Hi everyone! In this video, you'll learn how to pronounce the IH
like in bit vowel.
The IH vowel is not very common in other languages,
which makes this vowel challenging for many of my clients.
The IH vowel is in the words bit, live, and window. To make this vowel, the tongue
tip is down behind the back of the bottom front
teeth. The middle of the tongue is arched up
towards the roof of the mouth, and the jaw opens but not quite to mid
level. The lips are relaxed in a neutral
position.
The most important pronunciation tip about the IH
vowel is that it is a lax vowel, which means there is less tension in the
tongue, lips, and jaw when you say this sound.
You should be able to feel this difference in muscular tension
if you put your hand underneath your chin as you say the
IH vowel and a tense vowel like EE. EE. IH.
There's less muscular tension with IH. It is also important to understand how
the IH vowel changes depending on the word in
which it occurs. When IH comes before a voiceless
consonant like T in the word bit, the
IH vowel is said a little bit faster than when it comes before a voiced
consonant like D in bid. Listen to the difference in the
length of the IH vowel in the words bit and bid.
Bit, bid. This change in vowel length is common in
American English. When vowels occur before a voiceless
consonant, they are often said for a shorter
duration. And when consonants occur before a
voiced consonant, they are often said for a little bit
longer. Bit, bid.
Let's take a closer look at the IH vowel in the word
bit. The jaw drops for the IH vowel, but notice how the lips are
neutral. The tongue is forward, and the middle
part of the tongue is arched up towards the roof of the mouth. The tongue
tip is down, behind the bottom front teeth.
One more important pronunciation tip about the IH
vowel is how it changes when it comes before
a nasal consonant. Listen to how I pronounce the word
sing. Sing.
The vowel is the IH vowel, but it doesn't sound like the pure
IH. It sounds more like the EE vowel. Sing. The IH vowel becomes more nasalized
because of the NG consonant, and that changes the way the
IH vowel sounds. It sounds more like IH + EE. IH +EE.
Sing. So the vowel begins as IH, but then the tongue moves up as you
progress to the nasal consonant. IH + EE. Sing. This is common in American English
when vowels come before nasal consonants. The vowel is not pronounced as a pure
vowel. So when IH comes before NG, think of
pronouncing it as IH + EE.
Let's take a closer look at the IH vowel when it comes before the
NG consonant like in the word sing. Notice how at the beginning of the IH
sound in sing, the tongue is forward and the
middle part of the tongue is arched up towards the roof of the mouth.
Then as the word progresses to the NG consonant,
notice how the tongue pulls back during the vowel as it prepares for the NG
consonant.
When the IH vowel is in a stressed syllable,
the pitch of the voice glides up and then down. IH.
Bit. But when the IH vowel is in an unstressed syllable,
the vowel is said faster and at a lower pitch. IH.
The IH vowel is unstressed in a word like
decide. On the left is the stressed IH vowel in the word bit, and on the right
is the unstressed IH vowel in the word decide. Notice the difference in jaw
opening between the unstressed and stressed
positions. The unstressed IH has a smaller jaw
opening in part because of the D sound that came
just before the IH vowel in the word decide.
And the D sound and the IH sound are made with the same amount of jaw opening.
Stressed IH. Bit. IH.
Unstressed IH. Decide. IH.
IH before a nasal consonant NG. IH+EE. Sing.
Here are some practice words and sentences.
Quick. IH.
Quick. She took a quick step backward.
Big. IH.
Big. I have a big family.
Started. IH. Started. The race started at noon.
Wing. IH + EE. Wing.
The eagle spread its wings.
Listen. IH. Listen.
I want you to listen closely. Livid. Both stressed and unstressed IH.
Livid. He was livid with rage.
Thanks so much for watching, and let me know how I can help you with
pronunciation of the IH vowel