We learn about 6 vowel letters and the numerous sounds we make when using them. In English, we have 5 (well, sometimes 6) vowel letters, but way more vowel sounds. That’s where the IPA can help ...

For example, in the word ‘phonetic’. the first two letters are actually ... from Greek – are glides between two vowel sounds that in our heads we see as one and these are known as diphthongs. Romance ...

The short vowels in English, pit, pet, pat, have been standing still for a thousand years, while the long vowels did their merry chase. It's called the great vowel shift.

In a Lingua Franca post a few weeks ago, I needed to use the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) to represent the different pronunciations of the English word People still talk about speech ...

Teaching American English pronunciation. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ... The phonetics of schwa vowels. In D. Minkova (ed.) Phonological weakness in English. London: Palgrave Macmillan. 78-98.

This is the third diphthong programme in our series of 45 pronunciation videos that explore the sounds of English. The Sounds of English: Long Vowels - 4 Episode 4 / 12 Feb 2023 ...