Is "y" actually a vowel?

Question

Is "y" a vowel or is it just an ordinary letter like "b" and "c"?

Answer 1

Here are answers to your question. The second link is the best answer. The first link was just a cute answer.

Hope this is helpful.

Mrs Librarian

(Keep the library open----Visit your local Library)

Answer 2

Sometimes Y can be a vowel and sometimes it can be an ordinary letter. It's the only letter that crosses both lines.

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' (definitions from the New Oxford Dictionary of English, 1998). The letter Y can be used to represent different sounds in different words, and can therefore fit either definition. In myth or hymn it is 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 is 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.

Answer 3

Yes, the letter Y is a vowel or 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' (definitions from the New Oxford Dictionary of English, 1998). The letter Y can be used to represent different sounds in different words, and can therefore fit either definition. In myth or hymn it is 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 is 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.

Answer 4

Well Its Both Really. Y Is A Vowel But On In Certain Occoisons. Other Time Its Just A Ordinary Letter.

Answer 5

Yes, the letter Y is a vowel or 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
(definitions from the New Oxford Dictionary of English, 1998).

Answer 6

It can be a vowel sometimes replacing I.

Those ordinary letters are called consenants.
Y is a consenant in Wheel of Fortune.

Answer 7

Hi again =] I was always wondering this but yes y is a vowel its a e i o u and sometimes y if you type this question into ask jeeves kids many excellent websites will come up hpe this helped!!!

Answer 8

remember the quote...i before e except after c and sometimes y. yes, it's an adaptable letter (vowel OR consonant). good luck!!

Answer 9

"y" is sometimes a vowel depending on where it is at in a sentence, and the other letters like "b" and "c" are considered consanants....

Answer 10

"Y" is not a vowel, nor is it a consonant. It is just a letter.