Academic English Skills with Dr. Byrnes

English has two front, high vowels: /i/ and /ɪ/. They are produced at the front part of the tongue. The vowel /i/ is made with the highest tongue elevation, and so the mouth is almost closed without lips touching each other. English natives call the vowel /i/ the long-E sound. It is the most frontal vowel, making it a tense vowel. The other front, high vowel /ɪ/ is made with the front part of the tongue lowered slightly but not quite to the mid position. The mouth is slightly open. So /ɪ/ is called the mid-high front vowel. Also, the vowel is made slightly towards the central part of the mouth, making it a lax vowel.  Being able to pronounce /i/ and /ɪ/ correctly is very important since there are many pairable words that sound the same except for the vowel sounds. And some of these include swear words: bitch vs beach; piss vs peace; shit vs sheet. Non-native speakers may have experienced saying something like “I like to go to the bitch,” “I hope for world piss,” and “Where can I b...