"cow" sound in American English

Status
Not open for further replies.

CJ 4 life

Member
Joined
Mar 31, 2008
Member Type
Student or Learner
Native Language
Italian
Home Country
Italy
Current Location
Italy
Hi everybody, I'd like to know whether the first sound of the "ow" diphthong (in words like "cow", "now", "loud", ecc...) is the same as the first sound of the "y" diphthong (in words like "my", "hi", "right", ecc...), because I hear it to be more toward the "a" sound of "cat", "map", ecc...
I know that the "ow" diphthong ends with a "oo" sound (as in "book"), I'm only asking about the STARTING part of the diphthong, because in dictionaries this first part is the same as the first part of the "y" diphthong, but I think it's a little different. What is it exactly (in American English)? Thank you.
I know that it may vary from dialect to dialect, but I'm asking about the standard one, which is the one that I hear most often.
 

raindoctor

Member
Joined
Oct 18, 2009
Member Type
Other
Native Language
Swahili
Home Country
Kenya
Current Location
United States
The first vowel tends to be anywhere between /a/ and /æ/, depending on the dialect. Second, the first vowel in MY and COW tend to be same; however, the glide can shift the quality of the first vowel. /æ/ and /ʊ/ are back; /ɑ/ and /ɪ/ are front. /a/ is half way between /ɑ/ and /æ/.
 

birdeen's call

VIP Member
Joined
Jul 15, 2010
Member Type
Student or Learner
Native Language
Polish
Home Country
Poland
Current Location
Poland
That phoneme is /a/. This is the sound you denote by "a" in Italian.
 

CJ 4 life

Member
Joined
Mar 31, 2008
Member Type
Student or Learner
Native Language
Italian
Home Country
Italy
Current Location
Italy
The first vowel tends to be anywhere between /a/ and /æ/, depending on the dialect. Second, the first vowel in MY and COW tend to be same; however, the glide can shift the quality of the first vowel. /æ/ and /ʊ/ are back; /ɑ/ and /ɪ/ are front. /a/ is half way between /ɑ/ and /æ/.

So the first part of "cow" tends to be between the first part of "find" and the vowel of "cat", am I correct? If this is true, standard American English has three different "a" sounds, the one in "cow", the one in "kind" and the one in "con" (listed from the most fronted to the least fronted), right?
 

birdeen's call

VIP Member
Joined
Jul 15, 2010
Member Type
Student or Learner
Native Language
Polish
Home Country
Poland
Current Location
Poland
So the first part of "cow" tends to be between the first part of "find" and the vowel of "cat", am I correct? If this is true, standard American English has three different "a" sounds, the one in "cow", the one in "kind" and the one in "con" (listed from the most fronted to the least fronted), right?
Firstly, there's no such thing as standard American English. There's co-called General American. And GA doesn't have different "a" sounds in "kind" and "cow". They're both /a/. It's not the sound that is present in "con" except perhaps the Inland North dialect.
 

CJ 4 life

Member
Joined
Mar 31, 2008
Member Type
Student or Learner
Native Language
Italian
Home Country
Italy
Current Location
Italy
Firstly, there's no such thing as standard American English. There's co-called General American. And GA doesn't have different "a" sounds in "kind" and "cow". They're both /a/. It's not the sound that is present in "con" except perhaps the Inland North dialect.

I think you're wrong. The first part of the diphthong of "cow" and "kind" DOES differ a little bit. The one in "cow" tends to be more toward the "a" in "cat", at least that's what I hear (also Rachel from Rachel's English confirmed this).
 

lauralie2

Senior Member
Joined
Dec 20, 2009
Member Type
Retired English Teacher
Native Language
English
Home Country
Canada
Current Location
China
... different "a" sounds, the one in "cow", the one in "kind" ... .
Phonetically, yes. Articulatory anticipation of high, front [ɪ] and low, back [ʊ] will produce different "a" sounds in the diphthongs [aɪ̯] and [aʊ̯].
 

CJ 4 life

Member
Joined
Mar 31, 2008
Member Type
Student or Learner
Native Language
Italian
Home Country
Italy
Current Location
Italy
Phonetically, yes. Articulatory anticipation of high, front [ɪ] and low, back [ʊ] will produce different "a" sounds in the diphthongs [aɪ̯] and [aʊ̯].

So do you agree with me that the "a" in "cow" is more toward the "a" in "cat"?
 

lauralie2

Senior Member
Joined
Dec 20, 2009
Member Type
Retired English Teacher
Native Language
English
Home Country
Canada
Current Location
China
So do you agree with me that the "a" in "cow" is more toward the "a" in "cat"?
For my pronunciation, yes: "a" in cat, cattle, apple.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top