Editing English language (section)

=== Vowels ===
{{Main|English phonology#Vowels}}

The pronunciation of vowels varies a great deal between dialects and is one of the most detectable aspects of a speaker's accent. The table below lists the vowel [[phoneme]]s in Received Pronunciation (RP) and General American (GA), with examples of words in which they occur from [[lexical set]]s compiled by linguists. The vowels are represented with symbols from the International Phonetic Alphabet; those given for RP are standard in British dictionaries and other publications.<ref>{{cite web|last=Wells|first=John C.|date=8 February 2001|url=https://www.phon.ucl.ac.uk/home/wells/ipa-english-uni.htm|title=IPA transcription systems for English|publisher=University College London|access-date=3 September 2018|archive-date=19 September 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180919182345/https://www.phon.ucl.ac.uk/home/wells/ipa-english-uni.htm|url-status=live}}</ref>

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center; float: left; margin-right: 1em;"
|+ Monophthongs
![[Received Pronunciation|RP]] !! [[General American|GA]] !! Word
|-
| {{IPA link|iː}} || {{IPA link|i}} || n'''ee'''d
|-
| colspan="2" | {{IPA link|ɪ}} || b'''i'''d
|-
| {{IPA link|e̞|e}} || {{IPA link|ɛ}} || b'''e'''d
|-
| colspan="2" | {{IPA link|æ}}<!-- Pronunciation differs between RP and GA, but until we use separate symbols, these cells will be merged. --> || b'''a'''ck
|-
| {{IPA link|ɑː}} || rowspan="2" | {{IPA link|ɑ}} || br'''a'''
|-
| rowspan="2" | {{IPA link|ɒ}} || b'''o'''x
|-
| rowspan="2" | {{IPA link|ɔ}}, {{IPA link|ɑ}} || cl'''o'''th
|-
| {{IPA link|o|ɔː}} || p'''aw'''
|-
| {{IPA link|uː}} || {{IPA link|u}} || f'''oo'''d
|-
| colspan="2" | {{IPA link|ʊ}}<!-- Pronunciation differs between RP and GA, with GA probably closer to {{IPA|[ɵ]}}, but until we use separate symbols, these cells will be merged. --> || g'''oo'''d
|-
| colspan="2" | {{IPA link|ɐ|ʌ}} || b'''u'''t
|-
| {{IPA link|ə|ɜː}} || {{IPA link|ɚ|ɜɹ}} || b'''ir'''d
|-
| colspan="2" | {{IPA link|ə}} || comm'''a'''
|}

<div style="float: left;">
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;"
|+ Closing diphthongs
![[Received Pronunciation|RP]] !! [[General American|GA]] !! Word
|-
| colspan="2" | {{IPA|eɪ}} || b'''ay'''
|-
| {{IPA|əʊ}} || {{IPA|oʊ}} || r'''oa'''d
|-
| colspan="2" | {{IPA|aɪ}} || cr'''y'''
|-
| colspan="2" | {{IPA|aʊ}} || c'''ow'''
|-
| colspan="2" | {{IPA|ɔɪ}} || b'''oy'''
|}

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;"
|+Centring diphthongs
![[Received Pronunciation|RP]] !! [[General American|GA]] !! Word
|-
| {{IPA|ɪə}} || {{IPA|ɪɹ}} || p'''eer'''
|-
| {{IPA link|ɛ|eə}} || {{IPA|ɛɹ}} || p'''air'''
|-
| {{IPA|ʊə}} || {{IPA|ʊɹ}} || p'''oor'''
|}
</div>
{{clear}}

In RP, vowel length is phonemic; [[vowel length|long vowels]] are marked with a [[triangular colon]] {{angbr IPA|ː}} in the table above, such as the vowel of ''need'' {{IPA|[niːd]}} as opposed to ''bid'' {{IPA|[bɪd]}}. In GA, vowel length is non-distinctive.

In both RP and GA, vowels are phonetically [[clipping (phonetics)|shortened before fortis consonants]] in the same [[syllable]], like {{IPA|/t tʃ f/}}, but not before lenis consonants like {{IPA|/d dʒ v/}} or in open syllables: thus, the vowels of ''rich'' {{IPA|[rɪtʃ]}}, ''neat'' {{IPA|[nit]}}, and ''safe'' {{IPA|[seɪ̯f]}} are noticeably shorter than the vowels of ''ridge'' {{IPA|[rɪˑdʒ]}}, ''need'' {{IPA|[niˑd]}}, and ''save'' {{IPA|[seˑɪ̯v]}}, and the vowel of ''light'' {{IPA|[laɪ̯t]}} is shorter than that of ''lie'' {{IPA|[laˑɪ̯]}}. Because lenis consonants are frequently voiceless at the end of a syllable, vowel length is an important cue as to whether the following consonant is lenis or fortis.{{sfn|Collins|Mees|2003|pp=46–50}}

The vowel {{IPA|/ə/}} only occurs in unstressed syllables and is more open in quality in stem-final positions.{{sfn|Cruttenden|2014|p=138}}{{sfn|Flemming|Johnson|2007}} Some dialects do not contrast {{IPA|/ɪ/}} and {{IPA|/ə/}} in unstressed positions, so that ''rabbit'' and ''abbot'' rhyme and ''Lenin'' and ''Lennon'' are homophonous, a dialect feature called [[weak vowel merger]].{{sfn|Wells|1982|p=167}} GA {{IPA|/ɜr/}} and {{IPA|/ər/}} are realised as an [[r-colored vowel|''r''-coloured vowel]] {{IPA|[ɚ]}}, as in ''further'' {{IPA|[ˈfɚðɚ]}} (phonemically {{IPA|/ˈfɜrðər/}}), which in RP is realised as {{IPA|[ˈfəːðə]}} (phonemically {{IPA|/ˈfɜːðə/}}).{{sfn|Wells|1982|p=121}}