Phonetics 4 PDF

Vowels — Vowels involve less obstruction of airflow — How many (stressed) vowels are there in standard American English? beet, bit, bait, bet, bat, but, boot, book, boat, bore, bought/bot — Can we use consonant features to distinguish between different vowels? 21 Vowels — We need new features t...

Vowels — Vowels involve less obstruction of airflow — How many (stressed) vowels are there in standard American English? beet, bit, bait, bet, bat, but, boot, book, boat, bore, bought/bot — Can we use consonant features to distinguish between different vowels? 21 Vowels — We need new features to distinguish vowels. Say these words to yourself and hold the vowel sound. beet [i] boot [u] bat [æ] bought [a] — Compare: — beet vs. bought (feet vs. fought) — beet vs. boot — beet vs. bat 22 Vowels ¢We can distinguish vowels using four features: — tongue position (frontness/backness) — tongue height (high/mid/low) — lip rounding — tenseness 23 Vowels ¢We can distinguish vowels using four features: — How far back in your mouth is your tongue? — What is the height of the tongue? — Are your lips rounded (who) or unrounded (cheese)? — Is your tongue more tense or lax? 24 Vowels – Front / Back English vowels can be divided as follows: — Front – [i] beet, [ɪ] bit, [e] bait, [ɛ] bet, [æ] bat — Central – [ə] about, [ʌ] but — Back – [u] boot, [ʊ] book, [o] boat, [ɔ] door, [a] cot 25