Pronunciation Drills: ɪ and ɪ̈

Let's look at these two groups in order to differentiate ɪ (short i) and ɪ̈ (long e). Let's remember the position of the two.

 ɪ̈ (long e)

• pull back your lips in a smile, with a small opening separating your lips and teeth
• your tongue is at rest (where it usually is when you're not moving it), and presses gently on the sides of your lower teeth
• make the i sound (ex: see, me, free) for at least 2 beats of time
  
  
  ɪ (short i) 
• pull back your lips in a slight grimace, with a slightly larger opening separating your lips and teeth
• your tongue is at rest (minimal pressure on the sides of the lower teeth)
• make the I sound (sit, mitt, pitt) for one beat of time
  
  Ok. we've done the review. Shall we start with the drills? ^^
  

 ɪ̈ (long e)                                                                 I (short i)

peek                                                                         pick

leave                                                                          live

week                                                                       wick

steel                                                                           still

sheep                                                                        ship

seek                                                                          sick

reach                                                                         rich

 ɪ̈

1. The key to the city is with Queen Irene.
2. To live in Peking is my greatest dream.
3. Dean has always been keen on women.
4. Jean feels queenly in her peach gown.

I

1. The history of the city began with the wishes of the women.
2. When you fish, be careful of the fissure in the sea.
3. Timid Billy got his courage from chocolate chips.
4. Cut foliage can become garbage.

Tongue Twister


Peach pit, peach pit, see it as you sit.

Eat it, eat it, with an oven mitt.

Beat it, beat it, pat it, prick it.

Twist and turn it, but don't eat it!

Notes:

1. Always check your dictionaries when you are unsure of the pronunciation of a word. It's your responsibility to check what you study. I recommend any Collins Dictionary for that purpose, since we're studying American English pronunciation. ^^
2. If you're unsure of how to make the sounds of i and I, go back up to the top part of this note, or take a look at my first article, The Vowels: An Overview

Any questions? Post a comment! ^^

- Cylarea Shea

*** Thank you to my student, Miki-san who pointed out that I labeled my explanations incorrectly! (Oct. 29, 2018)

Short e and Long a

Here's another pair that can cause trouble for those practicing pronunciation...short e and long a.

short e (ε)

• grimace like when you're slightly disgusted with something or you didn't hear someone clearly.
• open the mouth a little wider (about half of your thumb's length wide)
• do this sound for 1 beat.

long a (e or εi)

• start in the same position as (ε)
• then smile
• do this for 2 beats.

(ε)    short e                                                        (εi) long a

                                           fell                                                                       fail

                                           sell                                                                      sail

                                           bell                                                                      bail

                                           tell                                                                       tale

                                           cell                                                                      sail

                                           dell                                                                      dale

                                           well                                                                      wail

(ε) short e

1. Seven enviable men set out today.
2. I wept when a friend had a debt.
3. Get some medicine for your headache.
4. Dr. Bell said the wet, heavy weather is bad for you.

(εi) long a

1. Katie said she waited for a pail.
2. The way to the oasis is dangerous.
3. The rain seems a waste of water.
4. An acre of acorns makes squirrels insane.

Tongue Twisters!

Red ravens renege on their deal

And the lame rabbit's rage is more than ideal

To teach them lessons they'll never forget:

Don't bait a rabbit you've only just met.

Short e and Short a

Let's look at two rather troublesome sounds. This pair sounds almost the same...but they're not.

Short e (Ɛ) 

• smile slightly
• open your mouth about 3/4 the length of your thumb

Short a (æ)

• start with the same position as short e
• open your mouth about 3/4 the length of your thumb as well.
• now lower your jaw a little more while saying ja (note: j is pronounced as y in IPA)
• your tongue will be moving slightly backward then forward, but it's still flat in your mouth
• the sound you would be saying is Ɛja

Is it clear? Let's do the drills so that you will remember them! ^^

short e (Ɛ)                                            short a (æ)

                                               bed                                                       bad

                                               pen                                                       pan

                                               men                                                      man

                                               trek                                                       track

                                               peck                                                     pack

                                               ten                                                        tan

                                               hem                                                      ham

short e (Ɛ)

1. They left the scented petals on the leather sofa.
2. Get yourself a new pet from the store.
3. The devil under the hemlock tree is red
4. Ten generals caught ten bad men.
5. Pen the letter for the seven men.

short a (æ)

1. Athletes have big appetites.
2. The antiques are in the attic.
3. He married his companion from Arizona.
4. The annual family picnic is in January.
5. Stand still in the alley.

TONGUE TWISTERS

I bet the better batter would batter the betting bed wetter, if the betting bed wetter does not bet on him. If the betting bed wetter bets on the better batter, he better be a better batter than he was before.

Normal a and Italian a

Position review:

Normal a (a)

• Drop your jaw. The tension is only slight.

Italian a (ɒ)

• Open your mouth (like normal a)
• Your lips are rounded, in the o position

These two sounds quite distinct. Generally, they are believed to be the same by most people. However, pay attention. The smallest differences can mean everything.

Drill time! (Unfortunately, the words don't rhyme because it's a little hard to find words that rhyme for these two sounds *sweat drop* sorry about that)

Normal a (ɑ)                               Italian a (ɒ)

                                                father                                          pauper

                                                arm                                             dot

                                                cart                                             cloth
                                                farm                                            moth

Normal a (ɑ)
1. Father never bothers to close the door.
2. Part the farmland into halves.
3. My arms are tired from pushing the cart.

Italian a  (ɒ)
1.  An awful rock blocked us.
2. There's not a pot in sight.
3. I bought a lawn bauble.

TONGUE TWISTER

Gobbling gargoyles gobbled gobbling goblins. 

When you write copy, you have the right to copyright the copy you write. You can write good and copyright, but copyright  doesn't mean copy good - it might not be the right good copy, right?

**Note:
Tongue Twister 1 was taken from this webby , while Tongue Twister 2 was taken from here.
**Note 2:
I changed the spelling of gargoyles because it was incorrectly spelled.
**Note 3:
Word drills may be incorrectly displayed. Still working on it. Sorry.

Short o and Long o

Sorry for the delay, guys. Adjusting to my new schedule as a volunteer is a bit of a hassle *sweat drop*.

Anyway, let's get started! ^^

Short o (Ɔ)

• open your mouth about half your thumb's length (normal a position)
• purse your lips to make an O shape

Long O (ɔʊ)

• purse your lips to make an O shape
• after that, make the opening smaller.
• say  this for 2 beats

    Short o (Ɔ)                           Long O (ɔʊ)

                                                       store                                         soap

                                                       bore                                          boat

                                                       sore                                          sew

                                                       gore                                          know

                                                       lore                                           low

                                                       floor                                         flow

Short o (Ɔ)

1. An awkward warden bought an automobile.
2. The lizard crawled and clawed along the wall.
3. George danced the waltz until dawn.
4. They cautiously altered the arrangement.

Long o (ɔʊ)

1. Load the boat and let us go.
2. The host noticed tomato sauce on his shoulder.
3. The oval plateau was on the coast.
4. My own diploma was a bonus.

TONGUE TWISTER

There was a group of tourists who went to the haunted hall. One's coat was caught on a nail and they paused. They found some flaws in the flow of lines along the wall, then they read the poems of Poe and Shaw. A ghost applauded the reading, and they all fled in awe. Later, the haunted hall was bought by a man named Joe.

Short u and Long u

Both short u and long basically have the same starting position: pursed lips with a very small opening. Their only difference is length of time. As you guessed, short u is pronounced with one beat, and long u with two. Let's move on to the drills, then. ^^

Long u (ʊ̈)                                  Short u (Ʊ)

                                                     fool                                             full
                                                     pool                                            pull
                                                    shooed                                         should
                                                    wooed                                         would
                                                    cooed                                          could

Long u (ʊ̈)

1. Luke stewed while he cooked a stew.
2. The groom's tooth is loose.
3. The putrid boot is in the loo.
4. Rude boys are taboo.

Short u (Ʊ)

1. A bull pushed the woman with a crook.
2. The butcher took some cookie recipes.
3. I would pull the pages in the cookbook.
4. The wolves stole the hood from the hook.

TONGUE TWISTER

A Tudor who tooted the flute,

Tried to tutor two tooters to toot,

Said the two to the Tudor,

"Is it harder to toot,

Or to tutor two tooters too toot?"