Pronunciation Course Pure vowel 1: /i/
Course introduction How to use this course
An introduction to phonemes Vowels Pure vowels Pure vowel 1: /i/ Pure vowel 2: /e/ Pure vowel 3: /u/ Pure vowel 4: /o/ Pure vowel 5: /a/ Pure vowels recap Vowel combinations Vowel combinations part 1 Type 1 diphthongs Type 2 diphthongs Type 2 diphthongs – /w/ + vowel Hiatus Vowels review Consonants An introduction to Spanish consonants /p/, /b/, /m/ /f/, /t/, /d/ /s/, /n/, /l/ /tʃ/, /ɲ/, /ʎ/, /j/, and /w/ /k/ and /g/ /x/ /r/
Intonation An introduction to Spanish intonation Introduction to Spanish stress Word stress Sentence stress Spanish rhythm Spanish pitch Pitch patterns Allophones An introduction to allophones /i/ and its allophones /u/ and its allophones /o/ and /a/ allophones /b/ and its allophones /d/ and its allophones /g/ and its allophones /s/ and its allophones /n/ and its allophones
Syllabication Introduction to syllabication The rules of syllabication Spanish linking Spanish accents Spanish around the world Mexican Spanish Argentinian Spanish Colombian Spanish Caribbean Spanish Chilean Spanish Castillian Spanish
Level 1 Level 2 Level 3

Pure vowel 1: /i/

We’ll start our journey through the Spanish vowel sounds by looking at /i/. Remember, all the phonemes are represented within two slashes: “/”.

How it sounds

/i/ sounds similar to the pronunciation of our English letter “e” . The vowel length should be fairly short, somewhere between “bin” and “been” in English.

 

 

Mouth position

To make the sound, the lips need to be spread quite wide. The tip of the tongue is placed forward and up – very close to the front of the roof of the mouth. The muscles around the mouth are tensed.

What to avoid

In English, many people end the /i/ sound with a “y” (from “yoghurt). This results in an “unpure” vowel sound:

 

We need to keep the vowel pure, so it’s important to try to avoid the “y” type sound we might be tempted to use.

Listen & Repeat

Repeat these sounds. Pay attention to the length of the vowel, and make sure that your mouth does not change position:

 

Practice

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