• • UK English (RP): 44 phonemes (more distinct vowel sounds).

  • US English (GA): 39 phonemes (fewer vowels due to mergers).

  • Consonants (Contoids) are nearly identical in both.

  • Vowels (Vocoids) differ significantly, affecting accents.

    1.  

1. /w/ – The “W” Sound

Articulation:

• • • Produced by rounding the lips (like the vowel /uː/ in “food”).

    • The back of the tongue rises slightly toward the soft palate.

    • Voiced (vocal cords vibrate).

Examples:

• • • “win” – /wɪn/

    • “water” – /ˈwɔːtər/ (UK), /ˈwɑːtər/ (US)

    • “quick” – /kwɪk/ (Note: /kw/ is a consonant cluster)

    • “swim” – /swɪm/

Key Features:

• • • Always appears at the beginning of syllables or after another consonant (e.g., “twist” /twɪst/).

    • Cannot appear at the end of a syllable in English (unlike some other languages).

2. /j/ – The “Y” Sound

Articulation:

• • • Produced by raising the front of the tongue toward the hard palate (like the vowel /iː/ in “see”).

    • Voiced (vocal cords vibrate).

Examples:

• • • “yes” – /jɛs/

    • “yellow” – /ˈjɛləʊ/

    • “music” – /ˈmjuːzɪk/ (Note: /mj/ is a consonant cluster)

    • “cute” – /kjuːt/

Key Features:

• • • Often appears before high front vowels (/iː/, /ɪ/, /eɪ/).

    • In some accents, /j/ is dropped (e.g., “news” = /njuːz/ in UK, /nuːz/ in US).

Why Are /w/ and /j/ Called Semi-Vowels?

• • 1. Vowel-Like Articulation:

       • /w/ is similar to /uː/ (as in “moon”).

       • /j/ is similar to /iː/ (as in “see”).

    2. Consonant-Like Behavior:

       • They cannot be the syllabic nucleus (unlike vowels).

       • They appear at syllable onsets (e.g., “we” /wiː/) or in clusters (e.g., “twin” /twɪn/).

Comparison Table

Key Takeaways

• • /w/ and /j/ are glides—they act like consonants but are produced like vowels.

  • They cannot form syllables alone (e.g., no English word is just /w/ or /j/).

  • They often appear before vowels (e.g., “we” /wiː/, “you” /juː/).