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Monophthongs

The vowel in green is a monophthongal long vowel. In most educated, standard, accents of English – not only in UK, but also around the world – this vowel requires a relatively steady tongue position. That position is close to the position the tongue has for the / I / vowel; hence, the sense of comparison between the two vowels. However, you can feel that the tongue position is slightly different; in the green vowel, the tongue is slightly higher, closer to the roof of the mouth than it is for the grin vowel. (The grin vowel is then said to be lower, or opener, than the green vowel.) Because the tongue positions are different for the two vowels, the sound quality of the two is different; the difference in the sound quality is indicated in the IPA by a different shape to the symbol: / i / represents the higher, closer, quality, whereas the / I / represents a slightly lower, opener, quality. Adding the length symbol gives us the symbol / i: / for the green vowel; the whole word is thus transcribed

g r i: n

Now transcribe: keen, mean, teen, dean, deem, lean, preen, dream

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and the homophones: sea / see ____

meat / meet / mete ____

and the names Pete, Steve ____ ____

Notice these spellings of the / i: / vowel, and transcribe the words

ie grief ____

ey key ____

ay quay ____ (in British English)

ei deceive_______

Compare and transcribe seek sick ____ ____

seat sit ____ ____

peep pip ____ ____

deed did ____ ____

Take your time to transcribe: antique ________

The second monophthongal long vowel is found in the word palm and is often compared to the short vowel of Pam. The palm vowel is not only longer but also – at least, in the case of most standard accents of UK and North America – it has a different sound quality. The tongue positions of the Pam and palm vowels are different; the tongue is positioned further back in the mouth for palm. This means that since the quality as well as the quantity is different, a different shape for the vowel symbol is required. IPA uses the handwritten shape of <A>, and, then, of course, the length symbol: / A: /. Palm is transcribed as

p A: m

The < l > in palm is, of course, not pronounced. Transcribe also balm, calm, half, calf. ____ ____ ____ ____

For most English speaking people in England, Wales, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand, the < r > in park is not pronounced either (these accents are called non-rhotic); this is, of course, not the case in Scotland or North America (these, on the other hand, are called rhotic accents). The typical educated, standard, pronunciation in England for PARK is / p A: k /. Transcribe the following words in this way, without a letter < r >:

lark, start, harm, farm, yard, smart

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and the names Bart, Mark, Clark ____ ____ ____

Note and transcribe the homophones: hart / heart ____

bark / barque ____

Compare and transcribe

lark lack ____ ____

stark stack ____ ____

Take your time to transcribe: art, artist, artiste, artistic, Arctic, Tarquin

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Finally, there is one difficulty with this vowel for English speakers in England and Wales that needs to be noted. How do you pronounce the word CLASS? You will know of the rough division between Northerners and Southerners in this respect; Northerners use the / { / vowel, whereas Southerners use the / A: /: / k l { s ~ k l A: s /. This choice of vowel is typically found before / - s, st, sp, f, ft, nt, ns /.

Transcribe the following words in both types of pronunciation:

pass, grass, laugh, raft, plant, dance, last, grasp, graph

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But notice that the following words are pronounced by the majority of Southerners with / { /, just like Northerners! Listen and transcribe:

ass, mass, crass, plastic, drastic, transfix

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The third monophthongal long vowel occurs in the word caught and is often compared to the short vowel / Q /. The IPA symbol for the vowel in caught looks like a backward < c >; it represents a tongue position slightly higher, or closer to the roof of the mouth, than for / Q /. The IPA length mark is added: / O: /. Thus, the word caught is transcribed as

k O: t

And now transcribe taught, fraught, haul, flaunt, raw, law, saw, prawn

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And notice these other spellings, and transcribe the words

ou bought, brought, sought, ought, nought

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oa broad ____

a all, tall, small, fall ____ ____ ____ ____

In these words, notice that the < l > is not pronounced: talk, walk, stalk

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And in words like cork, the < r > is not pronounced in the standard, educated (non-rhotic) accents of England, Wales, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand. The case is different in Scotland and North America, of course. Thus cork is transcribed as

k O: k

Transcribe these words: pork, port, snort, door, lord, corn, storm

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store, more ____ ____

and these words with <ar> after < w > or < qu >

ward, warn, swarm, dwarf, quart, quartet

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Transcribe these names Paul, Saul, Dawn, Maude

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and these homophones awe / or / ore / oar ____

hall / haul ____

saw / sore ____

paw / pore / pour ____

And then compare and transcribe the following pairs of words:

taught tot ____ ____

wrought rot ____ ____

Finally, a noticeable change is taking place in certain words involving the two vowels / O: / and / Q /. Words with <al > or < aul > before < s > or < t > have both a conservative and a more modern pronunciation. Take the word FALSE, for instance; you will hear both / f O: l s / and / f Q l s / ; and for FAULT, both / f O: l t / and / f Q l t /.

Transcribe these words in both pronunciations:

halt, salt, vault, Walt, waltz, Austin

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Take time to transcribe

morbid, uproar, caustic _______ _______ _______

The fourth monophthongal long vowel occurs in the name Luke and is often compared to the short vowel / U / as in look. It is longer and the tongue position is slightly higher, or closer to the roof of the mouth. The IPA symbol is the letter < u >; added to it is the symbol for length: / u: /. Thus, Luke is transcribed

l u: k

The vowel of the word food is the same: / f u: d /.

Now transcribe boot, hoot, moon, noon, soon, spoon, school, drool, cool

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tomb, womb, combe ____ ____ ____

and with <ue> true, clue, glue ____ ____ ____

and with <ew> brew, grew, crew ____ ____ ____

and with <ou> coup, soup, ghoul ____ ____ ____

and the homophones: loot / lute ____

blue / blew ____

flu / flue / flew ____

to / too / two ____

and the names Sue, Trude, Andrew ____ ____ _______

There are very few pairs of words in English that contrast / u: / with / U /.

Compare these and transcribe pool pull ____ ____

fool full ____ ____

suit soot ____ ____

cooed could ____ ____

wooed would ____ ____

Take time to transcribe: lucid _______

The fifth monophthongal long vowel occurs in non-rhotic accents in the word burn and is often compared to the short vowel / V / as in bun. It is longer and the tongue position is slightly higher, or closer to the roof of the mouth. The IPA symbol is a reverse Greek e epsilon; the length symbol is added to it: / 3: /. Thus burn, in non-rhotic accents, is transcribed

b 3: n