1. Vowels and consonant definition phonetic point of view:

Vowels are sound in which there´s no obstruction of the air stream

Consonants there is an obstruction of the air stream

Phonological point of view

Vowels: they constituted the center of the syllable, they're the nucleus or the most prominent element in the syllable

Consonants they mark the boundaries of the syllable

2. Description of English vowels (phonetic features)

Tongue height: whether the tongue is high or low in the mouth: close, open, half close half open frontness-backness. Whether the front or the back of the tongue is raised

Tenseness-laxness: whether the muscle are tense or lax

Lip rounding: whether the lips are rounded, spread or neutral

Phonological features: distribution: bwhere the sound appear in a word

Variants: how length is modified in a context

3. English short vowels

The 5 long vowels are different from the seven short vowel not only for length but also in quality

5. Vowel length there are opposition bwt short and long vowels

i - i:

u - u:

ae- a :

o - c:

shua - 3:

The opposition bwt the members is a complex of quality and quantity. In accent syllables long vowels are fully long when they are final ir in a syllable closed by a voiced consonant. But they are shortened when they are closed by a voiceless consonant

6. Diphthongs

They´re sounds which consist of a glide from one vowel to another. In terms of length diphthongs are like long vowels. The first part of a diphthong is stronger and longer than the second. That´s why they are falling

We can classified according to the second element

Centering glides into shua

Closing: glides into i

Closing glides intu u

Triphthongs

It´s a glide from ona vowel to another and then to a third, all produced rapidly and without interruption. The Triphthongs can be looked as the five closing diphthongs plus a shua added in the end

8. levelling when there´s a diphthong followed by a shua within a word or a word boundaries, the second element is elided and the first changes its quality

* there´s one diphthong that can be leveled

9. Comparison with Spanish

Booklet

i: and I are confusedthe replacement being a vowel more like i: than i

ae v a: are confused v being used for all

o ou and o: are confuced, a vowel intermediate btn o and o:

u: and u are confused, the replacement being a vowel more like u: then u

In class monophthongs

English 12

3 central ????????

Long and short

Under go clipping ?????????????????

Restricted occurrence of some vowels

Spanish

5 monophthongs

No central monophthongs

Only short

No restricted occurrence

Diphthongs

English

8

All falling

Undergo clipping

Spanish

13

Falling raising