ESL General English Grammar Questions

Re: IS "w" A VOWEL

Anonymous — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 20:14:15 GMT

Yes, it is a vowel, if used in diphthong (e.g. "show," "claw," "shaw," et c.; used to complete the elongated vowel) or, as stated above, in cwm or crwth, words both Welsh-derived meaning an "amphitheater-like valley" and an ancient, stringed instrument respectively.

Re: WHEN IS "w" A VOWEL

Anonymous — Sat, 07 Mar 2009 01:07:47 GMT

http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_Word_uses_w_as_a_vowel

Re: WHEN IS "w" A VOWEL

Anonymous — Sat, 07 Mar 2009 01:02:44 GMT

I guess you are not as old as I am :-).... When I was in school, I was taught that the vowels were: (put a sing songy tune to it) a,e,i,o,u and sometimes y and w. My husband and I were talking about it tonight and he never heard of it either. That's why I googled it and found your question. Mary Ellen

Re: WHEN IS "w" A VOWEL

Anonymous — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 16:29:46 GMT

Hi Cyndi, Consider the word "tow" as in tow your car and you now have an example. Also look at the word "bow" and you get examples of sometimes, bow of a ship and bow and arrows. W is a vowel sometimes just like a y only they continue to dumb down our system. I just happen to be old. Good luck OAk

Re: WHEN IS "w" A VOWEL

Anonymous — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 21:23:13 GMT

In kindergartner, I was taught that on rare occasion W is a vowel. Some say that any word ending in W such as cow or tomorrow uses the w as a vowel. The word that I foond uses W as its only vowel. The word is CRWTH. According to Wikipedia: crwth is an archaic stringed musical instrument , associated particularly with Welsh music , although once played widely in Europe. Crwth is a Welsh word, pronounced to rhyme with tooth ( IPA : /kruːθ/ or <

Re: IS "w" A VOWEL

CalifJim — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 19:35:48 GMT

the first vowel says its name and the second vowel is silent. Unless you want to eat a great big biscuit in a field for breakfast. That's a "gr ee t big bis cute in a filed for br ee kfast" by the "rule". Dr. Jim

Re: IS "w" A VOWEL

Anonymous — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 18:17:14 GMT

The letter/w/ acts as a vowel in words that has the letter /w/ at the end. Exammple: row, mow,follow. The rule to follow: If two vowels are together, in a word, the first vowel says its name and the second vowel is silent. Examples: boat - long /o/ sound flow - long /o/ sound meat - long /e/ sound Dr. Autry

Re: WHEN IS "w" A VOWEL

Anonymous — Sat, 14 Feb 2009 23:00:07 GMT

There are two contexts in which 'w' is indeed a vowel in English: 1. As a 'stand-alone' vowel. At least four Welsh words which have made their way into English. The best known is 'cwm.' Three others are 'crwth' (might be 'crwdd' in the original Wesh, I'd guess), 'cyr' and 'cwtch.' However, the Oxford English Dictionary lists only cwm and cwtch. So, if you think the OED gets to decide such things, then then cwn and cwtch are Engish words, and the others are not. 2. Dipthongs. E.g., as in down, wow, and caw, and many others. For that matter, some people claim that 'r' in 'butter' acts a a dipthong vowel, as does 'l' in 'bottle,' and...

Re: IS "w" A VOWEL

Anonymous — Sat, 21 Feb 2009 07:33:22 GMT

W as a vowel is not a new rule. I ran across the rule 50 years ago in a 25 year old text.

Re: IS "w" A VOWEL

Anonymous — Sat, 21 Feb 2009 07:33:22 GMT

Well there is actually one word that I can think of. It is from Wales. It is spelled cwm. (pronounced koom)... it means a valley. Most people don't know about this word, but this proves that a vowel can be w. just google it.. you'll see it : ) hope this helps!

Re: IS "w" A VOWEL

Anonymous — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 07:33:22 GMT

" Y " can also be a vowel, as in "sky."

Re: IS "w" A VOWEL

Anonymous — Sat, 21 Mar 2009 07:33:22 GMT

I think we've established that cwm and crwth are words in the English language. They may have a Welsh etymology, but they're still English words.

Re: WHEN IS "w" A VOWEL

Anonymous — Thu, 21 May 2009 06:33:22 GMT

A, E, I, O, U, Y and sometimes W isn't even a rhyme. Does W rhyme with any of these letters? No.

Re: IS "w" A VOWEL

AlpheccaStars — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 07:33:22 GMT

The name "double U" is also a point to consider. It comes from Old English, where W was written as "UU" U is definitely a vowel, so we did get off on a bad start! I put the blame on our arcane spelling system. Many have tried to reform it, and the cries continue. Proposal for EuroEnglish The European Union commissioners have announced that agreement has been reached to adopt English as the preferred language for European communications, rather than German, which was the other possibility. As part of negotiations, Her Majesty's government conceded that English spelling had some room for improvement and has accepted a five-year phased plan for what will be known as EuroEngish (Euro for short). In the first year,...

Re: IS "w" A VOWEL

Anonymous — Sat, 21 Feb 2009 07:33:22 GMT

I have an original copy of the 1838 "Mcguffey's Eclectic Progressive Spelling Book". Under the section titled "sounds of the vowels" it lists A, E, I, O, U, and "W (when not silent, has the sound of U, as in few) and Y (when not silent, has the two sounds if I, as in my, happy)" It goes on futher to state "Y is considered a consonant only when it precedes a vowel in the same syllable, as in youth, young." It NEVER states that W is a consonant under special circumstances, leading the reader to deduce that W is ALWAYS a vowel. So, there you have it. It has been taught since 1838 at a minimum and yes, how unfortunate that I was AGHAST to have read this while teaching my own children and being...

Re: WHEN IS "w" A VOWEL

Anonymous — Thu, 21 May 2009 06:33:22 GMT

Ok people the letter "w" cannot be a vowel because it has its own specific meaning in the Welsh language and that is where it is from and you will not find it in a dictonary as being a word in the english language that we use in anything!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Re: WHEN IS "w" A VOWEL

Anonymous — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 07:33:22 GMT

Hi, I just found out Friday, 11-21-08, that the people in the state of Washington were not taught that ‘w’ is sometimes a vowel. This was quite a shock to me so then I did research on the subject and wrote the following paper. I am over fifty and had no idea that this was such a controversy until two days ago. ‘Vowels Y & W Made Easy’ by Cindy N A vowel is the sound in a spoken language were the vocal tract is open and there is no build up of air pressure between the vocal cords at the upper part of the larynx, i.e.; ah, oh, ee, ay, ow …. There are five true (they are only) vowels a,e,i,o,u, and sometimes y & w. Y and W can be a vowel or a consonant depending upon where it is in the word. In English...

Re: IS "w" A VOWEL

Anonymous — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 06:33:22 GMT

The "Y" Remember sometimes Y.

Re: IS "w" A VOWEL

Anonymous — Thu, 21 May 2009 06:33:22 GMT

syzygy.....it means a kind of coordination or synergy.....Notice it has no 'a', 'e', 'i', 'o' or 'u'.....the y is the vowel. If you TRY hard, you might find another. Look to the SKY and try not to CRY. Sometimes 'Y' (or even 'W' in two cases) are used as vowels. It is not a GYPSY MYTH or a LYNX in a CRYPT or a TRYST between a NYMPH or a PYGMY. Just keep looking and you'll find that they are more common than you think.....

Re: IS "w" A VOWEL

Anonymous — Sat, 21 Mar 2009 07:33:22 GMT

You completely misread his comment... ~"it doesn't change the pronunciation at all. this is where w WOULD be considered a vowel." He's saying that's when W is tacked on, and doesn't change the word, thats when it's a vowel. All the word's you listed, it is NOT a vowel. because it does change the word... please read things twice before posting.

Re: IS "w" A VOWEL

AlpheccaStars — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 07:33:22 GMT

Can you give an example of a word that uses Y or W as a vowel? I teach that Y is a vowel sometimes. Hungry; Angry, etc. W is not an independent vowel, however, it does change the vowel sound when used together with vowels a, e, and o. a - awl; paw e - chew, few, newt, new, hewn o = owl; down; etc.

Re: IS "w" A VOWEL

Anonymous — Thu, 21 May 2009 06:33:22 GMT

Lynn Cyd Try Why

Re: IS "w" A VOWEL

Anonymous — Sat, 21 Mar 2009 07:33:22 GMT

Can you give an example of a word that uses Y or W as a vowel?

Re: IS "w" A VOWEL

Anonymous — Thu, 21 May 2009 06:33:22 GMT

Historically, English is a Germanic Language. The 'W' graph in Germanic languages is usually pronouced like a 'V', as in Volkswagen (phonetically 'foksvagen'). So originally it was like a consonant. Phonetically in English. 'W' represents a rounding of the lips before, between, or after a vowel. Try pronouncing words like 'wake' without the W. Then round your lips and say it again. You get 'oo-ake'. So there is really not much to a 'w' in English. Phonetically, you might say it is not a vowel or a consonant in English. It's a marker for lip rounding. Does the clear things up?

Re: IS "w" A VOWEL

AlpheccaStars — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 06:33:22 GMT

The conventional teaching is that the vowels are AEIOU and sometimes Y. Y is a consonant in Yet and Yoghurt. It is a vowel in City and Candy. W is a consonant in Woman and Wine. W is part of a diphthong in words like PAWN, FAWN, FOWL, FEW My ESL books based on phonics study teach the short vowel sound for 'Y", but W is not taught as an independent vowel letter. It modifies the preceeding vowel sound in some words to make a new vowel sound. There are similar lessons on R as in FARM, BURN, TERN /ur/ Here are the current definitions: VOWEL 1. Phonetics. a. (in English articulation) a speech sound produced without occluding, diverting, or obstructing the flow of air from the lungs (opposed to consonant). b. (in a syllable) the...

Re: IS "w" A VOWEL

Anonymous — Thu, 21 May 2009 06:33:22 GMT

In school I have been taught "W" is a vowel, My parents say it is not, We've read through ALL OF THESE, and we are in a great debate. So... Is it? Some people say it is, other do not. This is the great debate, and somebody should bring this up to the schools, its stupid!!!

Re: IS "w" A VOWEL

Anonymous — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 06:33:22 GMT

No one has mentioned the word "Awkward" yet... I think it's pretty clear that W is sometimes used as a vowel, but so far people have only given examples of where it appears at the end of a word. Here however (hmm however is another possible example) it's not at the end of a word, but it is being used as a vowel (or so it would appear).

Re: IS "w" A VOWEL

Anonymous — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 06:33:22 GMT

I DON'T KNOW WHO IN HEAVENS CAME UP WITH THE CONCEPT THAT "Y" AND NOW "W" ARE VOWELS/SEMI VOWELS. THE ONLY VOWELS ARE: A, E ,I, O, U AND SOMETIMES THE SILENT "H"!! Y ENDS IN THREE VOWEL SOUNDS: A, E AND I VOWELS HAVE TO BEGIN A WORD WITH A SPECIFIC VOWEL LETTER: A, E, I, O, U OR SILENT "H THEY NEED THE ADJECTIVE AN IF THEY ARE USED AS ADJECTIVES OR NOUNS FOR EXAMPLE: AN "EXCITING" CAREER OR "AN" UMBRELLA I CAN'T STAND THESE NEO GRAMMARIANS WITH THEIR SOUPED UP KNOWLEDGE OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE. AGAIN: "Y" AND "W" ARE NOT NEVER EVER VOWELS. :(y

Re: WHEN IS "w" A VOWEL

MissMandy — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 06:33:22 GMT

This debate really seems to be about two different things, spelling and pronunciation. The letter w (and y) is often used with other vowels (and sometimes alone as well) in spelling to reperesent a vowel sound . In the words hi and by , the letter i and the letter y are representing the same sound. To add to the confusion, English has many diphthongs, or two-sound vowels. Two-sound vowels often begin or end in a sound very similar to a w sound or y sound. The easiest to here are oy (boy) and ow (cow), which can also be spelled oi (coin) and ou (house). So, it is very clear, that in spelling , w and y are like vowels. Our educators have found it much easier to just tell our kids that those letters are vowels because they are so often part...

Re: WHEN IS "w" A VOWEL

Anonymous — Sat, 21 Feb 2009 07:33:22 GMT

I am 44 years old and the vowel "song/ryhme" was always a, e, i, o u sometimes y and w... I had this exact arugment with my husband last night and he was adiment that there was never the usage of w as a vowel... but y and w are considered semi-vowels... My neice who is 17 googled and helped me prove him worng...

Re: IS "w" A VOWEL

Anonymous — Thu, 21 May 2009 06:33:22 GMT

In the '60s we used a grammar booked called Hooked on Phonics . It taught there were 5 regular vowels & 2 sometimes vowels. We learned the rhyme as "A E I O U and sometimes Y and W". There were also sometimes consonants. The welsh-borrowed words are not the illustrators, the complete rule refers to words such as "how" and "sky". But welsh-borrowed words ARE english words, as are all the french and german and.. "borrowed" words people often use. When I asked an educator in the 90s why the full rull wasn't being taught, the reply was "it's too hard to remember". Amazing. I had no trouble, and neither did my 63 classmates . Children can handle thi

Re: IS "w" A VOWEL

Anonymous — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 06:33:22 GMT

mymom does not beleive me but w is a vowel! I'm mad at my mom.

Re: WHEN IS "w" A VOWEL

Anonymous — Thu, 21 May 2009 06:33:22 GMT

I was always taught that "y" and "w" were sometimes vowels - that explained my first name - as it has no "normal" vowels. - Gwyn

Re: IS "w" A VOWEL

Anonymous — Thu, 21 May 2009 06:33:22 GMT

The definition you found, as with ALL definitions for words where W is used as a stand alone vowel plainly states that the word is WELSH. The Welsh language has historical ties to English of course, yet it is its own language. W is never used as a stand alone for a vowel in English language and this debate is not new. The reason so many have not and will not be taught it to be a sometimes vowel is because it is controversial teaching. Sources that take a side should expect the controversy. The reason some claim vowel status now is because of the relationship with U, but it never takes a vowel sound or is used for one alone in English language.

Re: IS "w" A VOWEL

Anonymous — Sat, 21 Feb 2009 07:33:22 GMT

Actually it means the same as "cirque" and is found at the top of a glacial valley not at the bottom of the mountain. It is cause by glaciation.

Re: IS "w" A VOWEL

Anonymous — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 06:33:22 GMT

alot is piece of land, used to build something on (usually) - when used to mean many, it's two words - a lot.

Re: WHEN IS "w" A VOWEL

Anonymous — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 06:33:22 GMT

In the old McGuffy readers from the 1800's the letter W was considered a vowel.

Re: IS "w" A VOWEL

Anonymous — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 07:33:22 GMT

Fundamentally, w is definitely not a vowel. It is used in some of those words (that are not even in the english language by the way) but many characters can have a vowel sound.

Re: IS "w" A VOWEL

Anonymous — Thu, 21 May 2009 06:33:22 GMT

There are way more than two. Basically, any time a word ends in a W, the W acts as a vowel, just like with Y.

Re: IS "w" A VOWEL

Anonymous — Sat, 21 Feb 2009 07:33:22 GMT

"Flew" is a perfect of 'w' as a vowel. 'W' makes the <oo> sound and I will say that 'e' is quiet. 'Tis nice to know that other people are interested in this sort of thing!

Re: IS "w" A VOWEL

Anonymous — Thu, 21 May 2009 06:33:22 GMT

What about "spy" and "sky" Yoong? Y is also a vowel

Re: WHEN IS "w" A VOWEL

Anonymous — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 07:33:22 GMT

What their trying to say is that "W" in Old English was used in place of "OO" so words like dwr are Old English for our word door. When you think about how you pronounce "W" you say actually say "double ew" (not double 'U") like when you pronounce moon removing the m and the n sound. Basically this is a rule that applied to our heritage of the English language but modern English doesn't use it so most schools have stopped teaching it - but it is still the rule. A, E, I, O, U and sometimes Y and W is correct.

Re: WHEN IS "w" A VOWEL

Anonymous — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 07:33:22 GMT

I was taught that “sometimes Y and W” are vowels in public elementary school early 80's. My peers think I’m nuts. Unfortunately the explanation behind why W is a vowel never really sunk in. Besides the two Celtic words. I always assumed that W was a vowel only in-conjunction with another vowels like ae, ai, ou, oi, au, and oe create unique sounds: show or shoe – sh is the consentient and the vowel pair is the vowel. Shrug. My advice to your children is avoid mentioning that W is a vowel, it will save them a lot of embarrassment and debate. abk-MN

Re: IS "w" A VOWEL

Anonymous — Thu, 21 May 2009 06:33:22 GMT

In my experience as a teacher, I've found it helpful to teach "w" as a letter that "acts" as a vowel in words such as snow, show, row, bow, tow, low, etc. You get the idea. For young readers, ow usually sounds like ou and so, at the end of words, the w "acts like a vowel" (you know, when two vowels go walking, the first one does the talking and the second one is silent) to make the o become a long vowel instead of the ou sound such as how, now, and the like. Hopefully, this does not cause any confusion, but actually helps them when learning long vowel rules.

Re: IS "w" A VOWEL

Anonymous — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 07:33:22 GMT

Both w and y are occasionally used as vowels in English.

Re: WHEN IS "w" A VOWEL

Anonymous — Sat, 21 Feb 2009 07:33:22 GMT

This is an interesting thread. My daughter too came home singing a,e,i,o,u, and sometimes y and w too. I thought it ludicrous that W was a vowel. I have asked numerous teachers "when is W a vowel"? For every answer I have received from these "teachers" I have been able to come up with an exception. I am from Kansas. Do you not hear the W at the end of cow? I do. Do you not hear the W at the end of follow? I do. The truth is I hear it at the end of the word "so" but it isn't there. Still perplexed in Kansas.

Re: WHEN IS "w" A VOWEL

Anonymous — Sat, 21 Mar 2009 07:33:22 GMT

Being educated by the very reputable school system of South St. Paul, MN, I can assure you that W is, in fact, a vowel. Don't be a victim of vowel abuse, stand up for your vowel beliefs. I'd recommend creating a laminated card that shows the word "cwm" and its definition. Then, the next time you find yourself in a vowel, debate, whip that baby out and enjoy the victory! - MR DAN

Re: IS "w" A VOWEL

Anonymous — Sat, 21 Mar 2009 07:33:22 GMT

to add to my last post: If a language adopts a term or word from another, at least for that usage, it adopts the rules the word or term follows, so once again... Natural evolution of language

Re: IS "w" A VOWEL

Anonymous — Sat, 21 Feb 2009 07:33:22 GMT

M. Caliban wrote: English would be so much simpler if we stopped stealing other people's words. That has been the way of languages since they began. Every language in existance is a bastardization of one or more older langauges. What some call "complicatiing the language", and what others call "stealing" is in fact the natural evolution of the human language center. Always gunna happen, always has.

Re: IS "w" A VOWEL

Anonymous — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 06:33:22 GMT

Not only is w a vowel in the words cwm and crwth but it is also a vowel in another word. The other word is twmpath.