VOWEL PHONEMES. DESCRIPTION OF-PRINCIPAL VARIANTS

a) Monophthongs, cr Simple Vowels

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 o£ the tongue position, because a vowel is "voice modified by different shapes of the supra glottal passages, especially, the mouth and the lips." *

No. I /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

Sweet H. The Sounds of English.— Oxford, 1929.— P. 22.

up in the HI position. Thus, this diphthongoid may be represented in allophonic transcription as follows: [li'J.¹

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. monophthong.

In the English I'v.f articulation the tongue is tense, the side rims of it make> 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 J'v.I with the Rus­sian faf.

пил — pi:l рис — rees низ — niece сил — seal чик — cheek

In the pronunciation of /i:/ its positional length should be ob-served: 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 f'v.f Phoneme

/i:/ is pronouncedVhen spelt:

e be /bi:/—быть ее see /si:/—видеть ea tea /tl:/—чай ie piece /pi:s/—кусок ei ceiling /'si:hg/—потолок i in French borrowings: machine /msijiin/—машина In Latin and Greek words: ae Caesar />si:z3/—Цезарь oe Oedipus /'irdtpss/—Эдип ey key /ki:/—ключ ay quay /ki:/—набережная eo people /ip£:pl/— народ

^l Vassilyev V. A. Op. cit,- P. 95. 106

No. 2 /i/

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.

/i/ can be defined as: I. unrounded;

II. front (a) front-retracted; yß V

(b) broad variation of the high po- i 4 ]

sition of the tongue; ( ч

III. lax; ---- n / /

IV. short; * '

V. monophthong.

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

eat —it sheep—ship beet—bit seek—sick

feel —fill eel —ill lead—lid deed—did

heat —hit meal —mill leek —lik bead—bid

leave—live feet —fit peak—pick peel'—pill

Graphic Equivalents of the /i/ Phoneme

/i/ is pronounced when spelt:

i lid /lid/—крышка

у very /Iven/—очень, lymph /hmf/—лимфа, gladly /'glaedh/—охотно

ey whiskey /'wiski/—виски

e, a before /biifo:/—прежде, touches /'Utfiz/—трогает, courage

/'клпаз/—смелость

ie studies /'stAdiz/—изучает, sieve /siv/—сито ai captain /'keeptm/—капитан, mountain /'mauntin/—гора ui biscuit /ibiskit/—сухое печенье, circuit /'s3:kit/—цепь; контур ei forfeit /ifo:fit/—лишиться чего-л.

It is also pronounced in the following words: busy /'bizi/—занятой, minute /'mmit/—минута, Sunday /isAndi/— воскресенье, Monday /iniAndi/—понедельник, Tuesday /'tju:zd(e)i/— вторник, Wednesday /iwenzd(e)i/—среда, Thursday /I9a:zd(e)i/ — четверг, Friday/'fraidi/—пятница, Saturday /isaetad(e)i/—суббота, forehead /'fond/—лоб, breeches /ibri(:)tfiz/—бриджи, coffee /ikofi/— кофе, England/iiflgbnd/—Англия, the English/lirjgliJV—англичане, business /ibizms/—дело, занятие, women /iwimm/—женщины, mis­chief /imistfif/—вред

No. 3 /e/

The bulk of the tongue is in the front part of the mouth cavity. The front of the tongue is raised to the hard palate but not so high as in the III 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 position of the tongue;

; V. monophthong. To practise the /e/ articulation contrast exercises are very helpful;

III. lax;

IV. short;

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

Graphic Equivalents of the /e/ Phoneme

/e/ is pronounced when spelt:

e red /red/—красный

ea bread /bred/—хлеб

eo jeopardy /'c^epadi/—опасность

ei leisure /'less/—досуг

ie friend /frend/—друг

ai said /sed/—сказал

ay says /sez/—говорит

a any /leni/—какой-нибудь, несколько

u bury /'ben/—зарывать, хоронить

ее threepenny /'бгерэш/—трехпенсовик

No. 4 /ж/

The bulk of the tongue is in the front part of the mouth cavity,
but rather low: the lower jaw is quickly and energetically lowered as
soon as the vocal cords start vibrating. The
front of the tongue is slightly raised, but not so
high as for /e/. The lips are neutral. It is longer
before voiced lenis consonants, and nasals, e. g. bag,
mad, man. 2

/«/ can be defined as:

I. unrounded;

II. front (a) front, low;

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

III. lax;

IV. short;¹

V. monophthong.

^l The extension of /as/could be regarded as being in free variation 108

To practise the /да/ articulation contrast exercises are very helpful;

guess—gas bed —bad net —gnat set —sat said—sad met —mat bet —bat men—man head—had

beet—bit—bed—bad peak— pick—peck—pack
lead—lid—led—-lad seek—sick—sec—sack
leek—lick—lack deed—did—dead—dad

Graphic Equivalents of the /se/ Phoneme

/ae/ is pronounced when spelt:

a sat /saet/—сидел ai plaid /plaad/—плед

It is also pronounced in the following words: champagne /Jaem'pem/—шампанское, absolutely /igabsalurth/—аб­солютно, abstract /'aebstraekt/—абстрактный, ambition /aera'bijsn/— честолюбие

No. 5 /a/

The bulk of the tongue is low, in the back of the mouth cavity,
but somewhat advanced. The back part of the tongue is slightly raised.
The lips are neutral. The mouth is open (the opening between the
jaws is rather wide). It is long, but the position of
the bulk of the tongue does not change during its / ,

articulation. W*~"^=zt4

Ы can be defined as: (j/ 4

I. unrounded; .,---- _ч

П. back (a) back-advanced; Q \

open (b) broad variation of the low position of / /I

the tongue; ----- ^ I l

III. tense;

IV. long;

V. monophthong.

To practise the /at/ articulation contrast exercises are recommended:

bead—bard bee—bar

lead—lard tea—tar

heat—heart fee—far

sheep—sharp key—car

Graphic Equivalents of the /a/ Phoneme

/a/ is pronounced when spelt:

a staff /sta:f/—штаб аг far /fa/—далекий аи aunt /ant/—тетя er clerk /klctk/—клерк ear heart /hoi/—сердце