In phonetics, every possible speech sound is identified and recorded as individual symbols. These symbols are recorded in the IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) Chart. Today, we'll be focussing on vowels. We'll look specifically at:
- The IPA chart
- IPA chart vowels
- How vowels are described in phonetics
- Vowels in English
- Long and short vowels
- Examples of vowels
IPA Chart
The IPA chart is a system of symbols used to represent all of the possible human speech sounds. The symbols on the IPA chart are split into different sections:
Pulmonic consonants
Non-pulmonic consonants
Vowels
Diacritics
Suprasegmentals
Other symbols
Fig 1. The IPA chart
IPA Chart Vowels
Now then, as this article is about vowels, let's have a closer look at what they are.
A vowel is a speech sound created when there is no narrowing or closure in the mouth1.
Vowels can be described according to their openness, front or backness, and roundedness.
Closed vs. Open Vowels
In terms of openness, a vowel can be open, open-mid, close-mid, or closed. These terms relate to the shape and positioning of the mouth when making the vowel sound.
Open vowels are produced when the tongue is near the bottom of the mouth, creating an open stricture in the mouth. Open vowels can also be identified by the open mouth shape that's created when the vowel is being pronounced.
Stricture in phonetics refers to a narrowing in the vocal tract.
Closed vowels are produced when the tongue is near the top of the mouth, creating a narrow or more closed mouth.
Mid vowels are produced with the tongue in the vertically central part of the mouth, and open-mid and open-closed vowels are produced with the tongue slightly above or slightly below the vertically central position.
Here are some examples of open, open-mid, mid, closed-mid, and closed vowels.
Open vowels
Open-mid vowels
- /æ/ as in bag
- /ɛ/ as in beg
- /ʌ/ as in but
- /ɔ/ as in caught
Mid vowels
Closed-mid vowels
- /ɪ/ as in knit
- /ʊ/ as in would
Closed vowels
The schwa vowel
The vowel sound represented by the IPA symbol /ə/ can also be referred to as the schwa sound. The schwa is the most centralized vowel sound, appearing in the center of the IPA vowel chart. This is a very soft vowel sound that doesn't have a distinctive sound of its own and isn't used in stressed syllables - this means you usually won't hear a schwa in words or phrases that are only one syllable.
Some examples of the schwa in words are shown below:
- banana - /bənɑ:nə/
- actor - /æktə/
- about - /əbaʊt/
- castle - /kɑ:səl/
- fish and chips - /fɪʃ ən tʃɪps/
Front vs. Back Vowels
Front and back vowels are defined depending on where the highest part of the tongue is in the mouth.
A front vowel is produced when the highest part of the tongue is at the front of the mouth, and a back vowel is produced when the highest part of the tongue is at the back of the mouth. A vowel can also be central when the highest part of the tongue is in a more central position in the mouth.
Here are some examples of front, central and back vowels:
Front vowels
- /i/ as in happy - /hæpi/
- /ɪ/ as in quick - /kwɪk/
- /ɛ/ as in bet - /bɛt/
- /æ/ as in apple - /æpəl/
Central vowels
- /ə/ as in angel - /eɪndʒəl/
Back vowels
- /u/ as in Luke - /lu:k/
- /ʊ/ as in book - /bʊk/
- /ʌ/ as in putt - /pʌt/
- /ɔ/ as in bought - /bɔ:t/
- /ɒ/ as in robot - /rəʊbɒt/
Rounded vs. Unrounded Vowels
Vowels can be described as being either rounded or unrounded. These terms refer to the shape of the lips while a vowel is being produced.
A rounded vowel is produced when the lips create a rounded shape, like when you say "oh."
An unrounded vowel is produced when the lips are in a more open shape, like when you say "eee."
Fig. 3. If you mimic this shape with your lips, you'll be able to make an 'oh' sound but not an 'eee' sound.
Vowel Chart Phonetics
The vowel chart in phonetics shows all of the monophthong vowels. Vowels can also be diphthongs, though, or even triphthongs.
Monophthongs
A monophthong is a vowel that uses one single vowel sound.
There are ten monophthong vowels used in English:
/i:/ as in cheese - /tʃi:z/
/ɪ/ as in big - /bɪg/
/ɛ/ as in beg - /bɛg/
/æ/ as in bag - /bæg/
/ə/ as in ruler - /ru:lə/
/u:/ as in dune - /dʒu:n/
/ʊ/ as in could - /kʊd/
/ʌ/ as in cup - /kʌp/
/ɔ/ as in more - /mɔ:/
/ɒ/ as in gone - /gɒn/
Diphthongs
A diphthong vowel is a sound created by putting two monophthong vowels together in one syllable.
There are eight diphthong vowels used in the English language. These are:
- /ɪə/ as in fear - /fɪə/
- /eɪ/ as in gate - /geɪt/
- /ʊə/ as in poor - /pʊə/
- /ɔɪ/ as in coin - /kɔɪn/
- /əʊ/ as in know - /nəʊ/
- /eə/ as in there - /ðeə/
- /aɪ/ as in eye - /aɪ/
- /aʊ/ as in loud - /laʊd/
Triphthongs
Now then, as well as monophthongs and diphthongs, vowels can also be triphthongs.
A triphthong vowel is a sound made by combining three different vowel sounds in one syllable.
Triphthong vowels are the least common type of vowel in English and only appear in a few words in Standard English.
Here are some examples of words with triphthong vowels:
- tyre - /taɪə/
- power - /paʊə/
- greyer - /gɹeɪə/
- rower - /rəʊə/
- destroyer - /dəstɹɔɪə/
Not all triphthong vowels are still used in modern Standard English. Instead, some words are split into multiple syllables, and the triphthong vowels are reserved for use in an RP (Received Pronunciation) accent.
As an example, we can have a look at the word power.
- In an RP accent, power is pronounced as a single syllable with the triphthong vowel - /paʊə/. You may associate this with how people of nobility (such as the royal family) speak.
- In modern Standard English, power is pronounced as a two-syllable word - /paʊwə/. Here, the consonant /w/ is added to split up the three vowel sounds and create a second syllable.
Vowel Chart for English
The IPA vowel chart has 28 vowel sounds. These are all the vowel sounds that can possibly be made in human speech. However, not all of these vowels are used in English. There are 12 monophthong vowels and eight diphthong vowels used in English.
The vowels specific to a language are displayed in phonemic charts.
A phonemic chart shows a specific language's consonant and vowel sounds. Using a phonemic chart can be much simpler than using the IPA chart, as there are far fewer IPA symbols to contend with.
Long and Short Vowel Chart
You may have noticed throughout this article that some vowels written using the IPA are followed by a colon, and some aren't (such as /æ/ and /u:/). When a colon follows a vowel, it means it is a long vowel.
A short vowel is a vowel sound produced in a short and quick manner, such as /ɪ/ in big.
A long vowel is a longer, more elongated form of a short vowel sound, such as /ɜ:/ in burn.
Only monophthong vowels are split into long or short vowels, as diphthongs and triphthongs are created from combining short vowels.
Here is a chart of the long and short monophthong vowels used in English:
Vowel Length | Vowel | Example Word | Transcription of Example |
Short | /ɪ//ʊ//e//ə//æ//ʌ//ɒ/ | wigshouldbedaroundfastmugwash | /wɪg//ʃʊd//bed//əɹaʊnd//fæst//mʌg//wɒʃ/ |
Long | /i://u://ɜ://ɔ://ɑ:/ | cheeseswoonheardnoughtfarm | /tʃi:z//swu:n//hɜ:d//nɔ:t//fɑ:m/ |
IPA Vowel Chart with Examples
Now that we've gone over all the possible vowel sounds in the English language, let's cover them again in one place with some examples.
Vowel Type | Vowel Length | Vowel | Example | Example Transcription |
Monophthongs | Long | /i:/ /u:/ /ɜ:/ /ɔ:/ /ɑ:/ | freeze tune burn jaunt bard | /fɹi:z/ /tʃu:n/ /bɜ:n/ /dʒɔ:nt/ /bɑ:d/ |
| Short | /ɪ/ /ʊ/ /e/ /ə/ /æ/ /ʌ/ /ɒ/ | impressive would wedding sofa plant fun bottle | /ɪmpɹesɪv/ /wʊd/ /wedɪŋ/ /səʊfə/ /plænt/ /fʌn/ /bɒtəl/ |
Diphthongs | | /ɪə/ /eɪ/ /ʊə/ /ɔɪ/ /əʊ/ /eə/ /aɪ/ /aʊ/ | weir abate tourist adjoining toe wear scythe aground | /wɪə/ /əbeɪt/ /tʊəɹɪst/ /ədʒɔɪnɪŋ/ /təʊ/ /weə/ /saɪθ/ /əgraʊnd/ |
Triphthongs | | /aɪə/ /aʊə/ /eɪə/ /əʊə/ /ɔɪə/ | pyre flour slayer boa foyer | /paɪə/ /flaʊə/ /sleɪə/ /bəʊə/ /fɔɪə/ |
Vowel Chart - Key takeaways
- All of the possible human vowel sounds are displayed in a vowel chart as part of the IPA chart.
- Vowels can be described in relation to their closed or openness, front or backness, and rounded or unroundedness.
- The schwa vowel /ə/ is the most centralized vowel sound and appears in the middle of the IPA vowel chart.
- There are three types of vowels: monophthongs, diphthongs, and triphthongs.
- Monophthongs consist of one single vowel sound.
- Diphthongs consist of two vowel sounds in one syllable.
- Triphthongs consist of three vowel sounds in one syllable.
- Monophthong vowels can be either long or short.
- Long vowels are represented in transcriptions by adding a colon after the vowel (e.g., wheeze is transcribed as /wi:z/).
1. O'Grady, G. 2013. Key Concepts in Phonetics and Phonology. p. 150
References
- The IPA Chart. International Phonetic Association, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
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