2 Vowels: monophthongs

4 // in particular is given special length before lenis consonants, and practice of

this characteristic may help learners to distinguish more clearly between //
and its neighbouring short vowels on the chart, /e/ and //.
5 With the possible exception of // and / / there are no pairs of vowels
distinguished from each other solely by length. The traditional pairs /i / and //,
/u / and / /, / / and / / all have differences in tongue position as well as length
differences. In fact, since length is relative and variable according to context,
the difference in quality between these pairs may be of more importance in
distinguishing between them.
16 Discovery activity 22 Overview of the monophthong vowel layout
Experience for yourself the logic behind the arrangement of the monophthong
vowels on the chart:
1 Take the first horizontal row of sounds on the chart, /i , , , u /, and say them in
order from the left of the chart to the right (ie from the front of the mouth to the
back). Notice how the raised hump of the tongue rolls along from front to back.
2 Now take the same sequence, but glide smoothly and without stopping through
all four vowels, making one continuous and drawn-out movement, and again
notice the tongue moving back and the lips moving forward for rounding.
3 Now try both experiments with the sequence in reverse, /u , , , i /, ie from the
back of the mouth to the front, or from the right of the chart to the left.
4 Do the same three experiments for the second row, /e, , , /, noticing that
the jaw is a little more open, that the tongue again moves between front and
back and that there is considerable lip rounding for / /.
5 And now try the same three experiments for the third row, /, , , /, noticing
that the jaw is now relatively more open, and that the tongue makes a
corresponding front back movement though further from the roof of the
mouth.
6 Now take each of the four vertical columns in turn, /i , e, /, /, , /, / , ,
/ and /u , , /. These show movement from high to low tongue position, ie
from top to bottom on the chart.
First say each of the three sounds separately, then as a continuous glide, and
then in the reverse direction.
Also focus on the changing distance of the tongue from the roof of the mouth,
on the movement of the jaw, and on the relationship of these two variables to
the position of the lips.
7 Glide quickly and then slowly between any two neighbouring sounds on the
chart. Can you find a sound which is in between the two, neither one nor the
other? Your learners are probably quite good at that! It can be very instructive to
find these midway points, and to sense keenly the minute muscular change
required to make it clearly one sound or the other.
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