The Long I sound is technically a diphthong meaning that it’s similar to the oi/oy sound in words like choice and boy. A diphthong is two vowel sounds that slide together to form one syllable.
The Long I sound starts on AH as in father and ends on EE as in see. A fun way to recognize diphthongs is to listen to music. A singer who sings the word “night” for several beats will sing (with an open A) NAAAAAAeet.
Most of my students who struggle with this sound omit the EE at the end. Commonly, people want to shorten common words like “time” or even “I’m,” but you cannot reduce a diphthong by omitting it’s final sound. The EE must be pronounced or it sounds like you’re saying AH as in father. The Open A and Short O are the same in American English, so you might articulate Tom rather than time.
One final note: when a Long I precedes an R or L, we tend to add a linking Y sound. For example, tired sounds like tie–yerd with that Long I fully articulated as in tie.
Practice with the video here.
| crisis | dialogue |
| foresight | hindsight |
| isolated | rival |
| insight | time |
| smiled | wide – range |
| iron | hide |
| mindset | tired |
| fire | guide |
| pride | climate |
| type | highlight |
| bicycle | giant |
| kindness | license |
| pilot | library |
| exercise | silent |
| occupy | analyze |
| sightsee |
Words with stress on the 2nd syllable: advisor, alliance, conspire, polite, decide, digest info, desire, retire, define, a thin line, requirement, financial, identify, excitement, nearby
Stress both words: find time
Words with stress on the 5th syllable: hospitalization.
Practice New Words with more videos and lessons or see all English Practice options.
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