Some Languages are characterized for having usually 5 vowels in their vowel system. For example in Spanish the vowels are: A E I O U. Those vowels also exist in the vowel system of English, but they are not the only ones! This may sound a little strange for you, but it is true. The American English vowel system is characterized for having more than 5 vowel SOUNDS. However, not all of them have symbols. American English uses only the 5 symbols you know from other languages. The vowel sounds of English include not only the 5 you are familiar with, but also some others that are determined by their place of articulation in our mouth or vocal tract. For example in English, vowels are classified as FRONT vowels, BACK vowels, CENTRAL vowels and even HIGH vowels, MID vowels and LOW vowels. This classification refers to the place a specific vowel is articulated in the oral cavity. For example FRONT vowels are present in words such as: "heed", "he", "hid", "hayed", "head", "had". The first two words also contain HIGH vowels (i,I) the word “hayed” and “head” also contain MID vowels (ei,E) and the last word also presents a LOW vowel (ae) The CENTRAL vowel is present in words such as “Hudd” and “nut”. Finally the BACK vowels are present in words like: "Who", "who’d", "hood", "haw", "hawed", "hoed", "hoe", "hod". Like FRONT vowels, BACK vowels are also classified into FRONT, MID, and LOW vowels as well. Soon, we will get into a more detailed explanation about the English vowels, their phonetic symbols and specific sounds. Meanwhile you may check out our useful links....
