IPA: Distinguishing Similar Sounds

When learning the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) vowels, some common confusions arise due to similarities in sound or the distinction bewteen sounds might be a bit difficult to notice.

So, let us compare some pairs of them.

ə vs. ʌ

The difference is made clear in the 13:42 of the following video:

i vs. ɪ

• [i] (as in “see” /si/)
  • High, front, tense (mouth almost smiling)
  • Examples: “beet,” “she,” “key”
• [ɪ] (as in “sit” /sɪt/)
  • Slightly lower and more relaxed
  • Examples: “bit,” “win,” “ship”

Test: “Sheep” [ʃip] vs. “Ship” [ʃɪp]

u vs. ʊ

• [u] (as in “food” /fud/)
  • Lips tightly rounded (like whistling)
  • Examples: “blue,” “moon,” “true”
• [ʊ] (as in “foot” /fʊt/)
  • Lips slightly relaxed, shorter sound
  • Examples: “book,” “put,” “good”

Test: “Pool” [pul] vs. “Pull” [pʊl]

ɔ vs. ɑ

• [ɔ] (as in “thought” /θɔt/)
  • Lips rounded, tongue mid-low (like “aww”)
  • Examples: “law,” “caught,” “dog” (for some speakers)
• [ɑ] (as in “father” /ˈfɑðər/)
  • No lip rounding, tongue back (like at the dentist)
  • Examples: “spa,” “lot” (in some dialects)

Test: “Cot” [kɑt] vs. “Caught” [kɔt] (merged for many Americans)