It can act like a vowel, but it’s still a consonant. A bit like my dad acts like a woman on the weekends, but he’s still a man (no matter what my mother says).
You example, tychabrahe, would also be true of the statement,
‘all vowels can be both vowels and consonants, depending on how it’s used
e.g:
having a bath – a and i acting as a vowel
assholes act exactly like everyone else – a and e acting as consonants. ‘
OK class, The letter Y can be regarded as both a vowel and a consonant. In terms of sound, a vowel is ‘a speech sound which is produced by comparatively open configuration of the vocal tract, with vibration of the vocal cords but without audible friction…’, while a consonant is ‘a basic speech sound in which the breath is at least partly obstructed’. The letter Y can be used to represent different sounds in different words, and can therefore fit either definition. In myth or hymn it’s clearly a vowel, and also in words such as my, where it stands for a diphthong (a combination of two vowel sounds). On the other hand, in a word like beyond there is an obstacle to the breath which can be heard between two vowels, and the same sound begins words like young and yes. (This consonant sound, like that of the letter W, is sometimes called a ‘semivowel’ because it is made in a similar way to a vowel, but functions in contrast to vowels when used in words.) Whether the letter Y is a vowel or a consonant is therefore rather an arbitrary decision. The letter is probably more often used as a vowel, but in this role it’s often interchangeable with the letter I. However, the consonant sound is not consistently represented in English spelling by any other letter, and perhaps for this reason Y tends traditionally to be counted among the consonants.
Okay class I’ll be your substitute teacher while Steeever is out on sick leave. I’m going to find all the girls and have a one on one meeting with you while I study your Biology. Then I will proceed to Physics you into having Physical Education with you. I will then finish the lesson by shooting my Chemistry all over your English face.
etownegeatgmaildotcom….. I think that what must have actually happened was the staff at oxford dictionary saw my explanation and cut and pasted it onto the dictionary website, or something like that….
STEEEEEEEEEEEEEEVEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEERRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!
Hawkbit is onto something. The definition of a vowel should be “a letter that can be bought on wheel of fortune”. It should also be worth no more than 1 point in Scrabble.
This is how I understand it from my linguistics classes in college.
“Y” is not a vowel. It is a symbol, and the sounds it represents will be either a vowel or a consonant, which depends on the word itself. This is because English’s spelling system is based on a system that used to actually make sense before the vowels all shifted around. A lack of a unified spelling reform leads to confusion like this nowadays.
In words like “yay” ([jɛɪ] or [jɛi]) and “your” ([joɹ]) and “yucca” ([jə.kə] or [ju.kə]) the letter “y” represents the /j/ sound, which is a consonant. It’s a palatal glide, also known as a semi-vowel or an approximate. In words like “beyond” it actually will separate the two vowels, leading to a transcription like [bi.jand] if someone were to transcribe it.
By contrast, in words like “berry” ([bɛɹ.i]) it represents the vowel /i/.
Then there are words like “spy” ([spaɪ] or [spai]) where it will actually represent two vowels working in conjunction with each other, aka diphthongs. In words like “day” ([dɛɪ] or [dɛi]) it will represent one half of a dipthong if you don’t want to count the “ay” in the word as a digraph (and you probably shouldn’t).
Isn’t ‘Y’ a pseudo vowel?
It was Cheris Kramarae and Paula Treichler, in their book A Feminist Dictionary, who defined feminism as “the radical notion that women are people.”
@Dukey
Y can be both a vowel and a consonant, depending on how it is used.
In the words “you,” “yucca,” and “yesterday,” y is acting as a consonant. In the words “boy” and “berry,” y is acting as a vowel.
No no no Y cannot be both. It’s a consonant.
It can act like a vowel, but it’s still a consonant. A bit like my dad acts like a woman on the weekends, but he’s still a man (no matter what my mother says).
You example, tychabrahe, would also be true of the statement,
‘all vowels can be both vowels and consonants, depending on how it’s used
e.g:
having a bath – a and i acting as a vowel
assholes act exactly like everyone else – a and e acting as consonants. ‘
Ok class that’s it for our English class today. Our next subject is Math and ill be teaching you how to count from 1 to 10 then backwards.
Lame, lame, lame. The comments are making the posts look funny.
hang on a second – ‘y’ is isn’t a vowel.
Plus, if you take all the vowels out of ‘ladies’ and mix the remaining letters up – you get ‘LSD’ BOOM!
Yeah Duke but if you don’t mix them up you get Latter Day Saints. I still can’t decide if that’s bad.
OK class, The letter Y can be regarded as both a vowel and a consonant. In terms of sound, a vowel is ‘a speech sound which is produced by comparatively open configuration of the vocal tract, with vibration of the vocal cords but without audible friction…’, while a consonant is ‘a basic speech sound in which the breath is at least partly obstructed’. The letter Y can be used to represent different sounds in different words, and can therefore fit either definition. In myth or hymn it’s clearly a vowel, and also in words such as my, where it stands for a diphthong (a combination of two vowel sounds). On the other hand, in a word like beyond there is an obstacle to the breath which can be heard between two vowels, and the same sound begins words like young and yes. (This consonant sound, like that of the letter W, is sometimes called a ‘semivowel’ because it is made in a similar way to a vowel, but functions in contrast to vowels when used in words.) Whether the letter Y is a vowel or a consonant is therefore rather an arbitrary decision. The letter is probably more often used as a vowel, but in this role it’s often interchangeable with the letter I. However, the consonant sound is not consistently represented in English spelling by any other letter, and perhaps for this reason Y tends traditionally to be counted among the consonants.
STEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEVEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEERRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!!! FTW
Steeeever: I fucking love you.
@steeeever… tl;dr
K, too impatient to read #9, but I did want to correct #3. The Y in boys is definitely a consonant.
I … probably should have just said “Ben”.
Yes, yes you should.
There is no obstruction between the vowels in the word beyond.
Okay class I’ll be your substitute teacher while Steeever is out on sick leave. I’m going to find all the girls and have a one on one meeting with you while I study your Biology. Then I will proceed to Physics you into having Physical Education with you. I will then finish the lesson by shooting my Chemistry all over your English face.
No one wants to point out someone’s actually called ‘Snacks’?
Stever, that was actually funny until I googled your response, and found out yours was googled. Now that’s lame.
*take all the BOWELS from a girl, wear her skin and you have a Buffalo Bill copycat.
etownegeatgmaildotcom….. I think that what must have actually happened was the staff at oxford dictionary saw my explanation and cut and pasted it onto the dictionary website, or something like that….
STEEEEEEEEEEEEEEVEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEERRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!
What is more lame is that you are googling my words of wisdom and questioning my vast knowledge.
Steeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeveeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeerrrrrrrrrrrr
Rullllllllllllllllllesssssssssssssssss
How can you get B.S by just removing the vowels from boys? Unless you spell boys like Bo.yS
Dukey, your regret stirs something in my heart.
I feel for you.
Yours was the funniest comment
Can you buy a “y” on Wheel of Fortune?
Hawkbit is onto something. The definition of a vowel should be “a letter that can be bought on wheel of fortune”. It should also be worth no more than 1 point in Scrabble.
This is how I understand it from my linguistics classes in college.
“Y” is not a vowel. It is a symbol, and the sounds it represents will be either a vowel or a consonant, which depends on the word itself. This is because English’s spelling system is based on a system that used to actually make sense before the vowels all shifted around. A lack of a unified spelling reform leads to confusion like this nowadays.
In words like “yay” ([jɛɪ] or [jɛi]) and “your” ([joɹ]) and “yucca” ([jə.kə] or [ju.kə]) the letter “y” represents the /j/ sound, which is a consonant. It’s a palatal glide, also known as a semi-vowel or an approximate. In words like “beyond” it actually will separate the two vowels, leading to a transcription like [bi.jand] if someone were to transcribe it.
By contrast, in words like “berry” ([bɛɹ.i]) it represents the vowel /i/.
Then there are words like “spy” ([spaɪ] or [spai]) where it will actually represent two vowels working in conjunction with each other, aka diphthongs. In words like “day” ([dɛɪ] or [dɛi]) it will represent one half of a dipthong if you don’t want to count the “ay” in the word as a digraph (and you probably shouldn’t).