Vowel Phonemes. Description of Principal Variants

Monophthongs, or Simple Vowels and Diphthongoids /i:/ /u:/

Vowels are best of all learnt when the teacher directs the attention of the pupils to the position of the tongue and the lips. The description of the vowels should be accompanied by appropriate diagrams of the tongue position, because a vowel is voice modified by different shapes of the supra glottal passages, especially, the mouth and the lips.

No. 1 /i:/

The bulk of the tongue is in the front part of the mouth cavity, the space in the back part of the mouth cavity is empty.

The middle and the fore parts of the tongue are raised to the front part of the hard palate, but not so high as in the pronunciation of the Russian /и/.

In the course of the /i:/ articulation the bulk of the tongue may move from a more retracted and low position, to the more front and advanced position. The slight movement of the tongue which results in the insta­bility of the /i:/ articulation occurs within the front and high position (narrow variation) of the bulk of the tongue.

The front of the tongue starts at the /i:/ position and glides up and toward the /i:/ position, sometimes even overshooting it and ending up in the /j/ position. Thus, this diphthongoid may be represented in allophonic transcription as follows: ['i^j].

Most RP speakers pronounce this sound as a stable vowel. Its idiolectal variation — a narrow diphthongal glide (in open syllables, before lenis and nasals) is considered as "vulgar" and-many educated speakers attempt to avoid it.

/i:/ can be defined as:

I. unrounded;

II. front (a) fully front, high;

(b) narrow variation of the high posi­tion of the tongue;

III. tense;

IV. long;

V. diphthongoid.

In the English /i:/ articulation the tongue is tense, the side rims of it make a firm contact with the upper teeth. The lips are spread. The Rus­sian /и/ is pronounced with the almost neutral position of the lips.

Care should be taken not to confuse the English /i:/ with the Russian /и/.

рис — rees

низ — niece

сил — seal

чик — cheek

In the pronunciation of /i:/ its positional length should be observed: the longest in the open position, shorter in the position before a voiced consonant, the shortest before a voiceless consonant, cf.: bee — bead — beat.

Graphic Equivalents of the /i:/ Phoneme

/i:/ is pronounced when spelt:

e be /bi:/ — быть

eе see /si:/ — видеть

ea tea /ti:/ — чай

ie piece /pi:s/ — кусок

ci ceiling /'silıŋ/ — потолок

i in French borrowings:

machine /mə'ςi:n/ — машина

In Latin and Greek words:

ae Caesar /'si:zə/ — Цезарь

oe Oedipus /'i:dıpas/ — Эдип

еу key /ki:/ — ключ

ay quay /ki:/ — набережная

eo people /'pi:pl/ — народ

No. 2 /ı/

The bulk of the tongue is in the front part of the mouth cavity but slightly retracted. The front of the tongue is raised in the direction of the hard palate, but not so high as for /i:/. The lips are spread and neutral. The position of the tongue does not change during its articulation.

/ı/ can be defined as:

I. unrounded;

II. front (a) front-retracted;

(b) broad variation of the high posi­tion of the tongue;

III. lax;

IV. short;

V. monophthong.

/i:/ and /ı/ are different phonemes. This can be proved by the minimal pairs:

seek —	sick
deed —	did
bead —	bid
peel —	pill

eat — it sheep — ship beet — bit

feel —fill eel —ill lead —lid

heat — hit meal — mill leek — lik

leave — live feet — fit peak — pick

Graphic Equivalents of the /ı/ Phoneme

/ı/ is pronounced when spelt:

i lid /lıd/ — крышка

у very /'verı/ — очень, lymph /lımf/ — лимфа, gladly /'glædlı/ — охотно

ey whiskey /'wıskı/ — виски

e, a before /bı'fo:/ — прежде, courage /'k Λ rıdЗ/ — смелость

ie studies /'st Λ dız/ — изучает, sieve /sıv/ — сито

ai captain /'kæptın/ — капитан, mountain /'mauntın/ — гора

ui biscuit /'bıskıt/ — сухое печенье

ei forfeit /'fo:fıt/ — лишиться чего-л.

It is also pronounced in the following words:

busy/'bızı/ — занятой, minute /'mınıt/ — минута,Monday /'m Λ ndı/ — понедельник, women /'wımın/ — женщины, mishief/'mıstςıf/— вред, etc.

No. 3 /e/

^e

The bulk of the tongue is in the front part of the mouth cavity. The front ofthe tongue is raised to the hard palate but not so high as in the /ı/ production. The lips are slightly spread. The position of the bulk of the tongue does not change during the /e/ articulation.

/e/ can be defined as:

I. unrounded;

II. front(a) fully front, mid-open;

(b) narrow variation of the medium positionof the tongue;

III. lax;

IV. short;

V. monophthong.

To practise the /e/ articulation contrast exercises are very helpful:

bit — bet beet — bit — bet

lid — led lead — lid — led

pick — peck peak — pick — peck

Sid — said seed — Sid — said

knit —net neat — knit — net

hid — head heed — hid — head

Дата добавления: 2014-01-06