Vowel Sounds
Introduction
Vowel Sounds are an important part of speech and are integral as consonant sounds. In order to have perfect pronunciation, we must pronounce both consonant and vowel sounds correctly. Just as consonant sounds bring logic and reasoning to the English language, vowel sounds bring emotions and feelings to the language. While articulating words, vowel sounds should be open and rhythmic and consonant sounds should be crisp and precise. A vowel sound is one in which we let the breath pass freely, uninterrupted from the vocal chords and out of the mouth. A vowel carries most of the sound volume and musical pitch of the word. One can sustain a vowel sound much longer than other ...
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The position of the tongue determines the production of the different vowels. The position of the tongue is governed by two factors: first, vocal height ,its position with respect to the roof of the mouth; second, the vocal backness , its position with respect of the mouth as measured from front to back. The height of the tongue may range from open, as in [a], to close, as in [i]. In general, there are three distinctive positions, namely, open, mid and close positions, and also other in-between, more subtle positions, such as near-open, open-mid, close-mid and near-close positions. Notice that vocal height is somewhat associated to jaw opening.
The tongue is a very flexible and quick muscle that may be positioned at several places in the mouth. Its position within the mouth defines the vocal backness. The tongue may be at the back, almost touching the soft palate or velum, as in the sounds [ʌ] and [u]; it may be at a central position, as in [ə]; or it may be at the ...
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whether the vocal cords vibrate during the articulation. When the vocal cords vibrate fully, the consonant is called voiced; when they do not vibrate at all, it is voiceless.
The following table shows the consonant phonemes found in English. When consonants are shown in pairs, voiceless consonants appear on the left and voiced consonants on the right.
Consonants
Bilabial
Labio-Dental
Dental
Nasal
m
n
Å‹
Plosive
t,d
...
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Vowel Sounds. (2013, November 14). Retrieved December 23, 2024, from http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Vowel-Sounds/103311
"Vowel Sounds." Essayworld.com. Essayworld.com, 14 Nov. 2013. Web. 23 Dec. 2024. <http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Vowel-Sounds/103311>
"Vowel Sounds." Essayworld.com. November 14, 2013. Accessed December 23, 2024. http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Vowel-Sounds/103311.
"Vowel Sounds." Essayworld.com. November 14, 2013. Accessed December 23, 2024. http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Vowel-Sounds/103311.
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