ГРАФИЧЕСКАЯ ПЕРЕДАЧА АНГЛИЙСКИХ МОНОФТОНГОВ И ДИФТОНГОИДОВ НА ПИСЬМЕ [ОБЗОР]

First classes of English at the overwhelming majority of educational institutions in the Russian Federation make pedagogical workers solve a lot of vital issues while training their students within the main language aspects that are listening, speaking, reading and writing (such aspects as interpretation and translation are being omitted here since they are in the domain of a limited number of specialized Russian universities; for this reason transliteration, being a way of rendering lexical units in writing, is not the subject of our research). Writing universally seems to be the most complicated aspect in its mastering due to the fact that it is directly connected with grammar, lexicology, phonetics, punctuation, spelling and stylistics. One complexity of writing is “phonetics [12] vs spelling” problem. In short, we mean a case when one letter or a group of letters contained in various lexical units [1] has several ways to be pronounced, e.g.:

• vowel letter a in the following lexical units: plaque [a:], cradle [eɪ], adorn [ə], gall [o:], acrid [æ], Bologna [jə], vintage [ɪ], garish [ɛə], swab [ɔ];
• consonant letter s: episode [s], fusion [Ʒ], controversial [ʃ], liaison [z], Asia [ʃ] or [Ʒ], CIS [es] [5], [8];
• double oo: flood [Ʌ], nook [ʊ], tattoo [u:], floor [o:], brooch [əʊ];
• a group of vowel and consonant letters ough: through [u:], sought [o:], dough [əʊ], rough [Ʌf], cough [ɔf], thorough [ə];
• a combination of consonant letters ch: avalanche [ʃ], chime [tʃ], ochre [k], Greenwich [dƷ] [9], [10], [11].

To avoid bewildering in writing among students and to ensure that they will learn to write well is one of the primary tasks of the pedagogical worker in the initial and further stages of teaching English.

This publication is a humble attempt to unfold our experience in classifying the modes of graphical spelling of ten monophthongs ([Ʌ], [а:], [ɪ], [ɔ], [o:], [ʊ], [æ], [e], [ə], [ə:]) and two diphthongoids ([i:], [u:]) [2], [3], [4], temporarily omitting the consonant sounds [6], [7].

The relevance of the research work arose in the light of insufficient coverage of the multiple ways of graphical spelling of vowel and consonant phonemes and their combinations in textbooks currently applied in the educational process.

Our research is based on the material of various extracts taken for our consideration from pieces of fiction, periodicals, textbooks, the Internet. We also dealt with corporate letters, movie subtitles, pieces of advertising; off-line and on-line dictionaries; reference books to contemporary English pronunciation [13]. We examined the parts of English speech and their transformations regarding case, degree, mood, number, tense and voice categories. It seemed natural for us to view abbreviations, acronyms, clipped words, interjections, loan words, etc, paying particular attention to such toponyms as geographic names, corporate names, days of the week, months, nationalities, people’s names, patronymics and sur-names, social networks, astronyms, types of drinks, meals and food, etc.

Paradoxically, some English consonant sounds can be rendered by vowel letters, e.g.:

• [f] can be rendered by vowel letter u (lieutenant [lef'tenənt]);
• [j] can seldom be rendered by vowel letter e (Eugene [ˈju:dƷi:n], eureka [juəˈrɪkə] or [jo:ˈrɪkə], Europe [ˈjuərəp] or [ˈjo:rəp]); by vowel letter u (unique [ju:ˈni:k], use [ju:z], usual [ˈju:Ʒəl] or [ˈju:Ʒl]); by vowel letter y (yacht [jo:t], year[jɪə] or [jə:], youth [ju:θ]);
• [w] can sometimes be rendered by vowel letter o (one [wɅn], once [wɅns], oneself [wɅnˈself]; by vowel letter u (cuisine [kwɪˈzi:n], persuade [pəˈsweɪd], quake [kweɪk].

We can observe a revearse process, when consonant letters render vowel sounds if they are pronounced under their names in the English Alphabet, e.g. letter Pp in PPP (that stands for Power Point Presentation) [ˈpi:ˈpi:ˈpi:]). To be more exact, consonant letters can render one (letter Rr), two (letters Bb, Cc, Dd, Ff, Gg, Hh, Jj, Kk, Ll, Mm, Nn, Pp, Ss, Tt, Vv, Zz, the latter in American variant of English), three (letters Qq, Xx, Zz) and six sounds (letter Ww):

• letter Rr rendered by one sound [a:];
• letter Bb rendered by two sounds [bi:];
• letter Qq rendered by three sounds [kju:];
• letter Ww rendered by six sounds [dɅblju:].

Letters rendered by two (Bb [bi:], Hh [eɪtʃ], Nn [en]), three (Qq [kju:], Xx [eks], Zz [zed]) and six sounds (Ww [dɅblju:]) involve both consonant and vowel sounds. This postulate says that if we pronounce the consonant letters in definite positions (in abbreviations and compound words, for instance), we have to use both consonant and vowel sounds to utter them, e.g. abbreviation CIF [si:aɪˈef] and compound word X-ray [ˈeksreɪ]:

• CIF is composed of letter C – [si:] rendered by two sounds, consonant [s] and vowel [i:], letter I [aɪ] rendered by one vowel sound [aɪ], letter F rendered by two sounds, vowel [e] and consonant [f];
• X-ray is composed of letter X [eks] and word ray.

Thus, a notable feature of this article is its inclusion of examples where consonant letters can take part in rendering vowel sounds.

The ways of graphical spelling of vowel phonemes described here correspond to the style which is currently the norm in Great Britain and the Commonwealth. Standard American usage differs in one respect; in this case examples of American spelling are marked in brackets, e.g. o(u)r (vigour or vigor [ˈvɪgə]).

In the pages that follow are to be found specimen letters and letter combinations depicting English monophthongs and diphthongoids.

Monophthongs

Vowel sound [Ʌ] can be represented by English letters o (e.g., dozen [ˈdɅzn]), u (thus [ðɅs]), w (WTO [dɅblju:ti:ˈəʊ]) and by groups of letters oe (does [dɅz]), oo (blood [blɅd]), ou (double [ˈdɅbl), uh (uh-huh [ɅˈhɅ]) or [ʊˈhʊ]). Sound [Ʌ] can be put in the opening (oven [ˈɅvn] or [ˈɅvən]) and central (flood [flɅd]) position of lexical units. One does not meet it in the neutral and ending position of lexical units. Monophthong [Ʌ] is represented by two vowel letters (o, u), one consonant letter (w), three groups of vowel letters (oe, oo, ou). In one case, this phoneme is made in graphic spelling by a group of a vowel and a consonant letters (uh).

Vowel sound [а:] can be represented by letters a (disater [dɪzˈа:stə]), e (ensemble [а:nˈsа:mbl]), r (R&D [а:(r)ənˈdi:]) and by groups of letters ah (Ah [а:]), al (almond [ˈа:mənd]), ar (arc [а:k]), are (aren’t [ˈа:nt]), arre (bizarre [bɪˈzа:]), au (laugh [lа:f]), ear (hearth [hа:θ]), er (sergeant [ˈsа:dƷənt]), ir (memoir [memˈwа:]), oi (turquoise [ˈtə:kwа:z]), ois (bourgeois [ˈbuəƷwа:]), uar (guard [gа:d]). Sound [а:] can be put in the neutral (Ah [а:]), opening (ask [а:sk]), central (barley [ˈbа:lɪ]) and ending (spa [spа:]) position of lexical units. Monophthong [а:] is represented by two vowel letters (a, e), one consonant letter (r) and 12 groups of letters (Ah, al, ar, are, arre, au, ear, er, ir, oi, ois, uar). In two cases, this phoneme is made in graphic spelling by groups of vowel letters (au, oi), in ten cases by groups of vowel and consonant letters (Ah, al, ar, are, arre, ear, er, ir, ois, uar).

Vowel sound [ɪ] can be represented by letters a (image [ˈɪmɪdƷ]), e (depart [dɪˈpа:t]), e or i (enquire/inquire [ɪnˈkwaɪə]), i (inlet [ˈɪnlet]), o (women [ˈwɪmɪn]), u (busy [ˈbɪzɪ]), y (hymn [hɪm]), by French letter é (protégé [ˈprɔtɪƷeɪ]) and by groups of the letters ae (palaeontology [pælɪɔnˈtɔlədƷɪ]), ai (fountain [ˈfauntɪn]), ay (Friday [ˈfraɪdɪ]), ea (Guinea [ˈgɪnɪ]), ee (yankee [ˈjæŋkɪ]), ehea (forehead [ˈfɔrɪd]), ei (forfeit [ˈfo:fɪt]), eig (sovereign [ˈsovərɪn]), eo (pigeon [ˈpɪdƷɪn] or [ˈpɪdƷən]), ey (kidney [ˈkɪdnɪ]), ia (marriage [ˈmærɪdƷ]), ie (kerchief [ˈkə:tʃif]), ui (guild [gɪld]), wi (Greenwich [ˈgrɪnɪdƷ]).

Table 1. Ways of Graphical Spelling of Monophthongs [Ʌ], [а:] and [ɪ]

Sound [ɪ] can be put in the opening (ink [ɪŋk]), central (climate [ˈklaɪmɪt]) and ending (plenty [ˈplentɪ]) position of lexical units. One does not meet it in the neutral position. Monophthong [ɪ] is represented by seven vowel letters (a, e, i, o, u, y, é) and 14 groups of letters (ae, ai, ay, ea, ee, ehea, ei, eig, eo, ey, ia, ie, ui, wi). In 11 cases, this phoneme is made in graphic spelling by groups of vowel letters (ae, ai, ay, ea, ee, ei, eo, ey, ia, ie, ui), in three cases by groups of vowel and consonant letters (ehea, eig, wi).

Table 1 above displays particular cases of monophthongs [Ʌ], [а:] and [ɪ] represented by single letters and groups of letters in English lexical units.

Vowel sound [ɔ] can be represented by letters a (wrath [rɔθ]), e (entrepreneur [ɔntrəprəˈnə:] or [a:ntrəprəˈnə:]), o (inoculate [ɪˈnɔkjuleɪt) and by groups of letters ach (yacht [jɔt]), au (sausage [ˈsɔsɪdƷ]), ea (Sean [ʃɔn]), ho (honest [ˈɔnɪst]), oh (John [dƷɔn]), ou (lough [lɔh]), ow (knowledge [ˈnɔlɪdƷ]). Sound [ɔ] can be put in the opening (onto [ˈɔntu:]) and central (pond [pɔnd]) position of lexical units. One does not meet it in the neutral and ending position of lexical units. Monophthong [ɔ] is represented by three vowel letters (a, e, o) and seven groups of letters (ach, au, aw, ea, ho, oh, ou). In three cases, this phoneme is made in graphic spelling by groups of vowel letters (au, ea, ou) and in four cases by groups of vowel and consonant letters (ach, aw, ho, oh).

Vowel sound [o:] can be represented by letters a (gall [gо:l]), o (sanatorium [sænəˈto:rɪəm]) and by groups of letters al (stalk [stо:k]), aor (extraordinary [ɪksˈtrо:dənərɪ]), ar (swarm [swо:m]), au (taunt [tо:nt]), augh (naught [nо:t]), aw (thaw [θо:]), awe (awesome [ˈо:səm]), hau (haut or haute [о:t]), oa (broad [brо:d]), oar (hoard [hо:d]), oor (floor [flо:]), or (enforce [ɪnˈfо:s]), ore (pore [pо:]), orps (corps [kо:]), ort (rapport [ræˈpо:]), ough (ought [о:t]), our (four [fо:]), wor (sword [sо:d]). Sound [o:] can be put in the neutral (or [о:]), opening (all [о:l]), central (walk [wо:k]) and ending (door [dо:]) position of lexical units. Monophthong [o:] is represented by two vowel letters (a, o) and eighteen groups of letters (al, aor, ar, au, augh, aw, awe, hau, oa, oar, oor, or, ore, orps, ort, ough, our, wor). In two cases, this phoneme is made in graphic spelling by groups of vowel letters (au, oa) and in sixteen cases by groups of vowel and consonant letters (al, aor, ar, augh, aw, awe, hau, oar, oor, or, ore, orps, ort, ough, our, wor).

Vowel sound [ʊ] can be represented by letters o (bosom [ˈbʊzəm]), u (bull [bʊl]) and by groups of letters oo (nook [nʊk]), ou (haute couture [əʊtkʊˈtjʊə]), oul (should [ʃʊd]). Sound [ʊ] can be put in the opening (Ugh [ʊh]) and central (butcher [ˈbʊtʃə]) position of lexical units. One does not meet it in the neutral and ending position of lexical units. Monophthong [ʊ] is represented by two letters (o, u) and three groups of letters (oo, ou, oul). In two cases, this phoneme is made in graphic spelling by groups of vowel letters (oo, ou) and in one case by a group of vowel and consonant letters (oul).

Table 2. Ways of Graphical Spelling of Monophthongs [ɔ], [o:] and [ʊ]

Table 2 displays particular cases of monophthongs [ɔ], [o:] and [ʊ] represented by single letters and groups of letters in English lexical units.

Vowel sound [æ] can be represented by letters a (acrid [ˈækrɪd]), i (meringue [məˈræŋ]) and by groups of letters ai (plait [plæt]), a’a (ma’am [mæm]), ua (guarantee [gærənˈti:]). Sound [æ] can be put in the opening (act [ækt]), central (pad [pæd]) and ending (Nah or Nahh [næ]) position of lexical units. One does not meet it in the neutral position. Monophthong [æ] is represented by two letters (a, i), two groups of vowel letters (ai, ua) and a combination of a vowel letter and the apostrophe (a’a).

Vowel sound [e] can be represented by letters a (ate [et] or [eɪt]), e (peril [ˈperəl]), u (bury [ˈberɪ]), f (FOB [efəʊˈbi:]), l (LTD [elti:ˈdi:]), m (BMW [bi:emˈdɅblju:]), n (NGO [endƷi:ˈəʊ:]), s (SOS [esəʊˈes]), x (x-ray [ˈeksreɪ]), z (ZT [zed’ti:]), by French letter é (apéritif [əˈperəti:f]) and by groups of letters ai (said [sed]), ea (pleather [ˈpleðə]), eg (phlegm [flem]), ei (leisure [ˈleƷə]), eo (jeopardize [ˈdƷepədaiɪz]), ie (friend [frend]), ue (baguette [bæˈget]). Sound [e] can be put in the opening (embassy [ˈembəsɪ]) and central (twenty [ˈtwentɪ]) position of words. One does not meet it in the neutral and ending position of lexical units. Monophthong [e] is represented by four vowel letters (a, e, u, é), seven consonant letters (f, l, m, n, s, x, z) and seven groups of letters (ai, ea, eg, ei, eo, ie, ue). In six cases, this phoneme is made in graphic spelling by groups of vowel letters (ai, ea, ei, eo, ie, ue) and in one case by a group of vowel and consonant letters (eg).

Vowel sound [ə:] can be represented by groups of letters ieu (milieu [ˈmɪljə:]), ear (pearl [pə:l]), eor (George [dƷə:dƷ]), er (tertiary [ˈtə:ʃərɪ]), ere (were [wə:]), err (inferred [ɪnˈfə:d]), eur (amateur [ˈæmətə:] or [ˈæmətə]), ir (dirge [də:dƷ]), olo (colonel [ˈkə:nəl]), or (attorney [əˈtə:nɪ]), our (courtesy [ˈkə:təsɪ]), ur (nocturnal [nɔkˈtə:nəl]). Sound [ə:] can be put in the neutral (Er [ə:]), opening (earnest [ˈə:nɪst]), central (hurt [ˈhə:t]) and ending (infer [ɪnˈfə:]) position of lexical units. Monophthong [ə:] is represented by 12 groups of letters (ear, eor, er, ere, erre, eur, ieu, ir, olo, or, our, ur). In one case, this phoneme is made in graphic spelling by a group of vowel letters (ieu) and in 11 cases by groups of vowel and consonant letters (ear, eor, er, ere, erre, eur, ir, olo, or, our, ur).

Table 3 below displays particular cases of sounds [æ], [e] and [ə:] represented by single letters, groups of letters and the apostrophe in English lexical units.

Table 3. Ways of Graphical Spelling of Monophthongs [æ], [e] and [ə:]

Vowel sound [ə] can be represented by letters a (abrupt [əˈbrɅpt]), e (fraudulent [ˈfro:djələnt]), i (principal [ˈprɪnsəpl]), o (custody [ˈkɅstədɪ]), u (focus [ˈfəʊkəs]) and by groups of letters ai (villain [ˈvɪlən]), ar (leopard [ˈlepəd]), ay (always [ˈo:lwəz] or [ˈo:lweɪz]), ea (sergeant [ˈsa:dƷənt]), eo (sturgeon [ˈstə:dƷən]), eou (outrageous [autˈreɪdƷəs]), er (southern [ˈsɅðən]), er or re (fibre or fiber [ˈfaɪbə]), eu (pasteurize [ˈpæstʃəraɪz]), eur (chauffeur [ˈʃəʊfə] or [ˈʃəʊfə:]), gh (Edinburgh [ˈedɪnb(ə)rə]), hu (sorghum [ˈso:gəm]), ia (initial [ɪˈnɪʃəl]), ie (sufficient [səˈfɪʃənt]), io (tension [ˈtenʃən]), iou (vicious [ˈvɪʃəs]), iour (saviour [ˈseɪvjə]), iu (premium [ˈpri:mjəm] or [ˈpri:mɪəm]), oar (cupboard [ˈkɅbəd]), oi (tortoise [ˈto:təs]), or (tailor [ˈteɪlə]), ou (ominous [ˈɔmɪnəs]), ough (thorough [ˈθɅrə]), o(u)r (vigour or vigor [ˈvɪgə]), re (macabre [məˈka:bə] or [məˈka:br]), ue (guerilla [gəˈrɪlə]), uer (lacquer [ˈlækə]), uor (liquor [ˈlɪkə]), ur (surmountable [səˈmauntəbl]), ure (torture [ˈto:tʃə]), wer (answer [ˈa:nsə]), by a combination of the apostrophe (‘), a consonant and a vowel letters ‘re (we’re [ˈwɪə]), a vowel letter and the apostrophe o’ (o’clock [əˈklɔk]). Sound [ə] can be put in the opening (about [əˈbaut]), central (tenant [ˈtenənt]), central and ending simultaneously (opera [ˈopərə]) and ending (clever [ˈklevə]) position of lexical units. One does not meet it in the neutral position. Monophthong [ə] is represented by five letters (a, e, i, o, u), by 30 groups of letters (ai, ar, ay, ea, eo, eou, er, eu, eur, gh, hu, ia, ie, io, iou, iour, iu, oar, oi, or, ou, ough, o(u)r, re, ue, uer, uor, ur, ure, wer), by one group of consonant letters (gh), by one combination of a punctuation sign (the apostrophe), a consonant and a vowel letters (‘re) and by one combination of a vowel letter and a punctuation sign (the apostrophe) (o‘). In 14 cases, this phoneme is made in graphic spelling by groups of vowel letters (ai, ay, ea, eo, eou, eu, ia, ie, io, iou, iu, oi, ou, ue), in 15 cases by a group of vowel and consonant letters (ar, er, eur, hu, iour, oar, or, ough, o(u)r, re, uer, uor, ur, ure, wer), in one case by a group of consonant letters (gh).

Table 4 displays particular cases of phoneme [ə] represented by single letters, groups of letters and the apostrophe in English lexical units.

Table 4. Ways of Graphical Spelling of Monophthong [ə]

Diphthongoids

Vowel sound [i:] can be represented by vowel letters e (genius [ˈdƷi:nɪəs]), i (fatigue [fəˈti:g]), by consonant letters b (BBC [bi:bi:ˈsi:]), c (CNN [si:enˈen]), d (PhD [pi:eɪtʃˈdi:]), g (NGO [endƷi:ˈəʊ]), p (PA [pi:ˈeɪ]), t (t-shirt [ˈti:ʃə:t]), v (VIP [vi:aɪˈpi:]), z (Zz [zi:]), by French letter ï (naïve [naɪˈi:v] or [na:ˈi:v] or naive [na:ˈi:v]), and by groups of letters ae (algae [ˈældƷi:]), ea (grease [gri:s]), ee (seethe [si:ð]), eh (vehicle [ˈvi:ɪkl]), ei (protein [ˈprəʊti:n]), eo (people [ˈpi:pl]), ey (key [ki:]), ie (retrieve [rɪˈtri:v]), oe (Phoenix [ˈfi:nɪks]), uay (quay [ˈki:]). Sound [i:] can be put in the opening (eat [i:t]), central (scheme [ski:m]) and ending (payee [peɪˈi:]) position of lexical units. One does not meet it in the neutral position. Diphthongoid [i:] is represented by three vowel letters (e, i, ï), by eight consonant letters (b, c, d, g, p, t, v, z) and by 10 groups of letters (ae, ea, ee, eh, ei, eo, ey, ie, oe, uay). In nine cases, this phoneme is made in graphic spelling by groups of vowel letters (ae, ea, ee, ei, eo, ey, ie, oe, uay) and in one case by a group of a vowel and a consonant letters (eh).

Table 5. Ways of Graphical Spelling of Diphthongoids [i:] and [u:]

Vowel sound [u:] can be represented by vowel letters o (tomb [tu:m]), u (ruth [ru:θ]), by consonant letters q (IQ [aɪˈkju:]), w (WC dɅblju:ˈsi:]) and by groups of letters eau (beauty [ˈbju:tɪ]), eu (pharmaceutical [fa:məˈsju:tɪkəl]), eu or oeu (maneuver or manoeuver [məˈnu:və]), ew (screw [skru:]), heu (rheum [ru:m]), hou (ghoul [gu:l]), iew (review [rɪˈvju:]), oe (canoe [kəˈnu:]), oo (maroon [məˈru:n]), ou (acoustics [əˈku:stɪks]), ough (through [θru:]), ue (rue [ru:]), ueue (queue [kju:]), ui (bruise [bru:z]), wo (two [tu:]). Sound [u:] can be put in the opening (Oops [u:ps]), central (shrewd [ʃru:d]) and ending (bamboo [bæmˈbu:]) position of lexical units. One does not meet it in the neutral position. Diphthongoid [u:] is represented by two vowel letters (o, u), two consonant letters (q, w) and by 16 groups of letters (eau, eu, eu, ew, heu, hou, iew, oe, oeu, oo, ou, ough, ue, ueue, ui, wo). In ten cases, this phoneme is made in graphic spelling by groups of vowel letters (eau, eu, eu, oe, oeu, oo, ou, ue, ueue, ui) and in six cases by groups of vowel and consonsnt letters (ew, heu, hou, iew, ough, wo).

Table 5 displays particular cases of diphthongs [i:] and [u:] represented by single letters and groups of letters in English lexical units.

To sum up, we must note that the solution to the problem of graphic spelling of monophthongs and diphthongoids is still for the most part in its infancy. No single spelling rule can guarantee uniformed pronunciation of this or that vowel phoneme, that is why the best way to specify correct pronunciation of a lexical unit remains in looking it up in off-line and on-line dictionaries. However, the ways of graphic spelling of ten monophthongs ([Ʌ], [а:], [ɪ], [ɔ], [o:], [ʊ], [æ], [e], [ə], [ə:]) and two diphthongoids ([i:], [u:]) described by us can simplify to some extent this process in the initial and further stages of teaching English at educational institutions in the Russian Federation.

Our brief outline of the modes of graphical spelling of the vowel sounds shows that further more careful and scrupulously detailed investigation is necessary to get the objective data by which we can more fully ascertain each method to render the vowel phonemes. Nevertheless, the research allowed us to work out and prepair for publishing a guide-book containing drills to consolidate the skills of spelling and pronunciation of lexical units.

The logical outcome of our work permits to state that the data of the review can be helpful in the pedagogical reality of Russian schools, colleges, universities when teaching English phonological and spelling nuances to students who master English as a foreign language. However, we cannot purport to have covered the entire range of variations of letters and groups of letters depicting monophthongs and diphthongoids. For this reason, we invite our fellow scholars to join us in further more thorough research of this issue.