This document discusses American English vowel sounds and pronunciation. It begins by explaining that vowel letters can represent different sounds and introduces the concepts of open and closed syllables. The rest of the document is dedicated to thoroughly explaining each vowel sound through transcription symbols and a extensive list of example words. It also covers diphthongs, the letter Y, and other related topics like consonant blends. The goal is to provide a comprehensive reference for American English pronunciation of vowels, with a focus on clarity through examples.

2. VOWEL SOUNDS
A vowel letter can represent different vowel sounds: hat [hæt], hate [heit], all
[o:l], art [a:rt], any ['eni].
Open and closed syllables
Open syllable: Kate [keit], Pete [pi:t], note [nout], site [sait], cute [kyu:t].
Closed syllable: cat [kæt], pet [pet], not [not], sit [sit], cut (the neutral sound [ə]).

3. VOWELS AND VOWEL COMBINATIONS
The vowels A, E, I, O, U, Y alone, in combination with one another or with
R, W represent different vowel sounds. The chart below lists the vowel
sounds according to the American variant of pronunciation.

4. AMERICAN VARIANT OF PRONUNCIATION
Sounds Letters Examples Notes
[i:]
e, ee
ea
ie, ei
be, eve, see, meet,
sleep,
meal, read, leave, s
ea, team,
field, believe, receiv
e
been [i];
bread, deaf [e];
great, break
[ei];
friend [e]
[i]
i
y
it, kiss, tip, pick,
dinner,
system, busy, pity,
sunny
machine, ski,
liter, pizza [i:]
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eOrnifRtWxI

5. AMERICAN VARIANT OF PRONUNCIATION
Sounds Letters Examples Notes
[e]
e
ea
let, tell, press, send,
end,
bread, dead,
weather, leather
meter [i:]
sea, mean [i:]
[ei]
a
ai, ay
ei, ey
ea
late, make, race,
able, stable,
aim, wait, play, say,
day,
eight, weight, they,
hey,
break, great, steak
said, says [e];
height, eye [ai]

6. AMERICAN VARIANT OF PRONUNCIATION
Sounds Letters Examples Notes
[æ] a
cat, apple, land,
travel, mad;
AmE: last, class,
dance, castle, half
[a:]
ar
a
army, car, party,
garden, park,
father, calm, palm,
drama;
BrE: last, class,
dance, castle, half
war, warm [o:]

7. AMERICAN VARIANT OF PRONUNCIATION
Sounds Letters Examples Notes
[ai]
i, ie
y, uy
ice, find, smile, tie,
lie, die,
my, style, apply,
buy, guy
[au]
ou
ow
out, about, house,
mouse,
now, brown, cow,
owl, powder
group, soup
[u:]
know, own [ou]

8. AMERICAN VARIANT OF PRONUNCIATION
Sounds Letters Examples Notes
[o] o
not, rock, model,
bottle, copy
[o:]
or
o
aw, au
ought
al, wa-
more, order, cord,
port,
long, gone, cost,
coffee,
law, saw, pause,
because,
bought, thought,
caught,
hall, always, water,
war, want
work, word [ər]

9. AMERICAN VARIANT OF PRONUNCIATION
Sounds
Letter
s
Examples Notes
[oi] oi, oy oil, voice, noise, boy, toy
[ou]
o
oa, ow
go, note, open, old, most,
road, boat, low, own, bowl,
do, move [u:]
how, owl [au]
[yu:]
u
ew
eu
ue, ui
use, duty, music, cute,
huge, tune,
few, dew, mew, new,
euphemism, feud, neutral,
hue, cue, due, sue, suit

10. AMERICAN VARIANT OF PRONUNCIATION
Sounds Letters Examples Notes
[u:]
u
o, oo
ew
ue, ui
ou
rude, Lucy, June,
do, move, room, tool,
crew, chew, flew, jewel,
blue, true, fruit, juice,
group, through, route;
AmE: duty, new, sue, student
guide, quite [ai];
build [i]
[u]
oo
u
ou
look, book, foot, good,
put, push, pull, full, sugar,
would, could, should
neutral sound
[ə]
u, o
ou
a, e
o, i
gun, cut, son, money, love,
tough, enough, rough,
about, brutal, taken, violent,
memory, reason, family

11. AMERICAN VARIANT OF PRONUNCIATION
Sounds Letters Examples Notes
neutral
sound [ə]
u, o
ou
a, e
o, i
gun, cut, son, money,
love,
tough, enough, rough,
about, brutal, taken,
violent,
memory, reason,
family
[ər]
er, ur, ir
or, ar
ear
serve, herb, burn,
hurt, girl, sir,
work, word, doctor,
dollar,
heard, earn, earnest,
earth
heart, hearth
[a:]

12. THE LETTER Y
The letter Y can function as a vowel or as a consonant.
As a vowel, Y has the vowel sounds [i], [ai].
As a consonant, Y has the consonant sound [y] (i.e., a semivowel sound), usually
at the beginning of the word and only in the syllable before a vowel.
[i]: any, city, carry, funny, mystery, synonym;
[ai]: my, cry, rely, signify, nylon, type;
[y]: yard, year, yes, yet, yield, you.

13. DIPHTHONGS
A diphthong is one indivisible vowel sound
that consists of two parts. The first part is
the main strong component (the nucleus);
the second part is short and weak (the glide).
A diphthong is always stressed on its first
component: [au], [ou].
A diphthong forms one syllable. American
linguists usually list five diphthongs: [ei],
[ai], [au], [oi], [ou].

14. Diphthongs
[ei], [ai], [au], [oi], [ou]
ray – ride – how – boy – no;
The sound [ei] as in RAY
rate – late – Kate – fate – race – base – place – same – name – take – ache – lake – rage – age – wage – save – cave – wave;
dictate – educate – decorate – celebrate – concentrate – investigate;
cable – table – able – cradle – range – change – strange – taste – waste;
baby – bacon – paper – April – danger – angel – stranger – basis – lazy – crazy;
patient – racial – nation – nature – fatal – patriot – radio – vacant;
ray – gray – play – lay – day – may – say – way – pray – stay – stray – delay;
hey – prey – they – convey – obey;
rain – main – aim – brain – drain – train – stain – remain – explain – complain;
fail – mail – sail – rail – raise – raid – afraid – wait – straight – faint – paint;
weight – weigh – eight – vein – neighbor;
break – great – steak;
betrayal – portrayal – layer – player – conveyor – surveyor;
saying – staying – playing – laying – praying – delaying – conveying – obeying – archaic.

15. The sound [ai] as in RIDE
ride – nice – ice – life – file – smile – line – fine – quite – rise – wise – prize – hi;
polite – combine – arrive – surprise – despise – organize – modernize;
private – library – final – minus – crisis – climate – bicycle – horizon – item – Ida;
idea – ideal – identity – identical – biology;
find – kind – mind – blind – child – mild – wild – climb – rifle – trifle – title – idle;
high – sigh – sign – right – fight – night – light – sight – height;
lie – die – tie – dye – rye – bye – eye – buy – guy – alibi;
cry – dry – fry – try – by – my – sky – style – type – hype;
nylon – cycle – cyber – hybrid – dynamite – dynamic – hyperactive;
rely – reply – apply – deny – satisfy – modify – signify – analyze – paralyze;
buying – lying – flying – frying – trying – drying – crying – dying – denying – replying;
diet – client – quiet – riot – giant – lion – violet – dial – diary – diagram – denial – trial – science – society –
pioneer;
buyer – flyer – dryer – higher – iron – liar – prior;
fire – hire – dire – wire – tire – tired – entire – aspire – expire – desire – require – acquire – empire.

16. The sound [au] as in HOW
how – cow – now – allow – owl – brown – down – town – clown – drown –
crown – crowd – powder – browse – browser;
loud – proud – cloud – out – shout – about – doubt – foul – noun – house –
mouse – mouth – south – couch;
found – ground – around – pound – sound – count – amount – mountain –
announce – bounce;
allowing – plowing / ploughing;
towel – bowel – Powell;
power – tower – flower – shower – coward – Howard;
hour – our – sour – flour.

17. The sound [oi] as in BOY
noise – voice – avoid – poison – join – coin – point – boil – foil – oil – spoil
– toil – exploit;
joy – toy – boy – annoy – employ – destroy;
toying – employing – destroying – annoying;
loyal – royal – voyage – annoyance – oyster – destroyer – employer.

18. The sound [ou] as in NO
role – bone – phone – stone – close – note – notice – lonely – home – hope – open – ocean – remote –
suppose;
go – ago – no – so – toe – hero – zero – veto – ego – echo – radio – studio – Mexico – potato – tomato – logo –
motto;
solar – polar – modal – total – motor – moment – bonus – focus – vogue – social – soldier – coworker;
cold – gold – hold – old – bold – sold – told – roll – poll – control – bolt – colt – folk – yolk – comb – don't –
won't;
most – post – host – hostess – ghost – both;
road – load – boat – coat – oat – oak – soak – goal – coal – coach – approach – roast – toast – boast – coast;
soul – shoulder – though – although – dough;
OK – obey – omit – hotel – motel;
low – know – mow – snow – show – tow – owe – own – bowl – blow – blown – grow – grown – growth – throw –
thrown;
follow – borrow – narrow – sparrow – window – yellow;
knowing – going – growing – throwing – showing – sewing – towing – blowing – owing – flowing;
following – borrowing – narrowing – zeroing – echoing;
heroic – stoical – poet – poetry;
lower – slower – mower – borrower – follower – widower.

19. THE SOUND [O]
The sound [o] is short in British English. In the same words in American
English, the sound [o] is a long sound colored as [a:]. This sound is
often listed as [a:] in American materials for ESL students. In some
words, there are two variants of pronunciation in AmE: [o:] or [o].
[o]: lot, rock, rob, bother, bottle, college, comment, document, modern,
popular, respond, John, Tom;
[o:] or [o]: gone, coffee, office, borrow, orange, sorry, loss, lost, want, wash,
water.

20. THE NEUTRAL SOUND
Transcription symbols for the neutral sound are [ʌ] (caret) in stressed syllables
(fun, son) and [ə] (schwa) in unstressed syllables (about, lesson). In American
ESL materials, the neutral sound is often shown as [ə] (schwa) in both stressed
and unstressed syllables.

21. VOWELS: HTTP://WWW.ABCFASTPHONICS.COM/LONG-SHORT-
VOWELS.HTML
Vowel Rules
http://www.abcfastphonics.com/vowel-rules.html
http://www.abcfastphonics.com/vowel-rules/one-vowel-not-at-end.html
Videos:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V7yREETwdmU
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HKzf1GMLUkU
PDF to practice:
http://www.recitfga.qc.ca/english/projects-before-
after/pages_0607/before/ann_before.pdf

22. Blends: http://www.abcfastphonics.com/letter-blends.html
Consonants: http://www.abcfastphonics.com/consonant-letters.html
Common words: http://www.abcfastphonics.com/common-words.html