In English,
there are two main classifications of vowels, simple vowels and dipthongs.
A simple
vowel is a vowel that does not show a significant change in quality during
articulation.
In contrast,
a dipthong is a vowel that changes quality as it is articulated, as the tongue
moves away from the place of articulation and into a glide.
|
Simple
Vowel |
|
|
Dipthong |
|
|
Pit |
[ɪ] |
|
|
|
|
Set |
[ɛ] |
|
Say |
[ej] |
|
Put |
[ʊ] |
|
|
|
|
Bought |
[ɔ] |
|
Grow |
[ow] |
|
Cut |
[ʌ] |
|
|
|
|
Mat |
[ć] |
|
My |
[aj] |
|
Pot |
[a] |
|
Now |
[Aw] |
(O’Grady 32)
To continue,
click next.
O'
Grady, William, Archibald, John, Aronoff Mark, Rees-Miller, Janie. Contemporary
Linguistics
5th
Edition. Boston: Bedford St. Martin's, 2005.