Read Theme 7 and be ready to answer the questions given in 2.3.

Front vowels are those which are produced with the bulk of the tongue in the front part of the mouth while the front of the tongue is raised in the direction of the hard palate. The English front vowels are: [i:], [I], [e], [{].

The vowel [i:]

Definition. The vowel [i:]can be defined as a monophthong, long, tense, unrounded, front, fully front, high vowel phoneme of narrow variation.

Articulation. 1. The bulk of the tongue is in the front part of the mouth cavity.

2. Tthe front of the tongue is raised in the direction of the hard palate.

3. The lips are spread or neutral.

4. The opening between the jaws is rather narrow.

5. During the articulation of the vowel the tongue can slightly change the position: the front of the tongue may move from a more open and retracted position to a closer and more advanced one. As a result of it the vowel can be slightly diphthongized.

Comparison with the Ukrainian [i]. As compared with the Ukrainian sound [i] the English sound is not so close and advanced at the beginning of its articulation.

Typical Mistakes. 1. Ukrainian learners are apt to replace the English vowel [i:] by its Ukrainian counterpart [i]. In order to prevent or correct this mistake the front part of the tongue should be kept a little lower than in the case of the Ukrainian vowel and the English vowel should be made a little longer and more tense.

2. Ukrainian learners are apt to palatalize English consonants before [i:] and other front English vowels. They do it under the influence of their native language. In order to prevent palatalization the learner must pass over to the articulation of the following sound only after the articulation of the preceding consonant has been completed.

The vowel [I]

Definition. The vowel [I] may be defined as a monophthong, short, lax, unrounded, front-retracted, high vowel phoneme of broad variation.

Articulation. 1. The bulk of the tongue is in the front part of the mouth cavity but slightly retracted.

2. The front of the tongue is raised in the direction of the hard palate but not so high as for [i:].

3. The lips are spread or neutral.

4. The opening between the jaws is narrow.

Comparison with the Ukrainian [i]. As compared with the Ukrainian sound [i] the English sound is more open and less front.

Typical Mistakes. 1. Ukrainian learners are apt to replace the English vowel [I] by the Ukrainian vowels [i] or [и]. To prevent or correct these mistakes the tongue should be slightly retracted and its front kept lower as compared with its position for the Ukrainian [i]. The student should be told to give a shade of [e] or [и] to the vowel.

2. Ukrainian learners are apt to substitute the English [I] for [i:] which is a phonemic mistake, e.g. filling ["fIlIN] – feeling ["fi:lIN]. In this case the learner may be told to shorten the vowel.

3. Care should be taken not to palatalize consonants before [I].

4. In order to make the vowel [I] short and checked it is necessary to pass over to the articulation of the following consonant very quickly.

The vowel [e]

Definition. The vowel [e] may be defined as a monophthong, short, lax, unrounded, front, mid vowel phoneme of narrow variation.

Articulation. 1. The bulk of the tongue is in the front part of the mouth cavity.

2. The front of the tongue is raised in the direction of the hard palate, only a little less than for the [I]-vowel.

3. The lips are spread or neutral.

4. The opening between the jaws is medium.

Comparison with the Ukrainian [e]. The English vowel [e] is less open and more front than the Ukrainian [e] це.

Typical Mistakes. 1. Ukrainian learners are apt to replace the English [e] by the more open sound [{]. This mistake is phonemic, e.g. men [men] –man [m{n]. To prevent or eliminate the substitution of [{] for [e] the front of the tongue should be kept a little higher than for [{]. The students may also be recommended not to open their mouths too wide, spread the lips a little and check their position in a hand-mirror.

2. Another mistake consists in making the sound too long and free. To prevent or correct this mistake the students may be told to shorten the vowel.

3. Care should be also taken not to palatalize consonants before [e].

The vowel [{]

Definition. The vowel [{] is defined as a monophthong, half-long, lax, unrounded, front, low vowel phoneme of broad variation.

Articulation. 1. The bulk of the tongue is in the front part of the mouth cavity.

2. The tongue is rather low in the mouth.

3. The front of the tongue is slightly raised, but not so high as for [e].

4. The opening between the jaws is wide.

Comparison with the Ukrainian [e]. The English phoneme is more open than the Ukrainian [e]. The English [{] is intermediate in quality between the Ukrainian [е] at the end of a word (e.g. пасе ) and a variety of the Ukrainian [а] which occurs between soft consonants under stress (e.g. л’ал’ка- лялька). To pronounce the English [{] correctly it is possible to start from the Ukrainian [e] as pronounced at the end of the word. But the distance between the jaws must be greater, the tongue moves forward, the tip of the tongue approaches the lower teeth.

Typical Mistakes. 1. Ukrainian learners are liable to replace the English [{] by the more close [e] of their mother tongue. In this case the tongue should be slightly lowered. The lips are not to be protruded.

2. Students may also replace the vowel [{] by the English vowel [e], which is a phonemic mistake. To eliminate this mistake the front of the tongue should be kept lower than for [e]. It is useful in practicing the pronunciation of [{] to keep the mouth wide open, to give the shade of [a] to the vowel and to use a hand-mirror.

3. Care should also be taken to make the English vowel [{] checked before voiceless consonants.

4. Consonants before [{] must not be palatalized.