In the same way, within a sentence, words that have more
stress or emphasis will last longer than words that are
unstressed. For example, in this sentence:
My friend should have called me.
The words friend and called are stressed more than the
others, and so they last longer. The words my, should, have,
and me are unstressed, and so they are very short. The words
last di"erent lengths of time, even though they each have one
syllable. (We’ll learn more about which words receive the
most stress in sentences in Chapter 10, “Thought Groups and
Prominence.”)
What do students need to know about vowel length?
From a teaching perspective, there are three points that are
most important for students to know:
- The di"erence between tense/lax pairs of vowels like /iy/
and /ɪ/, /ey/ and /ɛ/, or /uw/ and /ᴜ/ is more than just
length. We have to pronounce the sounds di"erently, too. - Vowels are longer before voiced sounds or at the end of a
word and shorter before voiceless sounds. - Vowels are longer in stressed syllables and shorter in
unstressed syllables.
British and American Phonologists’ Analysis
of Vowel Length
One source of confusion comes from a difference in the ways
British and American phonologists traditionally analyze and
describe vowel length. However, if you look at the summary below,
you’ll see that despite the difference in presentation, both are
saying basically the same thing.
British analysis American analysis
Length of vowels out of context (The vowel by itself)
“Long” vowels are longer: Both are the same length:Length of vowels before a voiceless sound
Long vowels become shorter: All vowels become shorter:Length of vowels before a voiced sound
Short vowels become longer: All vowels become longer:60