ pɨwɨ
pisk pɨsk
vɨbiw vɨbɨw
novi novɨ
wadɲi wadnɨ
vɨʃwɨ vɨʃli
mɨ muɕimɨ umɨdʑ naʒ novɨ wadnɨ samoxut
zegar tɨka tik tak vwaɕɲe vɨbiw drugow~
miwa paɲi zmɨwa lepci pɨw s tfaʒɨ
tɨmeg vɨpiw vjelci wɨg vodɨ
6.1.2. /y/ - /e/
syn-sen
byk-bek
zły-złe
wy-we
tyczka-teczka
wyjście-wejście
nowy-nowe
stary-stare
dobry-dobre
młody-młode
Krysia wyszła ze sklepu i weszła do fryzjera.
Syn Marzeny miał strasznie zły sen.
Wy we wtorek macie dzień wolny.
Te nowe lody waniliowe są dobre i pożywne.
sɨn sen
bɨk bek
zwɨ zwe
vɨ ve
tɨʧka teʧka
vɨjɕtɕe vejɕtɕe
novɨ nove
starɨ stare
dobrɨ dobre
mwodɨ mwode
krɨɕa vɨʃwa ze sklepu i veʃwa do frɨzjera
sɨn maʒenɨ mjaw straʃɲe zwɨ sen
vɨ ve ftoreg matɕe dʑeɲ volnɨ
te nove lodɨ vaɲiljove sow~ dobre i poʒɨvne
6.1.3. /y / - /o/, /y/ - /u/, /y/ - /a/
rym-Rom
tym-tom
mamy-mamo
złoty-złoto
byk-Bóg
domy-domu
stoły-stołu
styl-stal
dym-dam
róży-róża
W tym domu mamy tylko jeden tom poezji.
Złoty wazon spadł ze stołu.
Nie ma róży bez kolców.
Ona ma styl i nerwy ze stali.
rɨm rom
tɨm tom
mamɨ mamo
zwotɨ zwoto
bɨk buk
domɨ domu
stowɨ stowu
stɨl stal
dɨm dam
ruʒɨ ruʒa
f tɨm domu mamɨ tɨlko jeden tom poezji
zwotɨ vazon spadw ze stowu
ɲe ma ruʒɨ bes koltsuf
ona ma stɨl i nervɨ ze stali
6.2. Vowel /a/ in contrast
6.2.1. /a/ - /e/
Ala-Ela
maj-mej
kram-krem
placek-plecak
piasek-piesek
byłam-byłem
Ala-ale
tamta-tamte
ala ela
maj mej
kram krem
platsek pletsak
pjasek pjesek
bɨwam bɨwem
ala ale
tamta tamte
biała-białe
prosta-proste
Tamte dziewczyny to Ala i Ela.
W maju byłem w mojej rezydencji nad morzem.
Obaj mężczyźni mają proste, białe zęby.
Poszłam po krem i żel, ale ich nie kupiłam.
bjawa bjawe
prosta proste
tamte dʑefʧɨnɨ to ala i ela
v maju bɨwem v mojej rezɨdentsji nad moʒem
obaj mew~ʃʧɨʑɲi majow~ proste bjawe zembɨ
poʃwam po krem i ʒel ale ix ɲe kupiwam
6.2.2. /a/ - /u/, /a/ - /o/, /a/ - /i/
bal-ból
kara-kura
rocka-roku
lat-lot
para-pora
jasna-jasno
wysoka-wysoko
las-lis
nowa-nowi
jaka-jaki
Pod koniec roku zagra tu koncert wielka gwiazda
rocka.
Ta para zna się od lat, pora żeby się pobrali.
Jest bardzo jasno i słońce świeci wysoko na
niebie.
Jaka matka, taki syn.
bal bul
kara kura
roka roku
lat lot
para pora
jasna jasno
vɨsoka vɨsoko
las lis
nova novi
jaka jaci
pot koɲedz roku zagra tu kontserd vjelka gvjazda
roka
ta para zna ɕe od lat pora ʒebɨ ɕe pobrali
jezd bardzo jasno i swoɲtse ɕfjetɕi vɨsoko na
ɲebje
jaka matka taci sɨn
6.3. Vowel /o/ in contrast
6.3.1. /o/ - /u/
Ola-Ula
oraz-uraz
to-tu
los-luz
mrok-mruk
stron-strun
kora- kura
ronda-runda
miasto-miastu
państwo-państwu
mało-pomału
Państwo Urbańscy idą pomału przez miasto.
Ola jest młodsza od Uli o osiem godzin.
Pokażę państwu jak dojść do ronda.
ola ula
oras uras
to tu
los lus
mrok mruk
stron strun
kora kura
ronda runda
mjasto mjastu
paj~stfo paj~stfu
mawo pomawu
paj~stfo urbaj~stsɨ idow~ pomawu pʃez mjasto
ola jezd mwoʧa od uli o oɕem godʑin
pokaʒe paj~stfu jag dojʑdʑ do ronda
6.3.2. /o/ - /e/, /o/ - /i/
ono-one
ono one
mocno-mocne
motsno motsne
ciemno-ciemne
tɕemno tɕemne
zimno-zimne
ʑimno ʑimne
moja-mija
moja mija
zdrowo-zdrowi
zdrovo zdrovi
To dziecko ma ciemne, mocno kręcone włosy i to dʑetsko ma tɕemne motsno krentsone vwosɨ i
jasne oczy.
jasne oʧɨ
Choć jedzą niezdrowo, są bardzo zdrowi.
xodʑ jedzow~ ɲezdrovo sow~ bardzo zdrovi
Gdy jest zimno, trzeba się ciepło ubrać.
gdɨ jezd ʑimno ʧeba ɕe tɕepwo ubratɕ
6.4. Vowel /e/ in contrast
6.4.1. /e/ - /u/, /e/ - /i/
te-tu
pole-polu
stek-stóg
bez-bis
nowe-nowi
żywe-żywi
Ci nowi nauczyciele mają nowe, lepsze metody.
Artysta zagrał na bis bez akompaniamentu.
Niemili ludzie nie są tu mile widziani.
te tu
pole polu
stek stuk
bes bis
nove novi
ʒɨve ʒɨvi
tɕi novi nauʧɨtɕele majow~ nove lepʃe metodɨ
artɨsta zagraw na biz bez akompaɲjamentu
ɲemili ludʑe ɲe sow~ tu mile vidʑaɲi
6.5. Vowel /u/ in contrast
6.5.1. /u/ - /i/
wół-wił
półka-piłka
muły-miły
stołku-stołki
fotelu-foteli
hotelu-hoteli
Mój wuj codziennie pił pół szklanki piwa.
Połóż piłkę na stołku, a nie na fotelu.
Nie lubię hoteli, wolę spać w przydrożnym
motelu.
vuw viw
puwka piwka
muwɨ miwɨ
stowku stowci
fotelu foteli
xotelu xoteli
muj vuj tsodʑenɲe piw puw ʃklaŋci piva
powuʃ piwke na stowku a ɲe na fotelu
ɲe lubje xoteli vole spatɕ f pʃɨdroʒnɨm motelu
7. Nasal vowels
Polish nasal vowels [ą] and [ę] (in ortography) are articulated in the asynchronic manner (see sec. 4.2),
hence they have a polisegmental structure and are realized as diphtongs consisting of an oral vowel /o/
and /e/ followed by a nasal stop /m/, /n/, /ɲ/, /ŋ/ or nasalized approximant /w~/ or /j~/.
There are no contexts in which Polish nasal vowels are realized as monophtongs (i.e. articulated in the
synchronic manner).
7.1. Word final position
– ą -> /ow~/
e.g. idą /idow~/ drogą /drogow~/
– ę -> /ew~/ or /e/
e.g. idę /idew~/ or /ide/
drogę /drogew~/ or /droge/
widzę-widzą
lubię-lubią
biorę-biorą
liczę-liczą
grzeję-grzeją
myje-myję
daje-daję
żyje-żyję
mało-małą
cało-całą
zimno-zimną
ciemno-ciemną
vidzew~ vidzow~
lubjew~ lubjow~
bjorew~ bjorow~
litʃew~ litʃow~
gʒejew~ gʒejow~
mɨje mɨjew~
daje dajew~
ʒɨje ʒɨjew~
mawo mawow~
tsawo tsawow~
ʑimno ʑimnow~
mawo mawow~
7.2. [ę], [ą] before [l] or [ł]
pronounced as /e/, /o/ followed by /l/ or /w/:
ę + l -> /e/ + /l/, e.g. zaczęli /zaʧeli/
ę + ł -> /e/ + /w/ e.g. wzięła /vʑewa/
ą + ł -> /o/ + /w/ e.g. kopnął /kopnow/
zaczął
uśmiechnął
płynęła
wzięliśmy
kopnęli
odpoczęli
Pływacy odpoczęli chwilę i popłynęli dalej.
Zaczął oglądać film ale zaraz zasnął.
Zdjęła okulary i uśmiechnęła się do mnie.
zatʃow
uɕmjexnow
pwɨnewa
vʑeliɕmɨ
kopneli
otpotʃeli
pwɨvatsɨ otpotʃeli xfile i popwɨneli dalej
zatʃow oglondatɕ film ale zaraz zasnow
zdjewa okularɨ i uɕmjexnewa ɕe do mɲe
7.3. [ę], [ą] before a plosive or affricate
pronounced as /e/, /o/ followed by a nasal (Nas), a plosive (Plo) or an affricate (Aff); the nasal
has the same place of articulation as the adjacent plosive or affricate
ę, ą + Plo -> /e/, /o/ + Nas + Plo
before bilabial plosives /p/, /b/:
dąb
skąpy
trąba
zęby
kłęby
sęp
Gołębie, jastrzębie i sępy to ptaki.
Wziął kąpiel z bąbelkami i umył zęby.
dąb /domp/, zęby /zemby/
domp
skompɨ
tromba
zembɨ
kwembɨ
semp
gowembje jastʃembje i sempɨ to ptaci
vʑow kompjel z bombelkami i umɨw zembɨ
W orkiestrze dąbrowskiej są bębny i trąby.
v orcjestʃe dombrofscjej sow~ bembnɨ i trombɨ
before dental plosives /t/, /d/:
zamknięty /zamkɲenty/, piąta /pjonta/
before palatal or velar plosives
/c/, /ɟ/, /k/, /g/:
ręka /reŋka/, ciągle /ʨoŋgle/
łąka
pociąg
ciągle
ręka
błękit
księga
Księgowy ciągle spóźnia się na pociąg.
Dziękuję za piękne rękawiczki.
Na Węgrzech mąka jest dużo tańsza.
woŋka
potɕoŋk
tɕoŋgle
reŋka
bweŋcit
kɕeŋga
kɕeŋgovɨ tɕoŋgle spuʑɲa ɕe na potɕoŋk
dʑeŋkuje za pjeŋkne reŋkavitʃci
na veŋgʒex moŋka jezd duʒo taj~ʃa
ę, ą + Aff -> /e/, /o/ + Nas + Aff
before post-dental affricates /ts/, /dz/:
before alveolar affricates /ʧ/, /ʤ/:
zając
pieniądze
rączka
zamknięty
błędy
ręce
między
tęcza
Będę spędzać więcej czasu na łące.
Od pączków boli go żołądek.
W tym miesiącu jest stale zajęty i zmęczony.
W piątek oglądałam interesujący film.
before alveolo-palatal affricates /ʨ/, /ʥ/:
zdjąć
sądzić
błądzić
pięć
zdjęcia
będzie
Sędzia zarządził pięć minut przerwy.
Na przyjęciu będzie dziesięć osób.
Na zdjęciu siedzę w pierwszym rzędzie.
między /mjendzɨ/, zając /zajonts/
tęcza /teṇʧa/, rączka /roṇʧka/
zajonts
pjeɲondze
roṇtʃka
zamkɲentɨ
bwendɨ
rentse
mjendzɨ
teṇtʃa
bende spendzadʑ vjentsej tʃasu na wontse
ot poṇtʃkuv boli go ʒowondek
f tɨm mjeɕontsu jest stale zajentɨ i zmeṇtʃonɨ
f pjonteg oglondawam interesujontsɨ film
pięć /pjeɲʨ/, usiądzie /uɕoɲʥe/
zdjoɲtɕ
soɲdʑitɕ
bwoɲdʑitɕ
pjeɲtɕ
zdjeɲtɕa
beɲdʑe
seɲdʑa zaʒoɲdʑiw pjeɲdʑ minut pʃervɨ
na pʃɨjeɲtɕu beɲdʑe dʑeɕeɲdʑ osup
na zdjeɲtɕu ɕedze f pjerfʃɨm ʒeɲdʑe
7.4. [ę], [ą] before a fricative (Fri, except for /ɕ/, /ʑ/)
ę, ą + Fri (-/ɕ/, /ʑ/) -> /ew~/, /ow~/ + Fri
Śląsk
często
brązowy
język
wąż
mężczyzna
książę
księżna
wąchać
węch
wąwóz
przedsięwzięcie
Książę śląski ma gęste wąsy.
Często czytam książki w obcych językach.
Mój mąż ma świetny węch.
Ten mężczyzna pracuje w mięsnym.
e.g. często /ʧew~sto/ , brązowy /brow~zovy/
ɕlow~sk
tʃew~sto
brow~zovɨ
jew~zɨk
vow~ʃ
mew~ʃtʃɨzna
kɕow~ʒe
kɕew~ʒna
vow~xatɕ
vew~x
vow~vus
pʃetɕew~vʑeɲtɕe
kɕow~ʒe ɕlow~sci ma gew~ste vow~sɨ
tʃew~sto tʃɨtam kɕow~ʃci v optsɨx jew~zɨkax
muj mow~ʒ ma ɕfjetnɨ vew~x
ten mew~ʃtʃɨzna pratsuje v mjew~snɨm
7.5. [ę], [ą] after a non-palatal consonant (C) and before the alveolo-palatal consonant /ɕ/, /ʑ/
C + ę, ą + /ɕ/ /ʑ/ -> C + /ew~/, /ow~/ + /ɕ/ /ʑ/
e.g. sąsiad /sow~ɕat/
or
C + ę, ą + /ɕ/ /ʑ/ -> C + /ej~/, /oj~/ + /ɕ/ /ʑ/
wąsik
sąsiad
szczęście
więzienie
zwięźle
Sąsiad z wąsikiem hoduje gęsi.
Kazano więźniowi usiąść i mówić zwięźle.
Ten nieszczęśnik cierpi na zanik mięśni.
e.g. szczęście /ʃʧej~ɕʨe/
vow~ɕik
sow~ɕat
ʃtʃew~ɕtɕe
vjej~ʑeɲe
zvjej~ʑle
sow~ɕad z vow~ɕicjem xoduje gew~ɕi
kazano vjej~ʑɲovi uɕoj~ʑdʑ i muvidʑ zvjej~ʑle
ten ɲeʃtʃew~ɕɲik tɕerpi na zaɲig mjej~ɕɲi
7.6. [ę], [ą] after a palatalized or alveolo-palatal consonant (PC) and before the alveolo-palatal
consonant /ɕ/, /ʑ/
PC + ę, ą + /ɕ/ /ʑ/ -> PC + /ej~/, /oj~/ + /ɕ/ /ʑ/ e.g. usiąść /uɕoj~ɕʨ/