Classification of vowels according to the tongue position

Tongue positions are considered in 2 aspects: according to the position of the bulk of the tongue & according to the height of the raised part of the tongue.

1. Introducing vowels, the front of the tongue is usually lowed and tip may touch the lower teeth. According to the position of the bulk of the tongue in the mouth cavity vowel sounds are divided into 5 classes: front, retracted, central, back-advanced, and back. When the middle part of the tongue is raised, the bulk of the tongue is always in the front part of the mouth, and vowels, thus produced, are called front (<i:>).When the back of the tongue is raised, the bulk is always in the back part of the mouth and the vowels are called back (<u:>, < o:>). If the bulk is slightly advanced from its back position – back-advanced (<u>, <∆>).While both the middle and the back parts of the tongue are raised to the same high, forming so-called flat or mixed position, the bulk of the tongue is placed in the centre of the mouth cavity. Vowels, produced this way, are called central (<ə>).

2. According to the height of the raised part of the tongue, we can distinguish 3 basic heights: high, middle and low. Each of them may have 2 varieties: narrow & wide. In the articulation of high vowels the middle or the back part of the tongue is raised high, so that the air passage through the mouth cavity is rather narrow. High-narrow vowels are <i:>, <u:>; high-wide – <ı>, <u>.

In the articulation of middle vowels the height of the middle or the back part of the tongue is intermediate, between high and low. Mid-narrow vowels: <e>, <ə:>; mid-wide – <ə>.

In the articulation of low-vowels the position is lowest, with the middle or the back part slightly higher that the rest. The jaw is lowered. Low-narrow vowels: <∆>, <o:>; low-wide vowels – <ж>, <α:>, <ס> or <o>.

Classification of vowels according to the lip position

Vowels can be subdivided into 2 positions – rounded and unrounded. When the lips are unrounded, they may be spread (<i:>) or neutral (<α:>); when the lips are rounded they remain flat (<o:> <u> <u:>). We can see examples of protruded vowels only in Russian!

Nuclear tones

Nuclear tones are pitch patterns attached to the nucleus of the intonation pattern and to any following syllables (=the tail). The High Fall nuclear tone starts high in the speaker's pitch range and falls to low pitch by the end of the nucleus. If there is a tail then all syllables in it are low and fairly level in pitch. It often makes the speaker sound interested and involved in what he or she is saying:

A: Would you like a coffee?

B: Yes! (No)

Here are a couple of diagrams, indicating the pitch movement of the High Fall nuclear tone, (1) has no tail (2) has a tail:

English intonation

Intonation is defined as a speech melody, closely connected with sentence stress and express meaning and different emotions. Each sense group has its own intonation pattern and can be considered as the smallest unit of intonation.

A full-sized intonation group contains 3 or more stressed syllables forming the scale of the sense group. The scale is the tonal expression of all semantically important words making up the sense group.

When all the significant words in a sense group are equally important, they usually have equal sentence stresses. This kind of scale usually starts with higher pitch and then descends gradually until the final stressed word is reached (descending scale).

The first stressed syllable at a sense group concludes the scale and serves as a terminal tone of a sense group.

Sometimes it can be followed by several unstressed syllables, called tail.

· We distinguish 3 types of terminal tones: the falling terminal tone is cathegoric by its character. Expresses completeness, determination, finality. Types of sentences: categorical statements (I think he is right); special questions (Which way did you go?); smth or suggestions which should be done (Let`s go home);

· the rising terminal tone expresses incompleteness, insurance, indefiniteness, non-finality. Types of sentences: non-categorical statements, expressing uncertainty, doubt (I don’t quite mean that); general questions (Do you think it would be useful?); requests, advices, offers, polite suggestions (Let me know when you get there); repeated questions (Why hasn’t he come in time↑?)

the labial terminal tone is more indefinite and non-categorical in character than the rising tone. Rarely used in colloquial speech. It’s used in sentences uttered when the speaker pronounces some thought with indifference or when he speaks to himself (It doesn’t matter. The twilight is safe and cloudy).