Letters vs. sounds: Vowel EE

Pronouncing vowel sounds can be challenging in a foreign language.  This is because we interpret the vowels we hear through the filter of our native language.  We hear a sound close to a vowel sound in our language, and our brain lumps it together with that known sound.  Fortunately, we can learn to override this filter and adapt it to include a different set of vowels.  But we have to know which words have the new vowel sound, and with the lack of consistent spelling in English, this is a learning process.

Let's look at the vowel sounds one sound at a time.  The best way to re-train your brain to hear these sounds is to use listening skills.  But being familiar with the variations in spelling will also help you succeed.

The sound /i/; or "vowel ee," is common in most languages, so we will begin with it. In English, this vowel sound has at least nine different ways that it is spelled, and likely more.  You can see examples of the sound's various spellings in the chart below.  To learn more about pronouncing this sound, you can read here.