Speech Work - Review of Monophthongs - JSS3 English language Lesson Note

What are Monophthongs?

Monophthongs, also known as pure vowels, are vowel sounds that have a single, unchanging sound quality throughout their duration. Unlike diphthongs, which involve a glide from one vowel sound to another, monophthongs maintain the same sound from beginning to end.

Classification of Monophthongs

Monophthongs are classified based on the position of the tongue and the shape of the lips. They can be divided into different categories:

1. Short Monophthongs:

   - /ɪ/ as in "sit"

   - /e/ as in "bed"

   - /æ/ as in "cat"

   - /ʌ/ as in "cup"

   - /ɒ/ as in "pot"

   - /ʊ/ as in "put"

   - /ə/ as in "about"

 

2. Long Monophthongs:

   - /iː/ as in "see"

   - /uː/ as in "blue"

   - /ɑː/ as in "father"

   - /ɔː/ as in "door"

   - /ɜː/ as in "bird"

Pronunciation of Monophthongs

1. /ɪ/ - A short, high front vowel sound as in "bit" or "hit."

  - Example: "sit" /sɪt/, "list" /lɪst/

2. /e/ - A short, mid front vowel sound as in "bed" or "get."

  - Example: "pen" /pen/, "red" /red/

3. /æ/ - A short, low front vowel sound as in "cat" or "hat."

  - Example: "bat" /bæt/, "map" /mæp/

4. /ʌ/ - A short, mid central vowel sound as in "cup" or "but."

  - Example: "sun" /sʌn/, "luck" /lʌk/

5. /ɒ/ - A short, low back vowel sound as in "pot" or "dog."

  - Example: "hot" /hɒt/, "cot" /kɒt/

6. /ʊ/ - A short, high back vowel sound as in "put" or "book."

  - Example: "foot" /fʊt/, "good" /ɡʊd/

7. /ə/ - A short, mid central vowel sound, often referred to as the schwa, found in unstressed syllables.

  - Example: "sofa" /ˈsəʊfə/, "banana" /bəˈnɑːnə/

8. /iː/ - A long, high front vowel sound as in "see" or "tree."

  - Example: "seat" /siːt/, "week" /wiːk/

9. /uː/ - A long, high back vowel sound as in "blue" or "food."

  - Example: "boot" /buːt/, "moon" /muːn/

10. /ɑː/ - A long, low back vowel sound as in "father" or "car."

   - Example: "star" /stɑː/, "hard" /hɑːd/    

11. /ɔː/ - A long, mid back vowel sound as in "door" or "saw."

   - Example: "law" /lɔː/, "more" /mɔː/  

12. /ɜː/ - A long, mid central vowel sound as in "bird" or "her."

    - Example: "girl" /ɡɜːl/, "term" /tɜːm/