This is the "Sounds American" channel.

There are 12 distinct vowel sounds in American English.

If you want to speak like an American,

you’ll need to learn to pronounce them correctly.

And that could be a challenge.

There's good news, though!

There’s an easy way to remember how all these vowels are pronounced.

Each vowel sound is made with your tongue moving to a certain place in your mouth.

Once you know the position of your tongue for each vowel,

you can more easily organize and understand how to make them.

Take a look.

The vowels in the upper row

are pronounced with your tongue raised very high in your mouth.

The vowels in the lower row

are pronounced with your tongue placed very low.

Ok.

as you may have already guessed,

the vowels in the most right column are made with your tongue pulled back.

And finally

the vowel sounds in the most left column are pronounced with your tongue pushed forward.

For example:

The vowel sound /i/,

as in the word “be,”

is pronounced with your tongue pushed forward

and raised very high in your mouth.

So its card is in the upper left corner.

Here’s another vowel,

the vowel sound /ɔ/,

as in the word “on.”

This sound is pronounced with the tongue pulled back

and placed very low in your mouth.

So its card is in the lower right corner.

OK

if you’re watching this video on a computer,

click on a card to find out more about each vowel.

Unfortunately, this doesn’t work on mobile devices.

But we have a work-around.

You can use the Navigation links in the Description below.

Have fun!

This is the American vowel sound /i/,

as in the word “be.”

You can also hear this sound in words like

“each,”

“see,”

“key”

or “ski.”

Now listen to this sound in a crazy phrase:

Let’s find out how to make the /i/ sound.

OK.

To make the /i/ sound, you should focus on the correct position of your lips, tongue, and jaw.

Open your mouth a little,

stretch your lips as wide as you can,

and make them tense.

Raise your tongue very high and push it to the front of your mouth.

The tip of your tongue should be lowered just behind your bottom front teeth.

Remember,

the /i/ is a tense sound,

so your lips and tongue should be tense.

Your tongue should be at the front of your mouth.

Let's try saying it:

/i/

/i/

/i/

This is the American vowel sound /ɪ/,

as in the word “it.”

You can also hear this sound in words like

“big,”

“gym,”

“English,”

or “image.”

Can you handle a sentence?

Let’s find out how to make the /ɪ/ sound.

OK

To pronounce the /ɪ/ sound,

you should focus on the correct position of your tongue.

Slightly open your mouth,

spread your lips and relax them.

Raise your tongue high in your mouth

and push it to the front.

The tip of your tongue can be lowered just behind your bottom front teeth.

Remember,

the /ɪ/ is a relaxed sound,

so your tongue and lips should be relaxed.

And your tongue should be at the front of your mouth.

Now, let's try saying it:

/ɪ/

/ɪ/

/ɪ/

This is the American vowel sound /eɪ/,

as in the word "make."

You can also hear this sound in words like

“take,”

“day,”

“wait”

or “eight.”

What if we put together a few words with this sound in a phrase?

Here you go:

Keep watching to find out how to make the /eɪ/ sound correctly.

OK

To pronounce the /eɪ/ vowel,

you should focus on the correct position of your lips and tongue.

Partially open your mouth,

spread your lips wide and make them tense.

Raise the middle of your tongue to the roof of your mouth and push it to the front.

The tip of your tongue should be down,

just behind your bottom front teeth.

Remember,

the /eɪ/ is a tense sound,

so your lips and tongue should be very tense.

Your jaw should be partially lowered.

Now, let's pronounce this sound:

/eɪ/

/eɪ/

/eɪ/

This is the American vowel sound /ɛ/,

as in the word "bed."

Your can also hear this sound

in words like

get,

head,

many,

or "friend."

Now let's move from words to a sentence.

If you’re not sure how to make the /ɛ/ vowel sound, keep watching.

OK

To pronounce the /ɛ/ sound,

you should focus on the correct position of your tongue and jaw.

Partially open your mouth,

slightly spread your lips and relax them.

Push your tongue to the front of your mouth and relax it.

Raise the middle of your tongue to the roof of your mouth.

The tip of your tongue can be lowered just behind your bottom front teeth.

Remember,

the /ɛ/ is a relaxed sound,

so your tongue and lips should be relaxed.

Your jaw should be partially lowered.

Now let's try saying it:

/ɛ/

/ɛ/

/ɛ/

This is the American vowel sound /æ/,

as in the word "cat."

You can also hear this sound

in words like

"at,"

"half,"

"man,"

or "laugh."

That's good, but it's much better when the words rhyme!

Let's learn how to pronounce the /æ/ sound like an American!

OK

To pronounce the /æ/ sound,

you should focus on the correct position of your tongue and jaw.

Open your mouth as wide as possible,

slightly spread your lips and tense them.

Tense your tongue, flatten it and push it forward.

Your tongue should be positioned very low in your mouth.

The tip of your tongue should be touching the back of your bottom front teeth.

Remember,

the /æ/ is a very open vowel sound,

so your jaw should be very low and your tongue should be very flat.

Now, let's try saying it:

/æ/

/æ/

/æ/

This is the American vowel sound /ʌ/,

as in the word "us."

You can also hear this sound

in words like

“but,”

“come,”

“young,”

or “flood.”

How about a phrase with this sound?

We've got one for you!

Let's find out how to make the /ʌ/ sound.

OK.

To make the /ʌ/ sound,

you should focus on the correct position of your lips and tongue.

Open your mouth a little,

relax your lips,

and put them in a neutral position.

Place your tongue in the middle of your mouth,

not too high or too low.

Note that the /ʌ/ vowel sound is used in stressed syllables,

but your lips and tongue should not be tense.

Your tongue should be in the center of your mouth.

Let's try saying it:

/ʌ/

/ʌ/

/ʌ/

This is the American vowel sound /ə/,

as in the word "ago."

You can also hear this sound in words like

above, ,

person,

parent,

or "action."

Do you want to hear it in a sentence?

Here you go:

If you want to pronounce the /ə/ sound like an American, keep watching.

OK.

To pronounce the /ə/ sound, you should focus on relaxing your tongue and lips.

Slightly open your mouth,

relax your lips,

and leave them in a neutral position.

Place your tongue in the middle of your mouth and relax it.

Remember,

the /ə/ sound is very relaxed,

so your tongue and lips should be relaxed, when you pronounce it.

Let's try saying it:

/ə/

/ə/

/ə/

This is the American vowel sound /ɑ/,

as in the word "got."

You can also hear this sound in words like

top,

want,

box,

or "wash."

Now let's step up your game with a sentence:

The /ɑ/ is a tricky sound,

keep watching to learn how to pronounce it correctly.

OK,

to pronounce the /ɑ/ sound, you should focus on the correct position of your jaw and tongue.

Open your mouth as wide as possible.

Relax your lips and allow them to rest in a neutral position.

Flatten your tongue and place it very low in your mouth.

Your tongue should be in the center of your mouth.

The tip of your tongue should be touching the back of your bottom front teeth.

Remember,

the /ɑ/ is a very open sound,

so your mouth should be open as wide as possible.

Let's try saying it:

/ɑ/

/ɑ/

/ɑ/

This is the American vowel sound /u/,

as in the word "blue."

You can also hear this sound in words like

rule,

too,

do,

or "new."

Want a challenge?

Here's a sentence with lots of words with this sound.

Next you'll learn how to make the /u/ sound correctly.

OK,

to make the /u/ sound,

you should focus on the correct position of your jaw, lips and tongue.

Open your mouth a little and push your lips out,

making a small tense circle.

Pull your tongue far back in your throat and tense it.

Raise the back of the tongue toward the roof of your mouth.

Remember,

the /u/ is a tense sound,

so your lips and tongue should be tense.

Your tongue should be pulled back in your mouth.

Let's try saying it:

/u/

/u/

/u/

This is the American vowel sound /ʊ/,

as in the word “put.”

You can also hear this sound in words like

“push,”

“book,”

“wolf,”

or “could.”

Awesome, isn't it?

Here's more of this sound.

Do you know how to make the /ʊ/ like an American?

If you're not quite sure, keep watching.

OK.