http://www.hansencommlab.com<br />http://www.englishpronunciationcourse.com<br /><br />Speak Global English Series<br />Part 9:<br />Differentiate Between Long and Short Vowels<br /><br />Over the past couple segments we've been looking at consonant sounds. Now it's time to turn our attention to our vowels. <br /><br />In English we have both short and long vowels. <br /><br />When you make long vowel sounds, you might notice that your voice goes up and glides down over a longer period of time. Think of A -- E - I - O - U - OW and OY. <br /><br />Short vowels, on the other hand, are short and sharp: a, e, i, o, uh, ou<br /><br />And depending on your variety of English you might be able to add a few other vowel variations to the short and long list.<br /><br />Vowels can get complicated, but the simplest tip I can offer is to try to differentiate between your long and short vowels. One pair of vowels that I often hear confused is the long /eeee/ with the short /i/.<br /><br />Think of the flight attendant who asks you to sit in your sit, for example. There really does need to be a difference between sit and seat. <br /><br />By simply lengthening the long vowel, you can quickly begin speaking more clearly.<br /><br />If you'd like more people in your company to start speaking clear, Global English, visit http://www.HansenCommLab.com for information on training opportunities. Or, come join the revolution at http://www.SpeakGlobalEnglish.org.
