Editor's Corner

In elementary school, we learned about vowels: A E, I, O, U, and sometimes Y. And we learned that all the other letters in our alphabet are called consonants. But have you ever wondered why the letters are broken into those two categories? It all comes down to how we make the sounds represented by the letters.

Here is a brief explanation from Dictionary.com:

According to phoneticians, a vowel is a speech sound that is made without significant constriction of the flow of air from the lungs. The tongue can be at various heights in the mouth (such as high, mid, or low) and at various positions (front, central, or back). The lips can be variously rounded. Vowels can vary in pitch and loudness, too.

Here’s the part where you get to act like a kid. Say “ahh,” but then flick your tongue all around your mouth, wriggle your lips and jaws around, let out the noise at different volumes, but don’t ever fully stop that airflow. You are vowel-ing!

If you do restrict or close your airflow in a significant way, you’re in consonant territory. Where that restriction or closure occurs in your vocal tract determines what consonants you are making. “B” sounds are produced by bringing the lips together, for instance (bilabials). K sounds are produced by bringing the back of the tongue up to your soft palate (velars). Th sounds are made when the tongue goes between the teeth (interdentals).

It is a different article called “Is It True ‘W’ Can Be Used as a Vowel?” that brought this topic to my attention. The article says that the letter W is “a bit of both”—a consonant and a vowel (like Y). I couldn’t think of any words in which W functioned as a vowel, and I’m guessing you’re also having a hard time coming up with any. It turns out that there are “a precious few” words that English has borrowed from the Welsh language. I’ve listed two words below, neither of which I’ve ever used or heard, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t in an English dictionary—specifically the Oxford English Dictionary:

• cwm (pronounced koom or kuhm) is a steep-walled semicircular basin in a mountain
• crwth (pronounced crooth) refers to an ancient Celtic musical instrument

In both words, the W makes the same oo sound we make in English (as in room or tooth). Isn’t that interesting?

Every language has both vowels and consonants, but the sounds they produce and the number of sounds that can be produced vary for each unique language. I’m reminded of how hard it is for me to trill my Rs like Spanish speakers do and how odd it felt to pronounce the guttural R when I took French classes in school—these are sounds we don’t use in English. But they are beautiful to my ears, and I am so grateful to live in an area where I hear many different, musical languages spoken every day. Thank you, consonants and vowels—I am forever grateful.

Donna Bradley Burcher |Technical Editor, Advisory | jack henry

Pronouns she/her/hers

9660 Granite Ridge Drive, San Diego CA 92123

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About Editor’s Corner

Editor’s Corner keeps your communication skills sharp by providing information on grammar, punctuation, JHA style, and all things English. As editors, we spend our days reading, researching, and revising other people’s writing. We love to spend a few extra minutes to share what we learn with you and keep it fun while we’re doing it.

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