The vowels include the letters A, E, I, O and U. Here, they are listed according to the position within the mouth.
Click on the letters to view a video with each pronunciation group.
Click on the lessons to return to the class.
| Letters | Position | Lessons |
| Short A Short O/Open A Long I | For all of these sounds, move the jaw. The mouth is very open. For Short A, the lips are pulled back and the throat is a little tight. Short O and Open A are the same sound. The jaw is open and the lips are relaxed. Long I begins with an open jaw and ends with a Long E sound. | A Sounds O Sounds I Sounds |
| Long A Long E | For these sounds, the lips are wide. For Long A, the mouth is more open, like a rectangle. For Long E, the mouth is less open, and the lips are tightly in the wide position. | A Sounds E Sounds |
| Long U Y + Long U Relazed U | For the Long U sounds, the lips are pressed forward. The sound can be the simple Long U as in reduce. Or there can be a Y sound before the U, as in music. For the relaxed U sound, the inside of the mouth is slightly rounded. The lips are not pressed forward for the relaxed U. | U Sounds |
| Long O | The lips are forward in a loose O shape. | O Sounds |
| Short E Short I Short U (Schwa) | These three sounds are similar, and they are made inside the mouth. For Short E, the jaw is a little bit more open. For Short I, think about a low pitch. Use a completely relaxed position for the Schwa sound and let the air out. This is the simplest sound you can make. | E Sounds I Sounds Schwa |
| ER IR UR AR ER IRE OR URE | ER, IR and UR usually have a Schwa + R sound. Because the schwa is simple, this will sound like R only. AR can have an Open A or a Long A sound. As an ending, the A is a schwa. ER at the beginning or middle may have a Long E sound. It may also have a short E sound as in error (very similar to Long AR). Pronounce IRE and URE with Long I and Long U sounds. OR has a Long O sound. As an ending, the O is a schwa. | Schwa with R AR and OR |
| AL EL LE | As endings, AL, EL, and LE have a schwa + L sound, ul. AL, EL, and LE will have regular A and E sounds at the beginning of words. | Schwa with L |
| OI/OY | Move from Long O to Long E. | OI, OU, OW |
| OU/OW | Move from Short A to Long O. See lesson 11 for other OU and OW sounds. | OI, OU, OW |
| 750 Business Words | Introduction Main Page | Member Pages |
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