Hi everyone! In this video, you'll learn how to pronounce the EE like in see vowel.
The EE vowel is in the words see, beat, and video. The EE vowel is considered a tense
vowel, which means there is more tension
within the face, lips, and tongue when you make this sound. Try this out: put your
hand under your chin when you say EE. You should feel tension
in the muscles just below your jaw as you say this sound. EE.
EE. To make the EE vowel, the tongue tip is down and touching the back of the bottom
front teeth. The middle part of the tongue is arched up towards the roof of
the mouth. The tongue is tense and spreads flat in the mouth. The lips
spread out slightly. EE. Listen to how I pronounce the EE vowel in the words see,
seed, and seat. See, seed, seat. Which word had the longest EE sound? Listen again: see, seed,
seat. In American English, some vowels are pronounced slightly longer depending on
the word position in which they occur. When the vowel comes before a voiceless
consonant like T in the word seat, the EE vowel is said the fastest of the three
options. Seat. When the EE vowel comes before a voiced consonant like D in the word
seed, the EE vowel is said for a longer duration than before a voiceless
consonant. Seed, seat. And when the EE vowel isn't an open syllable like in the word
see, the vowel is said for the longest amount of
time. See, seed, seat. It is also important to know about vowel gliding. Native
speakers will glide their voice downward when a word ends in a vowel. Listen to
how I say see see. It's not see with a flat, clipped EE sound,
it's see, with an elongated EE sound that glides down in pitch. Here's the EE
vowel in the word see. The jaws closed, and the lips spread out.
The middle of the tongue is arched up towards the roof of the mouth, and the
tongue tip is down behind the bottom front teeth. When EE is in a stressed
syllable, the pitch of the voice glides up and then down.
See. EE. But when EE is an unstressed syllable, the pitch of the voice is
flatter and lower, and the vowel is said quicker. EE. The EE vowel is unstressed in
the word eject. On the left is the EE vowel in the stressed position like in
the word see, and on the right is the EE vowel in the unstressed position like in
the word eject. Notice how the jaw is more closed in the
unstressed EE position. The lips are also spread out less. The EE vowel in eject
also does not have the gliding effect because it occurs at the beginning of a
word. Stressed EE. See. EE. Unstressed EE. Eject. EE. Here are some practice words and
sentences. Country. EE. Country. I live in a beautiful country. Agree. EE. Agree. I agree,
that is the best option. Repeat. EE. Repeat. Can you repeat the
question? Emit. EE. Emit. The Sun emits many types of
rays. Easy. EE. Easy. That one was too easy.
Delete. EE. Delete. I'm going to delete the file. Thanks so much for watching,
and let me know how I can help you with pronunciation of the EE vowel.