WHAT IS PHONETICS?

Phonetics is defined as the study of the

sounds of human speech using the
mouth, throat, nasal and sinus cavities,
and
lungs.

VOWEL SOUNDS

TYPES OF VOWEL SOUNDS

Monophthongs
One vowel

Diphthongs
Two vowels

CRITERIA FOR DESCRIBING

VOWELS

1.

When we describe vowel sounds we talk about:

Height: how high or low the tongue is.

In terms of height: vowels are considered HIGH, MID or LOW

EXAMPLES

HEIGHT

/i/ - See

High

// - Bed

Mid

// - Hot

Low

2.

Backness: how far front or back the tong is.

In terms of backness : vowels are considered FRONT, CENTRAL or BACK.

FRONT
BACK

CENTRAL

2.

Roundeness: Are lips rounded?

/i/
Unrounded

vs.

/u/
Rounded

HOW TO DESCRIBE VOWELS

HEIGHT
/u/ High

// Low

BACKNESS
Back

Front

ROUNDEDNESS
Rounded

Unrounded