Chips are cheap

By -
It may be difficult at first to hear the different vowel sounds in chip and cheap. As a result, some English learners may pronounce both words exactly in the same way. This and these – or it and eat – are often confused for the same reason. Although context usually helps the listener understand what we mean, getting these sounds right will make things a lot easier.
When dealing with pronunciation, it's useful to use a specific symbol to identify each sound. The vowel in cheap, these and eat – represented by /i:/ – is a bit longer, and the lips are spread when pronouncing it – just like when you smile or when you say cheese. The sound in chip, this and it, represented by /ɪ/, is shorter and a bit closer to /e/.
The longer vowel /i:/ is often spelt with a combination of two letters – as in please, meet, or key. But not always – you can find this sound in me and she, for example. Besides, /ɪ/ may also be spelt in various ways – busy, minute.
So when learning these sounds, look up the words containing them, listen carefully and repeat. Compare the sound you're trying to learn with similar ones to see if you can notice the difference. It's a good idea to focus on groups of words such as seat-sit-set, containing /i:/, /ɪ/, and /e/ respectively, to compare the three sounds. With some practice, you'll eventually be able to identify and produce them.
Do you think the following words contain /ɪ/ or /i:/?


/ɪ/ – kiss, live, bit, lip, ship, six, this, gin, it.
/i:/ – sheep, key, eat, leave, me, beat, tea, jeans, cheese, she, three.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Confused or confusing?

By -
Image
In English we often use adjectives like bored and interested to say how we feel. A story, a situation, or another person can make us feel intrigued , embarrassed, or disappointed . We are often tired or stressed after a working week, and relaxed at the weekend. Surprised, depressed, amused, annoyed, and puzzled are other examples of –ed adjectives that express how people feel. They all come from verbs, and each of them has a relative – another adjective ending in – ing. The words in pairs like shocked/shocking and bored/boring look so similar because they come from the same verbs – shock and bore . Both confused and confusing come from confuse , although they have different meanings – which is confusing for some people. In such pairs, the –ing adjective describes what makes you feel in a certain way, while the –ed adjective describes how you feel. So, when something is interesting (it interests you), you are interested (you feel interested).
Read more

Go home, walk home

By -
Image
Go is the most common verb of movement in English. Most of us spend the whole day going places – we go to school, we go to the cinema, and we go to other countries, for example. We can go home on foot , go to the shops by car , or go to work by bike . Instead of go , however, we often use other verbs that describe how the movement happens. So, I may walk home, drive to the shops, or cycle to work. Some of these verbs of movement can take an object – if I walk the children to school , I accompany them on foot. Similarly, I can walk my dog (when I take it out for a walk) or drive somebody to the airport (if I give them a lift to the airport in my car).
Read more