British English vowel sounds — the twelve monophthongs
CLOSE Front vowel sounds (front of tongue high in mouth) Back vowel sounds (back of tongue high in mouth)
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HALF-CLOSE Front vowel sounds (front of tongue just above mid-height in mouth) Central vowel sounds Back vowel sounds (tongue drawn back)
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OPEN Front vowel sounds (front of tongue low in mouth) Back vowel sounds (back of tongue low in mouth)
English vowel sounds
| Vowel Phonemes | ||
|---|---|---|
| Lips loosely spread. Tongue lax, with less tension than /iː/. |
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pit |
| Lips loosely spread and slightly wider apart than /ɪ/. |
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pet |
| Lips neutrally open and slightly wider apart than /e/. |
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pat |
| Open lip-rounding, wide-open jaws, back of tongue low. |
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pot |
| Lips neutrally open. Open jaws. Centralised quality. |
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luck |
| Lips loose but closely rounded. Tongue not as tense as in /uː/. |
|
good |
| Lips in neutral position. Centralized. Tongue slightly higher than in /ʌ/ |
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ago |
| Lips spread. Tongue tense (front raised), with the sides touching the upper molars. |
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meat |
| Lips neutrally open and jaws far apart. Centre to back of tongue fully open. |
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car |
| Medium lip rounding. Tongue drawn back, making no contact with the upper molars. |
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door |
| Lips neutrally spread. Tongue slightly higher than /ə/. (no firm contact with upper molars) |
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girl |
| Lips closely rounded. Back of tongue high. Tense compared with /ʊ/. |
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too |
Text to practise short English vowel sounds
The story of Betty Botter and the butter
Betty Botter had some butter,
"But," she said, "this butter's bitter.
If I put it in my batter,
It would make my batter bitter.
But a bit of better butter-
Better than the bitter butter-
That would make my batter better."
So she bought a bit of butter,
Better than the bitter butter,
And she put it in her batter,
And it made her batter better.
So it was better Betty Botter
Bought a bit of better butter.
The cold old house — long vowels and diphthongs
I once knew a house,
A cold, old house,
A cold, old house by the sea.
If I were a mouse,
In a cold, old house,
What a cold, old mouse I would be!
I joined the navy — long vowels and diphthongs
I joined the navy,
To see the sea.
And what did I see?
I saw the sea.
The wild rover — long vowels and diphthongs
I've been a wild rover for many a year,
And I've spent all my money on whisky and beer,
But now I'm returning with gold in great store,
Now I never will play the wild rover no more.
And it's no, nay, never,
No nay never, no more,
Will I play the wild rover?
No, never, no more.
Songs for practising English phonemes
Song Titles listed by level and frequency of English sound.