This document shows English vowel sounds from the perspective of mouth opening. The first sounds describe the position of the mouth slightly open, then the rest of the sounds show the position of the mouth more widely open. Pronounce it Perfectly in English by Jean Yeats was used as the main reference to create this document.

1. English Vowel Sounds
Part I
Juan Soto, M. A.

2. NOTICE
• Spelling is not a full trust worthy source for
the pronunciation of English words. Some
vowels can be placed in the same order in
a word, but that does not necessarily
mean that they will be pronounced the
same way. For instance: read vs. read
(past tense); lead vs. lead (metal)

3. /əә/ schwa (1of 9)
• Schwa is the most common sound in English.
It appears in every vowel (a, e, i, o, u)
• Open your mouth slightly and let some noise
out to produce this sound. It’s a short sound
• It appears in unstressed syllables
• Examples:
ago effect partial method upon

4. /ɪ/ (2 of 9)
• Keep your lips relaxed and slightly open
• It is a short sound
• Examples:
gym sieve women
If build busy
pretty English

5. /u/ or /ʊ/ (3 of 9)
• Push your lips forward to make an open circle
• The sound is short
• The jaw is slightly open
• Examples:
put look
would wolf
woman

6. /iy/ or /i/ (4 of 9)
• Spread your lips to form a ‘big smile’
• The sound is long
• Examples:
be the honey eat
people amoeba either niece
mommy sweetie ski police
suite chassis debris chamois
NOTE: The last three words come from French
so DO NOT pronounce the final ‘s’.

7. /uw/ or /u/ (5 of 9)
•
Tense your lips as you push forward
•
Make a small circle
•
The sound is long
•
Examples:
do lose loose two
food flu rude due
new canoe through juice
lieu rheumatism
NOTE: The word ‘lieu’ comes from French.

8. /iuw/ (6 of 9)
• This sound combines /iy/ and /uw/
• The sound is short
• Examples:
use music
few view
beauty you
hue ewe

9. /ʌ/ (7 of 9)
• Keep your mouth slightly open
• The sound is short
• Examples:
up cousin
trouble rough
flood goes
was

10. /ɛ/ (8 of 9)
• Spread your lips in a half-smile
• Lower your jaw slightly
• The sound is short
• Examples:
egg step any
again said says
head leopard friend
guest bury

11. /ow/ or /o/ (9 of 9)
• Lips move from a bigger to a smaller circle
• The sound is long
• Examples:
over go plateau owner
slow oh depot though
hoe groan sew soul
bone brooch mauve faux
NOTE: The last two words come from French.

12. CREDITS
• Yates, J. (2005) Pronounce it Perfectly in
English (2nd Edition). Barron’s Educational
Services: China