Long and Short Vowel Sounds - Part 9_ Speak Global English Series (Heather Hansen)

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Speak Global English Series
Part 9:
Differentiate Between Long and Short Vowels

Over the past couple segments we've been looking at consonant sounds. Now it's time to turn our attention to our vowels.

In English we have both short and long vowels.

When you make long vowel sounds, you might notice that your voice goes up and glides down over a longer period of time. Think of A -- E - I - O - U - OW and OY.

Short vowels, on the other hand, are short and sharp: a, e, i, o, uh, ou

And depending on your variety of English you might be able to add a few other vowel variations to the short and long list.

Vowels can get complicated, but the simplest tip I can offer is to try to differentiate between your long and short vowels. One pair of vowels that I often hear confused is the long /eeee/ with the short /i/.

Think of the flight attendant who asks you to sit in your sit, for example. There really does need to be a difference between sit and seat.

By simply lengthening the long vowel, you can quickly begin speaking more clearly.

If you'd like more people in your company to start speaking clear, Global English, visit http://www.HansenCommLab.com for information on training opportunities. Or, come join the revolution at http://www.SpeakGlobalEnglish.org.