Stability of articulation. English diphthongs.

Date: 2015-10-07; view: 1741.

The stability of articulation is the principle of vowel classification which is not singled out by British and American phoneticians. In fact, it is the principle of the stability of the shape, volume and the size of the mouth resonator. We can speak only of relative stability of the organs of speech, because pronunciation of a sound is a process, and its stability should be treated conventionally.

According to this principle vowels are subdivided into:

a) monophthongs,or single vowels;

b) diphthongoids;

c) diphthongs, or complex vowels.

English monophthongs are pronounced with the more or less stable lip, tongue and the mouth walls position.

A diphthongoid is a vowel which ends in a different element. «Гласный имеет в начале (или в конце) незначительный элемент другого, близкого ему по артикуляции гласного несколько неоднородный характер, не производящий, однако, впечатление дифтонга».

There are two diphthongoids in English [i:], [u:].

Diphthongs are defined differently to different authors. One definition is based on the ability of a vowel to form a syllable. Since in the diphthong only one element serves as a syllabic nucleus, a diphthong is a single sound.

Another definition of a diphthong as a single sound is based on the instability of the second element. The third group of scientists define a diphthong from the accentual point of view. Since only one element is accented and the other is unaccented, a diphthong is a single sound.

The first element of a diphthong is the nucleus,the second is the glide. A diphthong can be fallingwhen the nucleus is stronger than the glide and risingwhen the glide is stronger than the nucleus. When both elements are equal such diphthongs are called level.

According to the movement of the tongue within the articulation of the diphthong from the nucleus to the glide, diphthongs are subdivided into closingand centring.