Classification of English monophthongs

1. According to horizontal movements of the tongue the English vowels fall into five groups:

• front vowels / i׃, e, æ/;

• front-retracted /ɪ/;

• central / mid /ə, ɜ׃, ʌ/;

• back-advanced / ʊ/;

• back / u׃, ɑ׃, ɔ׃, ɒ/;

 

2. According to vertical movements of the tongue the English vowels tall into three groups:

• high / i׃, ɪ, u׃, ʊ/;

• mid / e, ə, ɜ׃, ʌ/;

• low / æ, ɑ׃, ɔ׃, ɒ/.

These sounds can be of broad and narrow variation. The narrow variation indicates that the distance between the lips is very small, while the broad variation suggests that the distance between the lips is a bit wider. The narrow sounds are: / i׃, u׃, e, ɜ׃, ɔ׃,/. The broad sounds are: /ɪ, ʊ, ə, ʌ, æ, ɑ׃, ɒ/.

 

3. According to the position of lips English vowels may be labialized / rounded

(/ p, b, w, m/) and non-labialized / non-rounded.

4. According to duration / length the English vowels are long and short.

There are 5 long vowels: / ɑ׃, ɔ׃, ɜ׃, i׃, u׃/. The rest vowels are short.

 

5. According to the degree of tenseness of speech organs the English vowels may be tense and lax.

All long vowels are tense, while the short ones are lax.

 

NOTE: In addition to the above principles the English vowels are also classified according to the character of their end.

They may be:

a) checked (pronounced without any lessening of the force of utterance towards their end). They have a strong end. They end abruptly and are interrupted by the consonant immediately following. Therefore they can only occur in a closed syllable, i.e. a syllable which ends in a consonant sound, e.g. bed, not, pull, hat, speak, type.

b) unchecked / free (pronounced with lessening of the force of utterance towards their end).Therefore they have the weak end. The English long vowels and diphthongs when stressed both in open and in closed syllables followed by voiced consonants are unchecked. The same is true of all the English unstressed vowels no matter whether long or short, e.g. free, card, time, attitude, window, city, father.

The Chart of English and Ukrainian Vowels.

Horizontal movements of the tongue     Vertical movements of the tongue   Front       Front- retracted       Central/mixed       Back- advanced       Back    
  High (close) narrow i׃і ї и ʊ u׃у  
broad   ɪ        
  Mid (mid-open) narrow   ɜ׃ɜ   o  
broad ɛе   ə ʌ      
  Low (open) narrow         ɔ ɔ׃  
broad æa   a   ɑ׃ ɒ

 

 

English monophthongs: articulation, graphical rules and training exercises

Vowel No 1. / ɪ /- front-retracted, high, close, non-rounded, short of broad variation.

1. make the lips flat (a little bit spread aside like in a smile), i.e. pressed against the

teeth, the teeth-edge in seen;

2. open the mouth, keeping the lips flat, so as to see the tongue position;

3. press the sides of the tongue against the upper-teeth;

4. raise the blade of the tongue so as to see it blunt through the opening between

the teeth;

5. pronounce the short sound / ɪ /.

 

Graphical rules

1) - i– (in the closed type of syllable); e.g. tin, pin, it.

2) -y – (in the closed type of syllable); e.g. gym, syllable.

3) – y– (in the word final unstressed position); e.g. pity, silly city.

4) – ie – (in the word final unstressed position); e.g. Margie, Willie, Katie.

Exercise 1rid- ride – ridge tin - pin - flint

grid- bride –bridge bit - bib- blint

mince – mine - midge kiss - miss- bliss

quince – twine - twingo sip- sink - singe

Exercise 2cryst– tryst– crypt

myth– pyx– lynch

styx– lynn– lydd

Exercise 3 blyth –bliss pyx – fix tryst – brisk

myth – miss cyst– mist lynch – mince

crypt– crisp kyd–kid lynn–flint

Exercise 4city– pity Freddie–Dickie

silly – witty Annie – Sophie

 

Imitation Skills Development

1 Please, listen a minute to Kitty.

2 Sit still for six minutes.

3 It’s a pity that little Kitty lives in a big city.

4 Six little kittens lost their mittens.

5 It’s a pity they were pretty.

6 Jimmy Nill will bring you to a big hill.

7 As fit as a fiddle.

8 As busy as a bee.

9 Little pitchers have big ears.

10 He is swimming. He is swimming in the river. He is swimming in the river

with Tim. Will you come in, he is swimming in the river with Tim.

11Which of the six thin women is a wicked witch?

Vowel No 2. / i׃/ - front, high, close, long, non-rounded of narrow variation, diphthongized.

1. get ready to articulate / ɪ /;

2. begin pronouncing / ɪ / and at the very movement move the tongue-tip towards

the lower teeth; while doing it keep the lips flat and feel sides of the tongue sliding

against the upper teeth;

3. pronounce the long sound / i׃/;

4. pronounce both the sounds / ɪ / and / i׃ /.

Graphical rules

1) - ee- ; e.g. see, bee, need, deem, wheel, cheese, cheek, sweep, fleece;

2) - ea - ; e.g. read, lead, clean, dean, c.f. head / hed / , dead / ded /, bread / bred /;

3) - e - ; (in the open syllable) e.g. Pete, me, be;

4) - ey; e.g. key;

5) -ie-, - ei-; e.g. receive, believe.

 

Exercise 1Eve bee – been – beat live – leave

easy dee – dean – deep sit – seat

eat knee – need – neat filled – field

 

Exercise 2fee – glee tree – three skip – keep

feel – deep dream– peace mink – mean

be – beast fee – feature slip – sleep

 

Exercise 3need – neatdeep – dean

meet – meat sweet – week

speech – speak been – bean

 

Imitation Skills Development

1 Please, believe me. Please, leave me in peace.

2 Extremes meet.

3 Seeing is believing.

4 He speaks Chinese and Japanese with equal ease.

5 My tea is sweet enough.

6 Between the devil and the deep sea.

7 I like tea and meat.

8 A friend in need is a friend indeed.

9 No sweet without some sweat.

10 A sailor went to sea to see what he could see.

But all he could see was sea, sea, sea.

11 Pete; Pete eats; Pete eats lean meat; Steve and Pete eat lean meat; Steve and

Pete eat lean meat and green beans; please, Steve and Pete eat lean meat and

green beans.

12 Stephen meets Eve one evening for a meal. Stephen is greedy. He eats three pieces of cheese. Asleep Stephen dreams of Eve: he sees Eve, fleeing from three beasts.

/i:/ - /ɪ/

1 Come to tea. Come to tea with me. Come to tea with me by the sea. If you are free, come to tea with me by the sea. Do you agree to come to tea with me by the sea?

2 Jean likes gin but gin doesn’t like Jean.

3 Sleepy Freda seeks size six slippers to fit her feet.

4 Fish and chips are cheap and easy to eat.

 

Vowel No 3. /ɑ׃/ -back, open, non-rounded, low, long, tense, broad variation.

1. drop the lower jaw but don't show the teeth;

2. put the tongue tip against the lower teeth and push the bulk of the tongue as

backward as possible;

3. pronounce the long / ɑ׃ / if you hear the / o / – shade spread the lips a little.

Graphical rules

1) – a– ( in the 3d type of syllable); e.g. part, car.

2) – a – before –ss, –st, –sp, –sk, –ft, –th, – nt, –nch, – lf, –lm, –lv; e.g. pass, past, clasp, ask, task, after, path, plant, branch, half, palm, halves.

3) in the words of French origin with the suffixes –ance, –and; e.g. France, command. Exception: aunt.

Exercise 1car– calm– cart arm far star

far– farm– part art ask farther

bar –bard– bark ask the dark garden

 

Exercise 2balm –palm calf – half calves –halves

farm –charm dart– cart half – calf

balm– barn calf –scarf smart – tart

 

Exercise 3carves – calves charms – calms

harms – halves starves – halves

farms – calms scarves– halves

dance – glance chance – France

branch – planch plant – grant

 

Imitation Skills Development

1 Cast the last nasty card.

2 Far from eyes, far from heart.

3 It’s enough to make cat laugh.

4 My father is in the garden.

5 Can’t you ask Father or Aunt Margaret?

6 Не laughs best who laughs last.

7 After a storm comes a calm.

8 Each dog barks in his own yard.

9 Art is long life is short.

10 I shan’t. I shan’t dance. I shan’t dance at the garden party. I shan’t dance at the garden party at my aunt’s farm. I shan’t dance at the garden party at my aunt’s farm tomorrow.

11 A dark barn is in a large farm-yard. Mark can’t park his car in the barn because of a calf and a large cart blocking the farm-yard.

Vowel No 4. / ʌ / - central (mixed), middle, open, short, lax, non-rounded of broad variation.

1. get ready to articulate / ɑ׃ /;

2. make a smaller opening between the teeth and pronounce the sound / ʌ /, if you

hear the / o / - shade spread the lips a little;

3. the neutral vowel / ə / occurs only in the unstressed position and sounds like the

unstressed Russian / A / in the word ‘маме’.

 

Graphical rules

1) - u - (in the closed syllable); e.g. shut, cut, c.f. put/ pʊt /

2) - ou - ; e.g. country, cousin, c.f. come/ kʌm /, some/ sʌm /, tongue

/ tʌŋ /, son /sʌn/, money /mʌni /, fond /fʌnd / .

Exercise 1nut –cut – tough country – sultry public – Dublin

shut – bund – rough trouble – bubble suck – stuck

bunch – punch – couple double – tumble buck – truck

such – much – shovel courage –custard dusk – trust

 

Exercise 2sun – fun fuss – dust musk – duck lucky musket

buff – puff must – bust gull – lull funny puppy

shuffle – muffle drug – bug gun - bump culture vulture

mud – flood cut – blood bud – love shuttle bus

 

Imitation Skills Development

1 Tough luck.

2 You must not touch the luggage.

3 As snug as a bug in the rug.

4 Such a fine day, you are lucky.

5 So many countries, so many customs.

6 Love me, love my dog.

7 As hungry as a hunter.

8 Don't trouble troubles until troubles trouble you.

9 A cousin; a country cousin; a country cousin has a bun; a country cousin has a crusty bun; a country cousin has a crusty buttered bun; a country cousin has a lovely crusty buttered bun; a country cousin has a lovely crusty buttered bun for supper.

10 Cuthbert puts some mustard in his mother’s custard. Cuthbert’s young brother wonders why mother doesn’t love her other son.

/ɑ: / - /ʌ/

3 Charles; Charles puts; Charles puts mustard; Charles puts some mustard Charles puts some mustard in his custard; Charles puts some mustard in his mother’s custard.

4 Charles’ brother wonders why father doesn’t love his other son.

/æ/ - /ʌ/

1 These windows are shattered; those windows are shuttered.

2 I have mashed potatoes with butter; she has mushy potatoes with batter.

 

Vowel No 5./ u׃, ju׃/ -back, high, close, rounded, long, tense, narrow variation, diphthongized.

Graphical rules

1 ) – u– (in the open syllable); e.g. tune, tube;

2) – – ( in the word-middle position); e.g. suit;

3) – ew, –eu–; e.g. new, neutral;

4) –ou – (in the words of French origin); e.g. soup, group;

5) –oo– (before all consonants except "k"); e.g. moon, soon, c.f. book / bʊk/ , blood / blʌd/, good / gʊd /, foot / fʊt/.

 

Exercise 1loose – Lewis new music – moon

mood – mute few beauty – booty

soon – suit neutral duty – doomed

 

NOTE:

The letter “u” tends to be pronounced as / ju׃ / in the open type of syllable but sometimes the sound / j / can be omitted when preceded by:

1) / r /; e.g. rude / ru׃d /, rule / ru׃l /.

2) consonant + “l”; e.g. plume / plu׃m /.

3) an affricate; e.g. June/dʒu׃n/.

 

 

Exercise 2use – cute – mute ruse – Bruce flute – fume

muse – cube – tube rune – prune June – tune

fuse – fume – hume rude – crude plume – lute

 

Exercise 3book – brute good – jute

look – plume stood – spruce

hook – hume foot – flute

took – tune wood – fume

 

Imitation Skills Development

1 The ruler is on the stool.

2 Too good to be true.

3 Ruth can’t say a boo to a goose.

4 Prue knew who is who.

5 I’d choose blue. I’d choose blue shoes. I’d choose blue shoes to take to school. I’d choose blue shoes to take to school to use. I’d choose blue shoes to take to school to use if I were you.

6 Hugh’s tooth is loose. Hugh shoots a moose and loses his loose tooth.

7 Sue is beautiful. Sue is foolish and stupid at school as a rule.

/ʊ/ - /u: /

1 Look at Luke, pulling a poor fool out of the pool in the wood.

2 This foolish bookish Duke is too full of good food to move a foot.

Vowel No 6. /ʊ/ - back-advanced, high, close, rounded, short, lax, broad variation.

1. press the sides of the lips against the teeth in such a way as to have the lips

very tense and a little bit rounded but not protruded.

2. put the tongue-tip against the lower teeth and push the bulk of the tongue

backward;

3. begin rounding the lips and pronounce / ʊ/, /u׃/.

 

Graphical rules

1) - оо - (before “k”); e.g. book, look, took;

2) - u - (after “p”, “b”, “f”); e.g. pull, full, bull, c.f. butter, but

3) - ou - (before “ld”); e.g. could, should, would.

 

 

Exercise 1 go pool - pull a good book

could boot - put a good cook

cook fool - full look at the book

 

Exercise 2would - wood look - loose

could - cool cook - school

 

 

Imitation Skills Development

1 He took the book to school.

2 Put some sugar into the pudding.

3 The cook took a good look at the cookery book.

4 A good cook never cooks while looking at the cookery book.

5 A good beginning makes a good ending.

6 It’s good he could go on foot.

7 Have a look at the book. Have a look at the book which I took at a brook. Have a look at the book which I took at a brook and put it on the bookshelf.

8 The cook looks at her cookery book. She puts some sugar in the pudding. The pudding looks good.

 

Vowel No 7. /ɔ׃/ - back, open, rounded, long, tense, low, narrow variation.

1. get ready to articulate / ɑ׃ /;

2.round the lips, but don't protrude them like in the Russian / o / and pronounce /ɔ׃/.

 

Graphical rules

1) - or - (in the 3d type of syllable); e.g. port, sport;

2) - ore- (in the 4th type of syllable); e.g. more, ore;

3) au-, - aw; e.g. autumn, law;

4) - a+ll; e.g. ball, small;

5) - a + lk; e.g. talk, chalk.

6) - a+lt; e.g. malt, salt.

7) -ou- + gh; e.g. bought, fought, thought.

8) -au- + gh; e.g. taught, daughter.

Rare spelling: door, floor.

 

 

Exercise 1 park – pork tor – tall – talk

card – cord cor – cord – cort

cart – cort sor – sord – sort

part – port for – form – fork

 

Exercise 2 small – talk corks – calks

all – chalk forks – walks

tall – balk storks – stalks

wall – walk pork – balk

 

Imitation Skills Development

1 The hall is on the fourth floor.

2 New lords, new laws.

3 George was born in August.

4 I saw more than forty horses.

5 Her naughty daughter Maud is at fault.

6 Pride goes before a fall.

7 To pour water into a sieve.

8 Of all the saws I ever saw a saw,

I never saw a saw as that saw saws.

9 All for one and one for all.

10 It never rains, it pours.

11 Trust me not at all or all in all.

12 All roses have thorns.

13 All their daughters are tall. All their four daughters are tall. All the four daughters of Mrs. Crawl are very tall.

14 Maud is short, Paul is tall. Maud is walking on the lawn; Paul is crawling along a wall. Maud warms Paul: “You’ll fall!” “Not at all!”, retorts Paul.

/ɔ: / - /ɒ/

1 Gordon wants; Gordon wants copies; Gordon wants forty-four copies; Gordon wants forty-four copies of the document.

2 Yesterday John made four copies but Bob poured a cup of coffee all over them.

 

Vowel No 8. / ɒ/ - back, law, open, rounded, short, lax, broad variation.

1. get ready to articulate / ɑ׃ /;

2. open the mouth still wider than during / ɑ׃ /;

3 . round the lips into / o / - like shape;

4. show the edge of the lower teeth and pronounce / ɒ /;

 

Graphical rules

1) - о - (in the closed syllable); e.g. god, bottle, doctor.

2) wa- ; e.g. watch, want, water.

3) qua -; e.g. quarter.

4) wha- ; e.g. what.

 

Exercise 1 god – got on a dog – dogs

not – nod odd a cock – cocks

dog – dock offer a box – boxes

log – lock oxen a fox – foxes

 

Exercise 2 quad – squad wash – squad

quash – squash watt – quad

wad – quad what – squat

was – squab want – quant

watch – squash what – quarrel

Imitation Skills Development

1 Rod often got into hot water.

2 Lots and lots of clocks and watches have gone wrong.

3 Molly’s got a spot on her frock.

4 A watched pot never boils.

5 Honesty is the best policy.

6 I am fond of our pond, of the super fine gloss on its moss.

7 Drop the block and lock the box.

8 Tom and his dog went to the pond.

9 A little pot is soon hot.

10 Be slow to promise and quick to perform

11 Never put off till tomorrow what you can do today

12 Where’s the watch? Where’s the watch I put in my pocket? Where’s the watch I put in my pocket to take to the shop? Where’s the watch I put in my pocket to take to the shop because it has stopped?

13 A dog is squatting on a rotten log.

14 John is strong, Olive is not. Olive watches John loading a locked strong box on a yacht in a lock at the docks.

/ʌ/ - /ɒ/

1 You must come. You must come to Polly. You must come to Polly’s office. You must come to Polly’s office for strong coffee. You must come to Polly’s office for strong coffee with us.

2 The zoologist wonders about bugs. The botanist wanders about bogs.

/ɑ: / - /ɒ/ - /ʌ/

1 This cross-country runner is last. This cross-country runner is lost.

2 Charles and Dolly, stop hugging and cuddling.

Vowel No 9. / æ/ - front, open, low, non-rounded, short, lax, broad variation.

1. make the lips flat;

2. open the mouth wide and keep the teeth-edge seen;

3. press the tongue tip against the lower teeth;

4. pronounce / æ /;

/ ж/ -has two positional allophones: short and half-long, i.e. it may be lengthened in some positions:

a) before voiced consonants; e.g. cab / kæb/, bad / bæd/;

b) before voiced sonorants; e.g. man /mæn/.

 

 

Graphical rules

1) - а - (in the closed syllable); e.g. cat, map, flag.

Exercise 1pan – tan tank – bank marrow –sparrow

fan – man rank – sank cabbage – baggage

cat – rat back – sack gaggle – scrabble

bat – mat rack – pack carrot – parrot

 

Imitation Skills Development

1 A black cat sat on a mat and ate a fat rat.

2 The neck of Jack’s cat is fat.

3 That’s the man who sat on my hat in the tram.

4 Once there lived a Lfad who was very sad,

5 For he hadn’t any mother and he hadn’t any dad.

6 That’s bad grammar.

7 Pat cannot catch that. Fancy that!

8 A rat; a fat rat; catching a fat rat; a cat catching a fat rat; a black cat catching a fat rat.

9 A fat man is clapping his hands.

10 Ann has plaits and black slacks. Harry has a hacking jacket. Harry and Ann are standing hand-in-hand.

 

Vowel No 10. / e / - front, mid-open, mid, non-rounded, short, lax, narrow variation.

1. make the lips flat; well spread aside;

2. open the mouth a little;

3. press the sides of the tongue against the lower teeth tight and feel the tongue

tense;

3. pronounce / e /.

 

Graphical rules

1) - е - (in the closed type of syllable); e.g. pen, ten.

2) - еа - (in monosyllabic words); e.g. head, bread, dead.

 

Exercise 1pan – pen bat – bet and – end

sat – set flat – let dam – den

bag – beg ass – mess cat – Kent

tan – ten mass – tress hat – het

 

Exercise 2mental – parental mess –mass best test

medical – spherical letter – latter ten pens

treasure – pleasure better – batter never again

weather – leather shell – shall wet net

Imitation Skills Development

1. Many men, many minds.

2. Better late than never, but better never late.

3. Better to do well, than to say well.

4. All is well that ends well.

5. East or West home is best.

6. She sells eggs. She sells hens’ eggs. She sells the best hens’ eggs. She sells hens’ eggs every Wednesday. She sells hens’ eggs every Wednesday in the market.

7. Eleven hens have twelve eggs in ten nests.

/e/ - /æ/

1 Franz; friend Franz; Czech friend Franz;Jack’s Czech friend Franz; Jack’s Czech friend Franzand Pat; Jack’s Czech friend Franzand French friend Pat; Jack’s Czech friend Franzand Franz’s French friend Pat.

2 Ted has Dad’s hat in his head; Jack has a check cap in his hand.

3 Jack’s Czech friend Franz is very expansive; Franz’s French friend is very

expensive.

Vowel No 11. /ɜ׃/ - mixed, mid-open, mid, non-rounded, long, tense, narrow variation.

1. get ready to pronounce / ə /;

2. keep the lips in their neutral position; i.e. don't spread them aside, don't round

them;

3. show the teeth without changing the lip-position;

4. open the mouth as wide as you did during / ʌ /;

5. put the tongue-tip against the edge of the lower teeth;

6. see to that no part of the tongue is raised higher than another, i.e. keep the

tongue lower and flat;

7. pronounce /ɜ׃/ keeping the lips, the tongue, the lower jaw motionless.

 

Graphical rules

1) - і-, -u-, -е-, -у- ( in the 3d type of syllable); e.g. girl, her, turn, myrtle.

2) - ear - + consonant; e.g. earth, heard.

3) wor -; e.g. work, word.

4) were- ; e.g. were.

Exceptions: journey, journalist.

 

Exercise 1earn the first verb sir – serve – serf

early an early bird fur – learn – hers

earth the thirty first bur – bird – birth

 

Exercise 2occur –procureincur – inure

incurve – secure demur – demure

recur – endure recurve – obscure

furnish – fury further – jury

furnace – purist urban – rural

murder – mural Turkey – fury

urgent – during wording – purest

 

Imitation Skills Development

1 The turner came first to his work.

2 First come, first served.

3 Many words hurt more than swords.

4 The work shows he workman.

5 A little girl with a pretty curl.

6 One good turn deserves another.

7 Erna is a proverb and byword.

8 It is an early bird that catches the first worm.

9 Early to bed, early to rise.

10 A little girl with a pretty curl.

11 The nurse told nursery tales. Nightly the nurse told nursery tales. Nightly the nurse told nursery tales about gnomes. Nightly the nurse told nursery tales about gnomes to the twins.

12 Here’s an early bird with a squirming earth-worm. There’s a serpent, lurking amid the ferns.

13 Pearl is a circus girl. An earl gave Pearle a fur and a circle of pearls for her thirty-first birthday.

 

Vowel No 12. / ə / - mixed, open, non-rounded, short, lax, broad variation.

1. get ready to articulate / ɑ׃ /;

2. make a small opening between the teeth and pronounce / ʌ /, if you hear the

/ o / - shade spread the teeth a little;

4. the neutral vowel / ə / occurs only in unstressed position and sounds in

different ways:

a) in the word-final position before a pause it has the shade /ə ʌ/;

e.g. butter, sister, lighter.

b) at the beginning and in the middle of the word it has the shade / ə ɜ׃/;

e.g. a duck.

c) in the neighborhood with / k / and /g/ - shade / ə ɪ/;

e.g. again, to go, to come.

d) before /d/ and /z/ representing morphemes in words spelt with 'r' it is pronounced as intermediate / ə ɜ׃/ and /ə ʌ/;

e.g. letters.

 

Graphical rules

1) the suffixes - er; e.g. worker,

- or ; e.g. doctor,

- ou; e.g. famous.

2) the articles a /ə/,the /ðə/;

3) the letter “ а” as a prefix; e.g. asleep.

4) prefixes con-, com-; e.g. consist.

5) the letters о, u, а in the unstressed position; e.g. sofa, seldom.

Exercise 1famous rector asleep consist

fabulous reader assist comprise

marvelous doctor appease contact

hideous breeder accuse commence

 

Imitation Skills Development

1 Peter is afraid of the doctor.

2 Alderman Sir Edward Anderson is a prosperous government official at the Treasury. The comfortable apartment of Sir Edward Anderson is at Oldenburg. A professional burglar has entered the apartment by a ladder that was at the back of the house. But an observant amateur photographer has focused a camera on the burglar and summoned a police constable. As the burglar leaves there is a policeman at the bottom of the ladder.

 

 

Section 2. The system of English DIPHTHONGS

 

Diphthong is a monophonemic combination of 2 vowel elements with a gliding articulation. The stressed element (which is always first) is called the nucleus, and the 2nd one is called the glide.