why & how " Y " is alternate vowel?

Question

vowels A, E, I, O, U. are base of pronouncation. then why & how Y is alternate vowel?

Answer 1

Y is categorized as a semi-vowel because 1. it acts like a pure vowel at times when it makes the short sound "I" usually in a final position - ie. baby, happy... 2. It acts as a consonant when the sound pairs with another vowel and then it's called a glide because it starts out as one sound and ends with anothr "I" + "e" ie. yet, yesterday, bycicle..In other words a compound vowel becomes a semi-consonant/semi-vowel

Answer 2

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 3

Vowels are commonaly used in words. Nearly every word uses a vowel. So in words like FLY with out one some one thought lets make Y an alternate

Answer 4

Because it makes the only vowel sound in words like: myth, rhythm, crypt, nymph, sky.
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