Шпаргалка по "Английскому языку"

Vowels

Principles of classification                                                              

Vowels arc normally made with the air stream that meets no closure or narrowing in the mouth, pharyngeal or nasal cavities. That is why in the production of vowel sounds there is no noise component characteristic of consonant sounds.

On the articulatory level vowels are classified according to the following principles:

1.   The stability of articulation.

2.    The tongue position.

3.   The lip position            

4.   The character of the vowel end.

5.    Length.                                                                                                  

1. Stability of articulation. All English vowels are divided into three groups:

•    pure vowels or monophthongs

•    diphthongs

•    diphthongoids.

Monophthongs are vowels the articulation of which is almost unchanging.

In the pronunciation of diphthongs the organs of speech glide from one vowel position to another within one syllable. The starting point, the nucleus, is strong and distinct. The glide which shows the direction of the quality change is very weak. In fact diphthongs consist of two clearly perceptible vowel elements. There are no diphthongs in Russian. The English diphthongs are /eɪ, aɪ, ɔɪ, eə, ʊə, ɪə, əʊ, aʊ/.

In the pronunciation of diphthongoids the articulation is slightly changing but the difference between the starting point and the end is not so distinct as it is in the case of diphthongs. There are two diphthongoids in English: [i:, u:].

2. Tongue position. The changes in the position of the tongue determine largely the shape of the mouth and pharyngeal cavities. The tongue may move forward and backward, up and down, thus changing the quality of the vowel sounds.

When the tongue moves forward and backward various parts of it may be raised in the direction of the palate.

When the tongue is in the front part of the mouth and the front part of it is raised to the hard palate a fully front vowel is pronounced. This is the position of the English vowels [i:, e, æ].

When the tongue is in the front part of the mouth but slightly retracted, and the part of the tongue nearer to centre than to trout is raised, a front-retracted vowel is pronounced. Such is the position for the English vowel /ɪ/.

When the front of the tongue is raised towards the back part of the hard palate the vowel is called central. This is the position for the English vowels [ɜ:, ə, ʌ].

 

When the tongue is in the back part of the mouth and the back of it is raised towards the soft palate a fully back vowel is pronounced. This is the position for the English vowels [ɒ, ɔ:, u:].

When the tongue is in the back part of the mouth but is slightly advanced and the central part of it is raise towards the front part of the soft palate a back-advanced vowel is pronounced. This is the position for the English vowels [ʊ, ɑ:].

Moving up and down in the mouth various parts of the tongue may be raised to different height towards the roof of the mouth.                                              

When the front or the back of the tongue is raised high towards the palate the vowel is called close (high). This is the way the English vowels [i:, ɪ, ʊ, u:] are pronounced.

When the front or the back of the tongue is as low as possible in the mouth open (low) vowels are pronounced. This is the way to pronounce the English vowels [ʌ, æ, ɒ, ɑ:].

When the highest part of the tongue occupies the position intermediate between the close and the open one mid vowels are pronounced. This is the position for the English vowels [e, ɜ:, ə].

To mark all significant changes in vowel quality it is not enough to single out these three groups of vowels. For instance, both English vowels [i:] and [ɪ] belong to the group of close vowels, but when the vowel [ɪ] is articulated the front of the tongue is no so high in the mouth as it is in the case of the vowel [i:]. Similar examples may be found in the groups of mid and open vowels. To make the classification more precise it is necessary to distinguish broad and narrow variants of close, mid and open vowels.

3. Lip position. The shape of the mouth cavity is also largely dependent on the position of the lips. When the lips are neutral or spread the vowels are termed unrounded.

When the lips are drawn together so that the opening between them is more or less round the vowel is called rounded. This is the position for the English vowels [ɒ, ɔ:, ʊ, u:].

4. Character of vowel end. The quality of all English monophthongs in the stressed position is strongly affected by the following consonant of the same syllable. If a stressed vowel is followed by a strong voiceless consonant it is cut off by it. In this case the end of the vowel is strong and the vowel is called checked. Such vowels are heard in stressed closed syllables ending in a strong voiceless consonant, eg cart.

If a vowel is followed by a weak voiced consonant or by no consonant at all the end of it is very weak. In this ease the vowel is called free (or unchecked). Such vowels are heard in closed syllables ending in a voiced consonant or in an open syllable, eg   money, beggar, head

5. Vowel Length. Vowels are capable of being continued during a longer or a shorter period. All English vowels (with the exception of diphthongs) are generally divided into long and short.

Vowel length may depend on a number of linguistic factors:

•    position of the vowel in a word;

•    word stress;

•    the number of syllables in a word                                                                     

In the terminal position a vowel is the longest, it shortens before a voiced consonant, it is the shortest before a voiceless consonant: be - bead - beat tie - tied - tight.

A vowel is longer in a stressed syllable than in an unstressed one: forecast ['fɔ:kɑ:st] - to forecast [fɔ:'kɑ:st].

If we compare a one-syllable word and a word consisting of more than one syllable, we may observe that similar vowels are shorter in a polysyllabic word. Thus in the word verse [ɜ:] is longer than in university.