Hi there. This is the /ɪə/ sound, as in the words: year /jɪә/
hear /hɪә/
really /'rɪәli/
/ɪə/ is a diphthong sound which means it is a combination of two vowel sounds that
are pronounced within the same syllable.The /ɪә/ sound is a combination of the vowels
/ɪ/ and /ә/. Like vowels the diphthongs are all made through the mouth and are voiced
which means that you vibrate you vocal chords to produce the sound.
Unlike with vowels and consonants, when you pronounce a diphthong sound, your mouth will
change position and shape as you say the sound, because they are a combination of two sounds.
So as you say the /ɪә/ sound your mouth will start on the position of the /ɪ/ sound
and finish on the position of the /ə/ sound. In this case we are going from unrounded mouth shape
Like we are smiling /ɪ/ to a more relaxed mouth shape and at the same time opening our mouth
a little as we move to the /ә/. /ɪә/, /ɪә/. /ɪә/
One of the most difficult things about learning English is the spelling. This is because spelling
is often not phonetic especially the vowels and diphthongs. So you will find the /ɪə/
sound spelled many different ways. But it is often spelled with the letters "e"
or “e-a", as in the words: area /ˈeәriә/
clear /klɪә/
material /mәˈtɪәriәl/
here /hɪә/
Not many words start with the /ɪә/ sound. But one that you should know is the word.
ear /ɪә/
Here are some words with the /ɪә/ sound in the middle.
real /rɪәl/
experience /ɪkˈspɪәriәns/
nearly /ˈnɪәli/
period /ˈpɪәriәd/
Here are some words with the /ɪә/ sound at the end.
idea /aɪˈdɪә/
appear /әˈpɪә/
near /nɪә/
career /kәˈrɪә/
So thats it for the /ɪə/ sound.
We have also made videos on each of the phonetic sounds
which you can see by clicking on these links.
We've also made videos on the groups of sounds,
Vowels, Diphthongs, Consonant Pairs and Single Consonants.
As well as a video explaining the overall phonetic chart.
We regularly post new videos.
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