2. • A term in phonetics for the property that makes one VOWEL sound different from another: for example,
/iː/ as in sheep from /ɪ/ as in ship.
• The quality of a vowel is determined by the position of the tongue, lips, and lower jaw, and the
resulting size and shape of the mouth and pharynx. Vowels are classed as close or open (in British
terminology) and high and low (in American terminology) according to whether the tongue is held
close to the roof of the mouth or low in the mouth.
• They are classed as front or back in both terminologies according to whether the body of the tongue is
pushed forward or pulled back. They are classed as rounded or spread according to the shape of the
lips: for example, the /iː/ in sheep is a close front spread vowel, the /ɪ/ in ship a semihigh front
unrounded vowel.
4. This is just a softer [ɪ]. It is mostly represented by
“ea”, single “e”, final “y” and others. It is
syllable and short when it is not, but not necessarily.
5. In writing, this sound is most commonly represented by “i” in a
unstressed “a”, “e”, or “i” is often pronounced as [ɪ]. If you
word in which you can clearly hear [ɪ] (or conversely), don’t
are interchangeable.
6. This vowel is the closest one to the sound of the letter
sometimes denoted by “e” in dictionaries (for example
usually represented by an “e” in a closed stressed
said, fair, “ae”, e.g. bear, pear, and others.
7. Among all English vowels, the greatest problem for most
somewhere between “a” in “father” and “e” in
longer in American English than in British English. It is
in a stressed closed syllable, but not all such occurrences
8. This vowel is the closest one to the sound of the letter
such is also denoted [a] in some dictionaries. There is no
would tell you when “a” is pronounced as [ɑː] instead of
9. [ʊ] would sound strange if it were long, so when there is a
pronounced somewhat “darker” than [ʊ]. It is most
but there is no way to tell when “oo” is pronounced as
learned by heart).
10. The sound most similar to the sound of “u” in many
“u” in a closed stressed syllable (when it is not [ʌ]), but
groups.
11. A similar sound to the British [ɒ], but somewhat
“aw”, “al” or “au”.
12. This vowel is quite similar to the sound of “o” many
represented by “o” in a closed stressed syllable,
pronounced differently (e.g. in “son”). Americans don’t
instead.
13. This vowel very similar to [ɑː], but it’s never pronounced
represented by “u” in a stressed closed syllable, or by
pronounced also in a different way.
14. Most learners of English learn very fast how to pronounce “a” when it
pronunciation of [ə]. It can be represented by any vowel (a, e, i, o, u) in an
above. When represented by “a” or “i”, it is often freely interchangeable
pronounced either /ˈtɛrəbl/, or /ˈtɛrɪbl/.
15. Don’t confuse the symbol with [ɛ]. [ɜː] is pronounced the
while it is slightly “darker” in others, and many
simply [əː]. The difference between [ɜː] and [ɝː] is the same
16. This vowel is formed by saying [ə] and at the same time
position as if you were saying the English “r” (listen to
some dictionaries, which is not completely precise, it is
where it is used (most notably “-er” at the end of a