Week 5: Vowels

This week, I studied diagrams of vowel quadrangles from Macquarie University and practiced making the sounds with different words. What I noticed most (and had also noticed just by listening) is that the high /i:/ and /I/ vowels are very close together and extremely frontwards in the mouth. Also, the high back vowel /u/ is really more forward, high and central than in NAE, and this one vowel and the diphthongs associated with it make a big difference in the overall cadence of the dialect. Additionally, I was quite astonished to see the trajectory of vowel movement localized so frontwards for so many of the diphthongs. This really provided me with visual evidence for why it seems like Australians have a "chewing" vocal posture. Rather extreme movement is required.

 

 


I also divided my archetype into three sections, and transcribed the vowels in the entire passage using the Cox and Evans (1997) Australian English transcription system provided by Macquarie University (http://clas.mq.edu.au/phonetics/phonetics/ausenglish/index.html, see screen shot below). I decided to diagram these words using the Australian symbols because I hoped it would help my eyes and my mouth get connected on pronouncing these vowels in ways that are different from American English  Using the NAE equivalents might cause me to hear in my head the wrong sounds, but if I associate the altered symbols with the production of  those vowels in a different location or with a different diphthong movement pattern, then I might be able to make more accurate phonemes more quickly.

Over the course of week 5 I transcribed my three sections and practiced. Here are copies of my transcription notes:

Finally, here is the resulting audio recording of my week 5 work.

Week 5 Attempt: Vowels

I recorded the speech more slowly this time, to try and get as close to the full vowel sounds as I can.

Next week I'll work on making it sound more natural when spoken swiftly. I also plan to use Praat next week to analyze the quality of some of my vowels and compare them and improve my overall vowel quality. If I have time, I may look for some vocal articulator exercises to help warm myself up before practicing and activate some of the lazy muscles in my face.