FrontVowels.doc

Front Vowels / i: / and / I / Brief Descriptions Of /i: /a. The front of the tongue is raised to a height slightly below and behind the front close position;b. The lips are spread c. The tongue is tense d. The side rims make a firm contact with the upper molars;e. It is generally long Brief Descriptions Of / I /a. The RP vowel / I / is pronounced with a part of tongue nearer to the centre than to front. It is raised just above the close-mid position;b. The lips are loosely spreadc. The tongue is laxd. The side rims make a light contact with the upper molarse. It is generally short Spelling and Sound Of / i: /ebe, these, evening, completeeesee, tree, been, need, cheese, wheeleasea, leaf, reason, east, meat, readiepiece, field, belief, yieldei,eyseize, receive, keyi-machine, police, magazine, sardine, routine, suite Spelling and Sound Of / I /iit, sit, fifth, with, richycity, pity, rhythm, symbolepretty, wicket, except, BBC Englishavillage, language The English / I:/ is longer than the in Chinese. The difference between /i:/ and /I/ is not merely the length of sound. There is also a difference in tongue position or quality. For/i:/ the part of the tongue that is highest is the centre of the “front” while for/I/ it is the hinder part of the “front”. Thus the quality of the two sounds is different. /i:/ /I/ /i:/ /I/deep dip leak licksteal still green grinkeeper kipper feel fillbeans bins beach bitchbead bid wheat witmead mid peak pickpeel pill seat sitscene sin deed did jean gin leaving livingheat hit team timsheep shipRead for funSee the breeze teasing the tree,Weaving the leaves or shaking them free.Tossing the fleece of sheep, that keepOn peacefully feeding, half a sleep.The fish in the river swiftly swim,And slip through the weeds with a silver gleam,Till they flick their fins and rise with a swishTo nibble the midges that skim t