4. Notice also that we have
Find other examples (there are many). How do you pronouncedisarm?
5.xrepresents [ks] inexercise,excellent, and inextra,exceed,express,extol, but [gz] inexert,examine,anxiety,exult,exonerate,exorbitant,exotic.
Do you agree with this statement?
Try to find a rule for the pronunciation ofx.
Inexileboth pronunciations ofxmay be heard, [ks] being perhaps the more common.
For the dropping ofhin compounds withex-see § 47.
The voiceless [s] is usually writtens, but alsoss, andcorscbeforeeandi(as incity,scene, but not insceptic[skeptik]).
Say which of the sounds [ʃ, ʒ, tʃ, dʒ, s, z] occur in the following words:
church,machine,ledger,leisure,seizure,cease,ease,scissors,chisel,lesion,legion,singe,excessive,example.
Notice that final [z] is unvoiced towards the end; thusisis strictly [izz̥]; compare what was said about final [v] in § 27.
The term lisping is given to various mispronunciations of thessounds. It may be due to a lastingor a passing malformation of the teeth, palate, or tongue,[33]or it may be simply a bad habit. A slight habitual lisp is often heard, and parents and friends have been known foolishly to encourage a child in the belief that the lisp is "pretty"; it is important to drive this idea out of the child's head. The treatment of lispers is varied; generally they can produce the right sound after some experimenting. When the right sound has been found and distinguished by the child, the rest is entirely a matter of perseverance. There must be frequent repetition in many combinations. The exercises should be practised sparingly at first, and gradually increased, otherwise the strain may be too great and interfere with the child's regular work.
31. The lisping sounds.—Distinguish clearly the voiceless [θ] as inthistle, and the voiced [ð] as inthis. Compare the manner of production of the lisping and the hissing sounds: utter [θ] and [s]. You will find that in the case of [θ] the breath is not passing through a narrow channel, and issues between the tips of the upper teeth and of the tongue. The tongue may be between the teeth, and the sounds are accordingly sometimes called interdental; but this is by no means essential. Our English lisping sounds are usually formed between the point of the tongue and the back of the front upper teeth; part of the tongue fills up the small gap between the teeth, without advancing beyond their back surface.
Which of the following words have [θ] and which have [ð]?
thorn,thou,bath*,baths*,bathe*,then,think,clothe*,cloth*,with,father,thump,lethal,leather,lath,lathe,lithe,loath*,loathe*,breath*,breathe*,heathen,heath,heaths,wreathe*,wreath*,wreaths*,seethe,truth*,truths*.
What do you notice with regard to the words marked with an asterisk? Of what does it remind you in connection with the hissing sounds?
Notice that final [ð] is unvoiced or whispered towards the end; compare what has been said about final [v] and final [z].
A fault, common especially in bad southern English, and found almost invariably in baby speech, is the substitution of [v, f] for [ð, θ]. The baby says [fʌm] for [θʌm], the cockney [nafiŋk] for [nʌθiŋ], [fevə] for [feðə]. This fault should on no account be tolerated; the child (we are of course not referring to the baby) can produce the lisping sounds without difficulty. It need only be told to place the tongue between the teeth. When once the difference in the manner of production of [f] and [θ] is known, the child can alsohearthe difference; all that is now required is perseverance.
In careless speech [h] is sometimes substituted for [θ], thusI think sobecomes [ai hiŋk sou]. This also has its parallel in baby speech, e.g. [hugə] forsugar.
32. The liquids.—This designation comprises thersounds and thelsounds.
The sounds writtenrare extremely varied, and are likely to give some trouble to the student. He should in the first place ascertain from his friends (we are assuming that these speak standard English) whether they notice anything peculiar about hisr. If they do not, it is probable that he uses the untrilledr. (The phonetic sign for this is [ɹ], but it is customary to use [r], unless exceptional accuracy be desired.)
This sound is produced by allowing the breath to pass between the raised point of the tongue and the ridge of the upper gums.[34]When the breath makes the tip of the tongue vibrate, we have the trilled or rolled [r]. Can you roll yourr? Does anyone you know habitually do so? Have you noticed whether Frenchmen or Germans ever do it?
Another kind ofris that produced at the back of the mouth, by the help of the uvula (see § 8), and called the throatror uvularr(phonetic sign: [R]), as distinguished from the tongue or teethr(lingual or dentalr). It is not a normal sound in standard English, but is occasionally found. It used to be frequent in Durham and Northumberland (the "Northumbrian burr"), but is dying out there now.
Notice that after [t] and [d] the narrowing for [r] is particularly small, and therefore the friction of the breath particularly noticeable. Say such words asdry,drink,droll,try,trill,trap, and carefully observe the nature of the [r]. Notice also that after voicelesssounds the [r] often becomes voiceless [r̥], as inpraise,try,increase. Sometimestriedalmost sounds likechide, because the passage of the breath is not stopped and the vocal chords have not begun to vibrate. Try to utter a voiceless [r̥] by itself; practise the series [r r̥ r r̥ r].
There is also a peculiar variety ofrfound afterg, as ingreat,green,grass. Thisris a kind of palatal blade continuant, and its use should be avoided, as it is generally held to be affected.
In standard English the writtenris only pronounced initially (as inred), between a consonant and a vowel (as inbread,angry), and between vowels, the second of which is not only written, but actually pronounced (as invery).[35]
It is not pronounced between a vowel and a consonant (as inarm,lord), nor when it is final in the spelling or followed by a vowel which is only written and not actually pronounced (as inbar,bare). Its place is in many cases taken by the neutral vowel [ə] (see § 38).
Observe that a finalris pronounced when the next word begins with a vowel. (Is there anything like this in French?) Thus we saybetter[betə], but [betər ən betə];ever[evə], but [fər evər ənd evə];here[hiə], but [hiᵊr ən ðɛːə];stir up[stəːr ʌp], but [stəː ðə faiə]. There is, however, nowadays a tendency to leave even thisrunpronounced.
The fact that such words asbetterhave two forms,with and without [r], has led to the addition of [r] when there is no justification for it. Even educated people are often heard to pronouncethe idea of itas [ði aidiər əv it];The India Officesometimes becomes [ði indjər ɔfis];china ornamentsbecomes [tʃainər ɔːnəmənts]; and clergymen have been known to say [vik´tɔːjər auə kwijn]. Similarly, in vulgar speech [ðə windər iz oupən], [pə´pɑːr əz gɔn aut], etc., are quite common.
There is an affected pronunciation of this [ə] which makes it approximate to a deep [ɑ]; the comic papers representmy dear fellowas "my deah fellah" to indicate the speech of a swell.
The substitution of [w] for [r] is a mannerism which should not be tolerated; it is the result of a bad habit, not of any defect of the organs of speech.
When a word contains the letterrtwice, careless speakers incline to drop one of them;Februarybecomes [febjuəri],temporarily[tempərili],library[laibri],literary[litəri],supernumerary[sjuwpənjuwməri],contemporary[kəntempəri].Veterinaryusually becomes [vetənri] or [vetnəri].
33.In order to produce the sound of [l], we let the breath pass out between the side rims of the tongue and the side gums and teeth; the point of the tongue touches the roof of the mouth somewhere along the middle line.
Utter [l] with the point of the tongue drawn back as far as possible; then utter [l] several times, gradually bringing the point of the tongue forward, until it eventually touches the teeth. You willnotice a difference in the quality of the sound: the sound is "dark"[36]when the tongue is farther back, "clear" when it is forward in the mouth. Notice that when the tongue is drawn back, it is bunched up behind. In standard English the [l] is frequently pronounced with the tongue fairly back in the mouth; the "darkness" of the [l] is particularly noticeable when it comes at the end of a word.[37]
Excessive withdrawal of the tongue tip is not to be encouraged in children; they should rather practise the "clear" [l], though they need not go so far as actually to "let the tongue touch the teeth." This is, however, a good rule, and if instilled in the children will do something to counteract any tendency to "darkness" of the [l]. It is not likely that they will acquire the habit of actually touching the teeth when they say [l]; but a sufficiently "clear" [l] can be obtained if the point of contact is at the upper gums, and even a little farther back than that. It should be noted that the [l] may be "dark," even when the point of the tongue touches the teeth, if the back of the tongue is raised.
In cockney speech the [l] is sometimes lost, through no contact taking place;tailis pronounced [tæjɔ] or something similar, with a very open [ɔ] (see § 43) in place of [l], and after consonants also the finall, as ingiggle, is very liable to disappear. This recalls the treatment of finalrin standard English. In careless speech the [l] also disappears inonlyand inall right.
Colonelis pronounced [kəːnəl]; the older spellingcoronelexplains this.
Notice that when [l] comes next to a voiceless sound, it may become partly or wholly voiceless [l̥]. Thusclearbecomes [kl̥iːə],halt[hɔl̥t]. The friction becomes noticeable then; try to utter [l̥] and observe this. The voiceless sound is the familiar Welshll.
Inbubble,riddle, etc., we may have syllabicl[l̩]. Compare what was said about syllabicmin § 22, and about syllabicnin § 24.
Thelis not pronounced incalf,half,salve,[38]balk,caulk,chalk,falcon,[39]folk,stalk,talk,walk,yolk,almond,alms,balm,calm,palm,psalm,qualm,salmon,solder,should,would,could(where it is not etymologically justified);golfis usually [gɔlf], but also [gɔf][3], and rarely [gɔːf].[40]
It was said above that for [l] we let the breath pass out at both sides of the mouth; but, as a matter of fact, most people let it out only on one side. On which side does it pass out in your own case? Is the same true of your whole family? Ascertain which is the usual side in the case of friends.
34. Front continuants.—Watch with your mirror what the tongue does when you utter the wordhe. You see that it rises in front. Raise it a little more, until the passage becomes quite narrow; the vowelwill pass into the sound which we have at the beginning ofyes[jes], and which we also have insue[sjuːw], for which see § 45. As a rule the friction is very slight, and indeed hardly perceptible to the ear; but in the slowly uttered, deliberateyesthe friction can often be heard very distinctly. The sound is also noteworthy as being, like [w] and [ɹ], "gliding," not "held" (see §§ 26, 32). In careless speech it sometimes passes into [ʒ] after [d];duringis pronounced [dʒuwriŋ] instead of [djuwriŋ], thedewbecomes [dʒuw],it made you start[it mei dʒu stɑːt].Soldieris regularly pronounced [souldʒə], not [souldjə]; andverdure,grandeur, have both pronunciations, [djə] being preferred by careful speakers.
After voiceless sounds, as inTuesday,tube, [j] occasionally passes into the corresponding voiceless [ç], which is the consonant sound in the Germanich; and sometimes it even becomes [ʃ], compare the careless pronunciation ofdon't you know[dountʃənou],last year[lɑːs tʃiə],he'll meet you[hijl mijtʃu];I shall hit youis in vulgar speech [ɑi ʃəl itʃə]. For this development in unstressed syllables, see § 45.
Back continuants.—When we utter the vowel sound ofwhothe back of the tongue is raised; if we raise it a little higher, there is friction, and we obtain the back continuants. These do not normally belong to standard English. The voiceless [x] is, however, not uncommon in the pronunciation of words taken from Scotch, Welsh, or German; even in such words [k] is generally substituted. The Scotchlochis pronounced [lɔx] or [lɔk]; the GermanHoch(heimer)is always spelt and pronouncedhock[hɔk]. In Scotch [x] occurs normally.
Throat r(uvularr).—This sound, which does not normally belong to standard English, has been referred to in § 32.
35. The h sounds.—We considered the glottis (the interval between the vocal chords) in § 6. We saw that when it is quite open, the breath passes through without producing any audible sound. When, however, the glottis is somewhat narrowed, the breath brushes past the vocal chords, and anhis produced; this we may call a voiceless glottal continuant.[41]
Now there may be various kinds of glottal [h]. The passage between the vocal chords may be more or less narrow, and it may remain uniform or gradually grow narrower or wider. The current of breath may be strong or weak; it may be of uniform force, or gradually grow stronger or weaker. When there is a strong current of breath, and the opening is very narrow, we call it "wheezing."
In standard English thehis a glottal continuant only when there is precise and emphatic utterance. Ordinarily it is produced in the mouth passage. When we sayha, the vocal chords are not drawn together until the vowel is sounded; the mouth,however, gets into position for uttering the vowel a little before the time, and the breath as it passes through produces anhsound. In [hɑ] then, we practically have a voiceless [ɑ] followed by the ordinary voiced [ɑ]; inhe, a voiceless [i] followed by the ordinary [i] vowel; inwho, a voiceless [u] followed by the ordinary [u]. Whisper these words, and alsohayandhoe; and after each, whisper the [h] only. Notice that the ear detects an actual difference in thesehsounds.
A good deal depends on the current of breath
with which the [h] is uttered. In standard English
the current does not keep on growing in volume
until the vowel is sounded; it distinctly diminishes
before the vowel appears. This may be graphically
represented by the signs [
If the current of breath does not diminish in this
way, but starts weakly and does not reach its
maximum force until the vowel is reached, the ear
does not receive the impression of a distinct [h].
This sound may be written [h<] or simply [<].
This (the "soft breath") precedes initial vowels
in standard English; it is the sound which in
cockney speech commonly represents the more
distinct [
[h] occurs in standard English only before stressed vowels. Initialhbefore unstressed vowels is only pronounced when preceded by a pause.
Notice that:
1. Writtenhis not pronounced inheir,honest,honour,hour, and words derived from these.
It is now pronounced in standard English inherb,hospital,humble,humour(a fair number of educated speakers still pronounce this word without [h]).
2. It is regarded as correct to saya history, butan historical novel;a habit, butan habitual action; many, however, pronounce thehin both cases.
3. Certain words drop thehwhen they occur in an unstressed position in the sentence; this is a regular feature of standard colloquial speech, and does not convey the slightest suggestion of vulgarity. It must be recognised that such words have two forms, weak and strong, according as they are used without or with emphasis. Compare the following sentences:
Find as many words having strong and weak forms as you can by observing the ordinary speech of those around you. Then compare the list given in § 47.
For the dropping ofhin the second part of compound words, see § 47.
36.
VOWELS
We have considered the sounds produced when the passage through which the breath passes is closed (stops) or narrowed (continuants); we now have to consider the sounds produced when the passage is wide enough for the breath to pass through without audibly brushing against the sides. These sounds are the vowels.
"Voice," produced by the vibration of the vocal chords, may be said to give body to the vowel; the shape of the passage through which the breath passes determines the features that distinguish one vowel from another,i.e.its quality. The shape of this passage is capable of almost infinite variation, which leads to a corresponding variety of resonances, and these determine the quality of the vowels.
Picture to yourself the inside of the mouth, and consider how the cavity may become larger or smaller, according as you separate or draw together the jaws; see what a difference it makes if you raise the tongue at the back, or in the middle, or in the front; bear in mind that the position of the lips may also modify the sound, as you will notice if, for instance, you utter [u] as inwho, first with the lips forming a long narrow slit, and again with the lips forming a very small circle (of the same size as the end of a lead pencil).
37.Of the well-defined vowels that which is articulated with least effort is [ɑ].[42]It is the earliest vowelsound uttered by the baby, before it has acquired control over the muscles of the tongue. It is also common as an interjection. Utter it, and watch the tongue with your mirror; you will see that the middle of the tongue ridge is slightly raised. The opening of the mouth is generally larger than in the case of the other vowels. See the diagram on p.125.
Utter the standard English sound ofainhat, for which the sign is [æ]. Say several times [ɑ æ] and watch the tongue as you do so; you will see that it moves forward and is a little higher in front and lower at back for [æ]. The opening of the mouth is often quite as large for [æ] as for [ɑ].
Now try to produce the sound which lies between the two, with the tongue occupying an intermediate position; you will obtain the sound [a], which is the northern English vowel inhat, and the vowel in the French wordchat; in standard English it occurs only as the first part of the diphthongs inbite[bait] andbout[baut].[43]This [a] is sometimes called the "clear"asound. See the diagram on p.123.
Next, draw the tongue a little back, and you will obtain a variety of [ɑ] which is "dark" and has a suggestion of the vowel inall[ɔːl]. This sound is commonly substituted for the "pure" or "neutral" [ɑ] in cockney speech, so thatfastis made to sound like [fɔːst],parklike [pɔːk].
This "darkening" of theasound should not be permitted; in order to counteract it, it may be advisable to make the class utter [ɑ] singly and inchorus, until they are quite clear as to the nature of the required sound.
It is sometimes found that precise speakers, through an excessive desire to avoid any suspicion of cockney leanings in their speech, substitute [a] for [ɑ], saying, for instance, [faːðə] in place of [fɑːðə]; it is particularly ladies of real or would-be refinement who commit this mistake. A mistake it is, like every other deviation from what is generally recognised by the educated.
In other cases the "clear" pronunciation ofais often heard,e.g., inglass,bath,past,answer,demand,grant,everlasting. Both [a] and [æ] occur, particularly in the speech of ladies. What is the American pronunciation ofhalf?
In standard English there is practically no short [ɑ],[44]but only the long [ɑː], which should be neither "dark" nor "clear." If we analyse it carefully, we often find[45]that it is not a single vowel of uniform value, only the first part being "pure" [ɑ], the rest being a faint variant; but for practical purposes we may regard it as uniform in quality, as in good speech it is a pure long vowel.
38.There is a short sound closely akin to it (in position, but not in sound), which we have inbut,much, etc., and for which the sign is [ʌ]. The backof the tongue is raised a little in the production of this sound, and sometimes the front also; and in consequence there are several varieties of it. It occurs only in syllables having some stress; we have [ʌ] inteacup,unfit,until; but not inwelcome, which is not felt to be a compound. When it is unstressed, it becomes the dull vowel [ə]; unstressedbutis [bət]. Observe the vulgar pronunciation ofjustas [dʒest].
The dull vowel [ə] occurs very commonly in ordinary speech; most unstressed syllables contain this vowel or the variety of [i] mentioned below. It is found, for instance, in the italicised syllables of vowel, variety, carpenter, ordinary. The long [əː] is variously written; we have it infern,fir,[46]fur,word. (In northern English there is some variety in the [ə], according to the written vowel which it represents.) Notice the precise and the ordinary pronunciation of such words aspaternal,polite,potato. The uneducated often insert [ə] in such words asHenry[henəri],umbrella[ʌmbərelə]; and sometimes they substitute [i] for [ə], as inmiracle, wrongly pronounced [mirikl̩],philosopher, wrongly pronounced [fi´lɔsifə], and inoracle,pigeon.
The letterse,i, andyin unstressed syllables represent a very laxly articulated sound, for which the sign [i] is used in this book. It varies somewhat in different speakers; several sounds intermediate between the open [ɪ] and the middle [e] maybe heard. This serves to explain the uncertainty of spelling in such cases asensureandinsure,enquireandinquire.
Sometimes the vowel disappears altogether, as inbusiness,medicine,venison.
The letteroin unstressed syllables preceding the chief stress is usually [ə], but in precise speech ano-sound is heard in such words asconceive,official,possess. After the chief stress [ɔ] is rarely heard; butepoch[ijpɔk] and other uncommon words keep the [ɔ].
39. The front vowels.—Utter the wordheand notice what the tongue does. You can do so by looking into your mirror, or by putting a finger just inside your front upper teeth, or by whispering the sound, and feeling what happens.
You will generally find that you can analyse vowels best if you whisper them, because the "voice" does not interfere with your appreciation of the mouth resonances. By this time your muscular consciousness(see § 9)should be considerably developed, and you should be conscious of what your tongue, lips, etc., are doing, without having recourse to a mirror.
You will find that you are raising your tongue very high in front: [ɑ] and [i] are extremes; in the one case the front of the tongue is practically as low as it can be, in the other it is raised as high as possible. You might raise the tongue farther, but the resulting sound would not be a vowel. The passage would be too narrow, there would be friction, and a continuant would be the result (see § 34).
Utter a pure [ɑ] and gradually raise the front ofthe tongue until you reach [i]. You may either keep your vocal chords vibrating all the time, or you may whisper the sounds; but see that the tongue moves slowly and steadily. You will realise that very many sounds lie between [ɑ] and [i]; as they are all produced with the raising of the front of the tongue, they are called front vowels.
We have already noticed clear [a], and have met with [æ], which is the vowel sound inhat[hæt]. When unstressed the [æ] gives place to [ə];that[ðæt] becomes [ðət].
The uneducated sometimes substitute a closer sound (the middlee) for [æ]; they say [keb] forcab, [ketʃ] forcatch, [θeŋks] forthanks, [beŋk] forbank. The same mistake may also be heard in the pronunciation ofcarriage,radish,January. Inany,manythe first vowel is always [e]. What is it inmanifold?
The sound [æ] is only found short. There is a kindred long sound [ɛː], as infair, for which the tongue is rather higher. It is often called the open [ɛ], [æ] being a still more open sound.
A difference in the formation of [æ] and [ɛː] must be noticed; it is not confined to this pair of vowels. In uttering a vowel sound we may adjust the articulations so favourably that the resulting sound is clear and decided; this may be calledtensearticulation, producing tense vowels. If we do not trouble to adjust the articulations carefully, if we have lax articulation, we obtainlaxvowels. In standardEnglish we do not articulate tensely, except in precise and emphatic speech. (Notice how tensely the French and the Germans articulate their accented long vowels.) In teaching children the termstightandloosemay be used.
The articulation of [ɛː] is relatively tense, that of [æ] is lax. For [ɛ] see the diagram on p.123.
Notice that [ɛː] is always followed by a more or less distinct [ə];thereis [ðɛːə],Maryis [mɛː(ə)ri]. Consider the value of-ear-inbearandbearing.
There is a vulgar pronunciation ofI dare sayas [ai desei], instead of [ai dɛːə sei].
40.The diphthongs inbiteandboutare pronounced by the uneducated in many ways not permissible in standard English. The first element should be "clear" [a]. A "pure" [ɑ] would not be offensive here, though it is much less common;[47]but any pushing forward of the tongue beyond the [a] limit, any substitution of [æ] for [a], is not to be tolerated. The nasalising of these diphthongs adds to the unpleasant effect. Probably the best means of counteracting these tendencies is to insist on [ɑi] and [ɑu]; if the pure [ɑ] has been practised, as was suggested above, it will form a stepping-stone to the acquisition of good diphthongs.
Notice how a German pronounces these diphthongs; you will find that he dwells much longer on the first element than we do, and that it is more open.
The ending-ileinagile,docile,fertile,futile,hostile,puerileis pronounced [ail], and not [il] as used to be the case.
41.The next sounds in the series, obtained by raising the tongue a little higher than for [ɛ], are "middle" [e] and "close" [e]. The vowel inpen,get,fellis usually the middle [e]; some speakers (perhaps mostly ladies) use the close [e] here, but the very close [e], heard in Frenchété, is not found in standard English. For ordinary purposes the sign [e] may serve to designate both [e] and [e], as they are so closely connected. When unstressed, the [e] gives place to [ə]; thus unstressedthemis [ðəm]. Notice that'emreally goes back to the old formhem.
For [e] see the diagram on p.122.
Observe the colloquial tendency to pronouncegetas [git].
A fairly close [e] is in standard English the first element of the diphthong inlaid,tame,late, etc. There is not one uniform vowel sound in these words; pronounceaidquite slowly, and you will notice that the tongue rises before the consonant is reached. The diphthong is long when a voiced sound follows it, short before a voiceless sound. Thuslaid[leid] is longer thanlate[leit]. Test this statement by finding other words containing the diphthong, and pronouncing them to yourself or getting others to pronounce them. What is the quantity of the [ei] when the diphthong is final?
In vulgar speech the first element of the diphthong tends to [ɑ], sometimes almost to [ɔ].
Listen to a foreigner's pronunciation of English words containing this diphthong; what do you notice?
The vowel insaysandsaidis short [sez, sed], as also inate[et]. The pronunciation of-ainas [ein] in such words asfountain,captain,bargain, is a pedantic affectation.
How do you pronouncevillain,curtain?
42.Two front vowels remain to be considered, theisounds. Saybidandbead. You recognise that one is longer than the other; are they otherwise the same? Saybidand repeat it with the same vowel drawn out; then saybead, and repeat it with the vowel shortened. If you are careful in each case to change only the length, and not the quality of the vowel, you will perceive that the vowels inbidand inbeadare different.
The vowel inbidis laxly articulated and is known as the open [ɪ]. In unstressed syllables (see § 38) it is often very open indeed, and when it is final, as invery, the tongue is raised very little higher than for close or even middlee. The sign for this sound is [e˔] or [ɪ˕]. (Here ˔ means more close, ˕ more open.) Can you hear any difference between the two vowels oflily?
The great phonetician Ellis remarked that the pronunciation of theiinsixis the touchstone of foreigners, especially of those belonging to the Romance nations; they usually articulate it too tensely. Ask a Frenchman to sayfini, and compare his sounds with those infinny.
Notice the frequent cockney pronunciation of-yas [ei],e.g., in windy [windei].
Often [ə] is substituted for this sound, as inunity,ability, pronounced [juwnəti, ə´biləti], also inApril,visible; but this is avoided by some speakers.
The [i] in the diphthongs [ai] and [ɔi], as inbuy,boy, is very low.
Inbeadwe have not a single vowel, but a kind of diphthong. If you utter it slowly, you will find that the tongue does not remain in a uniform position, but rises a little towards the end, the sound becoming closer. It may begin close, in which case the further rising reduces the passage so much that we have [j];beadin this case is [bijd]. Or the vowel may begin fairly open and rise to the close position; thenbeadis [bɪid].[48]When the diphthong is followed by a voiceless sound, it is shortened;beat[bijt] [bɪit] is shorter thanbead. Compare alsoseed,seat,sit;feed,feet,fit. Careful speakers pronouncebeenlikebean, not likebin; most speakers, however, use the shortened form in ordinary speech.
For [i] see the diagram on p.122.
Indear,fear, etc., we have a rather open vowel, of varying length, followed by [ɔ]; we may write [diə], but strictly it is [dɪə, dIˑə] and sometimes [dIːə]. Before [r], as indearest, the [ə] becomes faint or disappears. Standard English contains no [i] as close as the French [i] and the German [iː]. Convince yourself of this by asking foreigners to pronounce words containing these sounds, in their own language or in English.
Notice the frequent pronunciation ofear,year, as [jəː], and that ofdearas [djəː].
We are now able to give the whole series of vowels from [i] to [ɑ] occurring in standard English.
close i (diagram, p.122)\open ɪ\close e (diagram, p.122)\middlee\open ɛ (diagram, p.123)\more open æ\clear a (diagram, p.123)\ɑ (diagram, p.125)
It will be good practice for you to utter this series of sounds, from [ɑ] to [i] andvice versa, and long as well as short.
The raising of the tongue for the [i] sounds is best seen if the upper and lower teeth are kept well apart.
43. The back vowels.—When the front vowels have been carefully differentiated, the back vowels will be found to present little difficulty. Owing to thefact that the back of the tongue does not admit of so much variety of movement as the front of the tongue, the number of sounds in the series [ɑ] to [u] is smaller than in the series [ɑ] to [i].
You will see that there is some resemblance between the sounds of the two series. Thus we had a lax [æ] and a tense [ɛː] in the front vowels; and there are corresponding openosounds when the tongue is raised a little at the back.
The articulation of these sounds is often unsatisfactory owing to the lower jaw not being moved down sufficiently, the teeth being hardly separated. The back vowels gain in quality (cp. § 36) if they are produced with lip rounding. The opening is large in the case of the sounds in which the tongue is only slightly raised; as it rises higher, the opening of the lips grows smaller, until for [u] it is only the size of the end of an ordinary lead pencil. This lip rounding is rare with southern English speakers who have not had special voice training; they usually bring together or separate the lips without rounding.
The short vowel sound innot,what, etc., is a laxly articulated, open [ɔ], much more open than anyoin French or German, with the front of the tongue even lower than for [ɑ]. It is lengthened a little before a voiced final consonant, as indog[dɔg]; but it should never be made quite long. The pronunciation [gɔːd] forGodis detestable. Beforess[s],st[st],sp[sp],th[θ], andf,ff, orph[f], the long sound is occasionally heard. Determine whether in the following words you use the long or the short sound:loss,ost,froth,cross,cough,soft,coffee,off,officer,cloth,moss,gospel. Extend the inquiry to your friends.
When the short [ɔ] is in an unstressed syllable it either disappears entirely (as inlesson, where the [n] is syllabic, see § 24), or it may become [ə], as inminor[mainə], or it may become the sound [ö], which will be explained in § 44. ThusOctoberis [ɔk´toubə] or [ök´toubə];connectis [kɔ´nekt] only in precise speech, but usually [kö´nekt] or [kə´nekt].
The long [ɔ] inlaw,laud,lordis rather tensely articulated, certainly not so laxly as the short [ɔ].[49]Before voiceless sounds the vowel is somewhat shortened, as inshort(compareshawlandshot). It is in standard English the only sound of stressedor(oroar) before a consonant;[50]there is no difference in sound betweenlaudandlord,foughtandfort,stalkandstork,cawedandcord. It is true that some speakers try to make a distinction. The long [ɔː] is not a simple long vowel, but really a diphthong of which the second element is [ə][51]; and in words containing a writtenr, these precise speakers somewhat lengthen the [ə] element. Thus they will say [lɔːᵊd] forlaud, and [lɔːəd] forlord. It may be added that they generally do so only if the distinction has been spoken about, and they have expressed their firm belief in its existence; then, for a while, the [ɔːə] may be heard. A simple test, which the student should apply to his friends, is that of asking themto write down the word he utters. If he says [fɔːt], meaningfought, most people will write downfort, because the sound gives them no guidance, and the substantive is likely to occur to them first. Similarly, if he says [lɔːd], meaninglaud, they will write downlord.[52]
The wordlore, which hardly occurs in ordinary speech, is often pronounced [lɔːə] in order to distinguish it fromlaw, the [ə] sound being much more distinct than inlaw,more,bore, etc. Consider the value of-ore-inmore water, and inmore ink.
There is much variation in the pronunciation of the wordsdaunt,flaunt,gaunt,gauntlet,haunch,haunt,jaundice,jaunt,launch,laundry,paunch,saunter,staunch,taunt,vaunt. The general tendency seems to be in favour of [ɔː], not [ɑː].
When unstressed, the sound is often shortened to [ɔ] or [ö][53]; thusautumnalbecomes [ɔ´tʌmnəl] or [ö´tʌmnəl];orwhen stressed is [ɔː], unstressed [ɔ] or [ö] or [ə].
A variety of the open [ɔ], not equally open in all speakers of standard English, is the first element in the diphthong found inboy[bɔi]. The pronunciation [böi[53]] is also heard.
In vulgar speech [ɔi] sometimes becomes [ɑi]; thusboilis pronounced [bɑil]. Only inchoir(also writtenquire) is this pronunciation current in good speech.
44.Utter the sound usually called "longo" and found inbode,boat, etc,; you will observe that the sound is not uniform, as the tongue rises a little before the consonant is reached.[54]Indeed the action of the tongue is quite similar to what we noticed in the case of [ei] in § 41; and also to [iːj] or [Iːi] in § 42, where, however, it is less obvious to the ear. The diphthongal character of the "longo" is so essential, that when a stranger merely says [oːnoː] foroh no!we at once recognise that he is not English.
The first element of this diphthong is a middle [o], sometimes a fairly close [o]; in standard English the [o] is never so close as in French [o] or in German [ɔː].[55](Watch foreigners when they utter these sounds; notice how tensely they articulate, and how much more they round their lips than we do.) In cockney speech the first element is pronounced with the tongue lower and raised in front.—The second is ausound; place a finger against the interval between the upper and lower teeth, and notice how they are brought a little closer towards the end of the diphthong. Observe also the action of the lips. The diphthong is longer before voiced than before voiceless continuants; verify this statement by saying, or getting others to say,bodeandboat,goadandgoat,robeandrope,brogueandbroke.
In syllables that are weakly stressed, the first part of the diphthong becomes [o], [ö][56]or even [ə], the second part disappearing altogether. Thusfellowis in precise speech [feloːu], but in ordinary speech [felo, felö], and in careless (but not necessarily vulgar) speech [felə].[57]In "ladies' speech" the [öü] occurs even in stressed syllables, and may then be confidently described as a sign of affectation.
The prefixpro-, when stressed, is generally pronounced [prou]. Inprocessandprogress[prɔ] is sometimes heard; in the substantivesprojectandproduceit is the rule.
45.Theusounds are clearly parallel to theisounds. In both cases we have a laxly articulated short sound, and a diphthong in which the tongue rises towards the end.
The short sound inwould,book, etc., is open, and the sign for it is [ᴜ]. Do you notice any difference in the length of the vowel sound in the wordsshouldandput,pullandcook? Observe others, if you are uncertain in your own case. (You will sometimes find it hard to determine what is your natural, instinctive way of pronouncing a word, when onceyou have grown accustomed to watching your own speech.)
When this [ᴜ] is unstressed it becomes [ü][58]or [ə], or is dropped altogether. Thushelpfulbecomes [helpfül, helpfəl], andshouldbecomes [ʃüd, ʃəd, ʃd, ʃt].
The vowel sound inwhois not uniform. (See what was said about the correspondingisound in § 42). It may begin as close [u][59], in which case the further rising towards the end reduces the passage so much that we have [w];whoin this case is [huːw]. Or the vowel may begin fairly open and rise to the close position; thenwhois [hUːu]. When the diphthong is followed by a voiceless sound, it is somewhat shortened;hootis [huwt] or [hᴜut]; comparerootwithrude. A half-long vowel is now generally heard inroom; some speakers make it quite short.
In unstressed syllables the first element is shortened and often becomes [ü]; thusJulyis [dʒüw´lai].
Before [ə] the diphthong loses its second element;cruelis [kruəl]. When the [ə] represents a writtenr, the first element often changes to a vowel with lower tongue position. Thuspooris pronounced [pᴜə, poə], and some educated speakers of southern English even say [pɔː], riming withdoor,floor; butthis can hardly be considered standard English. Notice also the various pronunciations ofyour,sure. Before spoken [r], as inpoorest,enduring, the [ə] becomes very faint or disappears.
The so-called "long u" in such words asdue,dew,dudeconsists of three parts. The second and third are the vowel sounds indo, which have just been discussed; the first is [j], which after voiceless sounds tends to become the voiceless [ç] and even [ʃ], as was mentioned in § 34. Thustuneis in ordinary speech [tjuwn], and often [tçuwn]; in careless speech it may even become [tʃuwn].
The-tureinnature,creature,forfeiture, etc., is generally pronounced [tʃə][60]; the pronunciation [tjə] or [tjü] sounds affected in ordinary speech.Ventureis usually [ventʃə], sometimes [venʃə], [ventjə], or [ventjü].Censureis always [senʃə].
Inallude, *allusion,lute,lucent,luminous, *flute,salute,*absolute, *absolution,dissolute, *dissolution, *superstition, *Susanboth [uw] and [juw] may be heard; [uw] is probably more common in the words marked with an asterisk. Precise speakers prefer [juw] in all the words given. Inassume,presume[juw] is regularly heard. As a rule [j] is not inserted after [r], [ʃ], [ʒ], or consonant plus [l].
Notice the pronunciation ofcasual[kæʒuəl] or [kæʒwəl],sensual[senʃuəl],usual[juwʒuəl] or [juwʒəl],visual[vizjuəl].Educateis [edjukeit] or [edʒukeit]; careful speakers prefer the former.
As the "longu" begins with a consonantal soundit is correct to saya uniform,a university,a union,a European,a eulogy. To writeanbefore such words is a gross mistake.
We find the [u] element changed in unstressed syllables; thusvaluebecomes [væljü],regularbecomes [regjülə, regjələ], and, very colloquially, [reglə].
We are now able to give the whole series of vowels from [u] to [ɑ] occurring in standard English:
ü close u (diagram, p.124)/open ᴜ/close o (diagram, p.124)/ö middleo/open ɔ (diagram, p.125)/dark ɑ
Practise this series, as was suggested in § 42, in connection with the [i] to [ɑ] series.