英语语法：104 When Is "W" a Vowel?

Grammar Girl here. Today’s topic is when a consonant¹ is a vowel². When I was out on my book tour, someone at the Third Coast Coffee Roasting Company in Austin asked me whether the "w" is ever a vowel. I was stumped³, but I promised to look into it. Guest-writer Sal Glynn generously took on the research project and created today's episode.

Before we get to his answer, something related to the e-mail newsletter came up in an audiobook I was listening to this week -- Undead and Uneasy. I'm finishing that book series by Mary Janice Davidson I told you about last week. In the newsletter, I answered a question about the plural⁴ of the word "bus,"  as in "school bus." It can actually be made plural with one "s" in the middle or two. "Buses" with one "s" is the preferred form, but "busses" with two "s's" is also acceptable.

A bunch of people wrote in asking if I was confusing "bus" with the word "buss" spelled with two "s's." I wasn't, but "buss" with two "s's" is another word for a big sloppy⁵ kiss, and its plural is also "b-u-s-s-e-s." I'd never heard the word before, and when I looked it up in the dictionary, I found that it is considered archaic⁶ or dialect. So imagine how surprised I was when two days later I heard the word in Undead and Uneasy! Here it is:

[EXCERPT]

How about that?

And if you want to sign up for my free daily e-mail newsletter and join in the fun of harassing⁷ me about possible errors, there's a sign-up button in the Grammar Girl section at quickanddirtytips.com.

Now back to Sal Glynn's explanation about the mysterious "w" vowel.

I bet you all remember the grade school line of vowels⁸: "a, e, i,o, u, sometimes y." Well, to this you can also add "sometimes w." The "w" came late to the Roman alphabet. Emperor Claudius tried to give this letter its start during the alphabet reforms, but the early version was dropped after his death in 54 CE due to spiteful rumors⁹ that the "w" only served the emperor’s whim¹⁰ and not the common good. (1) Anglo-Saxon writing of the seventh century revived the forgotten "w", this time in the runic script that took precedence in Britain after the fall of the Roman Empire.

The "w" is used in words that help us know where we are other than here, names the short-winged songbird known as a wren¹¹, and gives us the question of "Why?" that nagging¹² children use to drive their parents to encyclopedias¹³ and family counseling. These examples show how "w" is used as a consonant for its "wuh" sound -- "winged," "wren," "why," etc. But these words miss out on how "w" functions as a vowel like "y," though its not mentioned as often as "y." Both of these letters are consonants¹⁴ only at the beginning of a syllable¹⁵. Let "w" sneak¹⁶ inside a syllable and become part of a diphthong (more on that later), and it becomes a vowel. The double duty makes "w" not just an ordinary consonant but also a semi-vowel, also sometimes called a semi-consonant.

Phonetically¹⁷ Speaking

Where other cultures have gotten along just fine with writing systems based on pictures or signs, Latin-based languages like English come from human speech. "D" for example, looks like a "d," sounds like a "d," and stands for "d," not tree or ground squirrel or overcoat. The study of phonetics looks at how humans make sounds, especially speech, and helps determine whether a letter is a vowel or a consonant as used in a specific word. Consonants come from constricted¹⁸ or closed configuration¹⁹ of the vocal²⁰ tract²¹. Think of the harsh sounds of "k," "p," and "t." Vowels come from an open configuration of the vocal tract and are much more musical (2).

Enter the Diphthong

Even the most straightforward²² of vowels have driven writers to perilously²³ high flights of fancy. For example, French poet Arthur Rimbaud wrote, “I invented the color of vowels!—A black, E white, I red, O blue, U green (3).” Add diphthongs and the palette of vowels expands to include purple, teal, ecru, and even plaid.

A diphthong is what happens when vowels are combined to create a new sound, like the "ai" in "again," the two "o's" in "good," and the "au" in "author." One vowel is always more dominant²⁴ than the other when they are put together. This makes for falling and descending²⁵ diphthongs when the stress is on the first vowel, and rising and ascending²⁶ diphthongs when the stress is on the second vowel. You can remember that dipthongs are made up of two letters because the prefix²⁷ "di-" means "two."

"W" becomes a semi-vowel when it becomes part of a diphthong. You hear it most commonly in combination with "a," "e," and "o." For example, we have the "aw" in "claw," the "ew" in "few," and the "ow" in "show." Sound out the word where it's used to make the final determination for "w." If it glides²⁸, it’s a vowel. If not, it’s a consonant.

A Final Confusion

Finally, is there a case where the "w" is a vowel on its own? Yes and no. According to the American Heritage Dictionary, this happens in the word spelled “cwm,” pronounced “koom” and meaning "a steep hollow at the upper end of a mountain valley." The word is originally from the Welsh, a Brythonic branch of the Celtic languages, and a language in which "w" is a standard vowel, not just a semi-vowel. English comes from the Anglo-Saxon and has clashed with the Celtic for centuries. "Cwm" is great to use in Scrabble games and for stumping²⁹ your friends, but as an example of using "w" as a single vowel, forget it. Although it is sometimes used as an example of a word in which "w" is a vowel, it is more often used as an example of a rare English word without a vowel.

Now that you understand "w" can be a vowel, remember the quick and dirty rule is "w" is vowel when it's part of a diphthong, and a clue is to look for it when it's used in the middle of a syllable.

Administrative³⁰

The Dog Walked Down the Street: An Outspoken³¹ Guide for Writers Who Want to Publish

Thanks to this week's guest-writer Sal Glynn, the author of the award-winning book The Dog Walked Down the Street, An Outspoken Guide for Writers Who Want to Publish. Find out more about Sal at his blog,...

That's all. Thanks for listening.

 

1 consonant   

n.辅音；adj.[音]符合的

参考例句：

• The quality of this suit isn't quite consonant with its price.这套衣服的质量和价钱不相称。
• These are common consonant clusters at the beginning of words.这些单词的开头有相同辅音组合。

2 vowel   

n.元音；元音字母

参考例句：

• A long vowel is a long sound as in the word"shoe ".长元音即如“shoe” 一词中的长音。
• The vowel in words like 'my' and 'thigh' is not very difficult.单词my和thigh中的元音并不难发。

3 stumped   

僵直地行走，跺步行走( stump的过去式和过去分词 )； 把（某人）难住； 使为难； （选举前）在某一地区作政治性巡回演说

参考例句：

• Jack huffed himself up and stumped out of the room. 杰克气喘吁吁地干完活，然后很艰难地走出房间。
• He was stumped by the questions and remained tongue-tied for a good while. 他被问得张口结舌，半天说不出话来。

4 plural   

n.复数；复数形式；adj.复数的

参考例句：

• Most plural nouns in English end in's '.英语的复数名词多以s结尾。
• Here you should use plural pronoun.这里你应该用复数代词。

5 sloppy   

adj.邋遢的，不整洁的

参考例句：

• If you do such sloppy work again,I promise I'll fail you.要是下次作业你再马马虎虎，我话说在头里，可要给你打不及格了。
• Mother constantly picked at him for being sloppy.母亲不断地批评他懒散。

6 archaic   

adj.(语言、词汇等)古代的，已不通用的

参考例句：

• The company does some things in archaic ways,such as not using computers for bookkeeping.这个公司有些做法陈旧，如记账不使用电脑。
• Shaanxi is one of the Chinese archaic civilized origins which has a long history.陕西省是中国古代文明发祥之一，有悠久的历史。

7 harassing   

v.侵扰，骚扰( harass的现在分词 )；不断攻击（敌人）

参考例句：

• The court ordered him to stop harassing his ex-wife. 法庭命令他不得再骚扰前妻。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• It was too close to be merely harassing fire. 打得这么近，不能完全是扰乱射击。 来自辞典例句

8 vowels   

n.元音，元音字母( vowel的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Vowels possess greater sonority than consonants. 元音比辅音响亮。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• Note the various sounds of vowels followed by r. 注意r跟随的各种元音的发音。 来自超越目标英语 第3册

9 rumors   

n.传闻( rumor的名词复数 )；[古]名誉；咕哝；[古]喧嚷v.传闻( rumor的第三人称单数 )；[古]名誉；咕哝；[古]喧嚷

参考例句：

• Rumors have it that the school was burned down. 有谣言说学校给烧掉了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Rumors of a revolt were afloat. 叛变的谣言四起。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 whim   

n.一时的兴致，突然的念头；奇想，幻想

参考例句：

• I bought the encyclopedia on a whim.我凭一时的兴致买了这本百科全书。
• He had a sudden whim to go sailing today.今天他突然想要去航海。

11 wren   

n.鹪鹩；英国皇家海军女子服务队成员

参考例句：

• A wren is a kind of short-winged songbird.鹪鹩是一种短翼的鸣禽。
• My bird guide confirmed that a Carolina wren had discovered the thickets near my house.我掌握的鸟类知识使我确信，一只卡罗莱纳州鹪鹩已经发现了我家的这个灌木丛。

12 nagging   

adj.唠叨的，挑剔的；使人不得安宁的v.不断地挑剔或批评（某人）( nag的现在分词 )；不断地烦扰或伤害（某人）；无休止地抱怨；不断指责

参考例句：

• Stop nagging—I'll do it as soon as I can. 别唠叨了—我会尽快做的。
• I've got a nagging pain in my lower back. 我后背下方老是疼。 来自《简明英汉词典》

13 encyclopedias   

n.百科全书， （某一学科的）专科全书( encyclopedia的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• However, some encyclopedias can be found on the Web. 同时，一些百科全书能也在网络上找到。 来自互联网
• Few people think of encyclopedias as creative enterprises; but they are. 鲜少有人想到百科全书是创意的工作，但它确实是。 来自互联网

14 consonants   

n.辅音，子音( consonant的名词复数 )；辅音字母

参考例句：

• Consonants are frequently assimilated to neighboring consonants. 辅音往往被其邻近的辅音同化。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Vowels possess greater sonority than consonants. 元音比辅音响亮。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

15 syllable   

n.音节；vt.分音节

参考例句：

• You put too much emphasis on the last syllable.你把最后一个音节读得太重。
• The stress on the last syllable is light.最后一个音节是轻音节。

16 sneak   

vt.潜行(隐藏,填石缝)；偷偷摸摸做；n.潜行；adj.暗中进行

参考例句：

• He raised his spear and sneak forward.他提起长矛悄悄地前进。
• I saw him sneak away from us.我看见他悄悄地从我们身边走开。

17 phonetically   

按照发音地，语音学上

参考例句：

• In actual speech, a phoneme is realized phonetically as a certain phone. 在实际会话中，音位总是以某个音素的形式得以体现出来。
• Though phonetically alike, they are written with different ideographs. 虽然语音相同，它们的书写却不同。

18 constricted   

adj.抑制的，约束的

参考例句：

• Her throat constricted and she swallowed hard. 她喉咙发紧，使劲地咽了一下唾沫。
• The tight collar constricted his neck. 紧领子勒着他的脖子。

19 configuration   

n.结构，布局，形态，(计算机)配置

参考例句：

• Geographers study the configuration of the mountains.地理学家研究山脉的地形轮廓。
• Prices range from $119 to $199,depending on the particular configuration.价格因具体配置而异，从119美元至199美元不等。

20 vocal   

adj.直言不讳的；嗓音的；n.[pl.]声乐节目

参考例句：

• The tongue is a vocal organ.舌头是一个发音器官。
• Public opinion at last became vocal.终于舆论哗然。

21 tract   

n.传单，小册子，大片(土地或森林)

参考例句：

• He owns a large tract of forest.他拥有一大片森林。
• He wrote a tract on this subject.他曾对此写了一篇短文。

22 straightforward   

adj.正直的，坦率的；易懂的，简单的

参考例句：

• A straightforward talk is better than a flowery speech.巧言不如直说。
• I must insist on your giving me a straightforward answer.我一定要你给我一个直截了当的回答。

23 perilously   

adv.充满危险地，危机四伏地

参考例句：

• They were perilously close to the edge of the precipice. 他们离悬崖边很近，十分危险。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• It'seemed to me that we had come perilously close to failure already. 对我来说，好像失败和我只有一步之遥，岌岌可危。 来自互联网

24 dominant   

adj.支配的，统治的；占优势的；显性的；n.主因，要素，主要的人(或物)；显性基因

参考例句：

• The British were formerly dominant in India.英国人从前统治印度。
• She was a dominant figure in the French film industry.她在法国电影界是个举足轻重的人物。

25 descending   

n. 下行 adj. 下降的

参考例句：

• The results are expressed in descending numerical order . 结果按数字降序列出。
• The climbers stopped to orient themselves before descending the mountain. 登山者先停下来确定所在的位置，然后再下山。

26 ascending   

adj.上升的，向上的

参考例句：

• Now draw or trace ten dinosaurs in ascending order of size.现在按照体型由小到大的顺序画出或是临摹出10只恐龙。

27 prefix   

n.前缀；vt.加…作为前缀；置于前面

参考例句：

• We prefix "Mr."to a man's name.我们在男士的姓名前加“先生”。
• In the word "unimportant ","un-" is a prefix.在单词“unimportant”中“un”是前缀。

28 glides   

n.滑行( glide的名词复数 )；滑音；音渡；过渡音v.滑动( glide的第三人称单数 )；掠过；（鸟或飞机 ） 滑翔

参考例句：

• The new dance consists of a series of glides. 这种新舞蹈中有一连串的滑步。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The stately swan glides gracefully on the pond. 天鹅在池面上优美地游动。 来自《简明英汉词典》

29 stumping   

僵直地行走，跺步行走( stump的现在分词 )； 把（某人）难住； 使为难； （选举前）在某一地区作政治性巡回演说

参考例句：

• She's tired of stumping up for school fees, books and uniform. 她讨厌为学费、课本和校服掏腰包。
• But Democrats and Republicans are still dumping stumping for the young. 但是民主党和共和党依然向年轻人发表演说以争取他们的支持。

30 administrative   

adj.行政的，管理的

参考例句：

• The administrative burden must be lifted from local government.必须解除地方政府的行政负担。
• He regarded all these administrative details as beneath his notice.他认为行政管理上的这些琐事都不值一顾。

31 outspoken   

adj.直言无讳的，坦率的，坦白无隐的

参考例句：

• He was outspoken in his criticism.他在批评中直言不讳。
• She is an outspoken critic of the school system in this city.她是这座城市里学校制度的坦率的批评者。