This is a presentation of long and short vowels that are used in phonetics and phonology

1. VOWELS: THE DESCRIPTION

2. About Vowels:
2
 Vowel- Consonant Distinction.
 Vowels ( Phonetic Parameters).
 Cardinal Vowels.
1. Primary Cardinal Vowels
2. Secondary Cardinal Vowels
 English Vowel System.
1. Short Vowels
2. Long Vowels
3. Diphthongs

3. 1. Vowel- Consonant Distinction
3
Sounds are classified as consonants or
vowels:
 Phonetically:
1.Articulatory distinction:
The obstruction of the air stream.
*Consonants are produced with greater
obstruction to the air stream.
2.Acoustic distinction:
prominence
*Vowels are more prominent than
consonants.

4. Problematic Sounds /w/, /j/ , /h/
4
What about /w/, /h/ & /j/?
Phonetically vowel no obstruction
So , do you think that they should be classified as vowels ?
 Phonologically:
( the distribution of sounds)
1.syllable structure.
Vowel centre
Consonant margins
What about /w/ as in word, /h/ as in hi & /j/ as in yellow?
Phonologically consonants their distribution.
Syllable
(C ) V
center
(C )

5. Vowels
5
 Can we classify vowels as
voiced/voiceless?
All vowels are voiced, the vocal
cords are vibrating during their
production.
 Can we classify vowels as oral/
nasal?
All vowels are oral, the velum is
raised during their production.
In what way do vowels differ
from each other?
Vowels
Tongue
Height
High –
close
/Low-
open
Position
Front
/back
Lip
Rounding
Rounded
/unrounded

6. Variety in Vowels:
6
 Vowels vary according to:
1- Tongue height, i.e., the vertical distance
between the upper surface of the
tongue and the palate.
E.g. /i/ as in see close/high vowel: tongue is
held up close to the roof of the mouth.
// as in cat open /low vowel: the distance
between the surface of the tongue and the
roof of the mouth is greater.
*Tongue height can be changed by:
1. moving the tongue up or down.
2. moving the lower jaw up or down
Tongue Height

7. 7
2. Tongue Position:
Frontness/ Backness,
i.e., describing the part of the
tongue that is raised highest
in the horizontal axis.
E.g. /i/ as in see, // as in cat
front vowels: front part of the
tongue is the highest.
// as in calm /U:/ as in
too back vowel: back part of
the tongue is the highest.
Vowel Position

8. 8
 Lip rounding: i.e., the
shape of the lips:
It has three possibilities:
1. Rounded: the corners of
the lips are brought
together and pushed
forward. E.g. /U:/ as in
too.
2. Spread: the corners of the
lips are moved away
from each other, as for a
smile. E.g. /i:/ as in see.
3. Neutral: the lips are not
noticeably rounded or
spread. E.g./Ԑ:/ as in
bird.

9. 2.Vowels: (Phonetic Parameters)
 So, vowels can be classified according to three
distinct parameters:
• tongue height
(high vs. low)
(close vs. open)
• tongue place
(front vs. back)
.
9

10. .lip rounding
(round vs. unrounded)

11. 2. Cardinal Vowels:
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 Since Phoneticians need an accurate way of
classifying vowels ,the English phonetician
Daniel Jones developed a system representing
a set of artificial and idealized vowels, similar
to the cardinal points (N, E, W, S).
 He arranged vowels in
a close high / open-low,
front/back diagram,
but which are not the vowels of any particular
language.
 Therefore, listeners may find them strange and
exaggerated. They represent the extremes of
vowel quality.
close
open

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 Cardinal vowels is a standard
reference system which
represent the whole range of
vowels that the human vocal
apparatus can make.
 There are:
 8 primary cardinal vowels,
more familiar to the speakers
of the European languages.
 8 Secondary cardinal vowels,
less familiar.

13. Cardinal Vowels: Two Axial Parameters
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High (close)
Front Back
Low (open)

14. Primary Cardinal Vowels
14

15. Corner Primary Cardinal Vowels
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• Cardinal vowel no 1, [i],
described as the as close and as
front as possible to make.
• Cardinal vowel no 4, [а],
described as the as open and as
front as possible to make.
• Cardinal vowel no 5, [a],
described as the as open and as
back as possible to make.
• Cardinal vowel no 8, [u],
described as the as close and as
back as possible to make.

16. Intermediate Primary Cardinal Vowels
16

17. Secondary Cardinal Vowels
Altweejry, Thekra
17

18. 18
English Vowel
System
Short
Vowels 7
/Ə/ /ɪ/
/е/ /ᴧ/
/ɒ/ /Ʊ/
/æ/
Long
Vowels
5
/ i: /
/ a: /
/ ɜ: /
/ u: /
/ Ɔ:/
Diphithongs 8
Closing
/ƏƱ/
/аƱ /
Closing
/ eɪ/
/ аɪ/
/ Ɔɪ /
Centering
/ɪƏ / /eƏ/
/ ƱƏ/

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ENGLISH VOWELS
Short & Long Vowels

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4.English Vowel
System
Short
Vowels 7
/Ə/ /ɪ/
/е/ /ᴧ/
/ɒ/ /Ʊ/
/æ/
Long
Vowels
5
/ i: /
/ a: /
/ ɜ: /
/ u: /
/ Ɔ:/
Diphithongs 8
Closing
/ƏƱ/
/аƱ /
Closing
/ eɪ/
/ аɪ/
/ Ɔɪ /
Centering
/ɪƏ / /eƏ/
/ ƱƏ/

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23. 23
4.1English Short & Long Vowels:
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 English has seven short vowels: , , , , , , 
 English has Five long vowels:, , , , 
 English has 12 pure vowels:, , , , , , , , , ,
, 
 Short and long vowels are different in :
1.Quantity (length):
- Long vowels tend to be longer
than the short vowels “in similar
contexts”.
- their symbols include the length
mark ()
2.Quality: resulting from difference
in tongue shape and position, and
lip rounding.

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Vowel Length
 Vowel length may vary according to the context:
a- a vowel in stressed syllable is longer than a vowel in
unstressed syllable:
finish winning
b- In mono-syllabic words: a vowel in (open syllable) is longer
than a vowel in (a closed syllable).
Open Syllable Closed syllable
me mean
may main
c- In mono-syllabic words: a vowel in (closed syllable) is longer
when it is followed by a voiced consonant.
ad at bead beat

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FRONT VOWELS 4
i:, , , ,

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1. /i:/ as in ‘beat’, ‘mean’, ‘peace’
 Description:
Tongue Height: nearly high
Tongue position: front
Lip rounding: spread
Tenseness: tense
/i:/: high, front , unrounded, tense.
 Compared to short vowel/  /:
-It is nearer to Cardinal vowel no 1
[i]
-it is more high and front, and lips
position is slightly different.
-They are different in quality, and
quantity-length.

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Transcription and Spelling / i: /
 Common:
(ee) feet /fi:t/, (ea) eat /i:t/ , (e-e) scene /si:n/
Key /ki:/ keys /ki:z/ keeps /ki:ps/
Pea /pi:/ peas /pi:z/ piece /pi:s/
Scene /si:n/ seas /si:z/ seat /si:t/
“Steve keeps the cheese in the freezer”
/sti:v ki:ps  ti:z n  fri:z/
 Less Common:
(e) me /mi:/, (ie) piece /pi:s/

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2./  / as in ‘bit’ ‘fin’ ‘fish’
 Description:
Tongue Height: intermediate
between high and mid-high.
Tongue position: front
Lip rounding: spread
Tenseness: lax
/  /: high, front, unrounded, lax
 Compared to Car. V.1 [i], it is:
lower and nearer to the centre.
The lips are slightly spread.
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29. 29
Transcription and Spelling /  /
 Common:
I: King /k/ kid /kd/ kit /kt/
Pink /pk/ pig /pg/ pick /pk/
fill /fl/ fish /f/ fit /ft/
“Tim bit a bit of kitty’s biscuit”
/tm bt  bt v ktz bskt/
Y: gym /dm/ symbol /smbl/
pretty/prt/ busy /bz/

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Transcription and Spelling /  /
 Less Common:
weak vowels in unstressed syllable
Weak A: orange /rnd / cabbage /kbd/
*private /prvt/ Village /vld/
Weak E: dances /da:nsz/ wanted /wntd/ begin
/bgn/
Remain /rmen/ become /bkm/ horses
/h:sz/
useless /jU:zls/ goodness /gdns/
Weak I : music /mju:zk/ walking /w:k/
Weak U: lettuce /lets/ minute /mnt/
“Alex’s Lettuce tasted like cabbages”

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Assignment: Transcribe the following words:
pin Peak bill tip
dish geese kitten meat
Give Dean chin Jim
beak milk feel zeal
queen knit team lip
Risk kit leaf village
Thin this need sing
ship hill meet winter

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3. /e/ as in ‘bet’ ‘men’ ‘yes’
 Description:
Tongue Height: between mid-high
and mid-low
Tongue position: front
Lip rounding: slightly spread
Tenseness: lax
/e/: mid-low , front, unrounded, lax
 Compared to Cardinal vowels:
It is between Car. V.2 [e] and
Car. V.3 []
32

33. 33
Transcription and Spelling / e /
 Common:
(e) pen /pen/
 Sometimes:
(ea) death /de/ (ie) friend /frend/
(a) Many /men/ (ai) said /sed/
Listen:
test /test/ death /de/ red /red/
friend /frend/ said /sed/ many /men/
check /tek/ shelf /elf/ leg /leg/
“It’s best to rest, said the vet to the bet”
/ ts best t rest sed  vet t  bet/

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4. The ash / / as in ‘bat’ ‘man’ ‘gas’
 Description:
Tongue Height: intermediate
between mid-low and low
Tongue position: front
Lip rounding: slightly spread-
neutral
Tenseness: lax
/  /: low, front, unrounded, lax
 Compared to Cardinal vowels:
It is not as low as Car. V.4 [].
34

35. 35
Transcription and Spelling /  /
 Common:
(a) mad /md/
Listen:
bank /bk/ bag /bg/ back /bk/
can /kn/ cash /k/ catch /kt/
ham /hm/ has /hz/ hat /ht/
“The fat cat sat on the man’s black hat”
/  ft kt st n  mnz blk ht /

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Assignment: Transcribe the following words:
Pat bad tax
pen bed text
damp cat gas
deaf kept get
Chat jam man
check gem men
nap fat van
neck lend red
thank that sand
fed very then
shall hang wag
seven zest shed
head yes well

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BACK VOWELS 5

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5./a:/ as in ‘card’, ‘half’, ‘pass’
 Description:
Tongue Height: low
Tongue position: not fully back
Lip rounding: neutral
Tenseness: tense
/a:/: low, back, unrounded,
tense
 Compared to Car. V.5 [],
it is:
 low
 not fully back
 Lips are in neutral position

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Transcription and Spelling / a: /
 Common:
(ar) car /ka:/ (al) half /ha:f/
Listen:
Calm /ka:m/ card /ka:d/ cart /ka:t/
Star /sta:/ starve /sta:v/ start /sta:t/
Harm /ha:m/ halves /ha:vz/ half /ha:f/
Transcribe:
“It is hard to park a car in a dark car park”
 Less common:
(ear) heart /ha:t/
In South East England, the letter (A) Followed by (s, f, th, n)
Ask /a:sk/ pass /pa:s/ after /a:ft/
bath /ba:/ dance/da:ns/

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6. // as in ‘pot’ ‘gone’ ‘cross’
 Description:
Tongue Height: intermediate
between mid-low and low.
Tongue position: not fully back
Lip rounding: slightly rounded
Tenseness: lax
/  /: low, back, rounded, lax
 Compared to Cardinal
vowels:
Between cardinal 5 and 6.
40

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Transcription and Spelling /  /
 Common:
(O) Dog /dg/
Wrong /r/ rob /rb/ rock /rk/
Gone /gn/ god /gd/ got /gt/
Doll /dl/ dog /dg/ dock /dk/
Transcribe:
“John wants to watch Walter wash the dog”
 Less common:
(A) wash

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Assignment: Transcribe the following words:
Part pot heart hot
Shark shock barks box
Lock lark want wash
Far fond star cart

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7. // as in ‘board’, ‘torn’, ‘horse’
 Description:
Tongue Height: closer to mid-high
Tongue position: back
Lip rounding: fully rounded
Tenseness: tense
/  /: mid-high, back,
rounded, tense.
 Compared to Cardinal vowels:
Between car. Vowel no. 6 []
and [ o ]. Closer to the latter.

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Transcription and Spelling /  /
 Common:
(or) form /fm/
Listen:
bore /b/ bored /bd/ bought /bt/
Call /kl/ cause /kz/ caught /kz/
War/w/ wall /wl/ walk /wk/
Transcribe:
“ Laura’s daughter bought a horse and called it Laura”
 Less Common:
(a) Call , (ar) war , (au) cause,
(aw) saw, (al) walk , (augh) taught ,
(ough) thought , (our) four

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8. // as in ‘put’ ‘pull’ ‘push’
 Description:
Tongue Height: just above mid high
Tongue position: between back and
centre
Lip rounding: rounded
Tenseness: lax
/  /: mid-high, back, rounded, lax
 Compared to Cardinal vowel no. 8
[u]:
It is more open and nearer to
centre.
45

46. 46
Transcription and Spelling /  /
 It can be:
(u), (o), (oo), (ou)
Full /fl/ good /gd/ foot /ft/
Wolf /wlf/ would /wld/ put /pt/
Transcribe:
“That cook couldn’t cook if he didn’t look at the cook
book”

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9. /U:/ as in ‘food’, ‘soon’, ‘loose’
 Description:
Tongue Height: nearly high
Tongue position: back
Lip rounding: rounded
Tenseness: tense
/U:/: high, back, rounded, tense.
 Compared to Cardinal vowels
no 8 [u]:
It is the nearest, but much less
back and less high. The lips
are moderately rounded.

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Transcription and Spelling /U:/
 It can be:
(oe), (oo), (u), (ew), (o), (ou)
Shoe /u:/ Shoes /u:z/ shoot /u:t/
New /nju:/ lose /lu:z/ soup /su:p/
Transcribe:
“ Sue knew too few new tunes on the flute”

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Assignment: Transcribe the following words:
you Push pool bought
butcher boot source took
cool could rule view
Good talk June look
worn Raw full blue
noon should dew more
book horn Short food
Would lose for pull
move music door who
Law few

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CENTRAL VOWELS 3
, , 

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51
10. The caret//as in ‘but’ ‘some’
‘rush’
 Description:
Tongue Height: lower than mid-
low
Tongue position: central
Lip rounding: neutral
Tenseness: lax
/  /: mid-low, back, unrounded,
lax

52. 52
Transcription and Spelling //
 It can be:
(u), (o), (oo), (oe), (ou)
Listen:
Come /km/ blood /bld/ cut /kt/
Young /j/ does /dz/ must
/mst/
Transcribe:
“My mother’s brother is my uncle, my uncle’s son
is my cousin”

53. 53
Assignment: Transcribe the following words:
sponge butter dull
come gun judge
money nothing luck
Fuss thus such
shut hurry

54. 54
11. /  / as in ‘bird’, ‘fern’,
‘purse’
 Description:
Tongue Height: between mid-high
and mid-low cardinal vowels,
nearer to the latter.
Tongue position: centre
Lip rounding: neutral
Tenseness: tense
/  /: mid-low, back,
unrounded, tense.
• This vowel is known as the
hesitation sound, usually spelt
as ‘er’ or ‘ir’.

55. 55
Transcription and Spelling /  /
 Common:
(ir) girl, (er) her, (ur) hurt
Listen:
Were /w:/ word /w:d/ worst /w:st/
Burn /b:n/ bird /b:d/ birth /b:/
Her /h:/ heard /h:d/ hurt /h:t/
Transcribe:
“The girl heard the nurse work”
 Less common:
(or) word, (ear) heard

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12. The schwa // as in ‘about’ ‘oppose’
‘perhaps’
56
 Description:
Tongue Height: half away
between high and low
Tongue position: central
Lip rounding: neutral
Tenseness: lax
/  /: mid, central, unrounded,
lax

57. 57
Transcription and Spelling /  /
 Common:
As a weak vowel in unstressed syllable.
It can be:
Weak A : away /wei/ banana /bna:n/
woman /wmn/ sugar /g/
Weak E: garden /ga:dn/ paper /pp/ under /nd/
Weak O: Police /pli:s/ doctor /dkt/ correct
/krekt/
Weak U: Support /spt/ figure /fig/ colour /kl/
Listen and Transcribe:
“I ate an apple and a banana in a cinema in Canada”

58. 58
Assignment: Transcribe the following words:
Picture Pearl actor turn
Girl center germ lemon
Salad Learn nurse modern
Shirt melody thirst agree

59. 59
WHAT IS A
DIPHTHONG?
HOW MANY
DIPTHONGS IN
ENGLISH?

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While the position of the tongue is
more or less stable for a pure
vowel…

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… a diphthong is characterised by
a graceful movement from one
point to another, for this reason they
are also sometimes known as glides.

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If one has a clear idea of where
pure vowels are articulated on the
quadrilateral then interpreting the
diphthong symbols is not difficult.

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Technically, English diphthongs are divided into
two groups:
 Closing diphthongs – which tend to move from an
open to a close position, these roughly correspond
to Italian sounds
 Centring diphthongs – which tend towards a central
position ( / @/ )

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First we will look at the closing group…

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… the ‘pay’, ‘ made’, ‘maid’, ‘reign’, ‘obey’,
sound:

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Then we have the ‘I’, ‘my’, ‘tie’, ‘sigh’, ‘either’,
‘eye’, ‘Thai’, sound:

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Then there is ‘boy’, ‘choice’:

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Then ‘down’, ‘loud’:

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To end the closing group, the most common diphthong
in English, that of ‘no’, ‘know’,‘bone’, ‘foam’, ‘sew’,
‘though’, ‘don’t’, ‘foe’, ‘crow’:

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To start with the centring group, we have the most
common, that of ‘clear’, ‘deer’, ‘here’, ‘wier’:

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Then ‘air’, ‘where’, wear’, ‘care’, ‘heir’:

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Finally, there is a diphthong which is quite rare
and is often realised as /O:/ - ‘tour’, ‘poor’:

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One or two final considerations:
 Although the symbols indicating pure vowels and the
starting and closing points of diphthongs are often
the same they do not necessarily correspond to the
same points
 Lip rounding is another variable, generally
associated with back vowels

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Finally:
 Diphthongs are the element in a language which
are most liable to change. The majority of the
characteristics of a given accent are usually to be
found in this area, so understanding of the
underlying mechanics is vital if one wants to
understand accents and accent change.