British English Vowels(RP)

LAX VOWELS

TENSE VOWELS

LAX VOWELS

close

front back

open 4

KIT

DRESS

TRAP

STRUTLOT

FOOT

5

CLOSE (HIGH)

BA

CKF

RO

NT

OPEN (LOW)6

• The 6 lax vowels are ALWAYS SHORT

• fen fen• bit bit• not not• very veröld• clever klefi

preview:

• The 6 lax vowels are ALWAYS SHORT

• fen fenn• bit• not• very verry• television tellevision

(“telly”)

preview:

8

• The 6 lax vowels are ALWAYS SHORT

• fen fenn• bit bitt.....?• not nott....?• very verry• television tellevision

(“telly”)

preview:

9

• English vowels MUST NOT BE PREASPIRATED

• not nott (noht)• bit bitt (biht)• stop stopp (stohp)• better better (behter)• supper supper

(söhper)

preview:

10

TENSE VOWELS

KIT

DRESS

TRAP

STRUT

LOT

FOOT

CLOSE (HIGH

BA

CKF

RO

NT

OPEN (LOW)

FLEECE

NURSE

PALM

THOUGHT

GOOSE

12

CLOSE (HIGH

BA

CKF

RO

NT

OPEN (LOW)13

English Diphthongs

δι-ϕθογγοςdi-phthong .... fþong

English Diphthongs

•“pure” vowels•diphthongs

English Diphthongs

• how "pure" are the "pure" vowels?

CLOSE (HIGH

BA

CKF

RO

NT

OPEN (LOW)17

1 Rising to KIT

18

2 Rising to FOOT

19

3 Centring to Schwa

20

21

22

SQUARE words are spelled

-air-

fair

chair

stair

cairn

-are-

fare

care

mare

stare

23

NEAR words are spelled

-eer-

beer

engineer

queer

-ier-

fierce

pier

24

But words spelled with -ear-, –ere-, -eir-

are variable -SQUARE

bear pear wearheir their

where therethey’re

NEARfear clear rear

weirherewe’reideahero

25

Vowels - summary

KIT

DRESS

TRAP

STRUT

LOT

FOOT

CLOSE (HIGHB

AC

KF

RO

NT

OPEN (LOW)

FLEECE

NURSE

PALM

THOUGHT

GOOSE

CLOSE (HIGH

BA

CKF

RO

NT

OPEN (LOW)28

CLOSE (HIGH

BA

CKF

RO

NT

OPEN (LOW)29

Vowels - summary

Learn chart positions:• front – central - back• close (high) – mid – open (low

Learn symbols and keywords for• 6 lax vowels + “schwa”• 5 tense vowels• 8 diphthongs (diphthongs are also tense vowels)

Difference between lax and tense vowels

• lax vowels are short• tense vowels are long but are subject to clipping

31

Clipping

A tense vowels (or diphthong) is

CLIPPED (shortened) when a fortis

consonant immediately follows it.

32

Preview:FORTIS and LENIS consonants

16 consonants occur in PAIRS, fortis and lenis

FORTIS consonants are unovoicedLENIS consonants are often (but not always) voiced

(This is not the only distinction between fortis and lenis. We’ll discuss this later.)

33

fortis:

lenis:

pie, buy

tie, die

key, gay

fine, vine think, this

ice, eyes

mission, vision

church, judge

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Preview:FORTIS and LENIS consonants