Scots GrVowel Features
Vowels in Scots aye haes thir features: syllabic, sonorant, vyce, continuant.
They never haes thir features: consonantal, spreed glottis, closed glottis, labial, coronal, anterior, strident, lateral, delayed release.
The ither features o Scots vowels is set oot in the table ablo, wi groups haudin allophones o the same phoneme hielichtit.
| Vowel | roond | hie | mid | laich | back | tense | Example |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ə |  |
|
|
|
|
|
happen |
| ɪ | |
 |
|
|
|
|
git |
| ɜ | |
|
|
|
|
|
yit |
| ʌ | |
|
|
|
|
|
cuttie |
| e: | |
|
|
|
|
|
blate |
| ɛ: | |
|
|
|
|
|
gled |
| i(:) | |
|
|
|
|
|
sleekit |
| ɑ(:) | |
|
|
|
|
|
watter |
| ɒ: | |
|
|
|
|
|
cauld |
| u(:) | |
|
|
|
|
|
aboot |
| o(:) | |
|
|
|
|
|
sort |
| y | |
|
|
|
|
|
guid |
| ø: | |
|
|
|
|
|
puir |
Vowel Placement
Allophones
The /y/ phoneme includes thir allophones: [y], [ø], as weel as ither allophones that could be thocht on as bein inatween thir twa. In conservative dialecks, [y] is uized mair for short vowels, [ø] for lang. In oor canonical representation o the leid, we'se uize /y/ short an /y:/ lang for the phoneme.
This phoneme hauds the idea o a hiegh, front, roondit vowel, that can be a bittie mair laich, espaecially whan it's lang. In maist modern dialecks, tho, the roondin haes been tint or separatit, sae that wirds spelt <guid>, <puir> an <sheuch>, for example, gies us the soond o /gwid/ or /gɪd/, /pi:r/ or /pe:r/, an /ʃux/ or /ʃʌx/. This will be explained mair in the Langage Variation section o the site.
The /ɪ/ phoneme includes thir allophones: [ɪ], [ɜ] an aathing inatween. The [ɜ] allophone is uizually caad Aitken's Vowel, efter Professor Adam J Aitken.
The hale /ɪ/ phoneme seems tae haud the idea o a lax vowel, a bittie front o center, o nae parteeclar hicht.