CLASSIFICATION OF VOWELS ACCORDING TO THE HEIGHT OF THE RAISED PART OF THE TONGUE

CLOSE/HIGH VOWELS

In the production of close/high vowelsone part of the tongue comes close to the roof of the mouth and the air passage is narrowed, but not so much as to form a consonant.

The English close/high vowels are:

.

OPEN/LOW VOWELS

In the production of open/low vowelsthe raised part of the tongue is very low in the mouth and the air passage is very wide.

The English open/low vowels are:

and the nuclei of

and .

MID-OPEN/MID VOWELS

In the production of mid-open/mid vowelsthe raised part of the tongue is half-way between its high and low positions.

The English mid-open/mid vowels are: and the nuclei of [ε ə] .

 

 

Sounds Letters Examples Notes
[i:] e, ee ea ie, ei be, eve, see, meet, sleep, meal, read, leave, sea, team, field, believe, receive bread, deaf [e]; great, break [ei]; friend [e]
[i] I Y it, kiss, tip, pick, dinner, system, busy, pity, sunny machine, ski, liter, pizza [i:]
[e] E Ea let, tell, press, send, end, bread, dead, weather, leather meter [i:] sea, mean [i:]
[ei] A ai, ay ei, ey ea late, make, race, able, stable, aim, wait, play, say, day, eight, weight, they, hey, break, great, steak   said, says [e]; height, eye [ai]
[æ] A cat, apple, land, travel, mad; AmE: last, class, dance, castle, half  
[a:] Ar a army, car, party, garden, park, father, calm, palm, drama; BrE: last, class, dance, castle, half war, warm [ɔ:]    
[ai] i, ie y, uy ice, find, smile, tie, lie, die, my, style, apply, buy, guy  
[au] Ou ow out, about, house, mouse, now, brown, cow, owl, powder group, soup [u:] know, own [ou]
[ɒ ] o not, rock, model, bottle, copy  
[ɔ:] or o aw, au ought al, wa- more, order, cord, port, long, gone, cost, coffee, law, saw, pause, because, bought, thought, caught, hall, always, water, war, want work, word [ə:] [ɜ:]  
[ɔi] oi, oy oil, voice, noise, boy, toy  
[ou] o oa, ow go, note, open, old, most, road, boat, low, own, bowl do, move [u:] how, owl [au]
[ ju:] u ew eu ue, ui use, duty, music, cute, huge, tune, few, dew, mew, new, euphemism, feud, neutral, hue, cue, due, sue, suit  
[u:] u o, oo ew ue, ui ou rude, Lucy, June, do, move, room, tool, crew, chew, flew, jewel, blue, true, fruit, juice, group, through, route; AmE: duty, new, sue, student     guide, quite [ai]; build [i]
[u] oo u ou look, book, foot, good, put, push, pull, full, sugar, would, could, should  
neutral sound [ə] a, e er o, i ar,or about, sofa,brutal, taken, violent, teacher,letter memory, reason, family dollar, doctor  
[ə:] [ɜ:] er, ur, ir,or ear serve, herb, burn, hurt, girl, sir, work, word, heard, earn, earnest, earth   heart, hearth [a:]
[ʌ] u o ou cut, cup,but colour, dozen,worry tough, rough put,bull,truth,bush [u] group [u:]

The story of Betty Botter and the butter - short vowels

Betty Botter had some butter,
"But," she said, "this butter's bitter.
If I put it in my batter,
It would make my batter bitter.
But a bit of better butter-
Better than the bitter butter-
That would make my batter better."

So she bought a bit of butter,
Better than the bitter butter,
And she put it in her batter,
And it made her batter better.

So it was better Betty Botter
Bought a bit of better butter.

The cold old house - long vowels and diphthongs

I once knew a house,
A cold, old house,
A cold, old house by the sea.
If I were a mouse,
In a cold, old house,
What a cold, old mouse I would be!

I joined the navy - long vowels and diphthongs

I joined the navy,
To see the sea.
And what did I see?
I saw the sea.

The wild rover - long vowels and diphthongs

I've been a wild rover for many a year,
And I've spent all my money on whisky and beer,
But now I'm returning with gold in great store,
Now I never will play the wild rover no more

And it's no, nay, never,
No nay never, no more,
Will I play the wild rover?
No, never, no more.

THE TASK: