Why is vowel phonology represented in a trapezoid instead of a square?Why vowels sound different from each otherLiterature on “broken vowels”Does English language stand special in terms of phonology?What is the consonant equivalent of Well's lexical sets for English vowels?Why isn't “N” considered a partial vowelCan someone tell me the differences between the vowel system in Canadian English and the one in General American?Could you tell which pictures, which depict how the vowel chart is positioned inside our mouth, are accurate?So, if we fix our mouth & tongue in a particular position then we can make ONE & ONLY ONE distinct vowel sound right?The vowels in book and goodWhen plotting vowel space, why does using F2-F1 better resemble the idealized vowel chart than using F1?Why vowels sound different from each other
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Why is vowel phonology represented in a trapezoid instead of a square?
Why vowels sound different from each otherLiterature on “broken vowels”Does English language stand special in terms of phonology?What is the consonant equivalent of Well's lexical sets for English vowels?Why isn't “N” considered a partial vowelCan someone tell me the differences between the vowel system in Canadian English and the one in General American?Could you tell which pictures, which depict how the vowel chart is positioned inside our mouth, are accurate?So, if we fix our mouth & tongue in a particular position then we can make ONE & ONLY ONE distinct vowel sound right?The vowels in book and goodWhen plotting vowel space, why does using F2-F1 better resemble the idealized vowel chart than using F1?Why vowels sound different from each other
Given that the internal area of the human mouth is approximately a square, why the vowels pronunciation chart is usually represented by a trapezoid?
phonetics vowels
asked May 15 at 16:19
Alan EvangelistaAlan Evangelista
1364
New contributor
Alan Evangelista is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
add a comment |
Given that the internal area of the human mouth is approximately a square, why the vowels pronunciation chart is usually represented by a trapezoid?
phonetics vowels
asked May 15 at 16:19
Alan EvangelistaAlan Evangelista
1364
New contributor
Alan Evangelista is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
12
"the internal area of the human mouth is a square"? Nice try, my robot friend.
– Mark Beadles
May 15 at 16:34
1
To respect the plotting of formants on a graphical coordinate system: F1 (abscissa) et F2 (ordinate).
– amegnunsen
May 15 at 17:37
add a comment |
Given that the internal area of the human mouth is approximately a square, why the vowels pronunciation chart is usually represented by a trapezoid?
phonetics vowels
asked May 15 at 16:19
Alan EvangelistaAlan Evangelista
1364
New contributor
Alan Evangelista is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
Given that the internal area of the human mouth is approximately a square, why the vowels pronunciation chart is usually represented by a trapezoid?
phonetics vowels
phonetics vowels
asked May 15 at 16:19
Alan EvangelistaAlan Evangelista
1364
New contributor
Alan Evangelista is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
asked May 15 at 16:19
Alan EvangelistaAlan Evangelista
1364
New contributor
Alan Evangelista is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
edited May 15 at 19:31
Alan Evangelista
asked May 15 at 16:19
Alan EvangelistaAlan Evangelista
1364
New contributor
Alan Evangelista is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
asked May 15 at 16:19
Alan EvangelistaAlan Evangelista
1364
asked May 15 at 16:19
Alan EvangelistaAlan Evangelista
1364
1364
New contributor
Alan Evangelista is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
New contributor
Alan Evangelista is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
12
"the internal area of the human mouth is a square"? Nice try, my robot friend.
– Mark Beadles
May 15 at 16:34
1
To respect the plotting of formants on a graphical coordinate system: F1 (abscissa) et F2 (ordinate).
– amegnunsen
May 15 at 17:37
add a comment |
12
"the internal area of the human mouth is a square"? Nice try, my robot friend.
– Mark Beadles
May 15 at 16:34
1
To respect the plotting of formants on a graphical coordinate system: F1 (abscissa) et F2 (ordinate).
– amegnunsen
May 15 at 17:37
12
12
"the internal area of the human mouth is a square"? Nice try, my robot friend.
– Mark Beadles
May 15 at 16:34
"the internal area of the human mouth is a square"? Nice try, my robot friend.
– Mark Beadles
May 15 at 16:34
1
1
To respect the plotting of formants on a graphical coordinate system: F1 (abscissa) et F2 (ordinate).
– amegnunsen
May 15 at 17:37
To respect the plotting of formants on a graphical coordinate system: F1 (abscissa) et F2 (ordinate).
– amegnunsen
May 15 at 17:37
add a comment |
2 Answers
2
active
oldest
votes
The original reason was, "[æ] and [ɑ] sound less different than [i] and [u]". It seemed intuitively like there was less "space" between front and back low vowels, so they drew less space on that part of the diagram.
Nowadays, though, the reasons are acoustic.
The position of a vowel on the trapezoid is actually an objective, measurable quantity: the "formant frequencies". There's a longer explanation in this other answer, but the formants are basically a mathematical representation of how our vocal tract is shaping the sound.
A modern vowel diagram plots F1 (the first formant) from top to bottom, and F2-F1 (the difference between the first two formants) from right to left. And this ends up giving the nice, distinctive IPA trapezoid shape!
So there is an objective reason it looks like a trapezoid, it's not just an artifact of early phonetics work. But what is this reason?
In the end, it has to do with the human tongue: when the tongue is raised toward the roof of the mouth (a high vowel), there's a lot of freedom to move it forward and backward (making front and back vowels). When it's lowered (a low vowel), there's not as much freedom. So the space of low vowels is, quite simply, smaller than the space of high vowels.
answered May 15 at 18:41
DraconisDraconis
14.9k12361
add a comment |
The physiological reason is that the tongue has a greater front-back range when the tongue is raised, as compare to when it is lowered, especially in that it can go further forward. Earlier, formants were simply plotted F1 vs F2, but the contemporary calculation is based on a modified relation which mimics the articulatory trapezoid.
answered May 15 at 18:41
user6726user6726
37.2k12471
As a follow up, I was going to ask why a trapezoid and not a triangle, but you've already answered that!
– CJ Dennis
May 16 at 7:04
add a comment |
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2 Answers
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2 Answers
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votes
The original reason was, "[æ] and [ɑ] sound less different than [i] and [u]". It seemed intuitively like there was less "space" between front and back low vowels, so they drew less space on that part of the diagram.
Nowadays, though, the reasons are acoustic.
The position of a vowel on the trapezoid is actually an objective, measurable quantity: the "formant frequencies". There's a longer explanation in this other answer, but the formants are basically a mathematical representation of how our vocal tract is shaping the sound.
A modern vowel diagram plots F1 (the first formant) from top to bottom, and F2-F1 (the difference between the first two formants) from right to left. And this ends up giving the nice, distinctive IPA trapezoid shape!
So there is an objective reason it looks like a trapezoid, it's not just an artifact of early phonetics work. But what is this reason?
In the end, it has to do with the human tongue: when the tongue is raised toward the roof of the mouth (a high vowel), there's a lot of freedom to move it forward and backward (making front and back vowels). When it's lowered (a low vowel), there's not as much freedom. So the space of low vowels is, quite simply, smaller than the space of high vowels.
answered May 15 at 18:41
DraconisDraconis
14.9k12361
add a comment |
The original reason was, "[æ] and [ɑ] sound less different than [i] and [u]". It seemed intuitively like there was less "space" between front and back low vowels, so they drew less space on that part of the diagram.
Nowadays, though, the reasons are acoustic.
The position of a vowel on the trapezoid is actually an objective, measurable quantity: the "formant frequencies". There's a longer explanation in this other answer, but the formants are basically a mathematical representation of how our vocal tract is shaping the sound.
A modern vowel diagram plots F1 (the first formant) from top to bottom, and F2-F1 (the difference between the first two formants) from right to left. And this ends up giving the nice, distinctive IPA trapezoid shape!
So there is an objective reason it looks like a trapezoid, it's not just an artifact of early phonetics work. But what is this reason?
In the end, it has to do with the human tongue: when the tongue is raised toward the roof of the mouth (a high vowel), there's a lot of freedom to move it forward and backward (making front and back vowels). When it's lowered (a low vowel), there's not as much freedom. So the space of low vowels is, quite simply, smaller than the space of high vowels.
answered May 15 at 18:41
DraconisDraconis
14.9k12361
add a comment |
The original reason was, "[æ] and [ɑ] sound less different than [i] and [u]". It seemed intuitively like there was less "space" between front and back low vowels, so they drew less space on that part of the diagram.
Nowadays, though, the reasons are acoustic.
The position of a vowel on the trapezoid is actually an objective, measurable quantity: the "formant frequencies". There's a longer explanation in this other answer, but the formants are basically a mathematical representation of how our vocal tract is shaping the sound.
A modern vowel diagram plots F1 (the first formant) from top to bottom, and F2-F1 (the difference between the first two formants) from right to left. And this ends up giving the nice, distinctive IPA trapezoid shape!
So there is an objective reason it looks like a trapezoid, it's not just an artifact of early phonetics work. But what is this reason?
In the end, it has to do with the human tongue: when the tongue is raised toward the roof of the mouth (a high vowel), there's a lot of freedom to move it forward and backward (making front and back vowels). When it's lowered (a low vowel), there's not as much freedom. So the space of low vowels is, quite simply, smaller than the space of high vowels.
answered May 15 at 18:41
DraconisDraconis
14.9k12361
The original reason was, "[æ] and [ɑ] sound less different than [i] and [u]". It seemed intuitively like there was less "space" between front and back low vowels, so they drew less space on that part of the diagram.
Nowadays, though, the reasons are acoustic.
The position of a vowel on the trapezoid is actually an objective, measurable quantity: the "formant frequencies". There's a longer explanation in this other answer, but the formants are basically a mathematical representation of how our vocal tract is shaping the sound.
A modern vowel diagram plots F1 (the first formant) from top to bottom, and F2-F1 (the difference between the first two formants) from right to left. And this ends up giving the nice, distinctive IPA trapezoid shape!
So there is an objective reason it looks like a trapezoid, it's not just an artifact of early phonetics work. But what is this reason?
In the end, it has to do with the human tongue: when the tongue is raised toward the roof of the mouth (a high vowel), there's a lot of freedom to move it forward and backward (making front and back vowels). When it's lowered (a low vowel), there's not as much freedom. So the space of low vowels is, quite simply, smaller than the space of high vowels.
answered May 15 at 18:41
DraconisDraconis
14.9k12361
answered May 15 at 18:41
DraconisDraconis
14.9k12361
answered May 15 at 18:41
DraconisDraconis
14.9k12361
answered May 15 at 18:41
DraconisDraconis
14.9k12361
14.9k12361
add a comment |
add a comment |
The physiological reason is that the tongue has a greater front-back range when the tongue is raised, as compare to when it is lowered, especially in that it can go further forward. Earlier, formants were simply plotted F1 vs F2, but the contemporary calculation is based on a modified relation which mimics the articulatory trapezoid.
answered May 15 at 18:41
user6726user6726
37.2k12471
As a follow up, I was going to ask why a trapezoid and not a triangle, but you've already answered that!
– CJ Dennis
May 16 at 7:04
add a comment |
The physiological reason is that the tongue has a greater front-back range when the tongue is raised, as compare to when it is lowered, especially in that it can go further forward. Earlier, formants were simply plotted F1 vs F2, but the contemporary calculation is based on a modified relation which mimics the articulatory trapezoid.
answered May 15 at 18:41
user6726user6726
37.2k12471
As a follow up, I was going to ask why a trapezoid and not a triangle, but you've already answered that!
– CJ Dennis
May 16 at 7:04
add a comment |
The physiological reason is that the tongue has a greater front-back range when the tongue is raised, as compare to when it is lowered, especially in that it can go further forward. Earlier, formants were simply plotted F1 vs F2, but the contemporary calculation is based on a modified relation which mimics the articulatory trapezoid.
answered May 15 at 18:41
user6726user6726
37.2k12471
The physiological reason is that the tongue has a greater front-back range when the tongue is raised, as compare to when it is lowered, especially in that it can go further forward. Earlier, formants were simply plotted F1 vs F2, but the contemporary calculation is based on a modified relation which mimics the articulatory trapezoid.
answered May 15 at 18:41
user6726user6726
37.2k12471
answered May 15 at 18:41
user6726user6726
37.2k12471
answered May 15 at 18:41
user6726user6726
37.2k12471
answered May 15 at 18:41
user6726user6726
37.2k12471
37.2k12471
As a follow up, I was going to ask why a trapezoid and not a triangle, but you've already answered that!
– CJ Dennis
May 16 at 7:04
add a comment |
As a follow up, I was going to ask why a trapezoid and not a triangle, but you've already answered that!
– CJ Dennis
May 16 at 7:04
As a follow up, I was going to ask why a trapezoid and not a triangle, but you've already answered that!
– CJ Dennis
May 16 at 7:04
As a follow up, I was going to ask why a trapezoid and not a triangle, but you've already answered that!
– CJ Dennis
May 16 at 7:04
add a comment |
Alan Evangelista is a new contributor. Be nice, and check out our Code of Conduct.
Alan Evangelista is a new contributor. Be nice, and check out our Code of Conduct.
Alan Evangelista is a new contributor. Be nice, and check out our Code of Conduct.
Alan Evangelista is a new contributor. Be nice, and check out our Code of Conduct.
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12
"the internal area of the human mouth is a square"? Nice try, my robot friend.
– Mark Beadles
May 15 at 16:34
1
To respect the plotting of formants on a graphical coordinate system: F1 (abscissa) et F2 (ordinate).
– amegnunsen
May 15 at 17:37