Italian ä, (as in ah, father)

This sound is represented also, in some cases, by ea (heart), au (aunt), ua (guard).

In making this sound, the throat is opened widely, as in yawning; the teeth are placed about three quarters of an inch apart; the lips are slightly drawn from the teeth; the tongue is completely relaxed.

Broad a, (as in all, talk, water)

This sound is represented also by au (haul), aw (saw), o (long), ou (bought).

In making this sound, the throat opening is slightly narrowed from the position for the sound above; the teeth are placed about an inch apart; the lips are thrust forward; the tongue is relaxed.

Short ă, (as in hat, cat)

In making this sound, the voice-box is slightly raised (notice this by placing the finger over the voice-box, and making the Italian a, followed by the short a); the tongue is slightly raised and thrust forward a little; the lips are slightly drawn back at the corners of the mouth; the teeth are placed about a quarter of an inch apart.

Long ā, (as in ate, cake)

This sound is represented also by ai (rain), au (gauge), ay (day), ea (break), ei (veil), ey (they). In making this sound, the teeth are placed about half an inch apart; the lips are well drawn back at the corners of the mouth; the tongue is considerably raised and thrust forward so that the edges of the blade are pressed against the upper grinders.

Intermediate ȧ, (as in ask, bath, class)

In making this sound, the tongue is placed midway

between its low position for Italian a, and its higher position for short a; the lips are closer than for Italian a, but slightly farther apart than for short a; the same is true of the teeth. Practically, the organic position and the resulting sound are in every respect midway between those of the Italian and short a. Pronounce bär, båth, băt, noting particularly the shift in lip and teeth positions.

The student should strive to acquire an easy habitual use of this intermediate a as it suggests affectation if it sounds like the a in father, and lack of culture if it sounds like the a in hat. Words in common use which take this sound are: advantage, after, answer, basket, blast, branch, brass, chance, chant, clasp, class, contrast, dance, draft, example, fast, gasp, glance, glass, grant, grasp, grass, last, mask, mass, nasty, pass, rasp, shaft, staff, vast.

Long ē, (as in mete, eve)

This sound is represented also by ee (beet), ea (beat), ei (receive), ie (believe), eo (people), ey (key), ae (Caesar), i (machine), uay (quay), oe (phoenix), ue (Portuguese).

In making this sound, the voice-box is raised very high; the teeth are brought almost together; the corners of the lips are drawn far back and turned upward; the edges of the blade of the tongue are raised against the soft palate, leaving only a small central groove for the passage of the air.

Short ě, (as in met, bet)

This sound is represented also by ea (feather), ei (heifer), eo (leopard), ie (friend), ae (diaeresis), oe (asafoetida), u (bury), ue (guess), a (any), ai (said).

In making this sound, the position is the same as for long a, except a slight dropping of the lower jaw, which lowers the tongue a little.

Long i, (as in bite, ice)

This sound is represented also by ie (die), ui (beguile), ei (height), ai (aisle), y (fly), uy (buy), ye (rye).

This sound is what is known as diphthongal, i. e., it combines the Italian a and the long e sounds. It is produced by a quick shift during vocalization from the position for the former to the position for the latter component sound.

Short i, (as in fit, ship)

This sound is represented also by y (hymn), ui (guilt), ie (sieve), ee (been), u (business), o (women). The sound is produced as is the long e, except more rapidly, and with the lower jaw and tongue dropped just a trifle lower.

Long ō, (as in open, wrote)

This sound is represented also by oo (floor), eau (bureau), au (hautbois), eo (yeoman), ew (sew), ow (low), ou (boulder), oe (toe), oa (foam).

In making this sound, the teeth are placed about three quarters of an inch apart; the lips are drawn over them into circular form; the cheeks are drawn in slightly; the tongue is relaxed.

Short ŏ, (as in on, hot)

This sound is represented also by a (was), ow (knowledge).

The sound is produced the same as the Italian a, except that it is of shorter duration.

Long σo, (as in boot, brood)

This sound is represented also by o (do), oe (canoe), ou (soup), u (rule), ue (rue), ui (fruit), ew (flew), eu (rheum).

In making this sound, the teeth are placed about a quarter of an inch apart; the lips are thrust forward, making a small circular opening; the blade of the tongue is slightly raised.

Short oo, (as in book, look)

This sound is represented also by o (wolf), u (pull). In making this sound, the circle of the lips is slightly larger, and the teeth are a little farther apart than for the long oo sound.

Long u, (as in use, tune)

This sound is represented also by eau (beautiful), eu (feudal), ieu (lieu), iew (review), ue (rescue), ui (suit), yu (yule), you (your).

Like the long i, this sound is diphthongal. It begins with the organs in the long e position and proceeds through a rapid shift to the long oo position.

Short u, (as in but, nut)

This sound is represented also by o (some), oe (does), oo (blood), ou (touch).

In making this sound, the teeth are placed almost together, as for long e; the lips are drawn back from the teeth; the tongue lies flat, with the tip just touching the base of the lower front teeth.

Especial attention is called to the fact that this short u sound is approximately the one used for the so-called neutral vowel sound in unstressed syllables, such as the a in amount, extra, the e in father, linger, the second i in agility, sir, the o in instructor, actor, etc.

oi, (as in boil, noise)

This sound is represented also by oy (joy).

The oi is a diphthong, composed of the broad a and the short i sounds. Note the difference between the diphthong and the vowel digraph, which is a single sound represented by two letters; in the word leaf, for example, ea is a vowel digraph.

In making the oi sound, the organs start in the position for the broad a and shift quickly into the short i position.

ou, (as in sound, out)

This sound is represented also by ow (now).

The ou is a diphthong. In making the sound, the organs start in the position for the short o and shift quickly into the long oo position.

Common Vowel Errors

In connection with this study of the production of vowel sounds, it may be helpful to present some of the vowel errors which are most frequently encountered. In the following table, the symbol ">" means " sounded as"; for example, a>e indicates that short a is wrongly sounded as short e.

ȧ (as in bath)>ă (as in hat); båth, påss, tåsk>băth, păss, tǎsk.

ȧ (as in bath)>ä (as in father); båth, påss, tásk> bäth, päss, täsk.

ă (as in hat)>ä (as in father); bărrel, nărrow>bärrel, närrow.

ā (as in fate)>ă (as in hat); pāthos, pātriotism>. păthos, pătriotism.

au, ou (as in caught, bought)>ŏ (as in not); caught, sought>cot, sot.