English Vowel Sounds

Part IIJuan Soto, M. A.

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 (present tense) vs. read (past tense) lead (present tense) vs. lead (metal)

/oiy/ (1 of 7)

• /oiy/ is a combination of to sounds (/o/ + /iy/• Begin by rounding your lips for /o/, then spread

them for /iy/ • The sound is long• Examples:

boy coin noise

/eə/ (2 of 7)

•Keep your jaw halfway open•Tense your lips as you finish the sound

Examples: ran craft laughpass fat map

/eiy/ (3 of 7)

• This is a combination of two sounds /e/ and /iy/• Tense your lips toward the end of the sound• The sound is long

Examples: ate faceprey eight

/ɔ/ (4 of 7)

• Drop your jaw• Tense your lips and round them forward halfway• The sound is long

Examples: off on calldaughter bought cough

awful lawn caught

/æow/ (5 of 7)

• This is a combination of two sounds /æ/ and /ow/• Move your lips from a spread position into a

circle• The sound is long

Examples: how houseloud brown

/a/ (6 of 7)

• Drop your jaw until your lips are relaxed• The sound is short

Examples: option father honor doll

/aiy/ (7 of 7)

• It is a combination of two sounds /a/ and /iy/• Round your lips at the beginning and spread

them at the end• It is a long sound

Examples: pie driedheight buy

CREDITS

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