The document discusses the English vowel system. It begins with an English vowel triangle that shows the positions of tongue for different pure vowels. It then provides more details on individual vowels, including their phonetic symbols, example words that contain the vowels, common pronunciation issues, and practice phrases. The document aims to help readers distinguish and produce English vowel sounds correctly.

1. English Vowel Triangle
Fall 2012

2. How many vowel sounds
do you think are in
standard American English?

3. How many vowel sounds
do you think are in
standard American English?
22 !

4. English Pure Vowels - Guess

5. English Pure Vowels
i u
I Ʊ
e o
Ɛ Ɔ
æ
ɑ

6. Joan Wall, International Phonetic Alphabet for Singers (1989), p. 15

7. Joan Wall, International Phonetic Alphabet for Singers (1989), p. 15
Its approximate present form came from Daniel Jones of
University College. London. and is known as the Vowel
Diagram. It was developed by superimposing X-ray
images of the position of the tongue when articulating
various vowels. The Vowel Diagram indicates the
position of the high point of the tongue during the
articulation of each vowel.

8.  Forward vowels: [i] beet
[ɪ] bit
[e] chaotic
[ɛ] bet
[æ] bat
[a] bright ah (mostly used in diphthongs)
Back vowels: [u] boot
[ʊ] book
[o] obey (pure [o] seldom used)
[ɔ] saw
[ɑ] father
Central vowels: [ʌ] up (stressed 'uh')
[ə] about (unstressed 'uh,' schwa)
[ɝ] herd (stressed, r-colored vowel)
[ɜ] herd (NOT r-colored)
[ɚ] butter (unstressed, r-colored vowel)
Diphthongs: [eɪ] bait
[difθɔŋ] [oʊ] boat
[aɪ] bite
[aʊ] ouch
[ɔɪ] boy
[ju] use

9. We begin with vowels because they are harder to
comprehend and execute than consonants!
Remember: a pure vowel = one sound
But in English we have diphthongs too!!
A pure vowel sound consists of only one distinct vowel
sound; a diphthong is a distinct vowel until made up of
two pure vowel sounds.

10. Joan Wall, International Phonetic Alphabet for Singers (1989), p. 14

11. Description of Vowels
 They are unrestricted  They can be sustained
The teeth, tongue, and lips As long as you have breath,
do not prevent airflow you can sustain a vowel
sound
 They are normally voiced  They have shape or form
It has ‘pitch’ – and can be And they are the core of
whispered. the syllable

12. Four Factors that
Affect Shaping and
Coupling of
Resonators
1. Jaw position – opening of mouth and
throat
2. Lip position – spreading or rounding
3. Tongue position – arching forward or
backward
4. Raised Soft Palate

13. Raised soft palate
1. Resonates: enhances the vibration and
magnifies the sound
2. Resonator of Human voice is oral
cavity, pharynx, throat, and chest
3. (resonator of violin is the box)

14.  Back pure vowels: tongue
is thickened in the back
while producing these
sounds

15.  Front pure vowels: tongue
is thickened in the front
while producing these
sounds

16. English Pure Vowels
i u
I Ʊ
e o
Ɛ Ɔ
æ
ɑ

17. English Back Pure Vowels
u
Ʊ
o
Ɔ
ɑ

18. English Back Pure Vowels
u blue
Ʊ Brown
o sugar
opaque
Ɔ
auburn
ɑ aqua

19. English Front Pure Vowels
i
I
e
Ɛ
æ

20. English Front Pure Vowels
green i
indigo I
grey e
red Ɛ
black æ

21. Things to note from the reading:
Feel/hear the difference in similar words:
pin [pɪn] and pen [pɛn] or marry [mærɪ] and merry [mɛrɪ]
Look to pages 14 and 15 for a discussion on how the vowel triangle
was created. Cool right?
Okay, so I still pronounce alveolar not quite right. Look to page
16 to help me out! [ˌ ˌæl viəlɚ]
Also, get = [gɛt] not [gɪt]
Fun practice (from pg 17):
[i] [ɪ] [eɪ] [ɛ] [æ]
beet bit bait bet bat
meet mitt mate met mat
Dean din dane den Dan

22. [i]  Potential Problems
 Diphthongs created by adding a
schwa [ə]: feel, meal, yield
 Spellings:
Feel = [fil] not [fiəl]
1. Quay
Meal = [mil] not [miəl]
2. She
Yield = [jild] not [jiəld]
3. Breathe
(this problem usually occurs when
4. Green an [i] is followed by an “l”)
5. Conceive
6. People  Practice phrases:
7. Key  He shall speak peace unto the heathen
8. believe  Free to be me, God, I really am free.
 Beautiful dreamer, wake unto me
English Pure Front Vowels

23. [I]
 Spellings:  Potential Problems
1. indigo  Substitution of [i]: been,
2. Busy beautiful, pretty, eternal
3. behold  Vowel reduction: When this
sound is unstressed,
sometimes American singers
 Practice phrases: turn it into a schwa [Ə]
 Because I have been given much, I  Before “ng” “m” or “n”, an
too must give “i” is almost always
pronounced [I], as in bring,
 That her iniquity is pardoned simple, and thin.
 Sure on this shining night Sometimes the [I] becomes
over nasalized.
English Pure Front Vowels

24. [e]
[e] rarely appears in English by  Potential Problems
itself. It is almost always part
of the diphthong [eɪ]  Creating triphthongs where
you only want diphthongs
 Examples for [e]: chaotic, wait = [weɪt] not [wɛeɪt]
vacation, fatality
sail = [seɪl] not [seɪəl]
 Examples for [eɪ]: male = [meɪl] not [meɪəl]
1. aim
2. Came
3. bay
4. made
 Practice phrases:
5. ate  Embraceable You
6. Ale  I‟ll Build a Stairway to Paradise
7. sail  Who Cares?
English Pure Front Vowels

25. [ɛ]  Potential Problems
 Substitution of [ɪ] for [ɛ]
 Substitution of [ɝ] for [ɛ]
 Examples:
(as in ‟Amuhrica‟)
1. red  Insertion of [ə] between [ɛ] and [l]
2. death (as in [wɛəl] for ‟well‟)
3. twenty  Substitution of [eɪ] for [ɛ]
(as in [heɪd] for head,
4. head
or [leɪg] for leg)
5. get
6. treasure
7. guess
 Practice phrases:
 Let‟s Kiss and Make Up
 The Best of Everything
 Heaven on Earth [hɛvən ɑn ɝθ]
English Pure Front Vowels

26. [æ]  Potential Problems
 The insertion of a schwa [ə]
after [æ] before a final
 Examples: consonant. As in [hæət] for
1. add „hat‟
2. lamb  Nasalizing [æ] when it
proceeds m, n, or ng. (This
3. sang is my main problem!)
4. Pan
5. plaid
6. black  Practice phrases:
7. Sad  Sam and Delilah
 Little Jazz Bird
 Fascinating Rhythm
English Pure Front Vowels

27. Reminder of Vowel chart:
i u
I Ʊ
e o
Ɛ Ɔ
æ
ɑ

28. [u]
 Spellings:  Potential Problems
1. grew  (see p. 56 in book)
2. you  Nasal
3. too  Insufficient lip rounding
4. to  Insertion [kul] vs. [kuəl]
5. two
6. blue
 Practice phrases:
 Were you there when they crucified my Lord?
 I love you, truly.
 In a sentimental mood.
English Pure Back Vowels

29. [ʊ]
 Spellings:  Potential Problems
1. sugar  Substitution (diphthong)
2. took [ə, u]
3. could
 Practice phrases:
 The crooked straight.
 My faith looks up to Thee.
 Man is made for the woman and the woman for
the man.
English Pure Back Vowels

30. [o]
 Spellings:  Potential Problems
1. Violet  Substitution (diphthong)
2. Opaque
 Practice phrases:
 For the Lord God omnipotent reigneth
 Come, every soul by sin oppressed.
 Memory, hither come and tune your merry
notes.
In American English, the sound [o] is only used in
unstressed, rhythmically short syllables.
 “Soul” and “notes” do not contain the [o] sound because they
only have one syllable, and therefore, are stressed.
English Pure Back Vowels

31. Joan Wall, International Phonetic Alphabet for Singers (1989), p. 65

32. [Ɔ]
 Spellings:  Potential Problems
1. Auburn  Insertion of diphthong
2. Moss  Inadequate mouth opening
3. Fall
4. Awkward
 Practice phrases:
 That they may offer unto the Lord an offering in
righteousness
 I saw the cross of Jesus
 Autumn leaves are now falling
English Pure Back Vowels

33. [ɑ]
 Potential Problems
 Insufficient lowering of jaw
 Spellings:
 Spreading lips, as in a grin
1. aqua
 Retracting the body of tongue
2. got
 Substitution of briɡht [a] for back [ɑ]
 Practice phrases:
 Sing alleluia to the Lord
 Stir thy church, O God, our Father
 Tis the season to be jolly, fa la la la la . . . . .
English Pure Back Vowels

34. Vowel Reduction
 Vowel reduction: This sound is typically a schwa [ə],
although there are other vowels that can be unstressed or
reduced. A reduced vowel is a vowel that can only occur in
unstressed syllables, like schwa, and an unstressed vowel is
a vowel that can be stressed but is not. Before “ng”, “I”
{I} is pronounced [I], as in bring, sing, and think
 Typical spellings for vowel reduction of [I] is -ly, -y, -ies,
and –ing.
 Any words with these suffixes have reduced vowels

35. [ʌ]
 This sound occurs only in stressed syllables. This includes those
instances where “un” is a prefix emphasizing negation of the root word
 Spellings: above, us, plum, fuzzy, undone, blood, trouble
 Potential problems: substitution of [ɑ] ̤ fuzzy/fozie, was, love, one, son
 PRACTICE PHRASES
 Unto us a Son is given
 What wondrous love is this
 I wonder as I wander out under the sky
 Above = [Ə.bʌv]


36. [Ə]
 This sound occurs only in unstressed syllables. This includes those instances where “un”
is a prefix emphasizing negation of the root word
 Spellings: magenta, angel, evil, a, of the, cotton, passion, upon
 The sound only occurs in unstressed syllables or words
 Because in singing every syllable must have a vowel sound, [Ə] is used in singing certain
syllables which are spoken without a vowels sound, as in little and people
 The schwa is a variable, weakly-defined sound. Other sounds in unstressed
ɪ
syllables: [ ] happiness, prepare, remember, receive, rejoice
 PRACTICE PHRASES
 Unto us a Son is given
 Hark! The herald angels sing
 When I think upon the maidens

37. Angel and Evil
 Angel:
 Evil:

38. ɛ
ɚƏ
ʌ

39. [3]
 Spellings: bird, purple, ever, counselor, forward, earth, journey,
timbre, martyr
 Potential problems: Some authorities avoid this sound,
preferring [ʌ] in stressed syllables and [Ə] in unstressed
syllables: Bud-bird; but-Bert
 Bird = [b3d] vs. bud = [bʌd]
 Bert = [b3t] vs. but [bʌt]
 Practice phrases:
 Wonderful Counselor, the everlasting Father
 Let all the world in every corner sing
 I wonder as I wander out under the sky

40. [3]
 Spellings: bird, purple, earth, journey, service, word, purse
[bɜrd] [pɜrpl] [ɜrθ] [jɜrni] [sɜrvɪs] [wɜrd] [pɜrs]
 This sound only appears in stressed syllables!
 This sound is called the “r-less” ur. It is preferred by many
singing teachers, and they substitute the sound often instead
of [ɝ].
 The main difference between an “r-colored” ur [ɝ] and an “r-less” ur
[ɜ] is that the [ɝ] is produced with the tip of the tongue raised and
suspended in the center of the mouth and the [ɜ] is produced with
the tip of the tongue down behind the bottom front teeth.
 Southerners sometimes even drop the r‟s out of words:
Bird = [b3d] Herd = [hɜd] Learn = [lɜn] (look to board)

41. [ɚ]
 Spellings: giver altar murder actor summer
[gɪvɚ] [ɔltɚ] [mɝdɚ] [æktɚ] [sʌmɚ]
 This sound only appears in unstressed syllables!
 Although the unstressed ur [ɚ] has the same sound as the
stressed ur [ɝ], it is more lax and shorter in duration, and
used only in unstressed syllables. Sometimes it is called a
hooked schwa.
 Some voice teachers will have you transcribe like this
(kenning):
giver altar murder actor summer
[gɪvər] [ɔltər] [mɜrdər] [æktər] [sʌmər]