RP
i:
Lower case i
Close, front, spread; free (long) and tense (strong)
For the articulation of RP /i:/ the front of the tongue is raised just below and just behind the front close (or high) position. The lips are spread and the tongue is tense, with the side rims making a firm contact with the upper molars. The quality is that of a centralized and slightly lowered CV 1 [ i ̞̞].
Spelling
| <ee> | see / ˈsi:/ , cheese /tʃi:z/, canteen /kænˈti:n/ | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| <e> | be /bi/, these /ði:z/, compete /kəmˈpi:t/ | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| <ea> | sea /si:/, beans /bi:nz/, please /pli:z/, season /ˈsi:zn̩/ | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| <ie> | piece /pi:s/, field /fi:ld/, believe /bɪˈli:v/ | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| <ei, ey> | seize /si:z/ , ceiling /ˈsi:lɪŋ/, key /ki:/ , geyser /ˈɡi:zə/ | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| <i> | ski /ski:/ , police /pəˈli:s/, litre /ˈli:tə/ | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| <oe> | foetus /ˈfi:təs/, oecumenic /i:kju:ˈmɛnɪk/ | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| <ae> | aedil /ˈi:dʌɪl/, aeolic /ɪˈɒlɪk/ | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rare cases: |
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| Note that a shorter type of /i/ (without the length marks [ː]) occurs word- and stem-finally with the following unaccented spellings: |
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| /i/ can also be found word-medially, usually before a strong vowel in unstressed syllables with the spellings |
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| /i/ corresponds to <i>, <e> spellings in the following unaccented word endings: |
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Examples
| bee /bi:/ |
| these /ði:z/ |
| sheep /ʃi:p/ |
| lead /li:d/ |
| leat /li:t/ |
| believe /bɪˈli:v/ |
| everybody /ˈevribɒdi/ |
| ladies /ˈleɪdiz/ |
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Please, take these seats.
/ˈpli:z |ˈteɪk ði:z ˈsi:ts/ |
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Jean, can you feel these?
/ˈdʒi:n | kən ju ˈfi:l ˈði:z/ |
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She believes discreet people perceived the scene.
/ʃi bɪˈli:vz dɪˈskri:t ˈpi:pl̩ pəˈsi:vd ðə si:n/ |
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The queen in green screamed.
/ðə ˈkwi:n ɪn ˈɡri:n ˈskri:md/ |
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My eel's meal´s is a piece of meat with a bit of cheese.
/maɪ ˈi:l̩z ˈmi:l̩z ɪz ə ˈpi:s əv ˈmi:t wɪð ə bɪt əv ˈtʃi:z/ |
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At least, Denise could sneeze and feed and freeze the fleas
/ət ˈli:st dəˈni:z kəd ˈsni:z ənd ˈfi:d ənd ˈfri:z ðə ˈfli:z/ |
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Through three cheese trees three free fleas flew.
/θru: ˈθri: ˈtʃi:z ˈtri:z ˈθri: ˈfri: ˈfli:z ˈflu:/ |
Pronunciation
The tongue is positioned as far forward as possible in the mouth and is raised as close as possible to the roof of the mouth. The side rims are laterally in contact with the upper molars and the tongue tip is placed behind the lower teeth. The lips are spread. The soft palate is raised (unless followed by a nasal).
PSp
i
Lower case i
Open front vowel.
When we pronounce this sound, the front of the tongue is close to the hard palate. The tip of the tongue is in contact with the lower teeth. The lips are spread. The vocal folds vibrate during the production of this sound.
Spelling
Examples
| idioma |
| pinta |
| alhelí |
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Pronunciation
The front of the tongue is close to the hard palate. The tip of the tongue is in contact with the lower teeth. The lips are spread. The vocal folds vibrate during the production of this sound.
