(8) The Vowel Inventory of English

- the vowel inventory of E: 20 vowels

- 12 monophthongs, 8 diphthongs

Relatively Pure Vowels

/i:/ (‘bead’)

- description: high front unrounded, near to Cardinal Vowel 1 [i]

- variants: diphthongization in final positions, RP glides from a position near to [ɪ] > [ɪi], CockE glides from the central position [ə] > [əi]

/ɪ/ (‘bid’)

- description: mid-high front unrounded

- variants: RP trend twd /ə/ in non-final unaccented syllables (‘quality’)

- NortE: substitutes RP /ɪ/ for [i] in all positions

/e/ (‘bed’)

- description: mid-low front unrounded, btw Cardinal Vowel 2 [e] and Cardinal Vowel 3 [ε]

- CockE: glides twd [ɪ] (‘bed’ [be^ɪd])

- NortE: substitutes RP /e/ for C[ε] in all positions

/æ/ (‘bad’)

- description: low front rounded

- GA and NortE: substitutes RP /ɑ:/ for /æ/ before a voiceless fricative (‘past’)

- SE: loss of distinction btw /æ/ x /a:/ (‘cam’ x ‘calm’)

/ʌ/ (‘bud’)

- description: low front unrounded, Cardinal Vowel 14

- NortE: loss of distinction btw /ʊ/ x /ʌ/ (‘put’ x ‘putt’)

/ɑ:/ (‘bard’)

- description: low front unrounded, near to Cardinal Vowel 5 [ɑ]

- rhotic dialects: substitute RP /ɑ:/ for /æ/ + /r/ (‘car, card, large’)

- SE: loss of contrast btw /ɑ:/ x /æ/ (‘palm’ x ‘Pam’; ‘calm’ x ‘cam’)

/ɒ/ (‘cod’)

- description: mid-high back rounded, quality of an open lip-rounded Cardinal Vowel 5 [ɑ]

- GA: substitutes RP /ɒ/ for /ɑ/ (loss of contrast btw ‘bomb x ‘balm’)

/ɔ:/ (‘cord’)

- description: mid-high back rounded, btw Cardinal Vowel 6 [ɔ] and Cardinal Vowel 7 [o]

- rhotic dialects: substitute RP /ɔ:/ for /ɒ/ + /r/ (‘horse, cord, war’)

- GA and SE: substitute RP /ɔ:/ for /ɒ/ (loss of distinction btw ‘cot’ x ‘caught’)

/ʊ/ (‘good’)

- description: mid-high back rounded

- SE: loss of opposition btw /ʊ/ x /u:/ (‘pull’ x ‘pool’)

- NortE: substitutes RP /ʌ/ for /ʊ/

/u:/ (‘food’)

- description: high back rounded, near to Cardinal Vowel 8 [u]

- CockE: diphthongization [əü]

/з:/

- description: mid central unrounded; quality often coincides with that of /ə/ > /з:/ in accented syllables x /ə/ in unaccented syllables (‘foreword’ x ‘forward’)

- variants: the only accented vowel in the central area => many individual realisational variation

- SE: substitution of RP /з:/ for vowel + /r/ in the words spelled with vowel letter +

- GA: substitution of RP /з:/ for r-coloured vowel [ɝ] in the words spelled with vowel letter +

/ə/

- description: mid central unrounded

- variants: no qualitative opposition in the central area => many individual variation

- SE: substitutes RP /ə/ for short full vowel + /r/ in the words spelled with vowel letter +

- GA: substitutes RP /ə/ for r-coloured vowel [ɚ] in the words spelled with vowel letter +

Diphthongal Vowel Glides

= sequence of vocalic elements forming a glide within one syllable

- 1^st element, the starting point > 2^nd element, the point in the direction of the glide

- RP diphthongs: 1^st element in the region of [ɪ, e, a, ə, u] > 2^nd in [ɪ, ʊ, ə]

- falling diphthongs = most length of the glide concentrated on the 1^st element

- rising diphthongs = most length of the glide concentrated on the 2^nd element /ɪə, ʊə/

- closing diphthongs = gliding from a more open to a closer position /eɪ, aɪ, ɔɪ, əʊ, aʊ/

- particularly susceptible to variation in different regional and social dialects

/eɪ/ (‘fail’)

- CockE: substitutes RP /eɪ/ for [æɪ] (‘fate’); substitutes RP /aɪ/ for [ɑɪ] (‘fight’)

- SE, GA and NortE: substitute RP /eɪ/ for the monophthong [e:]

- (‘late, make, lady’)

/aɪ/ (‘file’)

- variants: differences in starting point

- (‘time, die, cry’)

/ɔɪ/ (‘foil’)

- description: the only glide of this type with a back starting point => asymmetrical in the RP diphthongal system

- CockE and SE: a closer starting point

- (‘boil, boy, toy’)

/əʊ/ (‘foal’)

- CockE: substitutes RP /əʊ/ for [æʊ]

- (‘both, toe, know’)

/aʊ/ (‘foul’)

- CockE: substitutes the 1^st element for [ε] or [æ], or substitutes the RP diphthong /aʊ/ for the monophthong [a:]

- (‘house, council, allow’)

Centering Diphthongs /ɪə, eə, ʊə/

- rhotic dialects: substitute the 2^nd element of the RP diphthongs for /r/ in the words spelled with vowel letter +

- CockE and NortE: substitute the RP diphthong /ʊə/ for the monophthong /ɔ:/

- (‘here, dear, weird; rare, pair, bear; poor, tour, endure’)