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Vowels and Dipthongs Digest

Vowels are letters that represent speech sounds without blockage, categorized by length, tongue position, and lip shape. They play a crucial role in spelling and grammar, with every word requiring at least one vowel for clarity. Diphthongs, which blend two vowel sounds within a syllable, further expand the complexity of vowel sounds in English.

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43 views5 pages

Vowels and Dipthongs Digest

Vowels are letters that represent speech sounds without blockage, categorized by length, tongue position, and lip shape. They play a crucial role in spelling and grammar, with every word requiring at least one vowel for clarity. Diphthongs, which blend two vowel sounds within a syllable, further expand the complexity of vowel sounds in English.

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Cyzus 22
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Vowels

● Vowels are letters that represent speech sounds where air leaves the mouth
without any blockage by the tongue, lips, or throat.

VOWELS:
● a
● e
● i
● o
● u
● and sometimes y

Vowels are divided into different categories based on

● Length of the sound


● Position of the tongue
● Shape of the lips

1. Length of the sound

● Long (tense) vowels


● Short (lax) vowels

2. Position of the tongue

● close (high) or open (low)


● The distance between the tongue and the top of the mouth
front or back
● The part of the tongue that is raised
3. Shape of the lips

● Rounded ( e.g. /ʊ/)


● Neutral (e.g. /ə/)
● Spread (e.g. /iː/)

Implication
Vowels play a major role in both spelling and grammar. They also have a direct impact
on how consonants are used.
Ex. hop and hope—The presence of the silent e at the end changes the rules for how to
conjugate certain words.

When do you need a vowel?


Unlike consonants, every word needs at least one vowel. why? — to clarify how the
consonant sounds connect and help shape written language.
Fun Fact: shortest words are vowels (“I” and “a”).

Assonance- repetition of vowel sounds in non-rhyming stressed syllables near enough


to each other for the echo to be discernible, common used in lyrics, poems & creative
writing.

For example, the passage from Edgar Allan Poe’s poem “The Raven”:

And the silken, sad, uncertain rustling of each purple curtain

Thrilled me—filled me with fantastic terrors never felt before.

Words like silken, uncertain, and curtain use similar vowel sounds, as do the words
terrors, never, and before.

What’s the difference between short and long vowels?


The same vowel can make different sounds, depending on whether it’s paired with
another vowel. When vowels are used alone in a syllable, they make a short vowel
sound, such as the i in big. When vowels are combined with another vowel, typically a
silent vowel, they can make a long vowel sound that’s usually pronounced like the
letter’s name, such as the ea in eat, which sounds like the name of the letter e.

Is y a vowel?
The letter y can be either a vowel or a consonant, depending on how it’s used. When
used as a consonant, such as in yellow or boy, it makes a unique sound using the
tongue and the top of the mouth. When it’s used as a vowel, such as in my, system, or
lady, it can make either a long i, short i, or long e sound.
Dipthongs

Diphthong comes from the Greek word diphthongos, which means "two sounds" or "two
tones." A unique sound created by blending two vowel sounds within the same syllable.
Unlike a single vowel sound, which remains constant, a diphthong involves a smooth,
continuous transition from one vowel to another.

The Primary Diphthongs


What are the eight diphthongs in English? According to TutorEd and
Stack Exchange, they are:

/eɪ/ as in day, pay, say, lay


/aɪ/ as in sky, buy, cry, tie
/ɔɪ/ as in boy, toy, coy or the first syllable of soya
/ɪə/ as in beer, pier, hear
/eə/ as in bear, pair, and hair
/ʊə/ as in tour, poor or the first syllable of tourist
/əʊ/ as in oh, no, so, or phone
/aʊ/ as in all the words of "How now brown cow!"
Moreover:
20 vowels in total:
7 short vowels: /ɪ/ /ʊ/ /ə/ /e/ /ɒ/ /ʌ/ /æ/
5 long vowels: /iː/ /uː/ /ɑː/ /ɔː/ /ɜː/
8 diphthongs: /eɪ/ /aɪ//ɔɪ/ /əʊ/ /aʊ/ /ɪə/ /eə/ /ʊə/

Note: Please refer this table for the symbolic representation of the vowels according to
their respective serial number.
1 is the vowel found in neat, seat, sheet, each
2 occurs in words like: in, if, bid, city
3 as in set, head, net
4 occurs in bat, cat, ant
5 in ask, car, aunt
6 in words like: on, not, cot, odd
7 in caught, horse, law
8 in put, book, hook
9 in boon, two, move, group
10 in cup, come, does
11 in bird, earn, learn
12 in ago (first syllable)

The next 8 vowels are diphthongs. They glide from one quality to another within the
same syllable.

13 in here, near, rear


14 in tour, poor, doer
15 in care, dare, share
16 in play,aim, name
17 in boy, boil, soil
18 in eyes, buy, ice
19 in cow, noun, crown
20 in go, boat, own

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