Is it a vowel?

Question

I was taught that y is a vowel sometimes.But many people say it's not.Are they right or are the people that taught me were right?

Answer 1

Sorry if this is boring, but take what you find useful. . .

First -- you were taught correctly!

In fac if you count words, contrary to what some have said, Y is, a vowel more often than it is not.

Why the confusion? Perhaps because it is not ALWAYS a vowel and people like to put such thing in one box.

Actually, the reason many folks SAY that only a, e, i, o and u are vowels and the rest are consonants is probably mainly because they are repeating some rule-of-thumb they learned in grade school but never really understood. (Those whose rule added "and sometimes y" or even "and sometimes y and w" are rather better off, though they still may not know when or why that "sometimes" happens.)

Part of the problem is that people do not understand what "consonant" and "vowel" MEAN, esp. that they are FIRST-of-all descriptions of types of SOUNDS, and only secondarily of which LETTERS we use to indicate those sounds.

So, looking at the sounds first:

1) "CONSONANTS" are sounds made by severly restricting or stopping the flow of air. Note that is not JUST those that stop the flow -- these sounds (like b,p, t,d, k,g), fittingly called "STOPS" [another useful term] are only ONE type of consonant. A great many consonants do not stop the flow, but they DO restrict it.

A way to remember this 'CONSonants CONStrict the air flow'.
http://www.thefreedictionary.com/consonant
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Consonant

2) "VOWELS" on the other hand, are characterized by how they SHAPE the sound --esp by positioning of the tongue and shape of the mouth-- without severly constricting the air flow. This is why they are so important to carrying speech and enabling us to open up our mouths and sing. Note that vowels almost always are "voiced" (sounded with the vocal chords); in many (most?) languages (English included) ALL vowels are voiced. A great many consonants --including those that don't stop the air flow-- are not voiced. This characteristic use of the voice (compare "vocal") is the origin of the term "vowel" itself.
http://www.webster.com/dictionary/vowel
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vowel

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So much for vowel and consonant SOUNDS. The other source of confusion has to do with LETTERS.

Notice that the letters are one step removed from speech. For the most part our "consonant"-letters match up with consonant-SOUNDS and "vowel"-letters with vowel-sounds. What causes confusion is:

1) Spoken language and written language don't always change together... so that a letter may be written that no longer matches the sound made. For example, silent letters (mostly consonants) -- lamb, knight, soften.

Most people understand this, so the real issue is. . .
2) There is a set of sounds called "semi-vowels" on the "borderline" between consonants and vowels. Based on how they combine with surrounding sounds they may become one or the other. This accounts for the letter "y" being for a consonant-sound in "yell" but for a vowel-sound in "shy" --and actually, the "y" originally marked a VOWEL sound, and still is used in English for vowel sounds much MORE often than for consonants. Similar is the letter "w" which at the beginning of a syllable marks a consonant-sound ("well"), but latter in a syllable marks a vowel. (In modern English this only happens in the vowel-combinations ['dipthongs'] "aw", "ew", "ow", though in words from Welsh it can stand alone [like cwm, pronounced "coom"])

SUMMARY:
A more complete, if less catchy, statement of the rule would be something like this --
"In English, except when a letter is silent:
a) a, e, i, o and u are used as vowels [that is, to indicate vowel sounds];
b) y and w are consonants [=indicate consonant sounds] when they are used at the BEGINNING of a word or syllable, elsewhere they are vowels [=indicate vowel sounds];
c) all the other letters are consonants."

Answer 2

There aren't any. In order for a word to be pronounceable, there must be a vowel in each syllable. In all those names with y's, the y functions as a vowel.

Answer 3

I was taught the same thing... but I just asked my 11 year old son if he was taught that y is sometimes used as a vowel and he said no... I guess times are definately changing... maybe I need to go back to school.

Answer 4

Y is treated like a vowel. However it is not listed with the "5" vowels. I would say it is a vowel though.

Answer 5

Y in English is used sometimes in English to signify a vowel sound. Most of the time it is as consonant as in Yard. But it sounds as a vowel in "Lady," and many other words of similar ilk. W is another one of those crazy letters in English that can serve either as a vowel or a consonet.

Answer 6

Yes, the letter y can be a vowel sometimes. All words have to have a vowel sound or they cannot be pronounced.
Myth, hymn, crypt, sky, rhythm, nymph are some of the words where y is a vowel.

Answer 7

Y is sometimes a vowel as is W

Answer 8

It is sometimes a vowel and sometimes a consonant. Depends on the particular usage.

Answer 9

"Y" is used as a vowel sometimes: e.g., "synergy," "mythology," "mystery," "hysterically."

But I'd certainly like to see an example of a word that uses "w" as a vowel! THAT one is news to me!

Answer 10

I think that is in the eye of the beholder. I believe it can be a vowel at times.