Vowels

• A sound produced through the vocal folds without constriction of the airflow in the mouth.

• While the consonant sounds are mostly articulated via obstruction in the vocal tract, vowel sounds are produced with a relatively free flow of air. They are all typically voiced.

• To describe vowel sounds, we consider the way in which the tongue influences the shape through which the airflow must pass.

• The vowel sound in hat is produced with the tongue in a lower position and the sound in hot can be described as a “low, back” vowel.

• We can use a vowel chart to help classify the most common vowel sounds in English.

• Schwa:

/a/ alone

/e/ make

/o/ open