This is the /i:/ sound. As in the words:
be /biː/
me /miː/
need /niːd/
It is a Vowel sound and it’s technical name is the ‘Close Front Unrounded Vowel’.
Remember that the key to pronunciation is physical
and the name tells us about how the sound is made physically.
In this case your tongue is high and at the front of your mouth.
Unrounded refers to your lips because they are stretched out as if you are smiling and not rounded.
All vowels are made through the mouth and are voiced so you vibrate your vocal chords
to make the sound.
It is similar to the /ɪ/ sound, but the two
little dots mean that it is a longer sound. /i:/ not /ɪ/.
To produce the sound put your tongue high and at the front of your mouth and stretch
out your lips, then make a long voiced sound.
/i:/
The /i:/ sound is normally spelled with the letter 'e' or e-e'
as in the words: three /θriː/
see /siː/
these /ðiːz/
But it can also be spelled with the letters ‘e-a'. As in the words:
leave /liːv/
Like with all vowels in English the spelling can be very inconsistent.
You'll always find alternative and unusual spellings of the vowel sounds.
It is one of the most difficult things in English but you just have to learn it.
Here are some words that start with the /i:/ sound:
each /iːtʆ/
easy /ˈiːzi/
eat /iːt/
east /iːst/
Here are some words that have the /iː/ sound in the middle:
feel /fiːl/
keep /kiːp/
seem /siːm/
and between /bɪ'twiːn/
Here are some words with the /i:/ sound at the end:
he /hiː/
she /ʆiː/
we /wiː/
free /friː/
So that is it for the /i:/ sound, but we have made additional videos on each of the groups of sounds
Vowels, Diphthongs, Single Consonants, and Consonant Pairs as well as a video explaining
the overall phonetic chart.
You can also click on any of the symbols behind me to see a similar video with lots of examples
and an explanation about how to pronounce that sound.
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