Vowels, Consonants and the Architecture of Speech
Before we can explore stress and rhythm, it helps to understand something about the sounds that make up spoken language.
We often think of vowels and consonants as groups of letters, but they are more accurately described as different kinds of speech sounds.
A vowel sound is produced with relatively little obstruction to the flow of air. As you pronounce the vowels in see, say, sigh, sew, and Sue, notice that the air moves freely through the mouth. The shape of the mouth changes, but the tongue does not completely block the airflow.
A consonant sound is produced by partially or completely interrupting that airflow. The lips may close (p, b, m), the tongue may touch the ridge behind the teeth (t, d), or the airflow may be narrowed to create friction (s, f, sh).
One way of thinking about the difference is that vowels provide the voice with a resonant pathway, while consonants shape, direct, interrupt, and refine that sound.
Try saying the following sounds aloud:
aaaaa
ooooo
eeeee
Notice how they can be sustained almost indefinitely.
Now try:
p
t
k
These sounds cannot be prolonged in the same way because they involve a complete closure of the airflow.
Next try:
sssss
fffff
mmmm
These consonants can be extended, but they still shape the airflow differently from vowels.
This distinction matters because the rhythmic structure of speech depends heavily on the interaction between vowels and consonants. Vowels tend to carry syllables, while consonants help define where one sound ends and another begins.
The Curious Case of Y
Most letters consistently represent either vowel sounds or consonant sounds. The letter y is unusual because it can represent both.
At the beginning of words such as yes, yellow, and yard, the letter y represents a consonant sound.
In words such as my, fly, sky, and happy, it represents a vowel sound.
This reminds us that speech sounds and letters are not always the same thing. Letters are symbols on a page. Speech sounds are what we actually hear and produce. The relationship between the two is often straightforward, but English frequently requires us to pay attention to sound rather than spelling.
Why This Matters for Prosody
When we listen to speech, we do not hear isolated letters. We hear patterns of sound.
Some sounds are open and sonorous. Others are sharp and brief. Some syllables seem to take centre stage, while others remain in the background.
Stress, rhythm, phrasing, and expression all emerge from these patterns.
As a poet it’s worth begining to pay attention to how words feel in your mouth as well as how they look on the page. Prosody starts not with meaning, but with sound. The music of language is already present before we decide what a sentence means.
Vowels and Consonants and the Architecture of Speech
