Pronounce North American English Vowels: An Introductory Guide
- Chelsea Kohli
- Jan 26
- 9 min read
Today, we’re diving into a fundamental piece of North American English pronunciation: vowel sounds. If you’ve ever felt confused about the difference between words like "sheep" and "ship" or "bed" and "bad," don’t worry — I’ve got you covered! This guide will break down each vowel sound with clear explanations, examples, and practice exercises so you can master them with ease. Let’s get started!
What Are Vowel Sounds?
Vowel sounds are the open sounds that make up the heart of every syllable in English. Unlike consonants, which involve blocking airflow in some way using the teeth, lips, and tongue, vowels are made by shaping your mouth and tongue while letting the air flow freely. The differences between some vowel sounds can seem subtle at first, but with practice, you'll soon recognize them clearly.
Vowels can be split into two main groups:
Short vowels: Quick and simple sounds, often found in shorter words and unstressed syllables.
Long vowels: Held slightly longer and often sound like the names of the alphabet vowels (A, E, I, O, U).
For a more technical approach, vowels can also be described as monophthongs (single vowel sounds, like the /ɪ/ in bit) and diphthongs (two vowel sounds blended together, like the /aʊ/ in cow). To keep things simple, we’ll stick to short and long vowels in this post and save the technical details for another time.
The Vowel Quadrilateral
Below is a vowel quadrilateral chart showing several single vowel sounds. This chart visually represents how your tongue moves to produce different vowels.
Here’s a brief explanation of the key vowel categories:
Front Vowels
Tongue positioned toward the front of the mouth. On the vowel quadrilateral, these are on the left side. Vowels: /i/ (beat), /ɪ/ (bit), /ɛ/ (bed), and /æ/ (bat).
Back Vowels
Tongue positioned toward the back of the mouth. On the vowel quadrilateral, these are on the right side. Vowels: /u/ (boot), /ʊ/ (book), and /ɑ/ (bought).
High Vowels
Tongue raised close to the roof of the mouth. On the vowel quadrilateral, they’re at the top. Vowels: /i/ (beat), /ɪ/ (bit), /u/ (boot), /ʊ/ (book).
Low Vowels
Tongue positioned low in the mouth. On the vowel quadrilateral, they’re at the bottom.
Vowels:/æ/ (bat), /ɑ/ (bought).
Tense Vowels
Produced with more muscle tension in the tongue and/or lips, often longer in duration.
Vowels: /i/ (beat), /u/ (boot), /ɑ/ (bought).
Relaxed (Lax) Vowels
Produced with less muscle tension, often shorter in duration.
Vowels: /ɪ/ (bit), /ʊ/ (book), /ɛ/ (bet), /æ/ (bat), /ʌ, ə/ (but).
Rounded Vowels
Produced with rounded lips. Vowels: /u/ (boot), as well as some diphthongs.
Unrounded Vowels
Produced without rounded lips. In the above vowel quadrilateral, all vowels but /u/ (boot).
Neutral Vowel (Schwa)
The schwa (/ə/) and stressed schwa (/ʌ/) are the most relaxed and central vowel sounds in English. On the vowel quadrilateral, this sound is in the middle.
Let's learn about each vowel in more detail and start some practice!
Short Vowel Sounds
1. /ɪ/ (as in "bit")
Description: short and relaxed sound made with your tongue high in the front of your mouth.
Example words: ship, sit, him, milk (typically spelled with the letter "i")
Common mistake: often confused with the longer and tenser /i/ (beat).
TIP: Say "beat" and try to feel how tight your tongue muscles are, as well as how high and rounded it feels. Then try to relax those tongue muscles, so the tongue flattens out slightly and say "bit." If you're having trouble understanding the difference between tense and relaxed, say "beat" (tense), then say "bet." This "e" in "bet" is a relaxed vowel, so the way that your tongue feels for this sound is the same way it should feel for /ɪ/, the tongue just needs to raise up.
Practice Exercise: Say these word pairs (tense first, then relaxed):
beat – bit
sheep – ship
seat – sit
2. /ɛ/ (as in "bet")
Description: mouth opens slightly, tongue is relaxed and stays in the middle of your mouth.
Example words: bed, said, head, mess
Common mistake: Confusing this with /æ/ (bat).
TIP: If your production of "bet" and "bat" sound the same to you, only open your mouth slightly for /ɛ/ and open your mouth much bigger for /æ/. If we compare these two sounds in the vowel quadrilateral, the only difference between them is the height of the tongue. The tongue can be lowered by opening the mouth more (lowering the jaw), as this naturally pulls the tongue downward.
Practice Exercise: Say these word pairs (mouth slightly open for the first word, then open wide for the second word):
bed – bad
pet – pat
beg – bag
3. /æ/ (as in "bat")
Description: This sound requires a wide mouth opening and the tongue low in the front of your mouth. To ensure that your tongue is low at the front, touch the tip of your tongue to the back of your bottom teeth and leave it there while you make the sound.
Example words: cat, bad, map, sack
Common mistake: Some speakers replace it with /ɛ/ (bet) or /ɑ/ (bought)
TIPS:
If your "bat" and "bet" sound very similar, see the TIP under /ɛ/ above.
If your "bat" sounds like "bought," it means that you're lowering the back of your tongue and not the front of your tongue. Just look at the vowel quadrilateral and you'll see that the main difference between /æ/ and /ɑ/ is that /æ/ requires the front of the tongue to be low and /ɑ/ requires the back of the tongue to be low. Touching the tip of your tongue to the back of your bottom teeth as you make the sound can help cue you to keep the front of your tongue low.
Practice Exercise: Say these word pairs (ensure the tip of your tongue is touching the back of your bottom teeth for the first word):
cat – caught
hat – hot
bat – bought
4. /ʌ/ (as in "cup")
Description: Made with a relaxed mouth and tongue in the middle of the mouth.
Example words: cup, up, luck, run
Common mistake: Producing /ɑ/ (bought) or /ɔ/ (British vowel)
TIP: SMILE wide when making the sound, as this will spread the lips apart, not allowing the lips to come inwards and round slightly, which is a common distortion of this sound. Your tongue may also need to raise up closer to the roof of your mouth than you're used to.
Practice Exercise: Say these word pairs:
cup – cop
luck – lock
gun – gone
5. /ʊ/ (as in "book")
Description: A short, high-back vowel made with your tongue and lips relaxed.
Example words: good, foot, wood, could
Common mistake: Producing /u/ (boot)
TIP: If you tend to round your lips for this sound, practice these words with "sh" and keep your lips locked in the "sh" positions for the entire word to help force the lips to stay apart and not round. Yes, you can keep your lips in the exact same place for every sound in these words: "shook," "should," "sugar" (watch yourself in a mirror to make sure your lips don't move!)
Practice Exercise: Say these word pairs (/u/ rounded and tense first, then /ʊ/ unrounded and relaxed):
kook – cook
fool – full
stewed – stood
Long Vowel Sounds
6. /i/ (as in "beat")
Description: This is a tense, high-front vowel sound, made by slightly stretching your lips into a smile.
Example words: sheep, see, tree, beat
Common mistakes:
Not holding the sound for long enough
Confusing this with the short, relaxed /ɪ/ (bit)
TIP: smile and feel your tongue become tight as it raises up near the roof of your mouth. Hold the sound longer than you may think is necessary, as this is considered a "long" vowel sound.
Practice Exercise: Say these word pairs (/i/ tense and long first, then /ɪ/ short and relaxed):
beat – bit
sheep – ship
seat – sit
7. /u/ (as in "boot")
Description: This is a high-back, rounded vowel sound. Your lips form a tight circle as you pronounce it. Also, remember that this a "long" vowel, so hold it for longer than you may think is necessary.
Example words: blue, moon, food, shoe
Common mistake: Not holding the sound long enough and/or not rounding the lips tight enough. If this happens, it may sound like /ʌ/ (but) or /ʊ/ (book).
TIP: Watch yourself in the mirror to ensure that your lips are in a tight circle and hold the sound for a bit longer than you typically do.
Many /u/ (boot) and /ʊ/ (book) words are spelled with "oo," which can be confusing. There aren't obvious rules to know when to use which sound, it's really just memorizing the pronunciations of the words. The joys of English!
Practice Exercise: Say these word pairs (/u/ vs. /ʌ/):
Luke – luck
soon – sun
boost – bust
8. /ɑ/ (as in "bought")
Description: A low-back vowel sound, so the back of your tongue should feel very low.
Example words: father, caught, calm, hot
Common mistake: Producing/ʌ/ (but), or with rounded lips, similar to /oʊ/ (boat)
TIP: Opening your mouth wide in all directions will help to pull the tongue down naturally and keep the lips from being too close together. Your mouth should look like a big, open circle and not an oval.
Practice Exercise: Say these word pairs (big, open mouth for /ɑ/, then neutral /ʌ/):
cop – cup
lock – luck
gone – gun
9. /eɪ/ (as in "bait")
Description: This diphthong (two vowel sounds combined in same syllable) starts with a mid-front tongue position and glides upward slightly. Pronounced just like the letter name "A."
Example words: face, late, rain, cake
Common mistake: Using on a monophthong (single vowel), such as /ɛ/ (bet)
TIP: lower your jaw slightly for the first half of the sound, then close your mouth and feel the back of your tongue glide along the roof your your mouth for the second half of the sound.
Practice Exercise: Say these word pairs (/ɛ/, then two mouth movements /eɪ/):
tech – take
bet – bait
pen – pain
10. /oʊ/ (as in "boat")
Description: This diphthong (two vowel sounds combined in same syllable) starts with a mid-back tongue position and glides upward slightly as the lips round. Pronounced just like the letter name "O."
Example words: go, snow, toe, load
Common mistake: Using only one vowel sound, such as /ʌ/ (but)
TIP: lower your jaw for the first half of the sound and keep your lips in an oval shape, then close your mouth and create a tight circle with your lips, as if you're saying /u/ (boot) or /w/ (what). Watch yourself in the mirror to make sure you see a circle with your lips. This sound tends to be easier when it is at the end of a word, like "go," than when a consonant follows, like "load."
Practice Exercise: Say these word pairs (neutral /ʌ/, then two mouth movements for /oʊ/):
gut – goat
fun – phone
must – most
11. /ɔɪ/ (as in "boy")
Description: This diphthong (two vowel sounds combined in same syllable) starts with a mid-back tongue position with rounded lips and glides toward a high-front position with unrounded lips.
Example words: coin, toy, foil, joy
Common mistake: Using only one vowel sound, such as /ɑ/ (bought)
TIP: round your lips tightly for first the first half of the sound, then split your lips lengthwise into a smile as you make a /j/ "y" sound for the second half. Watch yourself in the mirror to make sure you see a circle with your lips at the beginning and then end with a smile.
Practice Exercise: Say these word pairs (low-back /ɑ/, then two mouth movements for /ɔɪ/):
raw – Roy
pot – ploy
all – oil
12. /aɪ/ (as in "bite")
Description: This diphthong (two vowel sounds combined in same syllable) starts with a low-front tongue position and glides upward toward a high-front position. Pronounced just like the letter name or word "I."
Example words: my, line, shy, fight
Common mistake: Using only one vowel sound, such as /ʌ/ (but), /æ/ (bat)
TIP: lower your jaw significantly for the first half of the sound to pull the front of your tongue down behind your bottom teeth, then close your mouth and feel the back of your tongue glide along the roof your your mouth for the second half of the sound.
Practice Exercise: Say these word pairs (/æ/ then /aɪ/):
fan – fine
tam – time
sad – side
13. /aʊ/ (as in "about")
Description: This diphthong (two vowel sounds combined in same syllable) starts with a low-front tongue position and glides upward toward a high-back position with rounded lips.
Example words: house, cow, loud, south
Common mistake: Using only one vowel sound, such as /ʌ/ (but)
TIP: lower your jaw significantly for the first half of the sound to pull the front of your tongue down behind your bottom teeth, then close your mouth and create a tight circle with your lips, as if you're saying /u/ (boot) or /w/ (what).
Practice Exercise: Say these word pairs (neutral /ʌ/, then two mouth movements for /aʊ/) :
fund – found
ton – town
done – down
Practice Makes Perfect
Mastering these vowel sounds takes time and practice. Try recording yourself while practicing and compare your pronunciation to mine. Stay consistent, and soon you'll notice your speech becoming clearer and more natural!
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