Vowels

Question 1

How are vowel sounds produced?

Answer 1

With vocal fold vibration, and on expiratory air released through oral cavity (nasal cavity closed) – no constriction of airflow

Question 2

Are vowel sounds voiced, or unvoiced?

Answer 2

Voiced

Question 3

How does the tongue change vowel sounds?

Answer 3

Changing the position and shape of the tongue affects the size and shape of oral cavity

Question 4

What articulators move to change vowel sounds?

Answer 4

Tongue, lower jaw, lips

Question 5

Which articulator is primarily involved in changing the shape/size of the vocal tract to produce vowel sounds?

Answer 5

The tongue by changing advancement and height

Question 6

What is tongue advancement?

Answer 6

It is where the majority of the energy/stiffness in the tongue is and where the tongue narrows the passageway

Question 7

What does it mean when the tongue is front?

Answer 7

Highest point of tongue tension is anterior/toward front. Tongue stays inside of mouth though.

Question 8

What does it mean when the tongue is central?

Answer 8

Body of tongue is in a neutral position, the tension is central or slightly toward back of hard palate

Question 9

What does it mean when the tongue is back?

Answer 9

Highest point of the tongue is raised posteriorly toward soft palate – tension at back

Question 10

What is tongue height?

Answer 10

Referring to how high the tongue is inside of mouth—changes acoustics because it alters the space in mouth – jaw moves slightly with tongue height too

Question 11

What is meant when the tongue is high?

Answer 11

Tongue is close to palate

Question 12

What is meant when the tongue is mid?

Answer 12

Tongue is in central/neutral position

Question 13

What is meant when the tongue is low?

Answer 13

Tongue is lowered and resting at the bottom of oral cavity

Question 14

What are the other terms that some use instead of high and low for tongue height?

Answer 14

Open (low), and closed (high)

Question 15

Example of high, mid and low vowel:

Answer 15

Bead, bed, bad

Question 16

What is the vowel quadrilateral?

Answer 16

Visual representation of vowels which echoes the shape of oral cavity. X-axis: tongue advancement, Y-axis: tongue height

Question 17

Which vowels are round vowels?

Answer 17

/ ɔ, ɔɪ, oʊ, ʊ, u /

Question 18

Which vowels are tense?

Answer 18

/ i, e, eɪ, aɪ, aʊ, ɑ, ɔɪ, oʊ, u /

Question 19

What is a monophthong?

Answer 19

It is a vowel sound that can be produced without the tongue needing to move between positions – it is continuous

Question 20

What is another name for monophthongs?

Answer 20

Pure vowels

Question 21

How many monophthongs are there in standard Canadian English and what are they?

Answer 21

8: / i, ɪ, ɛ, ʌ, æ, ɑ, u, ʊ/

Question 22

What is a lexical set?

Answer 22

It is a set of symbols and words that correspond to the speech sound the symbol represents. The word is used as the lexical representation.

Question 23

What are the standard lexical set words for each vowel sound?

Answer 23

/i/ – fleece
/ɪ/ – kit “kit vowel”
/ɛ/ – dress
/ʌ/ – strut
/æ/ – trap
/ɑ/ – lot
/u/ – goose
/ʊ/ – foot

Question 24

How do the formants relate to tongue position?

Answer 24

F1: tongue height inverse to formant height (High tongue = low F1). F2: tongue frontness direct relation to F2 height (Tongue is front = high F2)

Question 25

Which two vowel sounds do not appear independently in North American English and one which does not appear independently in Canadian English (typically)?

Answer 25

/a/, /e/, /ɔ/ (Canadian English)

Question 26

In Canadian English, what is /ɔ/ typically replaced by?

Answer 26

/a/

Question 27

What is the cot-caught merger?

Answer 27

Discusses that some speakers of American English differentiate between /ɔ/ and /a/, but in Canadian English we do not

Question 28

What is the schwa, where does it appear?

Answer 28

It is a vowel sound that only appears in weak, short syllables, it is neutral. Often called a reduced vowel

Question 29

What are diphthongs?

Answer 29

They are dynamic vowels where your tongue glides from one position to another during the production of the vowel sound

Question 30

Why are diphthongs one phoneme if the tongue is gliding between two positions?

Answer 30

Because they cannot be broken down into the two separate sounds without changing the meaning

Question 31

What are the five North American Diphthongs and an example word for each?

Answer 31

/aɪ/ -- “buy” /aʊ/ -- “cow” / ɔɪ/ -- “toy” /eɪ/ -- “date” /oʊ/ -- “coat”

Question 32

What are the two parts of a diphthong?

Answer 32

Onglide and offglide

Question 33

What is an onglide?

Answer 33

The initial sound in a diphthong

Question 34

What is an offglide?

Answer 34

The final sound in a diphthong

Question 35

Which direction do all diphthongs of general American English go?

Answer 35

Up, they are all rising

Question 36

Which two diphthongs can sometimes be “de-diphthongized” (offglide dropped) in quick speech?

Answer 36

/eɪ/ -- “date” /oʊ/ -- “coat”

Question 37

What are /e/ and /o/ referred to, if the diphthong is dropped?

Answer 37

They are called allophonic monotones

Question 38

What is a rhotic vowel?

Answer 38

Vowels with the “r” sound immediately after that alters the acoustics of the preceding vowel

Question 39

What is the schwar and when is it used?

Answer 39

Unstressed rhotic vowel, would be used when vowel is in unstressed syllable position that is followed by an “r” sound ## Footnote Ex: doctor has schwar at end

Question 40

What is the nurse vowel and when is it used?

Answer 40

It is the stressed rhotic vowel, it would be used when a vowel is in a stressed syllable position ## Footnote Ex: Nurse

Question 41

What are the articulators and vocal tract doing during a rounded vowel?

Answer 41

Vocal tract lengthened which changes acoustic quality. Lips are puckered. In GAE, tongue moves posteriorly, lips rounded

Question 42

What are the articulators doing during an unrounded vowel?

Answer 42

Lips are neutral or they are spread (smiling)

Question 43

What are the articulators doing during a tense vowel?

Answer 43

Tongue muscles tense. Tense vowels tend to be longer in duration

Question 44

What are the articulators doing during a lax vowel?

Answer 44

Tongue relaxed. Tongue more central. Lax vowels usually shorter duration

Question 45

What is the tip to test if a vowel is tense or not?

Answer 45

“can the vowel exist at the end of a single syllable word?” ## Footnote Ex: /bi/ “bee” YES, /bɪ/ “bih” NO, /bɪd/ “bid” YES Vowels that can exist at the end of monosyllabic words are TENSE