The document provides information about English vowels, including their description and four factors that affect their shaping. It presents the English vowel triangle which diagrams the pure vowel sounds. It then examines each pure back vowel ([u], [ʊ], [o], [ɔ], [ɑ]) and pure front vowel ([i], [I], [e], [æ]), including potential spelling and problems producing the sounds. Examples words and practice phrases are provided for each individual vowel.

1. English Vowel Triangle
It’s not as easy as you think.

2. Description of Vowels
 They are unrestricted  They can be sustained
The teeth, tongue, and lips As long as you have
do not prevent airflow breath, 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

3. 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

4. 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)

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

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

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

8. English Back Pure Vowels
u
Ʊ
o
Ɔ
ɑ

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

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

11. [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.
 Fools, through and through.
English Pure Back Vowels

12. [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

13. [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

14. [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

15. [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

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

17. [i]
 Spellings:  Potential Problems
1. Quay  Diphthongs:
2. She we’ll, heeled, yield, seal
3. Breathe
4. Green
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

18. [I]
 Spellings:  Potential Problems
 Substitution:
1. indigo been, beautiful, pretty, eternal,
2. Busy women
 Vowel reduction: This sound is
3. behold typically a schwa [Ə], although
there are other vowels that can
be unstressed or reduced. A
reduced vowel is a vowel that
 Practice phrases: can only occur in unstressed
syllables, like schwa, and an
 Because I have been given much, I unstressed vowel is a vowel that
too must give can be stressed but is not.
Before “ng”, “I” {I} is pronounced
 That her iniquity is pardoned [I], as in bring, sing, and think
 Sure on this shining night  Typical spellings for vowel
reduction of [I} is ly, -y, -ies, and
–ing.
 Any words with these suffixes
English Pure Front Vowels have reduced vowels

19. 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

20. ʌ ɛ
Ə

21. [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]


22. [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

23. Angel and Evil
 Angel:
 Evil:

24. [3]
 Spellings:
bird, purple, ever, counselor, forward, earth, journey, timbre, m
artyr
 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

25. Words from Textbook
 Bill  Lent  Twenty
 Pit  Lint  Rinse
 Pet  Ten  rents
 Hid  Tent
 Head  Tin
 Pin  Tint
 Pen  Twin

26. Words from Textbook
 Bill  Lent  Twenty
 Pit  Lint  Rinse
 Pet  Ten  rents
 Hid  Tent
 Head  Tin
 Pin  Tint
 Pen  Twin

27. Words from Textbook
 Ed  Bad
 Add  Sad
 Pest  Said
 Past  Then
 Men  Than
 Man
 Bed

28. Words from Textbook
 Boot  Pole
 Book  Paul
 Boat  pot
 Bought
 Box
 Pool
 Pull