Unit 3

The Classification of Speech Sounds
[3.1] How to study this unit?
[3.2] Introduction to the speech sounds
[3.3] The English vowels
[3.4] The English consonants
3
UNIT
Fonética de la lengua inglesa
Outline
Unit 3 – Outline 2
Pay attention to
3.1. How to study this unit?
This is one the most important units in phonetics. In this unit, you will:
Review the description of how sounds are produced.
Learn to classify the different speech sounds available in English according to how
and where they are produced.
Study the differences between vowels and consonants.
Check the classification of consonants and consonant clusters.
Get acquainted with the importance of minimal pair exercises.
Watch the videos at the end of the unit to notice how mispronouncing one word
may result in a lack of understanding.
Read and record a text (practicing the /ə/ sound).
Do the practice at the end of the unit.
3.2. Introduction to the speech sounds
We produce sounds when we set air in motion. Certainly, we can state that “speech is a
continuous flow of sounds with interruptions only when necessary to take air to breathe
or to organize our thoughts” (Collins, 2009: 10).
This flow of sounds is normally described as a speech chain where several types of
speech sounds are linked together.
These types of speech sounds are called segments and can be classified as follows:
Vowels.
Consonants.
Glides.
Vowels
Speech sounds
Consonants
Segments
Glides
Unit 3–Pay attention to 3

Segments are combined to form larger units called syllables which in turn will result
in words:
These three different sound classes can be distinguished in terms of articulation and
acoustic features.
For example, consonants are produced with either a complete closure of the vocal tract
(i.e. /p/) or with some sort of narrowing of the vocal tract (i.e. /ʃ/).
On the other hand, glides share both consonantal and vocalic features. Glides are
articulated in the form of vowels although they immediately change to a different
articulation. For example, see the original position in:
/j/: yes
/w/: wine
Glides can never form the nucleus of a syllable and are also known as semi-vowels.
Finally, vowels are produced with little or none restriction of the airstream in the oral
tract.
This is the articulatory difference. As a result, this fact conveys a greater sonority to
vowels and allows them to form the nucleus of syllables. Vowels are then syllabic
elements.1
A syllable can be defined as a peak of sonority surrounded by less sonorous segments.

For example, the words a and go each contain one syllable, the word laughing two
syllables, and the word telephone three syllables. In counting the syllables in these
words, we are in effect counting the vowels. A vowel is said to form the nucleus of a
syllable.
O’Grady, 2011: 22-23
1 We will also see that certain consonants (/l/, /n/, /m/, /r/) can also be the nucleus of a syllable.

So, we may sum up the main differences between vowels and consonants as follows:
Vowels Consonants
Complete closure or narrowing of

Little obstruction of the oral tract
the oral tract
Higher sonority Lower sonority
They can form syllables on their own (being the They cannot normally form syllables
nucleus of syllables) on their own
Consequently, vowels take a prominent position within the syllable and form therefore
the nucleus of the syllable. Consonants then occur in adjacent positions.
For example, here we have some representations of syllabic structures in English (V=
vowel; C= consonant):
V  are /a:/
CV  sea /si:/
VC  all /ɔ:l/
CVC  cap /kæp/
Notice that the diagram above depicts the distribution of phonemes, not of graphemes.
At this point, it is important to describe the structure of the English syllable since it will
be a phonetic unit mentioned throughout this chapter.
The syllable
To analyze speech we must be able to split up into units the flow of sounds that form
the speech chain.
Typically, the unit considered a starting point for this process is the syllable. Linguists
do not completely agree on a definite description of the syllable. We all tend to know
how many syllables are contained within a specific word although it is more difficult to
assert where one syllable begins or ends. We can say that every syllable contains a
vowel at its nucleus, and may have one or more consonants at its margins. Additionally,
speech seems to be a succession of stressed and unstressed syllables. Different

languages combine this succession of stressed and unstressed syllables in several ways.
According to professor David Abercrombie “the manner in which stressed and
unstressed syllables succeed each other is what produces the rhythm of a language”
(Abercrombie, 1967: 79).
From an articulatory perspective, the syllable has three stages:

1. A small amount of air is released from the lungs (this stage is known as “release”).
2. This airflow passes through the vocal tract (a vowel sound is formed).
3. The air is released (this process is known as “arrest”) and it normally coincides with
the beginning of another syllable.
Syllable. Stages
1 2 3
Release Vowel sound Arrest
As we said, the vowel stands at the center and consonants are flanking the vowels on
each side (they stand at the margins of the syllable). As we said, to describe a syllable,
we will use the symbol V for a vowel and C for a consonant.
It is also important to notice that releasing consonants are rather short in duration so
the vowel takes the prominent position in the syllable. The arresting consonant is also
rather short. Additionally, the syllable can show numerous settings. For example, there
may be no releasing or arresting consonants. For example, the exclamatory word oh!
would show the following syllabic pattern: V; the word sea would be described as CV;
and the word at would be seen as VC.
As a consequence, syllables can be classified as open or closed depending on their

internal setting:
A syllable which is arrested by a consonant is said to be a closed syllable, and one which has
no arresting consonant is said to be an open syllable.
Abercrombie, 1967: 80
The sequence of consonants either side of the vowel is called a consonant cluster
(see unit 4 for further details on consonant clusters).We can exemplify closed and open
syllables with the following words:

Word Phonemic transcription Syllable structure Type of syllable

Work /wɜ:k/ CVC Closed syllable
Sea /si:/ CV Open syllable
People /´pi:pəl/ CV ─ CVC Open + Closed syllable
This picture shows this idea in a visual way:
In short, we can assert that the only obligatory element in a syllable is the vowel which
can be surrounded by consonants.
Professor Beverley Collins (2009, 74) offers the following selection of possible vowel
and consonant structures for English syllables:
Awe /ɔ:/ V
Saw /sɔ:/ CV
Ought /ɔ:t/ VC
Sawn /sɔ:n/ CVC
Lawns /lɔ:nz/ CVCC
Draw /drɔ:/ CCV
Drawn /drɔ:n/ CCVC
Straw /strɔ:/ CCCV
Strands /strændz/ CCCVCCC
Glimpsed /glɪmpst/ CCVCCCC

English shows several constraints on the possible combinations in the consonant

clusters.
For example:
/ŋ/ never occurs as releasing consonant (initial position in a syllable).
/h/, /j/ and /w/ never occur as arresting consonants (final position in a syllable).
/t/, /d/, /θ/ never combine with /l/ as releasing clusters.
If a releasing cluster is formed by three elements, the initial one will be /s/ (street).
All these speech sounds form the English phonemic inventory, which consists of 44
phonemes. Phonemes are normally learned in contrast with other phonemes. As
professor Beverley Collins states: “from the moment children start learning to talk they
begin to recognize and appreciate those sound contrasts which are important for their
own language; they learn to ignore those which are insignificant. We all interpret the
sounds of language we hear in terms of our mother tongue and there are many rather
surprising examples of this. For instance, the Japanese at first hear no difference
between the contrasting phonemes /r/ and /l/ of English, e.g. royal – loyal; Greek
learners cannot distinguish /s/ and /ʃ/ as in same and shame […] So non-natives must
learn to interpret the sound system of English as heard by English native speakers and
ignore the perceptions imposed by years of speaking and listening to their own
language” (Collins, 2009: 13).
To accomplish this objective, phonetics uses a kind of contrast exercise known as

minimal pairs.
The importance of minimal pairs in the ESL classroom
As we said in unit 1, phonemes carry distinctive features in every language. This

means that the occurrence of one phoneme instead of another results in a change in
meaning. In other words, they convey semantic differences. To teach how to tell one
phoneme from another we can use minimal pair activities in ESL classroom.
A minimal pair consists of two words which are different in just one single phoneme.
By practicing these activities students will learn to recognize distinctive sounds which
result in differences in meaning. Minimal pairs can be practiced at all segmental levels
(either at vowels or at consonants). Minimal pairs are said to reveal sound contrasts
in any language. This is the main reason why every description of a single phoneme

(either a vowel or a consonant) is accompanied by a list of possible minimal pairs. It

would be an interesting activity to have students of English think of other possible
minimal pairs for each phoneme studied.
Let’s now study the English consonants and vowels in greater detail. This information
will enable us to teach the correct articulation of both vowels and consonants. To do so,
we should bear in mind the different articulators involved in the process of speaking:
Figure 3.1. Points of articulation

Source: http://www.indiana.edu/~hlw/PhonUnits/vowels.html
3.3. The English vowels
Vowels are sonorous, syllabic sounds produced with the vocal tract more open than it is
for consonants or glides.
They are segments produced when the airstream coming from the lungs causes the
vocal folds to vibrate and no noticeable narrowing is found in the vocal tract. The
different vowel sounds are the result of a change in the placement of the tongue and the
shaping of the lips.
English vowels are divided into two main groups: 12 pure vowels and 8 diphthongs.

Vowels. Groups
12 pure vowels 8 diphthongs
The following chart shows the different vowel sounds in English:
Pure vowels
/i:/ /ɪ/ /e/ /æ/ /a:/ /ɒ/
see sit bed cap farm dog
/ɔ:/ /ʊ/ /u:/ /ʌ/ /ɜ:/ /ə/
short put fool sun girl teacher
Diphthongs
/aɪ/ /eɪ/ /ɔɪ/ /aʊ/
time day toy now
/ɪə/ /eə/ /əʊ/ /ʊə/
here there go sure
As we said, vowels are segments produced when the airstream coming from the lungs
causes the vocal folds to vibrate and no noticeable narrowing is found in the vocal tract.
We cannot actually talk about places of articulation for vowels, although we

have to say that the most important speech mechanisms involved are the vocal folds
(as the source for vibration), and the mouth (as a resonating cavity). The mouth is
essential for the formation of the vowels. In it, the heights of the tongue or the degree of
roundness of the lips play a crucial role in their correct production.
As a result, we end up describing the production of vowels according to whether the

front, center or back of the tongue is raised towards the roof of the mouth or not.
Accordingly, we take 5 features into account in describing a vowel:

The shape of the tongue.
The shape of the lips.
Whether the shape of tongue/lips remain constant or not.
Position of the velum.
Duration (long and short vowels).

According to professor Beverly Collins, the most important factor to take into account
is the shape of the tongue (tongue height or how close the tongue is to the roof of the
mouth) (Collins, 2009: 58).
English pure vowels are normally represented in a trapezoid which accounts for the
position of the tongue inside the oral cavity at the moment of producing each vowel
sound. It was Daniel Jones’ ideas to devise this trapezoid diagram. The trapezoid
represents the area out of which the speech sounds produced would turn to be
consonants rather than vowels since there would be friction or complete closure in the
airstream’s way out.
Figure 3.2. English vowel diagram

Adapted from: IPA Chart, http://www.langsci.ucl.ac.uk/ipa/ipachart.html, available under a Creative
Commons Attribution-Sharealike 3.0 Unported License. Copyright © 2005 International Phonetic
Association
The trapezoid figure can be explained according to three different parameters:

Vertical axis: it represents the height of the tongue. According to this vertical axis,
vowels can be: close (high position), mid and open (low position).
A horizontal axis which depicts the part of the tongue body moving forwards and
backwards (tip, front, back of the tongue). According to this horizontal axis, vowels
can be: front, central and back.
A third axis depicts the duration of the vowels (short vowels on the left to long
vowels on the right).

Trapezoid diagram. Parameters
Ve rtical axis  he ight of the tongue
Close
Vowels Mid
Open
Horizontal axis  part of the tongue
Front
Vowels Central
Back
Duration axis
Short
Long
In English, there are 5 long vowels and 7 short vowels:
Long
/i:/ /a:/ /ɔ:/ /u:/ /ɜ:/
vowels
Short
/ɪ/ /e/ /ʌ/ /ɒ/ /ʊ/ /ə/ /æ/
vowels
Notice that both diphthongs and triphthongs are considered long vowels.
Taking into account Jones’ information, the English vowels can be described as follows.
/i:/ high front unrounded long vowel
Occurrence:
In open syllables (CV): see, sea, bee, fee.
In closed syllables when the closing (arresting) consonant is voiced (CVC): feed,
been, seed, read, bean, lead.
Since there is no one-to-one correspondence in English between spelling and

pronunciation, it is useful to have a brief guideline of the main graphemes
representing one sound.
This is why a list of the most frequent graphemes is provided at the beginning of each
vowel description.

Main graphemes
ee see, feed, bee
ea sea, tea, bead
ie shield, field
ci receive
e be, these
eo people
As we said, the importance of minimal pairs exercises relies on the necessity for non-
native speakers to stop applying speech parameters from their mother tongue into the
target language. This sort of activities provides a great opportunity to distinguish
among the numerous distinctive qualities of English sounds.
Minimal pairs
/i:/ /ɪ/
read rid
leap lip
seen sin
sheep ship
bean bin
beach bitch

/ɪ/ close-mid front-central short vowel
Occurrence:
In stressed syllables in monosyllabic words: milk, ring, sit, still, sing, think.
In unstressed syllables: language, pretty, happy.
Main graphemes
i rich, sit, tin

y lady, Mary, body
ui building, built
e (in stressed syllables) English, pretty
u (in stressed syllables) busy
ie (in stressed syllables) sieve
language
Other vowel graphemes can represent this wanted
sound in unstressed syllables money
minute
thinking
interesting
-ing (bound suffix)
amazing
reading
Minimal pairs
/ɪ/ /i:/
fit feet
rid reed
tin teen
will wheel
still steel
/ɪ/ /e/
sit set
bid bed
built belt
fill fell

/e/ mid-high front unrounded short vowel
Occurrence:
In stressed syllables in monosyllabic words: ten, pen, sell, fell, well, bed, chess.
Main graphemes
e bed, ten, well
ea head, dead
a many, any
u bury
ai said
Minimal pairs
/e/ /ɪ/
tell till
sell sill
pen pin
fell fill
/e/ /i:/
bed bead
chess cheese
met meet
said seed
stem steam

/æ/ low front unrounded short vowel
Occurrence:
When it is placed before voiced consonants /b, d, g, m, n, ŋ/ it is perceived as longer
in its duration [æ:]: cab, bag, bad, bang.
Main graphemes
a mass, cab, hand, plant, match, lamp, bad, damn, stand, lamb, mad
Minimal pairs
/æ/ /e/
flash flesh
mass mess
rack wreck
pat pet
bad bed
bag beg
sat set
/a:/ low back unrounded long vowel
Occurrence:
It is a common vowel in British English Received Pronunciation. In RP, /a:/ is
always pronounced when it is followed by “r”: car, park, far, March, bar, market,
farm, bark. In RP, this “r” is silent unless the following word begins with a vowel.
This /r/ is known as linking r and dictionaries usually represented it in brackets:
Citation form: Connected speech:

Car  /ka:(r)/ The car is there
/ðə´ka:rᴗɪzðeə/
In American English the examples given above are also pronounced with /a:/ but
the retroflex [ɽ] is added: car  [ka:ɽ].

Main graphemes
a ask, car, park
er clerk
ear heart
al calm, half
au laugh, aunt
Minimal pairs
/a:/ /æ/
March match
jars jazz
carp cap
/a:/ /ʌ/
farce fuss
calm come
dark duck
heart hut
/ɒ/ low back rounded short vowel
Occurrence:
In stressed syllables in monosyllabic words: hot, pot, God, rod, cod, box, sock, lock,
not, shop.
In GA the words above are pronounced like [a:].
Main graphemes
o not, hot, box
a want, what, watch
au because
ou cough

Minimal pairs /ɒ/
/ɒ/ /ʌ/
cop cup
lock luck
strong strung
long lung
gone gun
/ɒ/ /a:/
shopper sharper
stock stark
cod card
pot part
/ɔ:/ mid-low back rounded long vowel
Occurrence:
In stressed syllables before “r”: cork, sport, cord, port, short, more.
Main graphemes
o horse, short, born
ore more
oor poor
oar board
ou bought, fought
our four, your
a all
aw paw, saw, dawn

Minimal pairs /ɔ:/
/ɔ:/ /ɒ/
caught cot
stalk stock
short shot
sport spot
/ɔ:/ /a:/
lord lard
pork park
form farm
dawn darn
/ɔ:/ /ʌ/
short shut
bored bud
bought but
dawn done
/ʊ/ high back rounded short vowel
Occurrence:
In CVC syllables: foot, look, put, book, took, cook.
Main graphemes
u full, put, bull, pull
oo book, cook, look, wood, hood, good
ou could, should, would
o bosom

Minimal pairs
/ʊ/ /ɜ:/
wood word
full furl
stood stirred
took Turk
/ʊ/ /əʊ/
bull bowl
cook coke
could code
brook broke
should showed
pull pole
/u:/ high back rounded long vowel
Occurrence:
In open syllables (CV): do, lose, who, shoe, flu, crew.
It is preceded by glide /j/ when the grapheme is u, eu, ew, ue, ui: cute, mute, suit,
newt, nuisance, duke.
Main graphemes
oo spoon, boom, shoot
ou soup, route
o do
u June, flu
ew, ue, ui, oe Jew, sue, shoe, blue, suit

Minimal pairs
/u:/ /ʊ/
fool full
pool pull
cooed could
/u:/ /ɔ:/
shoot short
boot bought
fool fall
soon sawn
/ʌ/ Mid-low central-back short vowel
Occurrence:
It is a quite frequent vowel in monosyllabic words like: cup, shut, sun, strut.
Although its realization resembles Spanish /a/, notice it is never spelt with
grapheme “a”.
Main graphemes
u sun, fun, run, much, uncle, but, lunch, such, mud, cup
o done, won, one, come, some, money, cover, month,

London, Monday, honey, onion, stomach, among, tongue,
monk, monkey, brother, mother, other, nothing, love,
lovely, shovel, oven
ou country, young, enough, double, trouble, touch, rough,

tough
oo blood, flood
oe does

Minimal pairs
/ʌ/ /æ/
cup cap
but bat
run ran
much match
uncle ankle
/ʌ/ /e/
money many
fun fen
done den
but bet
/ɜ:/ mid-low central long vowel

Occurrence:
In stressed syllables when the vowel is followed by “r”: girl, work, word, world,
worse, turn, sir, nurse, church.
In GA, the grapheme “r” is pronounced (American English is a rhotic language):
girl /gɜ:rl/.
Main graphemes
ir first, girl, firm, birth, shirt, bird
er, ear earth, learn
ur nurse, burn, turn, return, murder
w +or world, word, work, worm, worse, worst
our journey

Minimal pairs
/ɜ:/ /e/
bird bed
burn Ben
word wed
learned lend
/ɜ:/ /æ/
fern fan
heard had
bird bad
hurt hat
/ɜ:/ /ɔ:/
learn lawn
stirred stored
word ward
firm form
/ə/ (schwa) mid central short vowel
Occurrence:
It shows a similar sound to /ɜ:/. It always occurs in unstressed syllables: mother,
father, brother, rather, worker, daughter, doctor.
Common vowel in English, especially in functional or weak words (see unit 4) used
in connected speech (prepositions, auxiliary verbs, conjunctions, pronouns, etc.).
Main graphemes
Any vowel may represent this sound woman, letter, America, doctor
Minimal pairs
Since the schwa vowel does not occur in stressed syllables, it cannot be set in contrast
in minimal pairs.

The English diphthongs
A diphthong is a vowel segment which begins with a vowel quality and ends in a
different one.
In English we can find 8 diphthongs (some phoneticians describe 8 diphthongs

whereas others describe 9 of them, the controversial one being /ɔə/).
Both diphthongs and triphthongs are considered long vowels.
In English they are classified according to the tongue movement:
Closing diphthongs, when the tongue rises thus closing the area between the
tongue and the roof of the mouth. Closing diphthongs are later classified into:
o Fronting diphthongs: the tongue moving towards a high front vowel like /ɪ/.
o Backing diphthongs: the tongue moving towards a high back vowel like /ʊ/.
Centering diphthongs: the tongue moves towards the central sound schwa /ə/.
Here is a list of the English diphthongs and triphthongs and their main graphemes:
Diphthongs
Closing diphthongs Centering diphthongs
Fronting diphthongs Backing diphthongs
/aɪ/ /ɪə/
/aʊ/
/eɪ/ /ʊə/
/əʊ/
/ɔɪ/ /eə/

Main graphemes
i, y time, shine, try, rhyme, cry, by
/aɪ/ ie, ye die, dye, tie, pie, rye
others aisle, eye, buy, height
take, cake, make, fame, rate, lake (but

C +a+ C + silent “e”
“give”  /gɪv/)
ai, ay rain, day, tray, main, train

/eɪ/
ei, ey prey, weight, they, eight
ea great, steak, break
/ɔɪ/ oi, oy voice, toy, boy, oil
/aʊ/ ou, ow house, cow, now, scout, brown
o no, so, go, hello, cold, sold
oa boat, coat, throat, load, float

/əʊ/
oe toe, foe, hoe, roe
ow, ou know, though, show, flow
eer, ere deer, here, peer, sheer, mere, beer
/ɪə/ ear, ier dear, fierce, near, year, rear
ea idea
are care, share, flare, stare, rare
ear wear, tear, bear

/eə/
air chair, fair, despair
ere there, where
ure sure, cure, lure, pure
/ʊə/ our tour
oor poor, boor

Minimal pairs
/eɪ/ /aɪ/ /eə/ /æ/
late light aired add
male mile glared glad
pain pine
fail file
/ɔɪ/ /aɪ/ /ɒ/ /əʊ/
point pint not note
foil file rob robe
boy buy got goat
toys ties clock cloak
/əʊ/ /aʊ/ /əʊ/ /ʊ/
a boat about foal full
wrote rout bowl bull
coal cowl code could
load loud pole pull
/ɪə/ /eə/ /əʊ/ /ɔ:/
here hair so saw
fear fair boat bought
mere mare coat caught
ear air cold called
/əʊ/ /u:/ /aʊ/ /ʌ/
soap soup down done
blow blue shout shut
show shoe town ton
known noon found fund
/ʊə/ /u:/ /ɪə/ /ɜ:/
tour too fear fur
moor moo hear her
truer true pierce purse
/eə/ /ɜ:/
fair fur
hair her
where were

Triphthongs
They consist in adding the schwa sound /ə/ to the closing diphthongs
(/aɪ, eɪ, ɔɪ, aʊ, əʊ/):
/aɪə/: liar, fire, tired, shire
/eɪə/: player, stayer, layer

/ɔɪə/: employer, destroyer
/aʊə/: shower, towel, vowel
/əʊə/: slower, lower
Triphthongs
Minimal pairs
/aɪə/ /a:/
fire far
tire tar
tired tarred
buyer bar
/aɪə/ /aʊə/
higher how are
shire shower
tire tower
/eɪə/ /eə/
layer lair
payer pair
stayers stairs

3.4. The English consonants
As we have said, a consonant can be defined as a speech sound produced with a

complete closure or with a narrowing of the oral tract.
In this sense, when we study the consonants we pay attention to the following details:
The manner of phonation: this represents whether they are voiced (the airflow
in its way out causes the vocal folds to vibrate) or voiceless (the vocal folds remain
apart so that the airflow coming from the lungs passes through them without
causing them to vibrate).
Oral sounds (produced when the soft palate or velum is raised thus avoiding the
airflow entering the nasal cavity. This blockage is known as velic closure), and
nasal sounds (produced when the soft palate or velum is lowered thus allowing
the airflow to enter the nasal cavity).
The place or point of articulation: they represent the place(s) where different
consonant sounds are produced.
The manner of articulation: it describes the way (manner) they are produced
(i.e. how the airstream is obstructed in its way out).
Accordingly, check the complete chart for the English consonants classified according
to their place of articulation, manner of articulation and manner of phonation:


Voiced and voiceless consonants
As the airstream passes through the vocal folds, it can cause them to vibrate and hence
it produces voiced sounds (vowels and voiced consonants). Remember that the vocal
folds are located in the area known as the phonatory system.
Voicing is the process by means of which the airflow passing through the vocal folds
causes them to vibrate rapidly.
On the other hand, voicelessness is the state where the vocal folds remain spread so
that the airflow passes through them without causing vibration.
The dual distinction voiced/voiceless is also known as lenis/fortis distinction and

makes reference to the amount of energy employed in the production of both voiced
and voiceless consonants.
Generally, voiceless consonants require a greater amount of energy so they are called
fortis; whereas voiced consonants are normally produced with a smaller effort and
hence are called lenis.
The 24 English consonants can be classified according to the vibration of the vocal
folds (known as manner of phonation) as follows:
Voiced (lenis) Voiceless (fortis)
/b, d, g, v, ð, z, ʒ, ʤ, l, m, n, ŋ, r, j, w/ /p, t, k, f, θ, s, ʃ, ʧ, h/
Oral and nasal consonants
When the velum is lowered and the airstream is allowed to enter the nasal cavity the
sounds produced are termed nasal sounds. The nasal sounds in English are /m/, /n/
and /ŋ/.

When the velum is raised (velic closure) and the airstream is blocked in its way into the
nasal cavity the sounds produced are termed oral sounds. You can see the different
positions of the velum in these pictures:
Figure 3.3. Velum raised

Source: adapted from http://www.indiana.edu/~hlw/PhonUnits/vowels.html
Figure 3.4. Velum lowered

The classification of consonants according to the place of articulation
This classification gives us information about the place or point where the consonantal
sound has been produced. In English, we can classify the consonants according to 8
places of articulation:
Bilabial: /p/, /b/, /m/

Labio-dental: /f/, /v/
Dental: /ð/, /θ/
Alveolar: /t/, /d/, /n/, /s/, /z/, /l/, /r/ (post-alveolar)

Palato-alveolar: /ʃ/, /ʧ/, /ʒ/, /ʤ/

Palatal: /j/
Velar: /k/, /g/, /ŋ/, /w/
Glottal: /h/
The different points of articulation are represented in the following picture. Remember
that some articulators are active articulators (tongue, lips, velum) and others are
passive articulators (the upper teeth, the alveolar ridge, the hard palate):
Figure 3.5. Places of articulation

The classification of consonants according to the manner of articulation
The manners of articulation represent the different positions or configurations every

articulator may adopt to produce different speech sounds.
The manners of articulation produce plosive sounds, fricative sounds, affricate

sounds, nasal sounds and approximant sounds.

Consonants
Manners of articulation
Plosive 1
Fricative 2
Sounds
Affricate 3
Nasal 4
Approximant 5
1 Plosive consonants (Stops)
Plosives are those consonants which are produced by means of a complete blocking
of the airstream as is being released.
This is why they are also known as stops. In addition, remember that the closure can
also take place at the glottis (glottal stop represented with the phonetic symbol [ʔ]). The
plosive consonants are oral consonants since the velum is raised so that no air passes
into the nasal cavity.
The following chart shows the plosive consonants in English arranged according to
their place of articulation as well (as seen in O’Grady, 2011: 27):
Manner of articulation.
Plosives (stops)
Place of articulation
Bilabial Alveolar Velar Glottal
Voiceless /p/ /t/ /k/

[ʔ]
Voiced /b/ /d/ /g/

Articulation of /p/ and /b/

The lips are held together as they block the airstream in its way out.
Articulation of /t/ and /d/

The tip of the tongue is against the alveolar ridge.

Articulation of /k/ and /g/

The back of the tongue is against the velum.
The plosive consonants form the following minimal pairs. Remember that minimal
pairs are sets of words in which just one phoneme is changed. Activities involving
minimal pairs are really helpful for non-native speakers to discriminate among sounds
produced with the same manner of articulation:
Minimal pairs for stops
/p/ voiceless bilabial stop /b/voiced bilabial stop
Pat Bat
Pet Bet
/t/ voiceless alveolar stop /d/ voiced alveolar stop
Time Dime
Ten Den
/k/ voiceless velar stop /g/ voiced velar stop
Coat Goat
Class Glass

Some features of the English stops are:
When /p/, /t/, /k/ are in initial position they are aspirated. This means that an extra puff of air
is released. This is important for Spanish speakers since Spanish /p/, /t/ and /k/ do not show
this aspiration. To notice this aspiration, we can place a piece of paper close to our lips and
pronounce the following words: time, people, pie, etc. We will notice how the piece of paper
moves when the extra puff of air is released. The aspiration is represented in phonetic
transcriptions as follows [pʰ], [tʰ], [kʰ]. Nevertheless, remember that this aspiration is not
represented in phonemic transcriptions using slant brackets //.
When /p/, /t/, /k/ in initial position are preceded by “s” (resulting in the consonant cluster sp-)
then they are not aspirated. For example, in words such as stop, spell, sky, etc.
Notice that English plosives /t/ and /d/ are alveolar (the tip of the tongue is raised up to the
alveolar ridge behind the upper front teeth).
The correspondence between spelling and pronunciation in the English plosive consonants is
rather high. However, some exceptions are found:
/k/: it may be spelt with “c” (car), “ch” (ache, choir), “ck” (dock), “k” (kill), “qu” (quick).
/k/ is silent in consonant clusters like kn (knife, knee).
/p/ is silent in the digraph ps (psalm).
/b/ is silent in climb, plumber, plumb.
In the ending group ng the /g/ is silent: long /lɒŋ/(notice however the word longer
/´lɒŋgə/).
2 Fricative consonants
Fricative consonants are produced when the airstream coming from the lungs produces
an audible friction as it passes through the articulators in the oral cavity. However, no
complete closure is produced so the airstream is not completely blocked.
Since the velum is raised (velic closure) the sounds produced are oral sounds.
The following chart shows the English fricatives with their points of articulation as well:

Manner of articulation. Fricatives
Labio-dental Dental Alveolar Palato-alveolar Glottal
Voiceless /f/ /θ/ /s/ /ʃ/ /h/
Voiced /v/ /ð/ /z/ /ʒ/
English fricatives can be set in minimal pairs with both fricatives and other consonants:
Minimal pairs for fricatives
/f/ voiceless labio-dental fricative /v/ voiced labio-dental fricative
Fan Van
Ferry Very
Safe Save
Few View
/θ/ voiceless dental fricative /d/ voiced alveolar stop
Cloth Clod
Both Bowed
Thank Dank
/ð/ voiced dental fricative /d/ voiced alveolar stop
They Day
Then Den
Though Dough
/s/ voiceless alveolar fricative /z/ voiced alveolar fricative
Rice Rise
Race Raise
Sip Zip

/ʃ/ voiceless palato-alveolar fricative /s/ voiceless alveolar fricative
Ship Sip
Shin Sin
Short Sort
/ʒ/ voiced palato-alveolar fricative No minimal pairs
Leisure
Measure
Explosion
Decision
Exclusion
Usually
Treasure
Conclusion
Confusion
Delusion
/f/: voiceless labio-dental fricative 
It is produced by raising the lower lip up to the upper front teeth.
The vocal folds do not vibrate so the sound is voiceless.

Spellings:
Initial position (“f”): fish, find, favor, favorite.
Mid position (“ff”, “gh”): coffee, laughing.
Final position (“ff”, “gh”): staff, enough.
/v/: voiced labio-dental fricative 
This speech sounds is not found in Spanish. It is produced by raising the lower lip up to
the upper front teeth and by making the vocal folds vibrate (voiced sound).

Spellings:
Initial position (“v”): very, victory.
Mid position (“v”, “ph”): eleven, clever, nephew.
Final position (“ve”): dive, believe, love.
/θ/: voiceless dental fricative 
It is produced by placing the tongue blade between the front teeth.
Spellings:
Initial position (“th”): think, thing, thank.
Mid position (“th”): nothing, anything.
Final position (“th”): both, youth.
/ð/: voiced dental fricative 
This sound does not occur in Spanish as an independent phoneme. It is produced by

placing the tongue blade between the teeth (as in /θ/) but there is vibration in the vocal
folds (voiced sound). Spanish learners should avoid pronouncing /ð/ as /d/ as in The
day that David did that /ðə´deɪðət´deɪvɪd´dɪd´ðæt/.

Spellings:
Initial position (“th”): then, they, the, though.
Mid position (“th”: although, brother.
Final position (“th”): with, bathe, clothe.
/s/: voiceless alveolar fricative 
It is produced by raising the tongue blade towards the alveolar ridge.

Spellings:
Initial position (“s”): say, sit.
Mid position (“s”, “ss”, “c”): gasoline, classes, necessary.
Final position (“ss”, “ce”, “s”): glass, race, bus.
/z/: voiced alveolar fricative 
It is produced by moving the tip of the tongue towards the alveolar ridge. The vocal
folds vibrate so it is a voiced sound. It does not occur as an independent phoneme in
Spanish.
Spellings:
Initial position (“z”): zip, zebra.
Mid position (“s”, “zz”, “z”): cousin, buzzing, crazy.
Final position (“se”, “s”, “ze”): lose, days, prize.
/ʃ/: voiceless palato-alveolar fricative 
To produce this song the tongue blade is raised up to the alveolar ridge and the back
part of the tongue touches the hard palate as the air is channeled outwards.The lips are
clearly rounded. The vocal folds do not vibrate (voiceless sound).
This sound does not occur in standard Spanish.

Spellings:
Initial position (“sh”): ship, shoe.
Mid position (“sh”, “c”, “t”): fashion, delicious, partial.
Final position (“sh”): trash, fish.
/ʒ/: voiced palato-alveolar fricative 
The blade of the tongue reaches the alveolar ridge and the air is channeled outwards.
The lips are clearly rounded. The vocal folds vibrate (voiced sound).
It does not occur in Spanish.

Spellings:
Initial position: in French loanwords such as genre.
Mid position (“s”): measure, leisure, conclusion.
Final position (“ge”): garage.
/h/: voiceless glottal fricative 
Spanish speakers should distinguish between Spanish /x/ (i.e. jota) and English /h/
(i.e. hello).
Spellings:
Initial position (“h”, “wh”): hello, who.
Mid position (“h”): behind.
Final position: no occurrence.
In English, some words begin with a silent /h/: hour, honor, hourly, heir, honest.

Affricate consonants
Affricate consonants are produced when a complete closure of the vocal tract derives
in a narrowing (friction) or short release of the blockage of the airstream.
In English we just have 2 affricate sounds:
Manner of articulation.
Affricates
Palato-alveolar
Voiceless /ʧ/
Voiced /ʤ/
English affricates are oral sounds because there is velic closure. We can arrange
affricate consonants in the following minimal pairs:
Minimal pairs for affricates
/ʧ/: voiceless palato-alveolar affricate /ʤ/: voiced palato-alveolar affricate
Catch Cadge
Cheap Jeep
Rich Ridge
Cheer Jeer
Batch Badge
/ʧ/ /ʃ/ voiceless alveolar fricative
Watch Wash
Catch Cash
Chip Ship
Witch Wish

/j/ voiced approximant palatal (glide) or

/ʤ/
semi-vowel
Jet Yet
Jam Yam
Joke Yolk
Jess Yes
Jaw Yaw
/ʧ/: voiceless palato-alveolar affricate 
It is produced when the tongue blade is raised up to the rear of the alveolar ridge next
to the front part of the hard-palate. The lips are rounded as the air is released. It
requires more energy than its voiced counterpart /ʤ/. The vocal folds do not vibrate
(voiceless sound).
Spellings:
Initial position (“ch”): church, chimney.
Mid position (“tch”, “ch”): butcher, richer.
Final position (“tch”, “ch”, “ture”, “teous”, “tune”): match, rich, lecture,
righteous, fortune.

/ʤ/: voiced palato-alveolar affricate 
The blade is raised against the alveolar ridge and front part of the hard-palate. The lips
are clearly rounded as the air is released. The vocal folds vibrate (voiced sound).
It does not occur in Spanish.
Spellings:
Initial position (“j”, “g”): judge, jump, general.
Mid position (“dg”, “g”, “di”): judges, budget, engine, soldier.
Final position (“dge”, “ge”): hedge, urge.
4 Nasal consonants
Nasal sounds are produced when the velum is lowered and the airstream is therefore
allowed to enter the nasal cavity. In addition, they share a closure of the lips just as we
mentioned in the description of the plosive consonants.
In English, nasal consonants are voiced.

The English nasal consonants are:
Manner of articulation. Nasals
Bilabial Alveolar Velar
Voiced /m/ /n/ /ŋ/
The nasal consonants can be arranged in minimal pairs as follows:
MINIMAL PAIRS FOR NASALS
/n/ voiced alveolar nasal /m/ voiced bilabial nasal
Night Might
Known Mown
Run Rum
Son Some
Ran Ram
Nail Mail
/n/ /ŋ/ voiced velar nasal
Son Sung
Sinner Singer
Run Rung
Clan Clang
Wins Wings
Ban Bang
/m/: voiced bilabial nasal 
The lips are brought together as the velum is lowered so that there is a nasal release of
the airstream.

Spelling:
Initial position (“m”): mother, mountain.
Mid position (“m”, “mm”): climber, hammer.
Final position (“m”, “mb”, “me”): ham, comb, name.
/n/: voiced alveolar nasal 
As the velum is lowered, the tongue blade is brought near the alveolar ridge.

Spelling:
Initial position (“n”, “kn”): name, knight.
Mid position (“n”, “nn”): many, funny.
Final position (“n”, “ne”): sun, none.
We have previously said that the vowel always forms the nucleus of the syllable because
of its higher sonority. However, some consonants may also play the role of the nucleus
of a syllable. The /m/ and the /n/ sounds are some of these consonants which can be
syllabic. The syllabic /n/ is phonetically represented with this symbol: [ņ]. Therefore,
the word button could be transcribed as /´bʌtņ/; syllabic /m/ is phonetically
represented as [m̩] as in the word rhythm [rɪðm̩].
/ŋ/: voiced velar nasal 
The velum is lowered as the back of the tongue is raised up to the soft palate.
Spelling:
Initial position: no occurrence in English.
Mid position (“ng”, “nk”): anger, longing, thinking.
Final position (“ng”, “nk”): thing, think, saying (/ŋ/ always occurs in the
inflectional morpheme for the gerund).

5 Approximant consonants
The approximant consonants are produced by bringing one articulator close to another
without causing audible friction.
The approximants in English fall into two groups:

Central
Lateral.
Approximant consonants
A B
Central Lateral
A Central approximants
The central approximants are /r/ and /j/ and /w/, which are also known as semi-
vowels and glides.
/j/ and /w/ arranged in minimal pairs 
Minimal pairs for central approximants /j/ and /w/
/j/ voiced palatal approximant /ʤ/ voiced palato-alveolar affricate
Yet Jet
You Jew
Yolk Joke
Yam Jam
/w/ voiced labial-velar approximant /g/ voiced velar stop
Wood Good
West Guest
Won Gun
Wet Get
While Guile

/j/: voiced palatal approximant (glide) 
Its pronunciation resembles that of vowel /i:/ although it rapidly moves to another
vowel. For example:
Yes, youth, yesterday, yellow, yet, yacht, you.
Spelling:
Initial position (“y”): yes, your.
After a consonant: mute, few, pew, huge, amuse, music, tune, stew, statue.
After a vowel: beyond, buying, saying.
/w/: voiced labial-velar approximant (glide) 
It roughly resembles the articulation of the vowel /u:/. This sound requires a double
articulation. First, the lips are rounded and secondly the back of the tongue is raised up
to the velum or soft palate. This sound is found in words such as:
Queen, twist, quick, question, what, where, which, when.
Spelling:
Initial position (“w”, “wh”): wet, when.
After a consonant: between, sweet, twenty, always, quiet, queen, twice, twin.
After a vowel: away, towards, reward, newer.
/r/: voiced post-alveolar central approximant 
To describe the /r/ sound in English we should bear in mind the manifold English
varieties spoken worldwide. In Standard English (also known as Received
Pronunciation or RP as we will see in the last unit), /r/ is a post-alveolar approximant
sound. This means that the tip of the tongue is brought near the alveolar ridge without
touching the roof of the mouth.

Although this is the Standard English pronunciation for /r/ we must mention a widely
spread pronunciation in American English known as flap. The flap is produced when
the tip of the tongue actually strikes the rear of the alveolar ridge. The flap sound is
common in intervocalic “t” or “d” as in better, bitter, Peter, ladder, etc. The phonetic
symbol for the flap is [ɾ].
Also in American English we can find another pronunciation for /r/: the retroflex “r”
whose phonetic symbol is [ɹ]. It is the sound that we hear in words such as car, far,
farm, brain.
Finally, we could also mention another pronunciation for English /r/ which is called
the trill. To produce a trill, the tongue tip hits repeatedly the alveolar ridge thus
producing a sound similar to Spanish /r/ in barro. When the tip of the tongue strikes
the alveolar ridge in a single and rapid movement then it is called a tap. Scottish
speakers may use taps in everyday speech. Another trill is produced when the uvula
strikes the back of the tongue. This uvular r is found in the north-east of England,
Scotland, and in some parts of Wales and it is represented phonetically with the symbol
[ʀ].

Some useful tips on the pronunciation of /r/:
Do not pronounce English /r/ as Spanish trill in words such as carro, barro, rojo.
When “r” is preceded by a vowel it is not usually pronounced in non-rhotic accents such as RP. This
makes the preceding vowel longer. However, rhotic accents (such as General American) pronounce this r
(known as retroflex r):
Car  /ka:/ (GA = [ka:r]).
Farm  /fa:m/ (GA = [fa:rm]).
Word  /wɜ:d/ (GA = [wɜ:rd]).
If a word ends in “r” and the following word starts in a vowel, the “r” is then pronounced and is known as
linking /r/:
My car is there /maɪ ´ka:rɪz ´hɪə/.
How far is it? /haʊ ´fa:rɪzɪt/.
Quite often, dictionaries show r in brackets (r) to represent that linking r is possible:
Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary (1995: 416)
B Lateral approximants
Lateral consonants are made with the centre of the tongue forming a closure with the roof of
the mouth but the sides lowered. Typically, the airstream escapes without friction so
producing a lateral approximant.
Collins, 2009: 48
In English we can find the lateral approximant /l/.
/l/: voiced lateral approximant 
As the blade tongue is raised up to the alveolar ridge, the airstream is released laterally
over the sides of the tongue.

Spelling: “l” and “ll”  light, lame, tall, milk.
Like /n/, /l/ can also be the nucleus of a syllable, that is, it can be syllabic. The syllabic
/l/ is represented phonetically with the symbol [ļ]. It is common after /d/ and /t/ in
unstressed syllables as in bottle, cattle, battle where /ə/ could be pronounced.

Specially recommended
Be sure you watch…
Pronunciation tips
The BBC learning English website offers highly useful videos by Alex Bellem to practice
the production and articulation of every single English phoneme. Once you are on the
website, you can choose the video just by clicking on the phoneme you want to study.
The videos are available on the virtual class or on this website:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/grammar/pron/sounds/vowel_sh
ort_1.shtml
Unit 3 – Specially recommended 56

Pronunciation – Feel x Phil – Modern Family - S01E01
Modern Family is a TV series which casts a Colombian actress (Sofia Vergara) who is
famous for her strong accent when speaking English. Watch the following video and
notice how important a correct pronunciation is in the English language to avoid
misunderstandings. In this shot, Sofia Vergara says “thank you, Phil”, although Phil
(the male actor) actually understands “thank you, feel [toca]”. Sofía has pronounced
[fi:l] instead of /fɪl/:
The video is available on the virtual class or on this website:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e8e6ygYaoB0&feature=related
TH - Pronunciation - That's How Girls End Up Dead - Sarah Hyland -

Modern Family
The following video is a funny representation of how the sound /ð/ is actually
articulated. It is highly useful for Spanish speakers since many Spanish speakers do not
pronounce /ð/ and /d/ differently:
The video is available on the virtual class or on this website:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AmTEgp6T_wA&feature=related
Unit 3 – Specially recommended 57

More information
In depth
Phonetics: the sounds of spoken language
The University of Iowa offers a useful website to study in an interactive manner all the
features of English sounds so far described:
This resource is available on the virtual class or on this website:

http://www.uiowa.edu/~acadtech/phonetics/#
Bibliography
Abercrombie, David. Elements of General Phonetics.Edinburgh: Edinburgh UP, 1967.
Unit 3 – More information 58

Exercises
Practice unit 3
1. Classify the following consonants according to their place of articulation.
/j/ /w/ /l/ /r/ /k/ /ŋ/ /g/ /θ/ /ð/ /v/
/s/ /ʃ/ /ʧ/ /p/ /m/ /b/ /z/ /h/ /ʤ/ /ʒ/
Bilabial Labio- Dental Alveolar Palato- Palatal Velar Glottal
dental alveolar
2. Distribute the words below according to the underlined sound:
teacher church station mother father

brother through though although tough
cough laugh channel chaos nation
/ʧ/ /ʃ/ /ð/ /θ/ /f/ /k/
Assignment 2: The English Consonant Sounds
Take the following texts and provide the phonemic transcription. Then, group the
plosive and fricative consonants according to their place of articulation and try to
provide two minimal pairs for each underlined word.
Text 1:
I’m afraid I find that very hard to believe
Text 2:
Be careful!! Watch your step!!
Unit 3 – Exercises 59
Text 3:
Can I have some more cash, please?
Text 4:
They run much faster than you.
Text 5:
Then, will the ship sail?
Reading and recording 1: Practice the [ə] sound
Please read the following extract from Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman, and pay
special attention to the underlined words that may contain the schwa sound /ə/. As
you know, it typically appears in weak or unstressed syllables.
SCENE 1 (Willy, Linda)

LINDA (hearing Willy outside the bedroom, calls with some trepidation): Willy!
WILLY: It’s all right. I came back.
LINDA: Why? What happened? (Slight pause.) Did something happen, Willy?
WILLY: Nothing happened.
LINDA: You didn’t smash the car, did you?
WILLY (with casual irritation): just nothing! Didn’t you hear me?
LINDA (very carefully, delicately): Where were you all day? You look terrible.
WILLY: I got to above Yonkers. And stop for coffee.
LINDA: What?
WILLY (after a pause): I suddenly couldn’t drive any more. The car kept going off onto
the shoulder, y’know?
LINDA (helpfully): Oh. Maybe it was the steering again.
WILLY: No, it’s me, it’s me. Suddenly I realize I’m goin’ sixty miles an hour and I don’t
remember the last five minutes. I’m — I can’t seem to — keep my mind to it.
LINDA: Maybe it’s your glasses. You never went for your new glasses.
WILLY: No, I see everything. I came back ten miles an hour. It took me nearly four
hours from Yonkers.
LINDA (resigned): Well, you’ll just have to take a rest, Willy, you can’t continue this
way.
WILLY: I just got back from Florida.
LINDA: But you didn’t rest your mind. Your mind is overactive, dear.
WILLY: I’ll start out in the morning. Maybe I’ll feel better in the morning. (She is
taking off his shoes.)
LINDA: Just take a rest. Should I get you an aspirin?
After having read the passage several times, when you consider yourself able to
pronounce it correctly, please record yourself as you read it and send the audio file
via the tool: “Envío de actividades”.
Test
1. Vowels show…
A. A higher sonority than consonants.
B. A lower sonority than consonants.
2. Consonants always occupy the nucleus of the syllable:

A. True.
B. False.
3. To produce a vowel…
A. A complete closure of the vocal tract is needed.
B. The vocal folds should not vibrate.
C. No complete closure of the vocal tract is needed.
4. /aɪ/, /eɪ/ and /ɔɪ/ are examples of…

A. Glides.
B. Diphthongs.
C. Triphthongs.
5. The /æ/ vowel is a…

A. Close-midfront short vowel.
B. Midfront short vowel.
C. Low front short vowel.
6. The schwa /ə/ always occurs in:

A. Stressed syllables.
B. Unstressed syllables.
7. The phoneme represented by “ou” in the word country is:

A. /ɒ/
B. /æ/
C. /ʌ/
Unit 3 – Test 62
8. /ʃ/ in the word “ship” is a…

A. Palato-alveolar fricative voiced consonant.
B. Palato-alveolar affricate voiceless consonant.
C. Palato-alveolar fricative voiceless consonant.
9. Nasal sounds are formed when…

A. The velum is raised.
B. The velum is lowered.
C. There is velic closure.
10. The sound /h/ in the word “honor” is…

A. Voiceless glottal fricative.
B. Voiceless glottal affricate.
C. Silent.
Unit 3 – Test 63

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The Classification of Speech Sounds

[3.1] How to study this unit?

[3.2] Introduction to the speech sounds

[3.3] The English vowels

[3.4] The English consonants

3.1. How to study this unit?

3.2. Introduction to the speech sounds

Unit 3–Pay attention to 3

A syllable can be defined as a peak of sonority surrounded by less sonorous segments.

Unit 3–Pay attention to 4

Complete closure or narrowing of

Higher sonority Lower sonority

Unit 3–Pay attention to 5

From an articulatory perspective, the syllable has three stages:

As a consequence, syllables can be classified as open or closed depending on their

Unit 3–Pay attention to 6

Word Phonemic transcription Syllable structure Type of syllable

This picture shows this idea in a visual way:

Sawn /sɔ:n/ CVC

Lawns /lɔ:nz/ CVCC

Draw /drɔ:/ CCV

Drawn /drɔ:n/ CCVC

Straw /strɔ:/ CCCV

Strands /strændz/ CCCVCCC

Glimpsed /glɪmpst/ CCVCCCC

Unit 3–Pay attention to 7

English shows several constraints on the possible combinations in the consonant

To accomplish this objective, phonetics uses a kind of contrast exercise known as

The importance of minimal pairs in the ESL classroom

As we said in unit 1, phonemes carry distinctive features in every language. This

Unit 3–Pay attention to 8

(either a vowel or a consonant) is accompanied by a list of possible minimal pairs. It

Figure 3.1. Points of articulation

3.3. The English vowels

Unit 3–Pay attention to 9

12 pure vowels 8 diphthongs

The following chart shows the different vowel sounds in English:

We cannot actually talk about places of articulation for vowels, although we

As a result, we end up describing the production of vowels according to whether the

Accordingly, we take 5 features into account in describing a vowel:

Unit 3–Pay attention to 10

Figure 3.2. English vowel diagram

The trapezoid figure can be explained according to three different parameters:

Unit 3–Pay attention to 11

Trapezoid diagram. Parameters

Ve rtical axis  he ight of the tongue

Horizontal axis  part of the tongue

In English, there are 5 long vowels and 7 short vowels:

/i:/ high front unrounded long vowel

Since there is no one-to-one correspondence in English between spelling and

Unit 3–Pay attention to 12

ee see, feed, bee

ea sea, tea, bead

Unit 3–Pay attention to 13

/ɪ/ close-mid front-central short vowel

i rich, sit, tin

Unit 3–Pay attention to 14

/e/ mid-high front unrounded short vowel

e bed, ten, well