Vowel phonemes. Description of-principal variants

a) Monophthongs, cr Simple Vowels

Vowels are best of all learnt when the teacher directs-the-attention of the pupils to the position of the tongue and the lips.The descrip­tion of the vowels should be accompanied by appropriate diagrams o£ the tongue position, because a vowel is "voice modified by different shapes of the supra glottal passages, especially, the mouth and the lips." *

No. I /i:/

The bulk of the tongue is in the front part of the mouth cavity, the space in the back part of the mouth cavity is empty.

The middle and the fore parts of the tongue are raised to the front part of the hard palate, but not so high as in the pronunciation of the Russian /и/.

In the course of the /I:/ articulation the bulk of the tongue may move from a more retracted and low position, to the more front and ad­vanced position. The slight movement of the tongue which results in the instability of the /i:/articulation occurs within the front and high position (narrow variation) of the bulk of the tongue.

"The front of the tongue starts at the /i/ position and glides up and toward the /i:/ position, sometimes^even overshooting it and ending

Sweet H. The Sounds of English.— Oxford, 1929.— P. 22.

up in the HI position. Thus, this diphthongoid may be represented in allophonic transcription as follows: [li'J.¹

Most RP speakers pronounce this sound as a stable vowel. Its idiolectal variation—a narrow diphthongal glide (in open syllables, before lenis and nasals) is considered as "vulgar" and many educated speakers attempt to avoid it. /i:/ can be defined as:

I. unrounded;

II. front (a) fully front, high;

(b) narrow variation of the high posi­tion of the tongue;

III. tense;

IV. long;

V. monophthong.

In the English I'v.f articulation the tongue is tense, the side rims of it make> firm contact with the upper teeth. The lips are spread. The Russian /и/ is pronounced with the almost neutral position of the lips.

Care should be taken not to confuse the English J'v.I with the Rus­sian faf.

пил — pi:l рис — rees низ — niece сил — seal чик — cheek

In the pronunciation of /i:/ its positional length should be ob-served: the longest in the open position, shorter in the position before a voiced consonant, the shortest before a voiceless consonant, cf. bee — bead — beat.

Graphic Equivalents of the f'v.f Phoneme

/i:/ is pronouncedVhen spelt:

e be /bi:/—быть ее see /si:/—видеть ea tea /tl:/—чай ie piece /pi:s/—кусок ei ceiling /'si:hg/—потолок i in French borrowings: machine /msijiin/—машина In Latin and Greek words: ae Caesar />si:z3/—Цезарь oe Oedipus /'irdtpss/—Эдип ey key /ki:/—ключ ay quay /ki:/—набережная eo people /ip£:pl/— народ

^l Vassilyev V. A. Op. cit,- P. 95. 106

No. 2 /i/

The bulk of the tongue is in the front part of the mouth cavity but slightly retracted. The front of the tongue is raised in the direc­tion of the hard palate, but not so high as for /i_:/. The lips are spread and neutral. The position of the tongue does not change during its articulation.

/i/ can be defined as: I. unrounded;

II. front (a) front-retracted; yß V

(b) broad variation of the high po- i 4 ]

sition of the tongue; (ч

III. lax; ---- n / /

IV. short; * '

V. monophthong.

/i:/ and hi are different phonemes. This can be proved by the min­imal pairs:

eat —it sheep—ship beet—bit seek—sick

feel —fill eel —ill lead—lid deed—did

heat —hit meal —mill leek —lik bead—bid

leave—live feet —fit peak—pick peel'—pill

Graphic Equivalents of the /i/ Phoneme

/i/ is pronounced when spelt:

i lid /lid/—крышка

у very /Iven/—очень, lymph /hmf/—лимфа, gladly /'glaedh/—охотно

ey whiskey /'wiski/—виски

e, a before /biifo:/—прежде, touches /'Utfiz/—трогает, courage

/'клпаз/—смелость

ie studies /'stAdiz/—изучает, sieve /siv/—сито ai captain /'keeptm/—капитан, mountain /'mauntin/—гора ui biscuit /ibiskit/—сухое печенье, circuit /'s3:kit/—цепь; контур ei forfeit /ifo:fit/—лишиться чего-л.

It is also pronounced in the following words: busy /'bizi/—занятой, minute /'mmit/—минута, Sunday /isAndi/— воскресенье, Monday /iniAndi/—понедельник, Tuesday /'tju:zd(e)i/— вторник, Wednesday /iwenzd(e)i/—среда, Thursday /I9a:zd(e)i/ — четверг, Friday/'fraidi/—пятница, Saturday /isaetad(e)i/—суббота, forehead /'fond/—лоб, breeches /ibri(:)tfiz/—бриджи, coffee /ikofi/— кофе, England/iiflgbnd/—Англия, the English/lirjgliJV—англичане, business /ibizms/—дело, занятие, women /iwimm/—женщины, mis­chief /imistfif/—вред

No. 3 /e/

The bulk of the tongue is in the front part of the mouth cavity. The front of the tongue is raised to the hard palate but not so high as in the III production. The lips are slightly spread. The position of the bulk of the tongue does not change during the /e/ articulation.

/e/ can be defined as:

I. unrounded;

II. front (a) fully front, mid-open;

(b) narrow variation of the medium position of the tongue;

; V. monophthong. To practise the /e/ articulation contrast exercises are very helpful;

III. lax;

IV. short;

bit—bet beet—bit—bet

lid—led lead—lid—led

pick—peck peak—pick—peck

Sid—said seed—Sid—said

knit—net neat—knit—net

hid—head heed—hid—head

Graphic Equivalents of the /e/ Phoneme

/e/ is pronounced when spelt:

e red /red/—красный

ea bread /bred/—хлеб

eo jeopardy /'c^epadi/—опасность

ei leisure /'less/—досуг

ie friend /frend/—друг

ai said /sed/—сказал

ay says /sez/—говорит

a any /leni/—какой-нибудь, несколько

u bury /'ben/—зарывать, хоронить

ее threepenny /'бгерэш/—трехпенсовик

No. 4 /ж/

The bulk of the tongue is in the front part of the mouth cavity,
but rather low: the lower jaw is quickly and energetically lowered as
soon as the vocal cords start vibrating. The
front of the tongue is slightly raised, but not so
high as for /e/. The lips are neutral. It is longer
before voiced lenis consonants, and nasals, e. g. bag,
mad, man. 2

/«/ can be defined as:

I. unrounded;

II. front (a) front, low;

(b) broad variation of the low position of the tongue;

III. lax;

IV. short;¹

V. monophthong.

^l The extension of /as/could be regarded as being in free variation 108

To practise the /да/ articulation contrast exercises are very helpful;

guess—gas bed —bad net —gnat set —sat said—sad met —mat bet —bat men—man head—had

beet—bit—bed—bad peak— pick—peck—pack
lead—lid—led—-lad seek—sick—sec—sack
leek—lick—lack deed—did—dead—dad

Graphic Equivalents of the /se/ Phoneme

/ae/ is pronounced when spelt:

a sat /saet/—сидел ai plaid /plaad/—плед

It is also pronounced in the following words: champagne /Jaem'pem/—шампанское, absolutely /igabsalurth/—аб­солютно, abstract /'aebstraekt/—абстрактный, ambition /aera'bijsn/— честолюбие

No. 5 /a/

The bulk of the tongue is low, in the back of the mouth cavity,
but somewhat advanced. The back part of the tongue is slightly raised.
The lips are neutral. The mouth is open (the opening between the
jaws is rather wide). It is long, but the position of
the bulk of the tongue does not change during its /,

articulation. W*~"^=zt4

Ы can be defined as: (j/ 4

I. unrounded;.,---- _ч \

П. back (a) back-advanced; Q \\

open (b) broad variation of the low position of / /I

the tongue; ----- ^ I l\

III. tense;

IV. long;

V. monophthong.

To practise the /at/ articulation contrast exercises are recommended:

bead—bard bee—bar

lead—lard tea—tar

heat—heart fee—far

sheep—sharp key—car

Graphic Equivalents of the /a/ Phoneme

/a/ is pronounced when spelt:

a staff /sta:f/—штаб аг far /fa/—далекий аи aunt /ant/— тетя er clerk /klctk/—клерк ear heart /hoi/—сердце

IC9

No. 6 /d/

The bulk of the tongue is low in the mouth cavity, but not so low-as in the la/ articulation. It is farther in the mouth cavity than its the fa/ articulation. The back of the tongue is raised a little bit more-than for /a/. This sound is short and is pronounced with the energd-ic downward movement of the lower jaw. Thelips-are slightly rounded. The Russian /of is closer, /u/ can be defined as:

I. siighly rounded;

II. back (a) fully back;

open (b) broad variation of the low position of the tongue;

III. lax;

IV. short;
V. monophthong.

To practise the hi articulation contrast exercise should be done (see No. 7 /o:/ hereinafter).

Graphic Equivalents of the /of Phoneme

/D/ is pronounced when spelt:

о not /nut/—не

a what /wot/—что

au because /bi'kDz/—потому что

It is pronounced in the words:

Gloucester /igbsta/—Глостер, knowledge /inuhcfe/—знание, yacht /jut/—яхта, Warwick/'wDrik/—г. Уорик, Washington /'wdJirjtan/— г. Вашингтон

No. 7 /э:/

The bulk of the tongue is in the back part of the mouth cavity.

The back of the tongue is raised a little higher to the soft palate than

in the /o/ articulation. The lips are rounded and slightly protruded.

The opening between the lips is smaller than for

/d/. This vowel is long.

I. rounded;

Л. back (a) fully back;

mid-open (b) broad variation of the mid-open position of the tongue;

Ш, tense;

IV. long;

V, monophthong.

The Russian/o/is pronounced with the more rounded and protrud­ed lips. The bulk of the tongue in the articulation of the Russian M occupies the closer position. The Russian /o/ is a diphthongoid, it begins with the /y/ glide. Its allophonic transcription is [yo].

no

Not to confuse h:I with hi the following contrast exercise can be recommended:

cord—cod sport—spot caught—cot naught—not port—pot sought—sot

Graphic Equivalents of the /o:/ Phoneme

/э:/ is pronounced when spelt:

о before r: horse /ha:s/—лошадь

oo» floor /to:/—пол

ou» your /jo:/—ваш

oa» oar /d:/—весло

a» war /wd:/—война

eo in the word Georgia /'dgoidgis/—Грузия и штат Джорджия в США

oa broad /bro:d/—широкий

ough thought /ÖD:t/—мысль

a water /'wo:ta/—вода

au pause /pa:z/—пауза

augh taught /to:t/—учил

al walk /wo:k/—ходить

aw law Ih'.l —закон

No. 8 /u/

The bulk of the tongue is in the back part of the mouth cavity, but somewhat advanced. It is raised in the direction of the front part of the soft palate, higher than for /o:/. The lips are slightly rounded.

/u/ can be defined as:

I. slightly rounded;

II. back (a) back-advanced;

(b) broad variation of the high position of the tongue;

III. lax;

IV. short;

V. monophthong.

Graphic Equivalents of the /u/ Phoneme

/u/ is pronounced when spelt:

u put /put/—класть

о woman /'wumen/—женщина

oo book /buk/—книга

ou! could /kud/—мог (бы)

ull pull /pul/—тянуть

ush push /puJV—толкать

ш

No. 9 /u:/

The bulk of the tongue in the /u:/ articulation is in the back part of the mouth cavity, retracted more than for /u/. The back of the tongae is raised higher in the direction of the soft palate than in the/u/ production, /u:/ may be a diphthongoid, then its beginning is a short /u/, which glides to more tense and labialized /u:/, which in the end has a /w/ glide. Allophonic transcription of the diphthongoid In:! can be represented as follows: [uu^w]. The Russian /y/ is pronounced with

the lips more rounded and protruded. The bulk of

the tongue is tense, /u:/ can be defined as:

I. rounded;

II. back (a) fully back;

high (b) narrow variation of the high position of the tongue;

III. tense;

IV. long;

V. monophthong.

In order not to confuse the pronunciation of /u:/ and /u/ which are different phonemes, the following exercise is recommended:

pool—pull toot —took fool—full coot —could goose—good pood—good boot —book

Graphic Equivalents of the /u:/ Phoneme

/u:/ is pronounced when spelt:

a true /tru:/—верный

oo tool ytu:l/—инструмент

о who /hu:/—который

ои soup /su:p/—суп

ui fruit /fru:t/-—плод

eu rheumatism /iru:matizm/—ревматизм, sleuth /slu:9/—сыщик

ew crew /kru:/—команда, экипаж

/ju:/ is pronounced when spelt:

и tune /tju:n/—мелодия не due /dju:/—надлежащий ugn impugn /raipju:n/—оспаривать ui suit /sju:t/—мужской костюм eau beauty /'bjurti/—красота

No. 10 /л/

_ш The central part of the tongue is raised in the direction of the juncture of the hard and soft palate. The tongue is a little higher than for /cc/. The lips are spread.

/л/ can be defined as:

I. unrounded;

II. central mid (a) narrow variation of the low

position of the tongue;

III. lax;

IV. short;

V. monophthong.

To practise the /л/ articulation contrast exercises are very helpful, e.g.

Bart—-but darn—done march—much carp —cup cart—cut calm—come dark —duck charm—chum

Graphic Equivatents of the /л/ Phoneme

/л/.is pronounced when spelt:

u sun /8лп/—солнце

о come /клт/~приходить, London /Плпйэп/—Лондон

oo blood /bUd/—кровь

ou touch /UtjV—трогать, enough /i'nAf/-— довольно, достаточно

No. 11 /з:/

The central part of the tongue is raised almost as high as for /еЛ Its surface is more or less flat, the middle of the tongue is slightly higher. The lips are spread. Since.we cannot say that-the bulk of the tongue occupies the front or back position, it is convenient to define this position of the tongue in the /s:/ articulation as mixed.

/з:/ can be defined as: I. unrounded;

(a) (b)

3-

II. (a) mixed;

narrow variation of the mid-open position

(____ 4 \ ___ of'the tongue;

4 III- tense; IV. long; V. monophthong.,

To practise the /§:/ articulation it is useful to do the following con-irast^exercises:

bed—bird all —earl torn —turn full—furl ten — turn four — fur board—b ir d pull — pearl Ben—burn form—firm court —curt took—Turk

Graphic Equivalents of the /з:/ Phoneme

/з:/ is pronounced When spelt:

ir birth /Ьз:6/—рождение у г myrtle /ima:tl/—мирт

из

er serve /ss:v/—служить

ear earn /a:n/—зарабатывать

wor word /W3:d/—слово

our journey /'(^з:ш/—путешествие

ur turn Дз:п/—вертеть, поворачивать

No. 12 /э/

The central part of the tongue is raised a little bit less than for /з:/. The lips are neutral. In speech /э/ is easily affected by the neighbouring sounds and acquires different shades which are subdi­vided by G. P. Torsuyev¹ into (1) /л/ shade, (2) /e:/, (3) /ы/ shade, (4) /з7 schade.

1. /л/ shade of /a:/ phoneme is observed in final position, before
a pause: comma /1кг>тэ^А/, butter /<Ьл1э^л/.

2. /з:/ shade is observed in all positions, with the exception of
those mentioned (as 1, 3), for example: above /э'Ьлу/, along

/эПг/.

3. /ы/ shade is observed when /з/ is preceded or followed by the
/k, g/ phonemes: again /sigem/, ca«c/ /Ira'nael/.

4. /з7 shade is observed before the terminal /z, d/: te#m /Uetaz/,
covered

/э/ can be defined as:

I. unrounded;

II. (a) mixed;

(b) broad variation of the mid-open position of the tongue; Ш. lax;

IV. short;

V. monophthong.

Graphic Equivalents of the /э/ Phoneme

It can be stated, that almost every vowel in the unstressed po­sition can be pronounced as /a/, for example:

/e/ sense /sens/ смысл—nonsense /inunsans/ бессмыслица /ж/ man /тжп/ человек—milkman/ /Imilkman/ молочник /э:/ ford /b:d/ брод—Oxford /toksfod/ Оксфорд /a:/ sir /sa:/ сэр—yes, sir /'jes sa/ да, сэр

/ei/ relation /пЧефп/ отношение, связь—relative /Irelativ/ род­ственник, etc.

Questions

1. Why is it important to direct the attention of the pupils to the movement of the lips and the tongue in teaching vowels? 2. What do you know about vowel No. 1? (a) description of the articulation; (b) definition; (c) comparison with the similar Russian vowel /и/;

i Торсу ев Г. П. Фонетика английского языка.— М., 1950.—С ЮЗ* 111

<d) rules of reading. 3, What do you know about vowel No. 2? (a) des­cription of the articulation; (b) definition; (c) comparison with vowel No. 1; (d) rules of reading. 4. What do you know about vowel No. 3? (a) description of the articulation; (b) definition; (c) compari­son with vowel No. 2; (d) rules of reading. 5. What do you know about vowel No. 4? (a) description of the articulation; (b) definition; (с)-comparison with vowels Nos 3, 1,2; (d) rules of reading. 6. What do-you know about vowel No. 5? (a) description of the articulation; (b> definition; (c) comparison with vowel No. 10; (d) rules of reading. 7. What do you know about vowel No. 6? (a) description of the ar­ticulation; (b) definition; (c) comparison with vowel No. 7; (d) rules-of reading. 8. What do you know about vowel No. 7? (a) description of the articulation; (b) definition; (c) comparison with the Russian hi; (d) rules of reading. 9. What do you know about vowel No. 8> (a) description of the articulation; (b) definition; (c) comparison with vowel No. 9; (d) rules of reading. 10. What do you know about vowel No. 9? (a) description of the articulation; (b) definition; (c) comparison* with. Russian /y/ and English /it/; (d) rules of reading. 11. What d» you know about vowel No. 10? (a) description of the articulation; (b) definition; (c) comparison with vowel No. 5; (d) rules of reading. 12. What do you know about vowel No. 11? (a) description of the articu­lation; (b) definition; (c) rules of reading. 13. What do you know-about vowel No. 12? (a) description of the articulation; (b) definition^ {c) rules of reading.

Exercises

*1. Transcribe these words. Read them. Observe positional length of the vowel

Ll:L

(a) see, we, tree, be, me, he, fee;

(b) seem, read, clean, seen, deal, people, easily;

(c) cheep, sweep, chief, treat, least, creek, week

*2. Transcribe these words. Use them to explain the relation of the /i: pho­neme to orthography.

she, eve, concrete, feet, meat, niece, receive, fatigue, aesthete, key, quay

*3. Transcribe these words. Read and translate them into Russian.

in, ill, big, wings, pit, stick, cliffs, spring, thing, sick, wrist, sil­ly, building, England, backing, bushes, guineas, lovely, busy, mi­nutes, going, dishes,¹ begins, college, women, commit, mercy, Britain, window, missis, symptoms, holiday, interested, excited, anything, hesitate, privilege, criticism, initiate, medicine

*4. Transcribe these words. Use them to explain the relation of the hi phoneme to orthography.

did, lid, gladly, Freely, lynx, courage, village, washes, rouges, boxes, worries, copies, loaded, fountain, biscuit, Friday, sieve, let­tuce, forehead, forfeit, coffee

life

*S. Transcribe these words. Read and translate them into Russian.

bed, said, help, tell, yet, head, tennis, weather, member, letter, dressed, setter, helping, anyway, envied, pleasure, friendly, dressing, desolate, separate, hesitate, myself, remember, endeavour, hotel, instead, forget, eleven

*6. Transcribe these words. Use them to explain the relation of the /e/ phoneme to orthography.

red, get, ten, seven, head, dead, ate, the Thames, burial *7. Transcribe these words. Read and translate them into Russian,

glad, bad, plan, can, swam, blank, drank, act, sat, fancy, gladly, shallow, added, anxious, badly, traffic, happen, Daddy, sadness, began, exactly, imagine, vocabulary, programme, sandwiches, manu­factures, balcony, sacrifice

*8. Transcribe these words. Use them to explain the relation of the' se/ pho­neme to orthography.

carry, ample, have, salmon, plaid, champagne, absolutely, ab­stract, ambition

*9. Transcribe these words. Read and translate them into Russian.

are, bar, far, car, arm, ask, card, past, farm, half, part, large, France, grass, dark, guard, park, start, smart, last, hard, mask, danc­ing, basking, laughing, rather, hardly, harbour, answer, artist, fath­er, basket, classes, articles, archangel, departure, enlarge, at last

*10. Tranicribe these words. Use them to explain the relation of the /ct/ pho­neme to orthography.

mast, answer, last, tar, part, laugh, Berkley, Hertford, heart *11. Transcribe these words. Read and translate them Into Russian.

on, nod, was, rod, want, gone, job, hot, long, song, bother, bon­net, doctor, model, hostel, honest, nodded, body, offer, Holland, rocky, solid, cannot, occupy, cottages, prosperous, geometry, follow­ing, holiday, wasn't, seen off

*12. Transcribe these words. Use them to explain the relation of the Ivl pho­neme to orthography.

■ hot, sorry, foreign, quality, almanac, sausage, knowledge, yacht

*13. Transcribe these words. Read and translate them into Russian.

more, draw, all, call, bore, thought, horse, talk, sort, bought, George, shore, always, forward, water, walking, morning, before, also, exports, importance, awfully, audience, orchestra, altogether, of course, forty-four

*H. Transcribe these words. Use them to explain the relation of the Ы pho­neme to orthography.

port, fort, floor, door, course, court, four, pour, roar, war, broad, bought, wrath, cause, fall, yawn, paw, thaw

*15. Transcribe these words. Read and translate them into Russian.

good, room, would, cook, foot, took, put, soot, shook, looked, bushes, manufactures, wooden, couldn't, wouldn't, woodland, restful, woman, put out, put on, good-bye, naturally, recapitulate, carefully

*16. Transcribe these words. Use them to explain the relation of the /a/ pho­neme to orthography.

put, push, pull, worsted, wolf, look, stood, took, could, should, courier 17. Transcribe these words. Read and translate them into Russian.

flue, zoo, too, who, two, use, you, few, true, food, soon, school youth, move, rule, huge, knew, usually, absolutely, pneutnona, mov­ing, avenue, humour, beautiful, review, ruined, suicide, value, reg­ular, pupils, human, assumed, constitution

*18. Transcribe these words. Use them to explain the relation of the /u:/ pho­neme to orthography.

blue, rude, rule, June, cool, tomb, group, wound, bruise, brew,

als^ribe these words. Use them to explain the relation of the /a:/ pho­
neme to orthography.,. u_liow
tune, humour, use, cue, Tuesday, suit, neuter, few, beauty, Hughes

20. Transcribe these words. Read and translate them into Russian.

one, run, fun, shut, bus, much, ton, young, come other rammer, brother, mother/another, currents, chuckle, wor^«ndwd ™ш£ money, funny, lovely, country, compass, must, just, trouble, wonuex ful, wonderland, instructor, introduction, meaning *21. Transcribe these words. Use them to explain the relation of the U! pho-

neme to orthography.

must, unjust, judge, humbug, does, front, among, money, couple, rough, tough

*22. Transcribe these words. Read and translate them into _y were, heard, word, workers thirty ^J^S her, years, Burlow, girls, birds, work, turkey, cu worse, Sherlock, certainly, worth, dirt, perfect *23. Transcribe these words. Read them. Use them to explain the relation

the hil phoneme to orthography. stir, myrtle, kernel, heard, worker, turner, nurse, fur *24. Transcribe these words. Read>nd;tramlate them into *^ussia".

_d again, along, about, across, obey, ^J^'Ä^
Piccadilly, confess, perhaps, suppose, condition, p
to pleasef to stop, the song, to do, to fish, the giris,.P
ably, finally, wonderland, woodland, decorate, gli
ehester, desolate, recognize, traveller, balcony „„stressed

25. Give examples to prove that the sound Ы U the core of the unstressed vocal ism in Modern English.

Control Task

Transcribe and read the passages.¹ Underline the vowels, which relate to the founds /i, i, e, ж, а, т>,а,и,1г, л, з:,_ e/. Give their articulatory charac­teristics.

No. 1 /i:/

1. People seem to like it. 2. They help by sweeping and cleaning the rooms. 3. That doesn't mean sleeping and eating in tents. 4. The hotel at the seaside will cost you at least thirty pounds a week.

No. 2 /i/

I. "What is it?" I asked him. 2. He looked a sick and miserable boy. 3. He left different medicines with instructions for giving them. 4. The medicine w 1 bring down the fever.

No. 3 /el

1. It took him ten minutes to get to Kensington Gardens. 2. There's a special burial ground for dogs there. 3. You forget about Ken­sington Gardens, you could spend a couple of hours there. 4. They drive on the left side of the road instead of the right.

No. 4 Ы

1. Ann and Mary were happy in their ntw hats. 2. The fact is Moth­er packed the sandwiches herself. 3, He waved his hand back to> her till he hit his hand on the back edge. 4. She'd have gladly sacrificed¹ anything for the family's sake. 5. The plate of sandwiches.' is standing on the mantelpiece.

No. Б

«Arnold laughed at the artist. 2. She started to have classes last autumn. 3. Last time Arnold asked if they could have classes with the artist. 4. Arnold can't enlarge his vocabulary by starting to toss dictionaries into a waste basket. 5. To enlarge your knowledge in art you must start reading at once.

No. 6 Ы

I. I hadn't got a vacancy in my office. 2. Wtio made that offer of a job? 3.1 was shocked when he offered to sell his watch 4. Oh, my godl What a lot of people come to his office to ask for a job. 5 "Do-yon want a job?" He nodded. "At mv office I haven't got anything to offer you."

No. 7

ft.«wSf J^a+l^eri5^ea5i?S^irway ^is "°^^агт- 2- It is very important that the water of the North Sea near England is warm. 3. There are no more good waterw ays in the north 4 Shall £St

^{y is} "° he water of the North Sea near England is warm. 3. There are no more

good waterw ays in the north. 4. Shallow water is warmert£Si deep wat-

I\i^f4Zr^T, l^ftf Course^

IIS

«er and helps to keep the shores from the cold of Norway. 5. The North Sea is not more than 600 feet deep. So the water in the North Sea is shallow and warm.

No. 8 /u/

I. He is a good cook. 2. Should I look for the sugar? 3. He'd put •on weight and looked solid. 4. The woman put on her new dress and asked if it was good. 5. The good woman put on her hat, looked at iierself and said that if she could go, she would.

No. 9 /u:/

The youth soon found two very good seats for the two. 2, The youth is truly fond of new music. 3. Soon the two were through too. 4. You like their new costumes, don't you?

No. 10 /л/

1. Mother is coming to see us this summer. 2. My brother likes running very much. 3. Every summer hundreds of people come to the South, 4. He said he would come another time and I saw he was wor­ried about something.

No. 11 h:l

1. You are perfectly sure to meet factory workers, office woikers and shop girls there. 2. First of all you must know that holiday camps are permanent buildings. 3. Perhaps when you were here last year you heard something about my girl-friend. f

No. 12 hi

1.1 was rather surprised. 2.1 looked at him or a bit. 3. It was such an insane answer to give. 4. I got some glimmering of what he wa*s driving at. 5. He was rather taken aback. 6. It's over three miles an it's rather difficult on'account of the currents roun^ the beacon.

b) Diphthongs, or Complex Vowels

Closing Diphthongs No. 13 /et/

The nucleus of the diphthong /ei/ is vowel No. 3/e/, which is close­ly connected with the second element of the diphthong — the glide /i/. In the articulation of the diphthong /ei/the bulk of the tongue glides from the /e/ to the hi position, but the full formation of hi is not accomplished. Since the movement of the tongue in the*articu_: lation of /ei/ is from a more open to a more close position, /ei/ is cal­led a closing diphthong with the front, mid narrow unrounded nu­cleus. The lips are slightly spread. The opening between the jaws is rather narrow, wider for the nucleus than for the glide (Fig. 9).

To practise the /ei7 articulation the following exercises are recom-

mended:

peel—pail—pile weel—wail—while jnean—ma in—mine feet—fate—fight leak—lake—like

pay—paid—pain may—made—mate day—date

able—cable—'table pain—came—game play—plays—pace pen—pain fell —fail sell:—sale men—main

say—same—sake gay—game—gait bay—bait

Graphic Equivalents of the /ei/ Diphthong

/ei/ is pronounced when spelt:

a take /teik/—брать ai wait /weit/—ждать ay say /sei/—сказать ei vein /vein/—жила ey they /Öei/—они ea great /greit/—большой

It is also pronounced in the words: jail /dseil/—тюрьма, gauge /geidg/—мера; измерять, chaos xaoc, aorta /eibtta/—аорта

 

\Л
"К \

 

\ \	эй
\ V
\ ^N

 

Fig. 9

Fig. 10

No. И /эй/

The nucleus of the diphthong /эй/ starts at the position for¹ vowet No. 11 /3:/,the articulation of the nucleus is closely connected with the second element of the diphthong, the glide /u/. In the articulation of /эй/ the bulk of the tongue glides from the /a/ to the /u/ position, but the full formation of /u/ is not accomplished. Since the movement of the tongue in the articulation of Iml is from a more open to a more close position /au/ is called a closing diphthong with a central¹ mid (narrow variation of the medium position of the tongue) nucleus (Fig. 10). The lips are neutral at the beginning of the diphthong and rounded at the end of it for /u/.

To practise the /эй/ articulation the following exercises are re­commended:

oak own open old over only go

snow no so show low ago October

Moscow also tempo window flow. coal home

hold cold close telephone Soviet slogan socialist

Graphic Equivalents of the /au/ Diphthong

/эй/ is pronounced when spelt:

о so /sau/—так

oe foe /fau/—враг

oa road /raud/—дорога

ou soul /ssul/—душа

ough though /Ээи/—хотя, dough /dau/—тесто

ew sew /sau/—шить

ow know /neu/—знать

It is also pronounced in the words: omit /s(u)imit/—упускать, Olympic /au'limpity—олимпийский

No. 15 /ai/

The nucleus of the diphthong /ai/ is the front open /a/ (more open and retracted than vowel No. 4 /seO» which glides to /i/ without reach­ing it, the glide sounds like a weak Id. In the articulation of /ai/ the bulk of the tongue moves from a more open /a/ position to a more close /i/ position. The amplitude of this movement is bigger than that in the /ei/ and /эй/ articulation.

The opening between the jaws is rather wide for the nucleus and much narrower for the glide.

To practise the pronunciation of the diph­thong /ai/ the following exercises are recom­mended:

Fig. it

I mine tide fight

tie time tile slight

die dime size like

pie pine lies pipe

my nine wide¹ might

lie line died night

fine—feign by—bay

line—lain like—lake

fight—fate my—may

mine—mane die—day

Graphic Equivalents of the /ai/ Diphthong

/ai/ is pronounced when spelt:

i time /taim/—время igh night /nait/—ночь

eigh height /hart/—высота, but: eight /eit/—восемь у my' /mal/—мой

It is also pronounced in the words: buy /bai/—купить, guide /gaid/—гид, eye /ai/—глаз

No. 16 /au/

The nucleus of the diphthong /au/ is /a/, which is more back than /a/ in /ai/. According to the data given by foreign authors, the nucleus. of the diphthong /au/ is open, broad, central, unrounded. Vassilyev defines it as a diphthong with a front-retracted nucleus /a/, which

\ \
\ \
	Uau

 

 

 

12

Fig. 13

The opening between the jaws is wide for the nucleus and much narrower for the glide.

To practise the /au/ articulation, the following exercises are re­commended:

cow	gown	howl
now	bow	house
town	row	mouth
down	loud	allow

mice—mouse lied—loud
lice—louse night—now
shy—shout gye—gout
die—doubt rye—rout
I—owl thy—thou

Graphic Equivalents of the /au/ Diphthong /au/ is pronounced when spelt:

ou house /haus/ —дом

otigh plough /plau/— пахать

ow how /hau/ —как

No. 17 /:i/

prop^⁶ ПА' 7 ^А^МЬ0Щ^^{Э1/ is} & ^{which is ndther No}- ⁶ M S'hl anri Ы ть f^{The Р08},^и]^{оп of the bulk of} ^e tongue is be- TZ direction Ä^tOng-^Uf'^gH_f^deS?,^{cm the back and} low position glide ТЫ ?fmbmL^J^^lUOvI°l ^N*,^П(~^се83агУ to accomplish the

Definition: /01/ is a closing diphtnong with the back, low (narrow variation) slightly rounded nucleus (Fig. 13).

To practise the /oi/ articulation the following exercises are recom­mended:

oil voice avoid coil join spoil boy toy destroy

boy —bay foil —fail point—paint doily—daily hoist—haste soil —sail

Graphic Equivalents of the /oi/ Diphthong

/di/ is pronounced when spelt:

oi point /pomt/—пункт, точка, boil /boil/—кипеть, coin /kom/ —

монета °У boy /boi/—мальчик, joy /d3Di/~ радость

Centring Diphthongs¹

No. 18 /ia/

\ '

The nucleus of this diphthong is vowel No. 2 /i/. The bulk of the tongue moves from the /i/ position to the position, which it occu­pies in the /э/ articulation, the full formation of it is fully accomplished.

Definition: /ia/ is a centring diphthong with the high (broad variation of the high position of the tongue) front-retracted unround­ed nucleus. When /la/ occurs in an open syl­lable and is followed by a pause, the glide sounds like the vowel /л/. The lips are neu­tral.

To practise the Лэ/ articulation the follow­
ing exercises are recommended: Fig. И

ear, hear, year, dear, near, clear, engineer, really

he —hear me —mere fee —fear tea—tear bead—beard she—sheer be—beer we —weir pea—peer

Graphic Equivalents of the /ia/ Diphthong

/ю/ is pronounced when spelt:

er here /hra/—-здесь eer beer /bia/—пиво

l The term "centring" is connected with the glide /э/, which is considered to be central. In this book it is referred to as mixed. In Gleason's transcription they are represented as /ih/, /eh/, /oh/, /uh/.

ier pier /pia/—набережная ir fakir Дэ'кю, 'fakia/—факир ear year /jis, ja:/—год ea before other consonants:

real /ml/—настоящий e before unaccented a, u: idea /aildia/—идея, geum

-бот. гравилат

No. 19 /еэ/

The bulk of the tongue starts from the position intermediate between vowels No. 3 /e/ and No. 4 /se/, then it glides to articu­late /9/, the full formation of which is not accomplished. The

 

\\
	1/

Fig. IB Fig. 16

nucleus of /еэ/ is more open than the English /e/ or the Russian /э/ in amo. The lips are spread.or neutral.

Definition: /еэ/ is a centring diphthong with the front, mid-open -(broad, variation of the medium position of the tongue), un­rounded nucleus (Fig. 15).

To practise the /еэ/ articulation the following exercises are re-commendedr-

chair ware" hair

care square fair

their mare' pair

dare fare declare

far—fare' mar—mare car—care bar*— bare char^-chair tar—tare

Graphic Equivalents of the /еэ/ Diphthong

/еэ/ is pronounced when spelt:

a before r; care /кед/—забота

ai s> air /еэ/—воздух

e » there /Эеэ/—там

ei» their /5еэ/—их, свой

ea» tear Деэ/—раздирать, рвать

ае» aerate /'еэге^, 'eiareit/—проветривать

ay before or: mayor /теэ/~мэр

124

No. 20 /иэ/

The nucleus of the phoneme /иэ/ is a high back-advanced /u/, which gradually glides to /э/.

Definition: /иэ/ is a centring diphthong with the back-advanced,, high (broad variation of the high position of the tongue), slightly round­ed, short and lax nucleus (Fig. 16).

Care should be taken not to confuse the diphthong /иэ/ with /u.*/„ To avoid this mistake the following exercise is recommended:

shoe—sure pool—poor crew—cruel two —tour do —doer grew—gruel

Graphic Equivalents of the /иэ/ Diphthong

/иэ/ is pronounced when spelt:

oo before r: poor /риз/—бедный oe» doer /dua/—деятель ou» tourist /ituanst/—турист u» sure /Jua/—уверенный

It is pronounced in the words: steward /'stjusd/—управляющий, sewer /sju9/—сточная труба

The phoneme /т>э/ which is represented in spelling by -oor, -ore,. e. g. door, more is not obligatory, it is considered to be a free variant of the phoneme /э:/. It is not included in the inventory of vowels.