Unit 2
Pure or steady state vowels
According to their length, they can be long or short. Some authors also talk about free or
checked vowels. They quality depends of the resonators used to produce them. In terms of
openness they can be open mid or close. They can be also classified according to the place of
articulation (front central or back), lip position (rounded, neutral or spread), the muscle strain
(tense or lax) or the nasalisation.
/i:/
Long, front, close, spread, tense.
Spellings:
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EE: tree, cheese
E: complete
EA: leave, reason
IE: piece, field, fiend
EI, EY: seize, key
Remarks:


It does not happen before / ŋ /: seeing , according to this, has two syllables.
Closing /p-t-k/ usually reduce its length, in beat, for example. The contrast with bit
rather lies in quality.
/ɪ/
Short, front-central, close-close mid, slightly spread
or neutral, lax.
Spellings:
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
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I: sit, rich, treatise.
Y: myth, symbol.
E: pretty, except.
Remarks:
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
/ə/ sometimes appears instead of this vowel in unstressed position: useless, believe,
private, village. Functional words like me, be, bee, she, have [i] (weak) or /i:/ (strong).
The article the is /ðɪ/ before vowels.
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*Weak alternative:
Recent dictionaries and authors are now introducing this short form as an alternative to /ɪ / in
some particular weak positions.
1.
2.
3.
4.
Finally, after consonants (happy words): really, happy, hurry and its derivates.
Before another stressed vowel in the next syllable: react, preoccupied.
Before endings in –ate or –ous: appreciate, hilarious.
In weak forms of me, she, he, we, be.
/e/
Short, front, close mid-open mid, unrounded.
Spellings:
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E: set, bed
EA: dead, head, breath, cleanse, breast.
A: many, any, Thames.
Also: said, leisure, Leicester, friend, bury, Greenwich.
Remarks:

It is slightly more open than Spanish [e]. Final –e is usually silent, but there are
exceptions such as recipe, resumé, fiancé, employee, trainee.
/æ/
Short, front, open ,mid-open, slightly spread or neutral.
Spelling:

A: sat, hand, marry
Remarks:
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Not found in open syllables; /ə/ appears instead: Africa, idea.
For Spanish speakers, it lies between [e] and [a].
In American English, /æ/ - /e/ have similar quality.
American and Northern British speakers of ROP use it instead of /ɑ:/ in words like
path, grass, dance.
It is kept in wax, wag, twang but not in wall, war, swap.
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/ʌ /
Short, central, open mid-open, unrounded.
Spellings:
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U: sun, dull, Murray.
O: other, another, son, among, one, done, month,
colour, money, monk, monkey, mother, nothing, Monday, onion, London, oven, love,
dove, glove, some, government, front.
OU: country, southern, couple, enough, tough, rough, young.
OO: blood, flood.
OE: does, doesn’t.
Remarks:


It does not occur in final, open syllables.
Northern English (and also many Irish) speakers still retain the old pronunciation /ʊ/
/ɑ :/
Long, back, open, unrounded.
Spellings:
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A: last, pass, past, class, grass, daft, after, bath, tomato,
father, branch, dance, example.
AR: part, march, large.
EAR: heart, hearth.
ER: clerk, Derby, Berkeley.
AL: calm, palm, half, salmon.
AU, UA: aunt, laugh, guard, guardian.
Also: reservoir, camouflage.
Remarks:
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
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American and some British speakers use /æ/ before /s – f - θ / or nasal + consonant
(“Bath” words).
There is a general indecision in RP for those cases. Some modern RP speakers tend to
use it to simplify triphtongs in fire, power.
The strong for of are (weak form / ə/) can sound as our.
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/ɒ/
Short, back, open-open mid, rounded.
Spellings:
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O: dock, sorry, gone.
A: was, what, swan, want, quality.
OU, OW: cough, Gloucester, knowledge.
AU: because, sausage, Australia, cauliflower.
Remarks:


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It does not occur in final open syllable (/əʊ instead): bingo, cheerio.
GenAm and SW BrE accents lose its rounding, making it more open, like unrounded
cardinal 5 [ɑ].
Before fricatives /s – f - θ / some speakers lengthen it: cross, cloth.
/ɔ:/
Long, back, open mid-close mid, (variably) rounded.
Spellings:
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OR: horse, sword, born.
AW: saw, jaw, law.
OU, AU: bought, daughter, fault, cause.
A: all, water, talk, war.
ORE, OOR, OAR, OUR: before, more, door, floor, board, court, course.
Also broad, sure, but not cupboard.
/ʊ/
Short, central-back, close-close mid, rounded, lax.
Spellings:
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U: bull, full, cushion, butcher, bush, push, pudding.
O: wolf, woman, bosom, Worcester, worsted.
OO: good, book, wood, wool.
OU: could, should, would, curier.
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Remarks:

There is a difference of quality between / ʊ / and /u:/ in good-food, foot-boot, pullpool.
/u:/
Long, back, close, rounded, tense.
Spellings:
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OO: food, moon, too, balloon
O: do, who, move, lose, two, tomb, womb.
OU: group, soup, wound, through, youth.
U: rude, June, Susan, rule.
EW, UE, UI, OE: new, chew, blue, juice, bruise, cruise, suit, shoe.
Remarks:
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
American speakers tend to simplify the glide /ju:/ to /u:/ new students knew.
“Yod-dropping” also affects RP in words like suit.
*Weak alternative [u]:
Now used in dictionaries for some cases:


Where a vowel follows in the next syllable: situation, influence, vacuum.
In functional words, such as to (before vowels), you, into, do, who (rel.), and through
(prep.)
/ɜ:/
Long, central, open mid-close mid, unrounded, quality
like /ə/ but with a smaller range.
Spellings:
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IR, YR: bird, first, myrtle, circus.
ER, ERR, EAR: (her, were), serve, err, earth, heard,
(year).
UR, URR: turn, church, curse.
W+OR: word, world, work.
OUR: courtesy, journey.
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Remarks:


It can be considered as a strong form of /ə/: foreword / forward.
Spanish speakers should exercise on the relative vocalic equivalence in word, turn, girl,
jerk.
/ə/
Short, central, close mid-open mid, unrounded, lax.
Spellings:



It is the most common vowel in English. Any vowel and
combination can stand for it as long as they are in
unstressed position: possible, gentlemen, woman, pleasure, about, famous, fellow…
It may be stressed only in /əʊ/.
In rhotic accents, it is r-coloured [ɚ] or followed by /r/ if the spelling reflects it.
Remarks:
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All the weak forms of articles, prepositions, conjunctions and auxiliaries such as the, a,
an, for, but, to, and, are, have, etc. have /ə/.
Its openness ranges from that of /ʌ / in final position as in over, picture to close /ɜ:/ in
ago, away, interest.
Some words like between, behind, before are often heard with /ə/ instead of /ɪ/.
Something similar may happen in private, stomach, pigeon, etc.
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Diphthongs
/eɪ/
Spellings:
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A: late, waste, (bass), catering.
AI, AY: day, rail.
EI, EY: eight, they, freight, weight.
EA: great, steak, break.
Also: gauge, halfpenny, jail.
Final sound in bouquet, ballet.
Remarks:


In Estuary English and some urban British and overseas varieties, it often becomes [aɪ].
Some Americans and northern British accents, especially those in Scotland and in
Northern Ireland tend to shorten it to [ɛ].
/aɪ/
Spellings:
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I, Y: time, climb, dry, island.
IGH, EIGH: high, fight, height.
IE, YE: die, lie, rye, dye.
EI, AI: (either, neither), aisle.
Also buy, eye.
Remarks:
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In RP, fertile, fragile, missile, mobile, whereas in GenAm they have syllabic [l] or [əl],
with no diphthong.
When in open syllable, it is often produced as long [a:]: Friday.
There is an (informal) American spelling for this glide in nite, lite.
For some people in the north of Britain, night, blind may have /i:/
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/ɔɪ/
Spellings:


OI, OY: noise, toy.
Also buoy.
Remarks:

Some London and overseas speakers pronounce it like /ai/
/əʊ/
Spellings:
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O: most, sole, folk, don’t, won’t.
OA: oak, toast.
OE: toe, foe.
OU, OW: should, Seoul, though, shoulder, know, crow.
Also: sew, brooch, mauve.
Remarks:


GenAm starts this glide from a back vowel [oʊ]. So do some British NRP users.
Some British NRP speakers say it like /eɪ/, making virtual homophones of gate/goat,
toast/taste.
/aʊ/
Spellings:

OU, OW: house, couch, allow, sound, bough, brow,
frown.
Remarks:

Modern dictionaries and most authors use the notation /aʊ/, considering that the first
part of the glide starts closer to cardinal number 4.
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/ɪə/
Spellings:
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
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EER, EAR, ERE: beer, dear, (year), teardrop, here, beard.
EIR, IER, IR: weird, fierce, fakir.
EA, IA, EU, EO: idea, really, Ian, museum, theological.
Also: hero, period, serious, series.
Remarks:


Some RP speakers make a rising glide /jɜ:z/ years. Rhotic accents usually pronounce it
[i:r].
Central diphthongs and RP triphthongs often happen before or instead of /r/ and /l/
(“breaking”)
/ eə/
Spellings:
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
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ARE: care, share.
AIR: chair, fiar, air.
EAR: bear, wear, tear.
Also: mayor, there, (were), heir, their, Mary, Sarah, scare.
Remarks:


Some authors and dictionaries now use /ɛ:/, corresponding to cardinal 3.
Rhotic accents tend to shorten it to /ɛ:/: [fɛ:r] fair.
/ʊə/
Spellings:
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OOR: poor, moor.
URE: sure, pure, cure, endure.
UR: curious, during, security.
EWER (after /j/) sewer, fewer.
Also: tour, jewel, fluent, truant.
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Remarks:


Many British speakers will say /ɔ:/ in sure and poor.
American and some western British users remove /j/ in endure, sewer, newer and RP
also does it in influence (“yod-dropping”)
/aɪə/
Fire, society, liable, tired, higher, liar, buyer.
It may become [ɑə] or even /ɑ:/ in some modern RP speakers (“smoothing”).
/eɪə/
Player, conveyor, layer.
It often becomes /eə/
/ɔɪə/
Employer, enjoyable, buoyant, lawyer.
/əʊə/
Slower, mower.
/aʊə/
Hour, ours, shower, flower, coward, nowadays, sour.
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