Sounds of English

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, Z ^US
• sea, tea, seem, feet, key

/u:/

• Q, U, W
• choose, use,

/ɜːr/

• first, third, 30, 30^th
• shirt, clerk, certification, learn
• Some people sometimes pronounce words like sure & pure with this sound rather than /ʃʊr/, /pjʊr/, (myself included).

Short vowels

/ʌ/

• sun, but, mud, uncle
• son, won, 1, brother, other, another, above
• flood, blood

/ʊ/

• Look!, a good cookbook
• put, push, pull
• woman /'wʊmən/

/ɪ/

• 6, him, this
• been, again
• below, behind, between, beneath, bemoan, belabor, besmirch, etc.
• women /'wimin/, electric, elegance /elɪɡəns/

/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/. (fête, bête, lait, aime pouvaient). Since the distinction is not considered phonemic (since the long "A" sound is realized as the diphthong /eɪ/), the standard transcription is /e/ though the sound is closer to /ɛ/ than /e/ (fée, pourrai, pouvez, aimer.)

• 7, 10, 12, F, L, M, N, S, X, Zed
• health, wedding, nephew, elementary /ˌelɪˈmentri/
• says, said

/ə/

• The most common vowel sound in English (also the most central vowel) (quite lax) uh... (French "euh" is very similar, but with rounded lips)

• around, about, above, ago, asleep, etc.
• perpetual, residual, comfortable¹, science, electric, elegant, woman, sermon
• -ous (famous, gelatinous, disastrous)
• -er (safer, cheaper, etc.)
• Some transcribe the sound of the suffix -ion as /ən/, though most dictionaries simply use "syllabic" /n/. More terminology wars... :) e.g. nation, ration, consideration, fashion /ˈfæʃn/, etc.

¹ Most commonly the first schwa is dropped entirely. ˈkʌmftəbl / 'kʌmfətəbl

/æ/

• bad, faster, fastest, that¹

¹ As a demonstrative pronoun / determiner that is pronounced /ðæt/, as a relative pronoun, that is usually pronounced /ðət/, though it may be dropped entirely.