The Tricky Vowel sounds of IH vs. EEE

Some non-native speakers do not use the IH correctly, and substitute the EEE. It can happen in the production of a lot of common words. Mixing up these sounds can be a bit embarrassing when mispronounced, e.g. “I’d like a PITCH”… oops do you mean “PEACH?” Or “I’m going to the BITCH!”… oops did you mean “BEACH?”.

The final EEE can be tricky in that if this vowel is cut too short at the end of a word, it effects overall rhythm and timing, as in VERY, HAPPY.

Be sure to pay attention to the pronunciation of -ING. Working on changing the vowel to EEE and adding the NG sound will result in a more American rhythm. For example in the word “missing”, it should be pronounced /MIH-seeng/ not /MEE-seen/.

Please let me know if you have any questions!

Kimberly

East Coast Accent Modification & Corporate Speech Training