Phonetics - Vowels: Crash Course Linguistics #9

Summary

This Crash Course Linguistics episode delves into the International Phonetic Alphabet's (IPA) representation of vowels. It explains how vowels are produced without closing the vocal tract, contrasting with consonants. The video explores the concept of vowel space, illustrating how vowels vary by tongue position, lip rounding, and mouth openness. It also covers diphthongs, the most common vowel sound in English (schwa), and touches on vowel distinctions like length, nasalization, and tone. The episode highlights the variability in vowel inventories across languages, from complex systems like English to simpler ones like Spanish.

Takeaways

• 🔤 The International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) represents every sound in human speech with a unique symbol.
• 🗣 Consonants are sounds produced by partially or completely blocking the airflow in the vocal tract.
• 🎶 Vowels are sounds produced without closing the vocal tract, allowing the air to flow freely and creating different sounds by changing the tongue's position.
• 🌐 English has more vowel sounds than vowel letters, with varieties having between 12 and 21 vowel sounds.
• 🗨 Accent differences are often noticeable in the pronunciation of vowels.
• 👄 Vowels are described by three main features: tongue height (high/low), tongue position (front/back), and lip shape (rounded/unrounded).
• 🔍 The IPA uses a trapezoid to represent the vowel space, showing the range of possible vowel sounds.
• 🌟 The schwa sound [ə] is the most common vowel sound in English, found in unstressed syllables.
• 🔀 Vowels can form diphthongs, which are combinations of two vowel sounds, like [oi] or [aʊ].
• 🌍 Languages vary widely in their vowel inventories, from as few as 5 to over 20 distinct vowel sounds.
• 🎵 Additional vowel features include length, nasalization, and tone, which can change the meaning of words in some languages.

Q & A

What is the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) used for?

The IPA is used to represent every sound in human speech with exactly one symbol, allowing for clear and unambiguous written representation of all spoken languages.

How do vowels differ from consonants in terms of articulation?

Vowels are produced without closing the vocal tract, by subtly changing the shape of the tongue, whereas consonants involve some form of closure or obstruction in the vocal tract.

How many vowel sounds does English typically have?

Different varieties of English have between 12 and 21 vowel sounds.

What is the significance of the sentence 'Who would know aught of art, must learn, act, and then take his ease' in the context of English vowels?

This sentence showcases fourteen vowel sounds that are shared by most varieties of English.

How is the 'schwa' vowel sound represented in the IPA and where does it typically appear in English words?

The schwa sound is represented by the symbol [ə] in the IPA and it is the most common vowel sound in English, typically appearing in unstressed parts of words like 'about', 'potato', and 'petition'.

What are the three main features used to describe vowels?

The three main features used to describe vowels are the height of the tongue, the frontness or backness of the tongue, and whether the lips are rounded.

What is a diphthong and how is it represented in the IPA?

A diphthong is a complex vowel sound that starts in one position and moves to another within the same syllable. It is represented in the IPA by combining two vowel symbols in a row, such as [oi] or [aɪ].

How does the IPA chart represent the vowel space?

The IPA chart represents the vowel space as a trapezoid, focusing on the features of closedness, frontness, and rounding, with unrounded vowels listed before rounded ones.

What is the difference between vowel length and nasalization in the IPA?

Vowel length is indicated by a diacritic that looks like a colon with tiny triangles, showing the duration of the vowel sound. Nasalization is indicated by a different diacritic and refers to the sound produced when air flows through both the mouth and nose.

How does tone function in languages with tone systems?

In languages with tone systems, changing the pitch of the voice on vowels can create completely different words. For example, in Mandarin, the word mā means 'mother', while mǎ means 'horse'.

What is the difference between articulatory phonetics, acoustic phonetics, and perceptual phonetics?

Articulatory phonetics focuses on how people make sounds, acoustic phonetics involves recording and analyzing sounds, and perceptual phonetics studies how people process the speech they hear.