One of the most pervasive pronunciation problems in English is the distinction between /i/, as in "sheep," and /ɪ/, as in "ship." Your first language will influence whether you can easily hear and articulate the distinction between these two vowel sounds. This distinction is very clear to native English speakers, and many words lose their intended meaning if the wrong sound is substituted. The following list of minimal pairs gives you an idea of why it is so important to pronounce these vowels correctly (and it also provides good listening practice):
Minimal Pairs: /i/ vs. /ɪ/ (Listen)
The /i/ phoneme is an example of a tense vowel. When articulating tense vowels, the muscles in your lips and tongue should be tense, or tight. To make the /i/ sound, open your mouth slightly, and move your tongue high towards the roof of your mouth and forward towards your front teeth (but not touching your teeth). The sides of your tongue should be pressing the roof of your mouth. We particularly like the Sounds American channel for phoneme practice. I've posted the /i/ video below.
/ɪ/, however, is a lax vowel. The muscles in your lips and tongue should be relaxed. To make the /ɪ/ sound, open your mouth slightly, and move your tongue high towards the roof of your mouth and forward. Your tongue should be relaxed and not touching your teeth or the roof of your mouth. The Sounds American video is below:
Spelling in English can be tricky. The /i/ sound is most often spelled with a "y," as in pretty, lady, and kitty. The /ɪ/ is most often spelled with an "i," as in brick, middle, and lid. Please see our Sound Chart for a more complete list of spellings.
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This blog post first appeared in English Unraveled on the Service Speak, LLC site on August 16, 2017.  Have you been told by your boss or co-workers that you are too direct? Or maybe you simply aren't getting the reaction you expect from others when you speak. Below I've outlined five tips for softening your tone and sounding more polite in English. 1. Hedging When we hedge, we soften our tone by introducing a bit of uncertainty. Hedging involves using various qualifiers to make our utterances less certain, which, therefore, softens the impact of what we say. For example, Your order will be late. Your order will be a bit late. We found problems with the new system. We found a few problems with the new system. I’ve been unhappy with your performance. I’ve been somewhat unhappy with your performance. There was a mix up with your order. It appears there was a mix up with your order. Other qualifiers used to soften our tone include a little, some, slightly, slight, one or two, small 2. Passive Voice Using the passive voice, when possible, allows us to avoid placing blame. For example, David overcooked the meat. The meat was overcooked. Maria missed the deadline. The deadline was missed. Paula did not update the charts. The charts were not updated. 3. Past Continuous Using the past tense to talk about the present creates distance and sounds less direct. The past continuous is often used in this way. I hope you will finish this today. I was hoping you would finish this today. I think we should take a break. I was thinking we should take a break. I wonder if I can come in an hour late tomorrow. I was wondering if I could come in an hour late tomorrow. 4. Modals We can also use the past form of several modal verbs to sound more polite and less direct. Past forms include would, could, and might. For example, Please follow me. Would you please follow me? Can you please help me? Could you please help me? You should consider your options. You might like to consider your options. 5. Titles We also use titles appropriately to show respect. In most of the United States, the following titles and pronunciations are appropriate: Sir: an unknown man, /sɜr/ Could I have your name, Sir? Ma’am: an unknown woman, /mæm/ Could I bring you a drink, Ma’am? Mr.: a man, /mɪstər/ I’ll show you to your room, Mr. Smith. Mrs.: a married woman, /mɪsəz/ Your order will be delivered Thursday, Mrs. Brown. Miss: an unmarried woman or girl; also sometimes used to address female shop assistants and wait staff, /mɪs/ Miss Everdene is here today. Excuse me, Miss? Ms.: a woman regardless of marital status; preferred in professional situations, /mɪz/ Thank you for your resume, Ms. Gonzalez. Various professional and academic titles are also used in the United States, such as Professor and Doctor (Dr.).  |
Blog AuthorJennie Parker has taught English language courses and instructor training courses in a variety of settings both in the US and abroad, including universities, nonprofits, business settings, and private language schools. Archives
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