Please enable JavaScript.
Coggle requires JavaScript to display documents.
System of English Phonemes - Coggle Diagram
System of English Phonemes
System of Consonant Phonemes
Total: 24 consonant phonemes.
Distinctive Oppositions:
Degree of Noise: e.g., bake - make
Place of Articulation: e.g., labial vs. lingual (pain - cane)
Manner of Articulation: e.g., occlusive vs. constrictive (pine - fine)
Vocal Cord Activity: voiceless vs. voiced (pen - Ben)
Soft Palate Position: oral vs. nasal (pit - pin)
Problem of Affricates
. Controversy on whether sounds like [tʃ], [dʒ], [tr], [dr] are monophonemic or biphonemic.
Russian phoneticians generally consider only [tʃ] and [dʒ] as monophonemic.
British phoneticians often include [ts], [dz], [tr], [dr], and others.
System of Vowel Phonemes
Distinctive Oppositions:
Tongue Position:
Vertical Movement: high vs. mid vs. low (week - work)
Horizontal Movement: front vs. central vs. back (cab - curb)
Stability of Articulation: monophthongs vs. diphthongs (bit - bait)
Lip Position: rounded vs. unrounded (don - darn)
Problem of Diphthongs: Debate on whether they are biphonemic or monophonemic.
Definitions vary, but many classify diphthongs as single phonemes due to indivisibility and gliding articulation.
Total: 20 vowel phonemes.
Length and Quality of Vowels
Qualitative Differences: e.g., bead vs. bid—not just length but also tongue position affects the phoneme quality.
Long vs. Short Vowels: Length varies with context (longer in terminal positions, shorter before voiced/voiceless consonants).