Stry of higher and secondary specialized education of the republic of uzbekistan state university of world languages

front	front- retracted		central		back
back-advanced
close/high	narrow		[ i: ]						[ u: ]
	broad				[ ı ]						[ ʊ ]
mid	narrow		[ e ]				[ з: ]
	broad						[ ʌ ] [ə]
open /low	narrow								[ɒ]
	broad		[ æ ]						[ a: ] [ɔ: ]

According to the horizontal movement five classes of English vowels are distinguished. They are:

1) front [i:], [e], [eɪ], [ɛə], [æ]
2) front-retracted [ɪ], [ɪə]
3) central [ʌ], [ɜ:], [ə], [ɜʊ], [aʊ], [aɪ]
4) back [ɒ], [ɔ:], [u:], [a:], [ɔɪ]
5) back-advanced [ʊ], [ʊə]

Horizontal movement
front	front-retracted	central	back	back-advanced
[i:], [e], [eɪ], [ɛə], [æ]	[ɪ], [ɪə]	[ʌ], [ɜ:], [ə], [ɜʊ], [aʊ], [a]	[ɒ], [ɔ:], [u:], [a:], [ɔɪ]	[ʊ], [ʊə]

Not all phoneticians single out the classes of front-retracted and back-advanced vowels. So both [i:] and [ɪ] vowels are classed as front, and both [u:] and [ʊ] - as back. The point is that the vowels in these two pairs differ in quality which is partially due to the raised part of the tongue. So in this case a more detailed classification seems to be a more precise one, since it adequately reflects the articulatory distinctions actually present in the language.

Now let's view another articulatory characteristic of vowels, which is based on the vertical movement of the tongue. The way phoneticians of different schools approach this aspect is also slightly different. Some scholars distinguish three classes of vowels: high (or close), mid and low (or open) vowels. But to mark all significant changes in vowel quality it is not enough to single out these three groups of vowels. For instance, both English vowels [i:] and [ɪ] belong to the group of close vowels, but when the vowel [ɪ] is articulated the front of the tongue is not so high in the mouth as it is in the case of the vowel [i:]. Russian phoneticians made the classification more detailed distinguishing two subclasses in each class: broad and narrow variations of the 3 vertical positions of the tongue. Thus the following 6 groups of vowels are distinguished:

1) close a) narrow [i:], [u:]

b) broad [ɪ], [ʊ], [ɪə], [ʊə]
2) mid a) narrow [e], [ɜ:], [ə], [eɪ], [ɜʊ]
b) broad [ə], [ʌ]
3) open a) narrow [ɛə], [ɔ:], [ɔɪ]
b) broad [æ], [aɪ], [aʊ], [ɒ], [a:].

Vertical movement
close( high)		mid( half-open )			open( law )
broad	narrow	broad	narrow	broad		narrow
[ɪ], [ʊ], [ɪə], [ʊə]	[i:], [u:]	[ə], [ʌ]	[e], [ɜ:], [ə], [eɪ], [ɜʊ]	[æ],[aɪ], [aʊ],[ɒ], [a:].		[ɛə], [ɔ:], [ɔɪ]

Introduction to vowel sounds in English

Vowel sounds ( 20 )
Monophthong sounds ( 12 )		Diphthong sounds( 8 )
Short vowel ( 7 )	Long vowel ( 5 )	/ɪǝ/ peer /eǝ/ pair /ʊǝ/ poor /eɪ/ bay /aɪ/ buy /ɔɪ// boy /ǝʊ/ no
/ɪ/ pit /e/ pet /æ/ pat /ʌ/ putt /ɒ/ pot /ʊ/ put /ǝ/ another	/i/ bean /ɑ/ barn /ɔ/ born /u/ boon /ɜ/ burn

English RP (BBC) accent has 44 sounds including consonants and vowels. Out of 44 sounds, 20 sounds are vowel sounds and 24 sounds are consonants. Out of 20 vowel sounds, 12 sounds are pure vowels or monophthong and 8 sounds are diphthongs.

Monophthong sounds
There are 12 pure vowel sounds that are known as monophthongs. Monophthong are further categorized into short vowel and long vowel.
Short vowels: There are 7 short vowel in English that are ɪ, e, æ, ʌ, ɒ, ʊ, and ǝ. Examples for short vowel sounds in words are given below:
/ɪ/ pit
/e/ pet
/æ/ pat
/ʌ/ putt
/ɒ/ pot
/ʊ/ put
/ǝ/ another
Long vowels: There are 5 long vowel in English that are I, ɑ, ɔ, u, and ɜ. Examples for long vowel sounds in words are given below:
/i/ bean
/ɑ/ barn
/ɔ/ born
/u/ boon
/ɜ/ burn
English Diphthongs
There are total 8 English diphthongs that we further divide into two different categories: centering and closing. Centering diphthongs end with ‘ǝ’ sound and closing diphthongs end with either ‘ɪ’ or ‘ʊ’ sounds. Examples for these diphthongs in English words are given below:
Examples of diphthongs in English words
/ɪǝ/ peer
/eǝ/ pair
/ʊǝ/ poor
/eɪ/ bay
/aɪ/ buy
/ɔɪ// boy
/ǝʊ/ no
In addition to the principle of the classification of vowels phoneticians suggest five other criteria:
1) stability of articulation
2) lip position
3) character of the vowel end
4) length
5) tenseness
The stability of articulation
All English vowels are divided into 3 groups: monophthongs, diphthongs, diphthongoids.
Monophthongs are vowels the articulation of which is almost unchanging.
They are – [i e ǽ a: o o: U Λ ə: ə ].
In the pronunciation of diphthongs the organs of speech glide from one vowel position to another within one syllable. The starting point, the nucleus, is strong and distinct.
They are – [ei ai oi au əu iə εə uə]
In the pronunciation of diphthongoids the articulation is slightly changing but the difference between the starting point and the end is not so distinct as it is in the case of diphthongs.
They are – [i: u:]