How to pronounce /i:/ and /I/?

Question

Could you suggest me any way to pronounce /i:/ (as in "least") and /I/ (as in "list") correctly? I've tried lengthening the /i:/ sound, but I couldn't do so while talking (it made the sentence "unsmooth").

By the way, I wonder if native speakers feel the difference between /i:/ and /I/ in practice.

CalifJim · Accepted Answer

minhhai2209Could you suggest me any way to pronounce /i:/ (as in "least") and /I/ (as in "list") correctly? I've tried lengthening the /i:/ sound, but I couldn't do so while talking (it made the sentence "unsmooth").By the way, I wonder if native speakers feel the difference between /i:/ and /I/ in practice.

Native speakers certainly can feel the difference and hear it. This can be a difficult contrast for some non-English speakers to hear and to produce, but to natives the two sounds are completely different. Lengthening or shortening the sounds is irrelevant to saying them correctly. You can sound either one continuously for as long as you wish without changing what sound it is.

/i:/ is tense -- closed -- tight.
/I/ is lax -- open -- loose.

In practical terms this means that for /i:/ your tongue is positioned higher in your mouth, your chin may rise a tiny bit, and your throat feels as if it's closed tight (as if you're straining to lift something heavy perhaps!) The muscles in your tongue and throat are tensed -- tight.

In contrast, for /I/ your tongue is positioned lower in your mouth almost as if it just went limp and fell to the bottom of your mouth, you chin may drop a tiny bit, and your throat feels as if it's open (as if you're about to swallow a liquid perhaps!) The muscles in your tongue and throat are relaxed -- loose.

CJ

Minhhai2209 · Answer

Thanks for the very detailed answer. Do you feel your mouth is stretched wider when you pronounce /i:/ than when you pronounce /I/?

CalifJim · Answer

minhhai2209Thanks for the very detailed answer. Do you feel your mouth is stretched wider when you pronounce /i:/ than when you pronounce /I/?

Yes, but only slightly. It seems to happen that way automatically because your teeth are a bit closer together for /i:/ (Remember that your chin goes up a bit higher for /i:/), so the sides of your mouth move outward a bit when you say it.

You can exaggerate this effect (and the other effects I mentioned above) when practicing, but in real conversation, once you get used to how to do it, you don't have to be so extreme about it.

CJ

How to pronounce /i:/ and /I/?

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