English language Warning: You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you log in or create an account, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.Anti-spam check. Do not fill this in! === Vowels === {{Main|English phonology#Vowels}} The pronunciation of vowels varies a great deal between dialects and is one of the most detectable aspects of a speaker's accent. The table below lists the vowel [[phoneme]]s in Received Pronunciation (RP) and General American (GA), with examples of words in which they occur from [[lexical set]]s compiled by linguists. The vowels are represented with symbols from the International Phonetic Alphabet; those given for RP are standard in British dictionaries and other publications.<ref>{{cite web|last=Wells|first=John C.|date=8 February 2001|url=https://www.phon.ucl.ac.uk/home/wells/ipa-english-uni.htm|title=IPA transcription systems for English|publisher=University College London|access-date=3 September 2018|archive-date=19 September 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180919182345/https://www.phon.ucl.ac.uk/home/wells/ipa-english-uni.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> {| class="wikitable floatleft" style="text-align: center; margin-right: 1em;" |+ Monophthongs ! [[Received Pronunciation|RP]] !! [[General American|GA]] !! Word |- | {{IPA link|iː}} || {{IPA link|i}} || n'''ee'''d |- | colspan="2" | {{IPA link|ɪ}} || b'''i'''d |- | {{IPA link|e̞|e}} || {{IPA link|ɛ}} || b'''e'''d |- | colspan="2" | {{IPA link|æ}}<!-- Pronunciation differs between RP and GA, but until we use separate symbols, these cells will be merged. --> || b'''a'''ck |- | {{IPA link|ɑː}} || rowspan="2" | {{IPA link|ɑ}} || br'''a''' |- | rowspan="2" | {{IPA link|ɒ}} || b'''o'''x |- | rowspan="2" | {{IPA link|ɔ}}, {{IPA link|ɑ}} || cl'''o'''th |- | {{IPA link|ɔ|ɔː}}|| p'''aw''' |- | {{IPA link|uː}} || {{IPA link|u}} || f'''oo'''d |- | colspan="2" | {{IPA link|ʊ}}<!-- Pronunciation differs between RP and GA, with RP probably closer to {{IPA|[ɵ]}}, but until we use separate symbols, these cells will be merged. --> || g'''oo'''d |- | colspan="2" | {{IPA link|ɐ|ʌ}} || b'''u'''t |- | {{IPA link|ə|ɜː}} || {{IPA link|ɚ|ɜɹ}} || b'''ir'''d |- | colspan="2" | {{IPA link|ə}} || comm'''a''' |} <div style="float: left;"> {| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;" |+ Closing diphthongs ! [[Received Pronunciation|RP]] !! [[General American|GA]] !! Word |- | colspan="2" | {{IPA|eɪ}} || b'''ay''' |- | {{IPA|əʊ}} || {{IPA|oʊ}} || r'''oa'''d |- | colspan="2" | {{IPA|aɪ}} || cr'''y''' |- | colspan="2" | {{IPA|aʊ}} || c'''ow''' |- | colspan="2" | {{IPA|ɔɪ}} || b'''oy''' |} {| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;" |+ Centring diphthongs ! [[Received Pronunciation|RP]] !! [[General American|GA]] !! Word |- | {{IPA|ɪə}} || {{IPA|ɪɹ}} || p'''eer''' |- | {{IPA link|ɛ|eə}} || {{IPA|ɛɹ}} || p'''air''' |- | {{IPA|ʊə}} || {{IPA|ʊɹ}} || p'''oor''' |} </div> {{clear}} In RP, vowel length is phonemic; [[vowel length|long vowels]] are marked with a [[triangular colon]] {{angbr IPA|ː}} in the table above, such as the vowel of ''need'' {{IPA|[niːd]}} as opposed to ''bid'' {{IPA|[bɪd]}}. In GA, vowel length is non-distinctive. In both RP and GA, vowels are phonetically [[clipping (phonetics)|shortened before fortis consonants]] in the same [[syllable]], like {{IPA|/t tʃ f/}}, but not before lenis consonants like {{IPA|/d dʒ v/}} or in open syllables: thus, the vowels of ''rich'' {{IPA|[rɪtʃ]}}, ''neat'' {{IPA|[nit]}}, and ''safe'' {{IPA|[seɪ̯f]}} are noticeably shorter than the vowels of ''ridge'' {{IPA|[rɪˑdʒ]}}, ''need'' {{IPA|[niˑd]}}, and ''save'' {{IPA|[seˑɪ̯v]}}, and the vowel of ''light'' {{IPA|[laɪ̯t]}} is shorter than that of ''lie'' {{IPA|[laˑɪ̯]}}. Because lenis consonants are frequently voiceless at the end of a syllable, vowel length is an important cue as to whether the following consonant is lenis or fortis.{{sfn|Collins|Mees|2003|pp=46–50}} The vowel {{IPA|/ə/}} only occurs in unstressed syllables and is more open in quality in stem-final positions.{{sfn|Cruttenden|2014|p=138}}{{sfn|Flemming|Johnson|2007}} Some dialects do not contrast {{IPA|/ɪ/}} and {{IPA|/ə/}} in unstressed positions, such that ''rabbit'' and ''abbot'' rhyme and ''Lenin'' and ''Lennon'' are homophonous, a dialectal feature called the [[weak vowel merger]].{{sfn|Wells|1982|p=167}} GA {{IPA|/ɜr/}} and {{IPA|/ər/}} are realised as an [[r-colored vowel|''r''-coloured vowel]] {{IPA|[ɚ]}}, as in ''further'' {{IPA|[ˈfɚðɚ]}} (phonemically {{IPA|/ˈfɜrðər/}}), which in RP is realised as {{IPA|[ˈfəːðə]}} (phonemically {{IPA|/ˈfɜːðə/}}).{{sfn|Wells|1982|p=121}} Summary: Please note that all contributions to Christianpedia may be edited, altered, or removed by other contributors. If you do not want your writing to be edited mercilessly, then do not submit it here. You are also promising us that you wrote this yourself, or copied it from a public domain or similar free resource (see Christianpedia:Copyrights for details). Do not submit copyrighted work without permission! Cancel Editing help (opens in new window) Discuss this page