1. No category

How to Improve English Vowels
Ching Kang Liu
National Taipei University
ckliu@mail.ntpu.edu.tw
http://web.ntpu.edu.tw/~ckliu/pronunciation/ntpu2009.htm
1
0.1 Possible deviated sounds made by EFL students
English
sounds
/i/
Examples
keep; keys
Deviated
sounds
/I/
/I/
ill;
/i/
/eI/
take / hate
/E/
/E/
red
/eI/
/Q/
bad; fast
/E/
/√/
mother
/A/
/√n/
run; country
/AN/
/u/
food
/U/
/U/
good
/u/
/oU/
hope; boat
/ç/?
/ç/
caught; law
/oU/
Examples
Solutions
kip; kiss
Direct methods: audio-visual
(multimedia) aids and faceto-face instruction
/tEk/; tek
Phonetic approaches:
raid
1. The fundamental issues of
bed; fest
the vowel space;
/:mAD‘/ 2. The courses/routes of each
vowel phoneme in each
/rAN/;
“sound area”;
/:kANtri/
3. The recognition and the
/fUd/ foot?
understanding of the fact
that English with different
/gud/ goo_?
accents might have
hop; bought
different qualities of vowel
coat; low
phonemes
eel;
2
0.2 Possible deviated sounds made by EFL students
English
sounds
/i/
with
different
durations
Examples
key
keys
keep
Deviated
sounds
/i/
with
similar
durations
Examples
key
keys
keep
Solutions
Phonetic approaches:
Provide examples and
demonstrations
3
1. The global picture of the vowel contrast (theory)
Types
English (IPA)
high
front
mid
low
mid
mid
low
back
mid
high
diphthongs
/i/
/I/
Mandarin (Pinyin)
/u_/ ㄩ
mismatch
/i/ ㄧ
mismatch
/eI/
/ei/ ㄟ
/E/
/(i)e/ ㄝ
/Q/
/´/
/√/
/A/
mismatch
/e/ ㄜ
/a/ ㄚ
/oU/
/ou/ ㄡ
/ç/
/(u)o/ ㄛ
/u/
/U/
/u/ ㄨ
/aI/
/ai/ ㄞ
/aU/
/ao/ ㄠ
/çI/
Notes
mismatch
mismatch
mismatch
4
1.1 The basic vowel phonemes in the chart
English has a total of 12 basic vowel phonemes while
Mandarin has only 9 basic vowel phonemes. Compare
the following charts:
English vowel phonemes
i˘
I
eI
´
E
√
Q
U
u˘
oU
ç
Mandarin vowel phonemes
i˘ (ㄧ) u_(ㄩ)
u˘(ㄨ)
eI(ㄟ)
oU(ㄡ)
´(ㄜ)
E(ㄝ)
ç(ㄛ)
A
A(ㄚ)
*Schwa (unstressed vowels)
*zhi(ㄓ),chi(ㄔ), shi(ㄕ), ri(ㄖ), zi(ㄗ),ci(ㄘ),si(ㄙ)
5
1.2 The basic vowel phonemes in the chart
English has a total of 12 basic vowel phonemes while
Mandarin has only 9 basic vowel phonemes. Compare
the following charts:
English vowel phonemes
i˘
I
eI
´
E
√
Q
U
u˘
oU
ç
A
*Schwa (unstressed vowels)
Mandarin vowel phonemes
i˘ (ㄧ) u_(ㄩ)
u˘(ㄨ)
eI(ㄟ)
oU(ㄡ)
E(ㄝ)
´(ㄜ)
ç(ㄛ)
A(ㄚ)
*zhi(ㄓ),chi(ㄔ), shi(ㄕ), ri(ㄖ), zi(ㄗ),ci(ㄘ),si(ㄙ)
6
1.3 The basic vowel phonemes in the chart
English has a total of 12 basic vowel phonemes while
Mandarin has only 9 basic vowel phonemes. Compare
the following charts:
English vowel phonemes
i˘
I
eI
´
E
√
Q
U
u˘
oU
ç
Mandarin vowel phonemes
i˘ (ㄧ) u_(ㄩ)
u˘(ㄨ)
eI(ㄟ)
oU(ㄡ)
´(ㄜ)
E(ㄝ)
ç(ㄛ)
A
A(ㄚ)
*Schwa (unstressed vowels)
*zhi(ㄓ),chi(ㄔ), shi(ㄕ), ri(ㄖ), zi(ㄗ),ci(ㄘ),si(ㄙ)
7
1.4 The basic vowel phonemes in the chart
English has a total of 12 basic vowel phonemes while
Mandarin has only 9 basic vowel phonemes. Compare
the following charts:
English vowel phonemes
i˘
I
eI
´
E
√
Q
U
u˘
oU
ç
A
*Schwa (unstressed vowels)
Mandarin vowel phonemes
i˘ (ㄧ) u_(ㄩ)
u˘(ㄨ)
eI(ㄟ)
oU(ㄡ)
E(ㄝ)
´(ㄜ)
ç(ㄛ)
A(ㄚ)
*zhi(ㄓ),chi(ㄔ), shi(ㄕ), ri(ㄖ), zi(ㄗ),ci(ㄘ),si(ㄙ)
8
1.5 The basic vowel phonemes in the chart
English has a total of 12 basic vowel phonemes while
Mandarin has only 9 basic vowel phonemes. Compare
the following charts:
English vowel phonemes
i˘
I
eI
´
E
√
Q
U
u˘
oU
ç
Mandarin vowel phonemes
i˘ (ㄧ) u_(ㄩ)
u˘(ㄨ)
eI(ㄟ)
oU(ㄡ)
´(ㄜ)
E(ㄝ)
ç(ㄛ)
A
A(ㄚ)
*Schwa (unstressed vowels)
*zhi(ㄓ),chi(ㄔ), shi(ㄕ), ri(ㄖ), zi(ㄗ),ci(ㄘ),si(ㄙ)
9
1.6 The basic vowel phonemes in the chart
English has a total of 12 basic vowel phonemes while
Mandarin has only 9 basic vowel phonemes. Compare
the following charts:
English vowel phonemes
i˘
I
eI
´
E
√
Q
U
u˘
oU
ç
A
*Schwa (unstressed vowels)
Mandarin vowel phonemes
i˘ (ㄧ) u_(ㄩ)
u˘(ㄨ)
eI(ㄟ)
oU(ㄡ)
E(ㄝ)
´(ㄜ)
ç(ㄛ)
A(ㄚ)
*zhi(ㄓ),chi(ㄔ), shi(ㄕ), ri(ㄖ), zi(ㄗ),ci(ㄘ),si(ㄙ)
10
1.7 The basic vowel phonemes in the chart
English has a total of 12 basic vowel phonemes while
Mandarin has only 9 basic vowel phonemes. Compare
the following charts:
English vowel phonemes
i˘
I
eI
´
E
√
Q
U
u˘
oU
ç
Mandarin vowel phonemes
i˘ (ㄧ) u_(ㄩ)
u˘(ㄨ)
eI(ㄟ)
oU(ㄡ)
´(ㄜ)
E(ㄝ)
ç(ㄛ)
A
A(ㄚ)
*Schwa (unstressed vowels)
*zhi(ㄓ),chi(ㄔ), shi(ㄕ), ri(ㄖ), zi(ㄗ),ci(ㄘ),si(ㄙ)
11
1.8 The basic vowel phonemes in the chart
English has a total of 12 basic vowel phonemes while
Mandarin has only 9 basic vowel phonemes. Compare
the following charts:
English vowel phonemes
i˘
I
eI
´
E
√
Q
U
u˘
oU
ç
A
*Schwa (unstressed vowels)
Mandarin vowel phonemes
i˘ (ㄧ) u_(ㄩ)
u˘(ㄨ)
eI(ㄟ)
oU(ㄡ)
E(ㄝ)
´(ㄜ)
ç(ㄛ)
A(ㄚ)
*zhi(ㄓ),chi(ㄔ), shi(ㄕ), ri(ㄖ), zi(ㄗ),ci(ㄘ),si(ㄙ)
12
2. What did we find in the lab?
AmE (male)
3000
2500
2000
1500
BrE (male)
1000
500
0
3000
2500
2000
1500
1000
500
0
0
0
heed
heed
200
200
hid
head
head
400
400
low
law
600
600
had
hot
800
hutment
1000
NZE (male)
2000
hot
hutment
1000
2500
who'd
hood
had
3000
low
law
who'd
hood
800
hid
hade
hade
NTPU (male)
1500
1000
500
0
3000
2500
2000
1500
1000
500
0
0
0
heed
heed
200
200
hid
hade
400
head
400
low
law
600
low
law
who'd
600
hood
who'd
hood
had
800
hid
hade
head
had
hot
800
hutment
hot
hutment
1000
1000
13
2.1 Contrasting heed and hid
AmE (male) heed vs. hid
3000
2500
2000
1500
1000
500
BrE (male) heed vs. hid
0
3000
2500
2000
1500
1000
500
0
0
0
heed
heed
200
200
hid
head
head
400
400
low
law
600
600
had
hot
800
hutment
1000
NZE (male) heed vs. hid
2000
1500
1000
500
hot
hutment
1000
2500
who'd
hood
had
3000
low
law
who'd
hood
800
hid
hade
hade
NTPU (male) heed vs. hid
0
3000
0
2500
2000
1500
1000
500
0
0
heed
200
hid
heed
200
hade
low
head
400
law
600
who'd
had
800
hutment
1000
who'd
hood
had
hot
low
law
600
hood
800
hid
hade
head
400
hot
hutment
1000
14
2.2 Contrasting hade and head
AmE (male) hade vs. head
3000
2500
2000
1500
1000
500
BrE (male) hade vs. head
0
3000
2500
2000
1500
1000
500
0
0
0
heed
heed
200
200
hid
head
head
400
400
low
law
600
600
had
hot
800
hutment
1000
NZE (male) hade vs. head
2000
1500
1000
500
NTPU (male) hade vs. head
0
3000
2500
2000
1500
1000
500
0
0
0
heed
200
heed
200
hid
hade
400
head
400
low
law
600
600
had
hot
800
hutment
hutment
2.3 Contrasting low and law
AmE (male) low vs. law
1500
1000
500
BrE (male) low vs. law
0
3000
2500
2000
1500
1000
500
0
0
heed
heed
200
200
hid
head
head
400
400
low
law
600
600
had
hot
800
hutment
1000
NZE (male) low vs. law
1000
500
hot
hutment
1000
1500
who'd
hood
had
2000
low
law
who'd
hood
800
hid
hade
hade
2500
15
(considered a tense-lax pair here)
0
3000
hot
1000
1000
2000
who'd
hood
had
2500
low
law
who'd
hood
800
hid
hade
head
3000
hot
hutment
1000
2500
who'd
hood
had
3000
low
law
who'd
hood
800
hid
hade
hade
NTPU (male) low vs. law
0
3000
0
2500
2000
1500
1000
500
0
0
heed
200
hid
heed
200
hade
low
head
400
law
600
who'd
had
800
hutment
1000
who'd
hood
had
hot
low
law
600
hood
800
hid
hade
head
400
hot
hutment
1000
16
2.4 Contrasting who’d and hood
AmE (male) who’d vs. hood
3000
2500
2000
1500
1000
500
BrE (male) who’d vs. hood
0
3000
2500
2000
1500
1000
500
0
0
0
heed
heed
200
200
hid
hid
hade
hade
head
head
400
400
low
low
law
600
law
who'd
who'd
600
hood
hood
had
800
had
hot
hot
800
hutment
hutment
1000
1000
NZE (male) who’d vs. hood
3000
2500
2000
1500
1000
500
NTPU (male) who’d vs. hood
0
3000
2500
2000
1500
1000
500
0
0
0
heed
200
heed
200
hid
hid
hade
hade
head
400
head
400
low
low
law
600
law
who'd
who'd
600
hood
hood
had
800
had
hot
hot
800
hutment
hutment
1000
1000
17
2.5 Contrasting who and hook
AmE (male) who vs. hook
1200
1000
800
600
400
200
BrE (male) who vs. hook
0
1800
0
1700
1600
1500
1400
1300
1200
0
100
100
200
300
400
200
300
who
hook
400
500
500
600
600
700
700
NZE (male) who vs. hook
1700
1500
1300
1100
900
700
who
hook
NTPU (male) who vs. hook
1000
500
800
600
400
200
0
0
0
100
100
200
200
300
who
hook
300
400
400
500
500
600
600
who
hook
18
3.1 Locating the vowel space of /i, E, Q, A, ç, u/ (by
an American English speaker)
-3500
0
-2800
-2100
-1400
-700
0
u
iii i iii iiiii i iiiii iiiiiiiiii
i iii iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii ii ii i iaeuuuuuuuuu
i i i uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu
uu
i uu uuu
u u uuuu
uuuu e
e
-300
-600
e
u
uu
ee e
e
e e ee
e
u
ueee
eeee
e
e ueeee
e
e
ee e
a
aeaeae aa
aaaa a
aeae
aeae
aa
a
a
aeae
a
a
a
a
ae
ae
ae
ae
a
a
eeee
ae
ae
a
ae
a
a
aa
ee e aeae
ae
ae
a aaae
aae
aae
ae
ae
ae
e
ae
aae
ae
eea a ae
eae
eae
aae
ae
ae
aae
ae
a
ae
ae
aa
ae
ae
ae
aaae
eaae
ae
ae
ae
aeae
aae
aa
ae
ae
ae
ae
ae
aa
eae
aeae
ae
ae
aeae
a aaaa
ae
ae
ae
a ae
aa
aae ae
e
-900
i
u
-1200
ae ae
a
a
1500
-1500
3500
0
F 2 (Hz)
(with the frequency of the first formant on the vertical axis and the
frequencies of the second formant on the horizontal axis)
19
3.2 Locating another vowel space: /i, E, Q, A, ç, u/
(by another AE speaker at UCLA)
-3500
0
-2800
-2100
-1400
-700
0
0
u
ii ii ii ii
uu
ii ii iiii ii
ii
iiii uuuii
uuuuuiiuuiiuuuuuuuuu eu
u
uuuuuuuuuuu
iiiiiiiiiii
u
-300
ii
ii
uu
-600
uu
u
u
u
e
ee
ee eeeee eaaaa ea e aaaaaeee ae ee
a
a
ae
a
e
e
e
a
a
e
aaa aaaaa ae
eeee
aee ae
ae
ae
ae
ae
ae
aeae
ae
ae
ae
aeae
ae
ae
ae
ae
ae
ae
ae
ae
ae
-900
-1200
u
1500
3500
-1500
0
F 2 (Hz)
20
3.2 Locating another vowel space: /i, E, Q, A, ç, u/
(by an AusE speaker) (heed, Ed, add, odd, law, who)
3500
0
2800
2100
1400
700
0
0
iiiiiiii
eee
eeee
ee
0
uuae
uu u uuu u0
u
uu
u
0u
u
u
uu
u
u
u
u
u
u
u
u u uuu
000iaei i i
0
0000000000000 0
ae
ae
ae
a
ae
aaaa ae
aaaaaaaa ae
0
ae
ae
ae
ae
aeae
ae
ae
ae
ae
ae
300
600
900
ae0
0
0
1200
1500
3500
1500
0
F 2 (Hz)
21
3.3
Locating the vowel space: /i, E, Q, A, ç, u/ (by a
Mandarin speaker) (heed, Ed, hat, odd, law, who)
3500
0
2800
2100
1400
700
0
0
ii i
i
iiii
i
00000
0000 000i
00
0000
ae0
00
ae
00
e ae
0 0
aeaae
ae
00000
0
ae
ae
ae
i i i iae
ae
iaei
ae
ae
ae
300
i
600
e e e eee e
aaa a
ee e
aaaa
eee
aea
ee
ee
e aa
900
1200
1500
3500
1500
0
F 2 (Hz)
22
3.4
Locating the vowel space: /i, E, Q, A, ç, u/ (by
another Mandarin speaker) (heed, Ed, hat, odd, law, who)
3500
0
2800
2100
1400
700
0
0
300
i
ii ii i
i
i
i i i i i
uu
0
ueuuuuu uu uu i uu
aa a
a 0
a
a
a
00
aaaaaa 0000
aa 00
ae
0
00e00
ae ae
0
00 0
0 0
00
a
ee
ae
e
ee
eaee e ae
e
eeae
e
eee e e
aee
ee
ae aeaeae e
eaeae ae
ae
ae
ae ae
ae
aeae
ae
ae
600
900
1200
1500
3500
1500
0
F 2 (Hz)
23
3.5
Locating the vowel space: /ーㄝㄚㄛㄨ/ (by a
Man. speaker who does not speak English at all)
3500
0
2800
2100
1400
700
0
0
i ii
i i
i
e
ii i i
i ii i ii ei i i ii i i i i iiii
e
e u
uu
u
u
eee u
ieee i i
eiieiee eeeeeee
ee
eeeeeee
ee
e
e
e
e
e
eeeee
e
e eee
eeee
ee
e ee
a e ee ee
uuuuuuuu
uuu
a
a
a
a
a aa u
a
aa
aaa
a
a
aaaa
aa
aaa
a
aa aaaaa
a
uu
u
uu
uu
uu
uu
ue
uu
u
u
uuu
u
u
uuu
u
eee
300
600
900
a
e
1200
1500
3500
1500
0
F2 (Hz)
24
3.6 The two charts show some differences
-3500
0
-2800
-2100
-1400
-700
0
3500
0
u
iii i iii iiiii i iiiii iiiiiiiiii
i iii iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii ii ii i iaeuuuuuuuuu
uuuuuuuuuu
i i i uuu
uu
i uuuuuuuu
u u uuu
uuu e
e
-300
-600
-900
i
u
-1200
2800
2100
1400
700
0
0
i
ii i
i
iiii
e
u
uu
ee e
e e ee
ee
uuee
eeee
e
e ueeee
e
e
e
e e
a
aeaeae a
aeae
aa
aa
aaa
aa a
aeae
ee aeae ae
aa
ae
ae
ae
ae
eeee
aa
aa
ae
ae
aaa
ae
aae
ae
a aa
aaa
aae
ae
ae
ae
e
ae
eea ea ae
eae
eaae
eae
ae
aae
ae
ae
aae
ae
ae
ae
ae
ae
aaae
ae
eaae
aae
ae
ae
ae
aae
ae
aa
ae
ae
ae
aa
eae
ae
aeae
aaaa
ae
aeae aae
aae
ae
ae
a
ae
a ae
a
aae ae
e
300
00000
0000 000i
00
0000
ae0
ae
00
00
e ae
0 0
aeaae
ae
00
00
ae
0
ae
ae
i i i ae
iaei
iae
ae
ae
ae
i
600
e e e eee e
ee e
aaa
eee
ee
ee
e aaaaaaaea a
900
1200
ae ae
a
a
1500
0 3500
1500
-1500
3500
1500
0
F 2 (Hz)
F 2 (Hz)
25
3.7
-3500
0
Comparing the two charts produced by
American English speakers
-2800
-2100
-1400
-700
0
-3500
0
-2800
-2100
-1400
-700
0
0
u
u
iii i iii iiiii i iiiii iiiiiiiiii
i iii iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii ii ii i iaeuuuuuuuuu
i i i uuuuuuuuuuuuuuu
uu
i uu uuu
u u uuu
uuu e
e
-300
-600
-900
i
-1200
u
ii ii ii ii
uu
ii ii iiii ii
ii
uuii
iiii uu
uuuuuuiiuuiiuuuuuuuu eu
u
uuuuuuuuuuu
iiiiiiiiiiiii
u
-300
ii
ii
uu
-600
e
u
uu
ee e
e e ee
ee
uuee
eeee
e
e ueeee
e
e
ee e
a
aeaeae a
aeae
aeae
aa
aaa
aaaa a a
aeae
aaa
a
e
ae
ae
ae
ae
ae
eeee
ae
aaaaa
ae
aaa
aa
ae
ae
e e aeae
a aa
aae
ae
ae
ae
e
ae
aae
ae
aae
ae
ae
ae
eea a ae
ea
e
eae
aae
ae
ae
ae
ae
ae
ae
aaae
ae
ae
ae
eaa
aae
a
ae
ae
aa
ae
ae
ae
ae
ae
a
ae
aa
aeae
eae
aaaa
aeae
ae
aae
ae
ae
ae
a ae
aae ae
e
e
e
uu
u
u
u
ee
ee eeeee eaaaa ea e aaaaeee ae ee
aaaaa aaae
aaaa ae
ee e
ee
aae
a
eee
aee ae
ae
ae
ae
ae
aeae
ae
ae
ae
aeae
ae
ae
ae
ae
ae
ae
ae
ae
ae
-900
-1200
u
ae ae
a
a
-1500
1500
3500
0
F 2 (Hz)
-1500
1500
3500
0
F 2 (Hz)
26
4.1 The course of the movement of English vowels
1.5.1 The course of the /u/ sound in “food” by an
EFL student in Taiwan
5000
The spectrogram of
4000
3000
“food” by an EFL
2000
student
1000
0
0
1.10644
uTime (s)
The course of /u/
3500 3000 2500 2000 1500 1000
500
0
0
in “food” by an EFL
200
student
400
600
800
u
1000
1200
1400
27
4.1 The course of the movement of English vowels
1.5.1 The course of the /u/ sound in “food” by an
EFL student in Taiwan
5000
The spectrogram of
4000
3000
“food” by an EFL
2000
student
1000
0
0
1.10644
uTime (s)
The course of /u/
3500 3000 2500 2000 1500 1000
500
0
0
in “food” by an EFL
200
student
400
600
800
u
1000
1200
1400
28
4.2
The course of the /u/ sound in “food” by an
American English speaker
0
5000
0.187311
0.374621
0.561932
0.749243
0.936553
5000
4000
4000
3000
3000
2000
2000
1000
1000
0
0
The spectrogram of
“food” by a native
speaker
0
0.936553
Time (s)
u
3000
2000
1000
0
The course of /u/ in
0
“food” by a native
speaker
300
600
u
900
1200
1500
29
4.2
The course of the /u/ sound in “food” by an
American English speaker
0
5000
0.187311
0.374621
0.561932
0.749243
0.936553
5000
4000
4000
3000
3000
2000
2000
1000
1000
0
0
The spectrogram of
“food” by a native
speaker
0
0.936553
Time (s)
u
3000
2000
1000
0
The course of /u/ in
0
“food” by a native
speaker
300
600
u
900
1200
1500
30
4.3
If we put the two spectrograms together…
0
5000
0.187311
0.374621
0.561932
0.749243
0.936553
5000
4000
4000
3000
3000
2000
2000
1000
1000
0
0
The spectrogram of
“food” by a native
speaker
0
0.936553
Time (s)
The spectrogram of
5000
“food” by an EFL
student
4000
3000
2000
1000
0
0
1.10644
Time (s)
31
4.4
The course of the /u˘/ sound in “coo” by an
EFL student in Taiwan
5000
The spectrogram of
/u/ in “coo” by an
EFL student
4000
3000
2000
1000
0
0
1.10649
u
Time (s)
3500
3000
2500
2000
1500
1000
500
0
The course of /u˘/ in
“coo” by an EFL
student
0
300
600
u
900
1200
1500
32
4.4
The course of the /u˘/ sound in “coo” by an
EFL student in Taiwan
5000
The spectrogram of
/u/ in “coo” by an
EFL student
4000
3000
2000
1000
0
0
1.10649
u
Time (s)
3500
3000
2500
2000
1500
1000
500
0
The course of /u˘/ in
“coo” by an EFL
student
0
300
600
u
900
1200
1500
33
4.5
The vowel space of /u/ sound in “coo” by an
American English speaker
5000
The spectrogram of
/u/ in “coo” by a
native speaker
4000
3000
2000
1000
0
0
0.86449
Time (s)
u
3500
3000
2500
2000
1500
1000
500
0
The course of /u˘/ in
“coo” by a native
speaker
0
300
600
u
900
1200
1500
34
4.5
The vowel space of /u/ sound in “coo” by an
American English speaker
5000
The spectrogram of
/u/ in “coo” by a
native speaker
4000
3000
2000
1000
0
0
0.86449
Time (s)
u
3500
3000
2500
2000
1500
1000
500
0
The course of /u˘/ in
“coo” by a native
speaker
0
300
600
u
900
1200
1500
35
4.6 If we put the two spectrograms together…
5 0 0 0
The spectrogram of
4 0 0 0
3 0 0 0
“coo” by a native
speaker
2 0 0 0
1 0 0 0
0
0
0 .8 6 4 4 9
T im e
(s )
The spectrogram of
500 0
400 0
“coo” by an EFL
student
300 0
200 0
100 0
0
0
1.106 49
T im e ( s )
3500
3000
2500
2000
1500
1000
500
0
0
300
600
MS1
AES
900
MS2
1200
1500
36
4.7
The vowel space of /u/ sound in “庫” by a
Mandarin speaker
5000
The spectrogram of
/u/ in “庫” by a
Mandarin speaker
4000
3000
2000
1000
0
0
0.58263
Time (s)
u
3500
3000
2500
2000
1500
1000
500
The course of /u/ in “
庫” by a Mandarin
speaker
0
0
300
600
u
900
1200
1500
4.7
37
The vowel space of /u/ sound in “庫” by a
Mandarin speaker
5000
The spectrogram of
/u/ in “庫” by a
Mandarin speaker
4000
3000
2000
1000
0
0
0.58263
Time (s)
u
3500
3000
2500
2000
1500
1000
500
The course of /u/ in “
庫” by a Mandarin
speaker
0
0
300
600
u
900
1200
1500
38
4.8
The vowel space of /u/ sound in “庫” by a
Mandarin speaker
5000
The spectrogram of
/u/ in “庫” by a
Mandarin speaker
4000
3000
2000
1000
0
0.58263
0
5000
Time (s)
The course of /u/ in
“coo” by a Mandarin
speaker
4000
3000
2000
1000
0
0.785125
0
Time (s)
3500
3000
2500
2000
1500
1000
500
0
0
300
600
MT-ku
MS-coo
900
1200
1500
39
5. Contrasting tense and lax vowels of American
English
Try to pronounce the following vowels:
/i:, I; eI, E; Q; A; ç, oU; U, u:/
u˘
i˘
I
eI
U
E ´/‘/Œ’
√
ç
Q
A
oU
40
6. The physical locations of English vowels
How to locate the “vowel space” and get the
basic qualities of the vowel of American English
41
7. Contrasting tense and lax vowels of American
English in a global view
u˘
i˘
I
eI
´/‘/Œ’
√
ç
E
Q
U
oU
A
42
8. Practice the vowels in different situations:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.










[i]
[I]
[eI]
[E]
[Q]
[Ar]
[A]
[ç]
[oU]
[U]
[u]
[Ir]
[Er]
[aIr]
[Œ’]
[√]
[√]
[i] i
[I] I
[eI] e
[E] E
[Q] Q
[A]
[Å] A
[ç] ç
[´U] o
[U] U
[u] u
[I´]
[E´]
[a´]
[Œ] ‘
√
key
is
say
bet
bad
pot
got
caught
no
good
goose
ear
air
ire
bird
ugly
study
keys
it
sage
bed
bat
part
god
cause
nose
could
coo
year
bear
byre
verb
up
trouble
keep
kiss
sake
less
bag
sharp
nod
law
note
took
loose
beer
pair
fire
perch
bud
double
lead
kid
may
leg
back
shop
not
saw
boat
shook
lose
near
fair
liar
first
but
mother
leaf
lib
make
red
batch
see
lip
made
wreck
badge
odd
bought
hope
book
food
hear
dare
dire
work
love
brother
op
all
hose
put
boot
volunteer
share
desire
worm word
luck mud much
government
country
http://web.ntpu.edu.tw/~language/sound/sound.htm
http://web.ntpu.edu.tw/~ckliu/pronunciation/pronunciationold.htm
http://www.shiporsheep.com/
43
1.6 Practice the vowels in different situations:
A
1. At least you can give me a list.
2. I know you live here, but you must leave tomorrow.
B
1. I met my roommate yesterday.
2. Put the pepper on the paper.
C
1. I guess the fire was caused by gas.
2. The dragon had two heads.
3. He said he was sad.
D
1. The government seems to be bothered by some kind of trouble.
2. Shut the door, or you’ll be shot.
E
1. He bought a new boat last week.
2. He showed me the original copy of Shaw’s work.
F
1. You need to choose a good cookbook.
2. The food looks good. Can you put it in my room?
44
9. A test of the vowel sounds in expressions
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
 We ran in the rain on Sunday noon.
 He bought a boat and put it on the cold shore.
 The caterpillar lived on the leaf.
 The woman cooked food for the two poor tourists.
 We love to lie down and look at the sky at night.
 I want you to take it easy and don’t make me hate you.
 His mother was lucky enough and won another new cup.
 My dad was sad when I packed my bag.
45
11. Practice in a passage
Good evening, ladies and gentleman, and welcome. I’m sure we have all
heard the expression, “Think Green.” Tonight we are going to talk about ways
that we can “Act Green” in our everyday lives.
The best place to start, of course, is in the home. Every day, people all
over the world are hurting the environment without even knowing it. For
example, busy families buy paper napkins and plastic food wrap at the
supermarket. This helps them save time on housework, but after these things
have been used, what happens to them? They go in the trash. In many places,
especially in North America, big cities are running out of places to throw their
trash. Shouldn’t we do something about this before it’s too late?
American English
British English
Australian English
South African English
New Zealand English
Irish English
Saint Kitts
NTPU
46
12.
How to use praat
(1) Download the PRAAT package
(2) Deal with the sound
(3) Analyze the sound files
(4) Understand the messages
47
13. The vowel movements of English with
different accents
1. British
2. Australian
3. South Africa
4. New Zealand
5. Irish
6. Saint Kitts
[i], [I]; [e], [E]; [Q]; [A]; [ç], [o]; [U], [u]
[i], [I]; [e], [E]; [Q]; [A]; [ç], [o]; [U], [u]
[i], [I]; [e], [E]; [Q]; [A]; [ç], [o]; [U], [u]
[i], [I]; [e], [E]; [Q]; [A]; [ç], [o]; [U], [u]
[i], [I]; [e], [E]; [Q]; [A]; [ç], [o]; [U], [u]
[i], [I]; [e], [E]; [Q]; [A]; [ç], [o]; [U], [u]
[i], [I]; [e], [E]; [Q]; [A]; [ç], [o]; [U], [u]
[i], [I]; [e], [E]; [Q]; [A]; [ç], [o]; [U], [u]
[i], [I]; [e], [E]; [Q]; [A]; [ç], [o]; [U], [u]
48
It would be interesting to
speculate on what that
‘saturation point’, or final
‘market penetration’ of English
might be. At this stage, very
rough estimates based on the
emerging patterns of middle
class and urbanisation hint at
around 3 billion speakers by
around 2040. In other words, it
is doubtful whether, even if the
‘World English Project’ were
successfully implemented, that
more than around 40% of the
global population would ever
become functional users of
English.
English Next, David Graddol, 2007 (pp. 107-8) 49
English Next, David Graddol, 2007 (pp. 90-91)
50

English Next, David Graddol, 2007 (pp. 90-91)
51