English is fairly rich in vowels, having at least seven short vowels and seven long vowels. The vowel sounds themselves are described in terms of tongue height and front-to-back in the mouth. The high front vowel /iy/ is pronounced about where the /y/ is pronounced, while the high back vowel /uw/ is pronounced about where the /w/ is pronounced.
There is a great deal of individual and dialectal variation in the pronunciation of vowels—something that becomes clear once learners begin to do the transcription exercises.
front central back
high
long ('tense') iy, yuw uw
short ('lax' ) I (=È) U (=Ë)
mid
long ('tense') ey ow
short ('lax') E ´ O, Oy (long)
low
long ('tense') Ay, Aw
short ('lax') œ A
Chart of English vowel phonemes (modified IPA)
Short and long vowels. Short vowels and long vowels are in contrast. For our purposes, this simply means that the long vowels and the short vowels sound different and, as a consequence, are spelled different.
The pronunciation of the short (or lax) vowels is essentially the same throughout the length of the vowel. Technically, these are monophthongs—one-sound vowels. The seven short vowels are /I, E, A, O, ´, œ and U/. The difference between /A/ and /O/ is ignored in the transcription exercises because this difference has disappeared for many speakers of English, and, in any case, the distinction is limited relevance to English language teachers.
The pronunciation of the long (or tense) vowels begins with one pronunciation and ends with another. Technically, these are diphthongs—two-part vowels. The eight long vowels are /Ay, Oy, and aw/ as well as /iy, ey, ow, uw, and yuw/. Notice that /Ay/, for example, begins with the vowel /A/ and then moves in the direction of /y/ (essentially where /iy/ is found); similarly, /Aw/ begins with the vowel /A/ and then moves in the direction of /w/ (essentially in the direction of /uw/). The five vowels /iy, ey, ow, uw, and yuw/ are also long vowels as well as diphthongs.
The vowel /-´/, sometimes called a schwa, is an extremely common English vowel. When stress falls somewhere else in the word, other vowels may be reduced to a schwa. For instance, the /œ/ in graph, becomes a /´/ in photography.
From a teacher's perspective, what is crucial to learn is which vowel sounds are long and which are short. The difference between the short and the long vowels is central to the English spelling system. In the English spelling system, the short vowel sounds are overwhelmingly spelled with a single letter. Except for /yuw/, the long vowels are usually spelled with two letters.
Exercise: Vowel chart.
Place the following vowels on the blank chart (on the next page): iy U E ey O Ay Aw yuw Oy ´ ow uw I A œ
front central back
high: long ('tense')
short ('lax' )
mid long ('tense')
short ('short')
low long ('tense')
short ('lax')
Chart of English vowel phonemes (modified IPA)
Practice transcription 3a: Vowels (and Consonants)
tease ace chip cheek tike
_____ _____ _____ _____ _____
ice peace stood stewed stud
_____ _____ _____ _____ _____
lewd led line coat cod
_____ _____ _____ _____ _____
rot rut rude feud food
_____ _____ _____ _____ _____
Practice transcription 3b: Vowels (and Consonants)
sight site seat suit seem
_____ _____ _____ _____ _____
do due dew fiend find
_____ _____ _____ _____ _____
east aced eased found don't
_____ _____ _____ _____ _____
put putt pot bond boned
_____ _____ _____ _____ _____
dead deal yield judged wheezed
_____ _____ _____ _____ _____
Practice transcription 4a: Vowels and Consonants
cave calf keg guest germs
_____ _____ _____ _____ _____
raged frog lodged (to) use (a) use
_____ _____ _____ _____ _____
sixths watch wash cents sense
_____ _____ _____ _____ _____
psalm palm whole cough broil
_____ _____ _____ _____ _____
Practice transcription 4b: Vowels and Consonants
breathe breath breadth cloths clothes
_____ _____ _____ _____ _____
streaks pass puss pushed voice
_____ _____ _____ _____ _____
asks smash had sad bumps
_____ _____ _____ _____ _____
as jazz coy prints prince
_____ _____ _____ _____ _____
kit kite mat mate fights
_____ _____ _____ _____ _____
Transcription (25 words)
boot clothes few music why
_____ _____ _____ _____ _____
washed rough bridged fox thumb
_____ _____ _____ _____ _____
they wreath hooked bushed cute
_____ _____ _____ _____ _____
punched though raised shouts judged
_____ _____ _____ _____ _____
streams (to) use (a) use pound write
_____ _____ _____ _____ _____
Transcription (25 words)
spins spines pans sprains cloud
_____ _____ _____ _____ _____
spies eyes crazed traced shout
_____ _____ _____ _____ _____
tossed blouse lice comb gems
_____ _____ _____ _____ _____
rot rude thought tough though
_____ _____ _____ _____ _____
slight dreams death daze days
_____ _____ _____ _____ _____