Sounds of English
From Creolista!
Vowels
Vowels are always voiced (which means the vocal cords vibrate when the sound is made).
ˈvaʊəlz ər 'ɔːlwəz 'vɔɪst
Long "pure" vowels
/ɑ:/
- R, star, car, far
- father, bother, bottle
- clerk UK
/i:/
- B, C, D, E, G, P, T, V, ZUS
- sea, tea, seem, feet, key
/u:/
- Q, U, W
- choose, use,
/ɜː(r)/
- first, third, 30, 30th
- shirt, clerk, certification, learn</li
- Some people sometimes pronounce words like sure & pure with this sound rather than /ʃʊr/, /pjʊr/, (myself included).
Short vowels
/ʌ/
- sun, but, mud
- son, won, 1, brother, other, another
- flood, blood
- -ous (famous, gelatinous, disastrous)
/ʊ/
- Look!, a good cookbook
- put, push, pull
/I/
- 6, him, thi</i>s</li>
- b<u>ee
n, again - wome</i>n /wimin/</li>
</ul>
/e/
The precise realisation of this form varies. In South Africa the sound is closer to /e/, while in the US it is closer to /ɛ/. (f<u>ê</u>te, b<u>ê</u>te, l<u>ait</u>, <u>ai</u>me pouv<u>aient</u>). Since it is not considered phonemic (since the long "A" sound is realized as a diphthong), the standard transcription is /e/ though the sound is closer to /ɛ/ than /e/ (f<u>ée<u>, pourr<u>ai</u>, pouv<u>ez</u>, aim<u>er</u>.
- 7, 10, 12
