Of vowel /i:/ and its exceptions

It's just exciting to explore some words without the vowel /i:/

Today, we are going to take a journey together to explore some words without the vowel /i:/.

The vowel /i:/ is a long front vowel in English as indicated by the diacritic in front of it. It is a bit stressed and the lips are spread when pronounced. To pronounce it, you kind of need to smile! The mouth should be wide and the front of your tongue up.

In order to enhance the rhythm and beauty of your speech, it is important you make short vowels in words short, and long vowels, long.

The vowel /i:/ is found in words that contain letters

• ee as in tree, greed, fleet, sweet, etc

  Exceptions in words like beer /bɪə(r)/, steer /stɪə(r), peer /pɪə(r)/

• ea as in speak, streak, bleak, read, bead, seat, please, beach etc

  Exceptions are in words such as bread /bred/, steak /steik/, breakfast /ˈbrekfəst/, meadow /ˈmedəʊ/, beard /bɪəd/, and lead (n) /led/, peasant /ˈpez(ə)nt/, zealot /ˈzelət/, steady /ˈstedi/

• ei as in receive, deceive

  Exceptions in words like sleight /slaɪt/, height /haɪt/, freight /freɪt/

• ie as in thief, chief etc

  Exceptions in words like lied /laɪd/, died /daɪd/, tried /traɪd/

• oe as in foetus, amoeba, phoenix

  Exceptions in words such as poem, oeuvre, toe

• eo as in people /ˈpiːpl/

  Exceptions in words like leopard /ˈlepə(r)d/, jeopardy /ˈdʒepə(r)di/

• ui as in suite /swi:t/.

  Exceptions: suit /su:t/, fluid /ˈfluːɪd/

• uay as in quay /ki:/

• ein as in protein /ˈprəʊtiːn/

• e as in key /ki:/, kerosene /’kerəsiːn/

It is also important we explore some words like fountain /ˈfaʊntɪn/, mountain /ˈmaʊntɪn/, and contain /kənˈteɪn/, maintain /meɪnˈteɪn/, sustain /səˈsteɪn/, retain /rɪˈteɪn/, and Britain /ˈbrɪt(ə)n/, certain /’sɜː(r)t(ə)n/, and curtain /ˈkɜː(r)t(ə)n/.

Please take some time to do some pronunciation practice here over and over again till you get better at it. Remember that practice makes perfection perfect.

I must confess to you that the exceptions are infinite /ˈɪnfɪnət/ and, when you’re in doubt, you should check the correct pronunciation of most words you use in a good dictionary.

Till I write to you again, please drink a lot of water and continue minding your own business. It’s going to save you from a lot of headaches.

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With love and everything English,

Francis