ORTHOPHONY
Vowel articulation refers to the place and manner of pronunciation.
High, mid, and low refer to heightness, which describes the place in the mouth where the vowel is pronounced. High vowels are pronounced in the top of the mouth, mid vowels in the middle of the mouth, and low vowels in the bottom of the mouth.
Front, central, and back refer to frontness of articulation, which describes the part of the tongue used to pronounce the vowel. Front vowels are pronounced with the tip of the tongue, central vowels with the middle of the tongue, and back vowels with the part of the tongue closest to the throat.
Rounded and unrounded refer to the roundness of article, which describes the shape of the lips during the pronunciation of the vowel. Rounded vowels are pronounced with the lips pushed forward in an O shape and unrounded vowels with the lips pulled in and back.
Close, Mid and Open refer to the closeness of the jaws, which describe the opening of the mouth, the space between the upper teeth raw and lower teeth raw. Close vowels are pronounced with the mouth cavity almost closed, a small space produces the sound, while open vowels lead to open the mouth while pronouncing them.
High Vowels Sound
The North American English High Vowels are the vowels that are articulated with the jaw relatively high--that is, with the mouth nearly closed.
Lower Case I /i/: high, front, spread, close.
bee beef breed breeze cheek cheese creek creep deed deep fee feed feel feet fleet free freeze geese Greece Greek green greet heed heel keep keen knee kneel meet need peep queen reed reel screen see seed seek seem seen sheep sheet sleep sleeve speech steel steep street sweep sweet teeth thee three tree weed week weep wheel beam bean beast beat breathe cease cheap cheat clean cream deal dream ease east eat feast gleam heal heap heat lead leaf league lean leap least mean meat neat pea peace peach peak plead please preach reach read real scream sea seal seat speak steal steam stream tea teach team treat weak weave wheat wreath key scheme these be he me she we chief field grief piece priest shield shriek thief yield seize
Capital I /ɪ/: high, front, relaxed, close. This vowel is articulated slightly lower and slightly further back than is the preceding vowel /i/.
bid big bill bit brick bridge bring chill chin cliff cling did dig dim dip dish ditch drift drill drink fifth fill film fish fist fit fix gift glimpse grim grin grip hid hill him hint his hit if ill in inch ink inn is it kick kill king kiss knit lick lift limb link lip list midst milk mill miss mist pick pig pin pinch pink pit pitch prince print quick quit rib rich rid ridge ring risk shift ship sick silk sin since sing sink sit six sixth skill skin slip spin split stick stiff still sting swift swim swing thick thin thing think this thrill till tin tip trick trim trip twig twin twist which whip width will wilt win wind (the noun) wing wink wish wit witch with build built give live (the verb)
Lower Case U /u/: high, back, rounded, potruded, close.
bloom boom boot brood choose cool doom food fool goose loom mood moon noon pool proof room root school shoot smooth soon spoon stoop too tool tooth troop blew crew dew few flew grew Jew jewel knew new news screw threw mule muse rude rule tube tune true use truth due cruel blue lose move prove do to two who group soup through wound (injury) you youth shoe fruit juice suit
Upsilon /ʊ/: high back vowel. This vowel is articulated slighter lower and slightly further forward than is the preceding vowel /u/.
bull bush full pull push put book brook cook foot good hood hook look shook stood took wood wool could should would wolf
Mid Vowel Sounds
The mid vowels of modern English are the vowels that are articulated with the jaw approximately in the middle of its range of vertical motion--that is, with the mouth about half open.
Lower case E /e/: mid, spread, mid-open, front vowel.
bed bell bench bend bent best bet bless cell cent check chest crept debt deck den dense depth desk dress dwell edge egg else end fed fell felt fence fetch fled flesh French fresh fret gem get guess guest hedge held hell help hen hence jest kept left leg lend length lent less lest let melt men mend met nest next pen pet pledge press quest red rent rest scent self sell send sense sent set sex shed sketch slept smell spell spend spent stem step strength swell swept tell tempt ten tend tent tenth test them then thence twelve vest well went wept west wet when whence wreck yell yes yet bread breast breath dead death head health lead (the element) read (past) realm sweat thread tread wealth friend said says
Epsilon: mid, round, front, mid-open vowel. This vowel is articulated slightly lower and slightly further back than is the preceding vowel /e/. Round, mid, central, mid-open.
bird birth dirt firm first girl shirt sir skirt stir third thirst whirl burn burst church curl curse curve fur hurt hurl spurt turn urge her herd hers nerve serve stern term verse word work world worm worse worth earl earn earth heard learn search were
Open O [ɔ]: mid, back, round, mid-close vowel.
cloth cost cross dog long loss lost off soft song strong toss wrong all ball call fall hall halt salt small stalk stall talk tall walk wall claw crawl dawn draw hawk law lawn paw raw saw straw bought brought fought ought sought thought wrought caught cause fault haul haunt sauce taught broad born borne cord corn for force fork form fort forth horn horse lord nor north or porch port scorn short sort sport storm sword thorn torn worn door floor course court four fourth mourn pour your board coarse roar bore more score shore sore store tore wore dwarf swarm war warm warn drawer boss frog golf gone log moss solve throng wash
Schwa //: mid, central, relaxed, mid-open vowel.
Mother seller father driver paper other air chair fair hair pair stair bare care dare glare rare scarce scare share spare stare bear pear swear tear wear heir their there where prayer
Low Vowel Sound
The low vowels of Present-Day English are the vowels that are articulated with the jaw relatively low --that is, with the mouth fully or almost fully open.
Diagraph Æ /æ/: low, front, round, open vowel.
ask bath blast branch brass can't cast chance clasp class craft dance draft fast gasp glance glass grant grasp grass half last mast pass past path plant ranch shaft staff task wrath laugh
Lower Case A /a/: low, back, round, open vowel.
ask bath blast branch brass can't cast chance clasp class craft dance draft fast gasp glance glass grant grasp grass half last mast pass past path plant ranch shaft staff task wrath laugh
Wedge /ʌ/: Mid-low, back, open, round (relaxed)
blush brush bud bulk bunch but club clutch crush crust cup drug drum drunk duck dug dull dumb dust Dutch flung flush fun gulf gun hum hung hunt hush hut judge just luck lump lunch mud must much nut pluck plum plunge puff pump rub rug run rush shut stuck stuff stump such sum sun swung thumb thrust thus truck trunk trust tuck up us rough touch tough young front monk son ton tongue won does come done dove glove love none some
Small "o" /ɑ/ Low, back, round, open.
block bond boss box bronze chop clock cloth cock cost crop cross dog doll dot flock fond fox frog from god gold got hop hot job knock knot lock lodge log long loss lost lot mob mock moss nod not odd of off on ox plot pond pop pot rob rock rod shock shop shot sob soft solve song spot stock stop strong throng top toss trot wrong yon swamp swan want was wash watch what wrath
EXTRA
Sounds by Letters
The following chart identifies the most common vowel sounds that each letter or letter combination represents in English. Notice that some letters represent more than one sound while a few letters represent only one sound.
A: [ei] [æ] [ə]/[ʌ] [ɑ] AI: [ei] [ɑi] AU: [ɔ]
E: [i] [ɛ] [ə] EA: [i] [ɨ] EE: [i] [ɨ] EI: [ei] [i] EY: [i] [ɑi] [ei]
I: [ɪ] [ɑi] [ə] IE: [ɑi]
O: [oʊ] [ɑ] [ə] OA: [oʊ] OI: [oɪ] OO: [u] [ʊ] OU: [ʊ] [ɔ] [ɑʊ] OW: [ɑʊ] OY: [oɪ]
U: [u] [ə]/[ʌ] [iu] UY: [ɑi]
Y: [i] [ɑi]
Letters by Sounds
The following chart identifies the most common letters and letter combinations that each vowel or diphthong is represented by in English. Notice that some sounds are represented by more than one letter while a few sounds are represented by only one letter.
Pure Vowel Sounds
[i]: e, ea, ee, ei, ey, y
[ɪ]: I
[ɛ]: e
[æ]: a
[ə]/[ʌ]: a, e, i, o, u
[ɑ]: a, o
[ɔ]: au, ou
[ʊ]: oo, ou
[u]: oo, u
Diphthongs:
[ɑi]: ai, ey, i, ie, uy, y
[ei]: a, ai, ei, ey
[oʊ]: o, oa
[ɑʊ] : ou, ow
[oɪ]: oi, oy
http://www.linguisticsgirl.com/english-vowels-pronunciation-of-vowel-sounds-in-american-english/
http://research.haifa.ac.il/~nancyh/wordlist.html
Super Practice Paper
MINIMAL PAIRS FOR ALL VOWEL SOUNDS
[i:] – [ɪ]
lead – lid, read – rid, feel – fill, deal – dill, heel – hill, team – Tim, keen – kin, seen – sin, teen – tin, leave – live; peak – pick, seek – sick; sheep – ship, heap – hip, leap – lip, beat – bit, feet – fit, seat – sit
[i:] – [ɪ]: eat fish, be sick, feel ill, see him, meet Bill, deal with, read this, beat it;
[ɪ]– [i:]: kiss me, lip cream, till three
[ɪ] – [e]
bill – bell, fill – fell, till – tell, him – hem, pin – pen, tin – ten, win – when, bid – bed, did – dead, Liz – Les, since – sense; pit – pet, sit – set, Nick – neck, pick – peck, miss – mess, wrist – rest, lift – left
[i] – [e]: Big Ben, six guests, live well, since ten;
[e] – [i]: tell Tim, test him
[e] – [æ]
bed – bad, said – sad, beg – bag, leg – lag, hell – Hal, hem – ham; Ben – ban, pen – pan, den – Dan, ten – tan, men – man; bend – band, lend – land, send – sand; bet – bat, met – mat, pet – pat, set – sat, mess – mass, wreck – rack, peck – pack, letter – latter, better – batter
[e] – [æ]: red bag, fell back, met Alice, pen pal;
[æ] – [e]: Ann said, bad pen, add ten, marry Mary
[æ] – [a:]
bad – bard, lad – lard, Pam – palm, cam – calm, carry – car, Barry – bar; cat – cart, hat – heart, mat – mart, pat – part, cap – carp, back – bark, pack – park,
[æ] – [a:]: Dan's father, last part, fast cars
[a:] – [æ]: smart Alex, hard candy, Karl's cat
[æ] – [ə]
fan – fun, ran – run, sang – sung, land – lung, Dan – done, man – month, frank – front, Sam – some, ram – rum, damp – dump, bag – bug, rag – rug; cat – cut, bat – but, hat – hut, fat – fuss, last – lust, task – tusk, back – buck, lack – luck, tack – tuck, stack – stuck;
[æ] – [ə]: bad cut, bad blood, bad luck, black gun, last month, Ann's mother;
[ə] – [æ]: some tan, one man, a bag, a hat;
[a:] – [ɔ]
far – four, car – core, tar – tore, star – store, card – cord, bard – board, barn – born; park – pork, stark – stork, part – port, cart – court, Marty – Morty,
[a:] – [ɔ]carport, Bart bought, hard core
[ɔ]– [a:]: four cars, ball park, small yard
[a:] – [ʌ]
barn – bun, calm – come, drama – drum, march – much, darn – done, far – sofa, father – mother; bark – buck, dark – duck, lark – luck, tar – tuck, stark – stuck, heart – hut,
[a:] – [ɛ]
hard – heard, card – curd, far – fur, farm – firm, barn – burn, large – splurge, charge – church; heart – hurt, cart – Curt, dark – dirt, lark – lurk, park – perk, carton – curtain,
[ɑ] – [ɛ]
call – curl, hall – hurl, all – earl, Paul – pearl, saw – sir, lawn – learn; war – were, ward – word, warm – worm, reward – reword, walk – work, wart – worth; four – fir, sore – sir, store – stir, core – occur, pour – purr; born – burn, torn – turn, form – firm, board – bird, cord – curd, course – curse, caught – curt, short – shirt, talk – Turk;
[ɑ] – [ɛ]: warm words, four birds, call Kurt
[ɛ] – [ɑ] first floor, third door, learn all
[ɑ] – [ə]
bomb – bum, rob – rub, college – color, common – come, comma – company, body – buddy, bother – brother; gone – done, nonsense – none, honor – honey, monitor – money, monument – Monday, fond – front, tongs – tongue, sponsor – sponge; conference – confess, continent – contain, content (n.) – content (adj.) , contract (n.) – contract (v.), contrary – control, policy – police; lock – luck, sock – suck, cop – cup, hot – hut, not – nut, cloth – nothing, bottle – butter, bottom – button
[u:] – [ɪu:]
food – feud, fool – fume, cool – cute, who – hue, ooze – use, moose – muse, boot – beauty
[u:] – [ʊ]
fool – full, pool – pull, womb – woman, food – foot, Luke – look, tooth – took, shoot – should
[ʊ] – [ɑ]
cook – cock, look – lock, rook – rock, took – stock, put – pot, good – god
[ʊ]– [ʌ]:
book – buck, look – luck, took – tuck, put – but, push – hush, full – dull, pull – hull;
The sounds [ʌ]: (but) and [ɛ] (bird)
[ʌ]– [ɛ]
bud – bird, cub – curb, bun – burn, ton – turn, fun – fern, soda – coder;
luck – lurk, shut – shirt, but – Bert, hut – hurt, such – search, bust – burst, sofa – suffer, quota – quarter
Stressed [Ʌ]– Unstressed [ə]:
son – lesson, some – awesome, muss – famous, numb – venom, thud – method,
Stressed [ɛ] – Unstressed [ər]
fur – offer, refer – suffer, sir – answer, purr – helper, burn – stubborn, turn – lantern
Teacher Jack.
