Cardinal vowels are a set of reference vowels used by phoneticians in describing the sounds of languages. They are classified depending on the position of the tongue relative to the roof of the mouth, how far forward or back is the highest point of the tongue, and the position of the lips (rounded or unrounded).
X-rays of Daniel Jones' [i, u, a, ɑ].
Highest tongue positions of cardinal front and back vowels
Diagram of relative highest points of tongue for cardinal vowels
The "cardinal vowel quadrilateral", a more commonly seen schematic diagram of highest tongue positions of cardinal vowels
A cardinal vowel is a vowel sound produced when the tongue is in an extreme position, either front or back, high or low. The current system was systematised by Daniel Jones in the early 20th century,[1] though the idea goes back to earlier phoneticians, notably Ellis[2] and Bell.[3]
Three of the cardinal vowels—[i], [ɑ] and [u]—have articulatory definitions. The vowel [i] is produced with the tongue as far forward and as high in the mouth as is possible (without producing friction), with spread lips. The vowel [u] is produced with the tongue as far back and as high in the mouth as is possible, with protruded lips. This sound can be approximated by adopting the posture to whistle a very low note, or to blow out a candle. And [ɑ] is produced with the tongue as low and as far back in the mouth as possible.
The other vowels are 'auditorily equidistant' between these three 'corner vowels', at four degrees of aperture or 'height': close (high tongue position), close-mid, open-mid, and open (low tongue position).
These degrees of aperture plus the front-back distinction define 8 reference points on a mixture of articulatory and auditory criteria. These eight vowels are known as the eight 'primary cardinal vowels', and vowels like these are common in the world's languages.
The lip positions can be reversed with the lip position for the corresponding vowel on the opposite side of the front-back dimension, so that e.g. Cardinal 1 can be produced with rounding somewhat similar to that of Cardinal 8; these are known as 'secondary cardinal vowels'. Sounds such as these are claimed to be less common in the world's languages.[4] Other vowel sounds are also recognised on the vowel chart of the International Phonetic Alphabet.
Jones argued that to be able to use the cardinal vowel system effectively one must undergo training with an expert phonetician, working both on the recognition and the production of the vowels.[5]
Cardinal vowels are not vowels of any particular language, but a measuring system. However, some languages contain vowel or vowels that are close to the cardinal vowel(s).[6] An example of such language is Ngwe, which is spoken in Cameroon. It has been cited as a language with a vowel system that has 8 vowels which are rather similar to the 8 primary cardinal vowels (Ladefoged 1971:67).
Cardinal vowels 19–22 were added by David Abercrombie.[7] In IPA Numbers, cardinal vowels 1–18 have the same numbers but added to 300.[8]
Limits on the accuracy of the system
The usual explanation of the cardinal vowel system implies that the competent user can reliably distinguish between sixteen Primary and Secondary vowels plus a small number of central vowels. The provision of diacritics by the International Phonetic Association further implies that intermediate values may also be reliably recognized, so that a phonetician might be able to produce and recognize not only a close-mid front unrounded vowel[e] and an open-mid front unrounded vowel[ɛ] but also a mid front unrounded vowel[e̞], a centralized mid front unrounded vowel [ë], and so on. This suggests a range of vowels nearer to forty or fifty than to twenty in number. Empirical evidence for this ability in trained phoneticians is hard to come by.
Ladefoged, in a series of pioneering experiments published in the 1950s and 60s, studied how trained phoneticians coped with the vowels of a dialect of Scottish Gaelic. He asked eighteen phoneticians to listen to a recording of ten words spoken by a native speaker of Gaelic and to place the vowels on a cardinal vowel quadrilateral. He then studied the degree of agreement or disagreement among the phoneticians. Ladefoged himself drew attention to the fact that the phoneticians who were trained in the British tradition established by Daniel Jones were closer to each other in their judgments than those who had not had this training. However, the most striking result is the great divergence of judgments among all the listeners regarding vowels that were distant from Cardinal values.[9]
^Esling, John (1999). "Appendix 2: Computer coding of IPA symbols". In International Phonetic Association (ed.). Handbook of the International Phonetic Association: A Guide to the Use of the International Phonetic Alphabet. Cambridge University Press. pp. 161–185. ISBN0-521-63751-1.
^Ladefoged, P. (1967). Three Areas of Experimental Phonetics. Oxford University Press. pp. 132–142. See especially Figure 47 on p. 135
Bibliography
Ladefoged, Peter. (1971). Preliminaries to linguistic phonetics. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press.
External links
Audio demonstrations of cardinal vowels by Daniel Jones at age 75
January 13, 2023
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This article contains phonetic transcriptions in the International Phonetic Alphabet IPA For an introductory guide on IPA symbols see Help IPA For the distinction between and see IPA Brackets and transcription delimiters Cardinal vowels are a set of reference vowels used by phoneticians in describing the sounds of languages They are classified depending on the position of the tongue relative to the roof of the mouth how far forward or back is the highest point of the tongue and the position of the lips rounded or unrounded X rays of Daniel Jones i u a ɑ Highest tongue positions of cardinal front and back vowels Diagram of relative highest points of tongue for cardinal vowels The cardinal vowel quadrilateral a more commonly seen schematic diagram of highest tongue positions of cardinal vowels A cardinal vowel is a vowel sound produced when the tongue is in an extreme position either front or back high or low The current system was systematised by Daniel Jones in the early 20th century 1 though the idea goes back to earlier phoneticians notably Ellis 2 and Bell 3 Contents 1 Table of cardinal vowels 2 Limits on the accuracy of the system 3 See also 4 References 5 Bibliography 6 External linksTable of cardinal vowels Edit Three of the cardinal vowels i ɑ and u have articulatory definitions The vowel i is produced with the tongue as far forward and as high in the mouth as is possible without producing friction with spread lips The vowel u is produced with the tongue as far back and as high in the mouth as is possible with protruded lips This sound can be approximated by adopting the posture to whistle a very low note or to blow out a candle And ɑ is produced with the tongue as low and as far back in the mouth as possible The other vowels are auditorily equidistant between these three corner vowels at four degrees of aperture or height close high tongue position close mid open mid and open low tongue position These degrees of aperture plus the front back distinction define 8 reference points on a mixture of articulatory and auditory criteria These eight vowels are known as the eight primary cardinal vowels and vowels like these are common in the world s languages The lip positions can be reversed with the lip position for the corresponding vowel on the opposite side of the front back dimension so that e g Cardinal 1 can be produced with rounding somewhat similar to that of Cardinal 8 these are known as secondary cardinal vowels Sounds such as these are claimed to be less common in the world s languages 4 Other vowel sounds are also recognised on the vowel chart of the International Phonetic Alphabet Jones argued that to be able to use the cardinal vowel system effectively one must undergo training with an expert phonetician working both on the recognition and the production of the vowels 5 Cardinal vowels are not vowels of any particular language but a measuring system However some languages contain vowel or vowels that are close to the cardinal vowel s 6 An example of such language is Ngwe which is spoken in Cameroon It has been cited as a language with a vowel system that has 8 vowels which are rather similar to the 8 primary cardinal vowels Ladefoged 1971 67 Number IPA Description1 i Close front unrounded vowel2 e Close mid front unrounded vowel3 ɛ Open mid front unrounded vowel4 a Open front unrounded vowel5 ɑ Open back unrounded vowel6 ɔ Open mid back rounded vowel7 o Close mid back rounded vowel8 u Close back rounded vowel9 y Close front rounded vowel10 o Close mid front rounded vowel11 œ Open mid front rounded vowel12 ɶ Open front rounded vowel13 ɒ Open back rounded vowel14 ʌ Open mid back unrounded vowel15 ɤ Close mid back unrounded vowel16 ɯ Close back unrounded vowel17 ɨ Close central unrounded vowel18 ʉ Close central rounded vowel19 ɘ Close mid central unrounded vowel20 ɵ Close mid central rounded vowel21 ɜ Open mid central unrounded vowel22 ɞ Open mid central rounded vowelCardinal vowels 19 22 were added by David Abercrombie 7 In IPA Numbers cardinal vowels 1 18 have the same numbers but added to 300 8 Limits on the accuracy of the system EditThe usual explanation of the cardinal vowel system implies that the competent user can reliably distinguish between sixteen Primary and Secondary vowels plus a small number of central vowels The provision of diacritics by the International Phonetic Association further implies that intermediate values may also be reliably recognized so that a phonetician might be able to produce and recognize not only a close mid front unrounded vowel e and an open mid front unrounded vowel ɛ but also a mid front unrounded vowel e a centralized mid front unrounded vowel e and so on This suggests a range of vowels nearer to forty or fifty than to twenty in number Empirical evidence for this ability in trained phoneticians is hard to come by Ladefoged in a series of pioneering experiments published in the 1950s and 60s studied how trained phoneticians coped with the vowels of a dialect of Scottish Gaelic He asked eighteen phoneticians to listen to a recording of ten words spoken by a native speaker of Gaelic and to place the vowels on a cardinal vowel quadrilateral He then studied the degree of agreement or disagreement among the phoneticians Ladefoged himself drew attention to the fact that the phoneticians who were trained in the British tradition established by Daniel Jones were closer to each other in their judgments than those who had not had this training However the most striking result is the great divergence of judgments among all the listeners regarding vowels that were distant from Cardinal values 9 See also EditList of phonetics topicsReferences Edit Jones Daniel 1917 An English Pronouncing Dictionary London Dent Ellis A J 1845 The Alphabet of Nature Bath Bell A M 1867 Visible Speech London Ladefoged P Maddieson I 1996 The Sounds of the World s Languages Blackwell p 292 ISBN 0 631 19815 6 Jones Daniel 1967 An Outline of English Phonetics 9th ed Cambridge Heffer p 34 Ashby Patricia 2011 Understanding Phonetics Understanding Language series Routledge p 85 ISBN 978 0340928271 Abercrombie David 1967 Elements of General Phonetics Edinburgh University Press p 161 ISBN 0 85224 028 7 Esling John 1999 Appendix 2 Computer coding of IPA symbols In International Phonetic Association ed Handbook of the International Phonetic Association A Guide to the Use of the International Phonetic Alphabet Cambridge University Press pp 161 185 ISBN 0 521 63751 1 Ladefoged P 1967 Three Areas of Experimental Phonetics Oxford University Press pp 132 142 See especially Figure 47 on p 135Bibliography EditLadefoged Peter 1971 Preliminaries to linguistic phonetics Chicago The University of Chicago Press External links EditAudio demonstrations of cardinal vowels by Daniel Jones at age 75 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Cardinal vowels amp oldid 1108158475, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
