The /ɪ/ Sound
You might have a tendency to pronounce /ɪ/ as in sit incorrectly. The lips slightly parted and relaxed, the tongue relaxed, high, but not as high as for /i:/. Sides of the tongue touch upper back teeth.
The /i:/ sound is a long vowel sound as in eat and the /i/ sound is a short vowel sound as in very, but both symbols are in the same position. both are the same svowel sound. /i/ is used in final y.
Make sure you pronounce the following words differently:
| /ɪ/ | /i/ | /ɪ/ | /i:/ | |
| 1. live | leave | 7. bit | beat | |
| 2. fill | feel | 8. still | steal | |
| 3. list | least | 9. itch | each | |
| 4. his | he's | 10. sick | seek | |
| 5. slip | sleep | 11. fit | feet | |
| 6. chip | cheap | 12. ship | sheep |
Common Spelling Patterns for /ɪ/
| 1. i (most common) | sit, give, this, dinner | |
| 2. ui | build, quit, quick, quilty | |
| 3. y (between two consonants) | system, gym, symbol, hymn | |
| exceptions: | ||
| been | in American English been is pronounced the same as bin. | |
| women | sounds like /ˈwɪmən/ (the o is an /ɪ/ sound) |
Common Spelling Patterns for /i:/
| ee | meet, feel, see, free | |
| ea | team, reach, mean, sea | |
| ie and ei | belief, piece, neither, receive | |
| final e | me, we, she, he | |
| e + consonant + e | these, Chinese, Peter | |
| final y (*) | city, duty, country, ability | |
| endings with ique | unique, boutique, critique |
(*) When is a final y, the /i/ sound is short. The word any is pronounce /ˈɛni/, not /ˈɛni:/.
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