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The traditional definition, that tense vowels are produced with more "muscular tension" than lax vowels, has not been confirmed by phonetic experiments. Another hypothesis is that lax vowels are more centralized than tense vowels.
The body of the tongue moves in the mouth to shape each vowel, and for some vowels, the lips are rounded as well. Linguists classify vowels according to four pieces of information: tongue height, tongue backness, lip rounding, and tenseness.
- Catherine Anderson
- 2018
Dec 6, 2023 · Lax vowels primarily occur in one-syllable words that end in consonants, such as “bit,” “bet,” and “hat.” Tense vowels, on the other hand, typically appear at the end of one-syllable words, like “beat,” “book,” and “food.”
- Lax vowels are shorter sounds produced with relatively loose muscles in the vocal apparatus. They occur in words like “bit,” “bet,” and “hat.”
- Tense vowels are longer sounds produced with relatively tense muscles in the vocal apparatus. They typically occur at the end of one-syllable words...
- The main difference between lax and tense vowels is their length and the tension of the muscles used to produce them. Lax vowels are shorter and pr...
- Mastering the distinction between lax and tense vowels is important for accurate pronunciation in American English. Understanding and correctly pro...
- Practicing and refining the pronunciation of lax and tense vowels can lead to improved language fluency and clarity in speech. Focus on recognizing...
Mar 18, 2024 · If the tongue root is instead in a more retracted position closer to the pharyngeal wall, as for the vowel in the English word bit, it keeps the tongue somewhat more relaxed, so a vowel with a retracted tongue root is sometimes called a lax vowel. The property of whether a vowel is tense or lax is called tenseness. The different positions of ...
First, lax vowels tend to be centralized, i.e. pronounced closer to /ə/ than tense vowels. Second, lax vowels tend to be monophthongal, while tense vowels tend to be diphthongal. That is, even for GA /iː, uː, eɪ, oʊ/, the tongue tends to move off in a closer direction.
Lax vowels end with a consonant, or we can say that they only occur in closed syllables. Tense vowels do not have such restrictions. Lax vowels are more centralized, and they are pronounced closer than tense vowels. Lax vowels are monophthongal and tense vowels are diphthongal.
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The first reason for choosing English is that it is usually presented as a prime example of the need for a feature such as tense/lax (or Advanced Tongue Root [+/-ATR] in recent times, but I shall argue that this feature, while well-established cross-linguistically, is not motivated for English either).
