Monophthongs – Examples of 12 Pure Vowel Sounds

English grammar can be really tough at times. But that does not mean you cannot learn it. With proper
practice and efforts, you can master the language within no time. Learning to pronounce correctly is one
of the very important aspects of the English language.

In this session, you would be learning about various additional phonetic pure vowel sounds. These
sounds are produced by monophthongs. You would get to know about the example words and observe
how they are pronounced.

What are Pure Vowels or Monophthongs?

A pure vowel is a sound that is articulated at the beginning and end of the word. It is relatively fixed and
will glide in the up and down direction.

Pure vowels are also know as monophthongs as they provide a single sound while pronouncing the
words. As stated earlier, you won’t be able to notice any glide or shift from one sound to another. If you
observe the position of the tongue, the mouth will remain the same when these words are pronounced.

There are 12 pure vowels or monophthongs in English – /i:/, /ɪ/, /ʊ/, /u:/, /e/, /ə/, /ɜ:/, /ɔ:/, /æ/, /ʌ/,
/ɑ:/ and /ɒ/.

The monophthongs can be really contrasted along with diphthongs in which the vowel quality changes.
It will have the same syllables and hiatus with two vowels.

If you observe carefully, the monophthong a word that is derived from old Greek. Here ‘mono’ means
one of single and ‘-pthong’ means sound or tone. This means that when the vowel is spoken it will have
exactly only one sound or tone. In addition to that, it will have only one mouth position.

Examples of 12 Monophthongs

Following is a list of examples of 12 pure vowel sounds:

Vowel Sound Example Words

/i:/ Me, these, need, be, keep, deep, sheep, Jeep, beep, eat, feel, see, meet, deal, read, beat, peak,
seek, heap, leap, feet, seat, heel, keen, seen, teen, leave

/ɪ/ With, this, if, think, link, wink, rink, sink, big, six, live, since, miss, wrist, lift, pit, sit, pick, bill, fill,
till, him, pin, tin, win, bid, did

/ʊ/ Put, Would, Look, Woman, Hook, Nook, Food, Fool, Cool, Hue, Ooze, Moose, Boot, Cook, Rook,
Took, Good

/u:/ To, You, New, Who

/e/ Get, When, Well, Very, Bed, Said, Leg, Hell, Hem, Ben, Pen, Den, Ten, Men, Bend, Lend, Send,
Bet, Met, Pet, Set, Mess, Wreck, Peck, Letter, Better

/ə/ The, About, Could, Us

/ɜ:/ Her, Work, Learn, Word, Burn, Turn, Firm, Bird, Curd, Curse, Curt, Shirt, Turk, Curl, Hurl, Earl,
Pearl, Sir, Worm, worth, Fir, Stir, Sir, Occur, Purr

/ɔ:/ Or, Also, More, Call, All, Mall, Hall, Shall, Fall, Tall, Wall, Paul, War, Ward, Warm, Reward, Walk,
Wart

/æ/ Have, That, As, Can, Sad, bad, Bag, Lag, Hal, Ham, Ban, Pan, Dan, Tan, Man, Band, Land, Sand,
Bat, Mat, Pat, Sat, Mass, Rack, Pack, Latter, Batter

/ʌ/ But, Up, One, Much

/ɑ:/ Start, Ask, Large, After

/ɒ/ Of, On, From, Not

Pronouncing words is a physical activity. You can go through these sounds whenever you need to think
about these. In all the different ways of pronunciation, the position of your tongue would change.

It is really fascinating to listen to various accents of the people speaking English across the globe. There
are a lot of differences between the American and British English. Even in America itself, there would be
a lot of variation in accent depending on the regions. Always pay attention to linguistic variations.

Conclusion:

All these are single pure vowels which are called the monophthongs. There are more and more
examples of these, but we have some you help you understand the pure vowels. One most essential
thing that you need to remember here is the pronunciation of the words and how the monophthong
functions. If you have some doubt you can get back to us through the comment section. We, at
Englishbix, would be happy to help you out.

Diphthongs: Examples of 8 Vowel Sounds with Words

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You are already familiar with the single vowels, such as a, e, i , o, u. When they are used separately (one
at a time) then they are referred to as monophthong, but when they make two different sound then
they are called a diphthong. If you are spelling some words which have only one vowel-like “Hop”, then
it is called monophthong and it will make only one sound.

What are Diphthongs?

Diphthong is a sound formed by the conjunction of two vowels in a single syllable, in which the sound
begins as one vowel and moves towards another (as in rain, slow, and chair). Therefore diphthongs are
also called gliding vowels.

There are 8 diphtongs sounds in common english pronounciation namely – /aɪ/ , /eɪ/ , /əʊ/ ,/aʊ/ ,/eə/
,/ɪə/ ,/ɔɪ/, /ʊə/.

The word “Diphthong” is basically derived from the Greek word Diphthongs. This word literally means
“having two different sounds”. If you consider the diphthongs then every vowel has two sounds of its
own – short vowel sound and long vowel sound. Therefore the diphthongs play a vital role in the
pronunciation of various words.

They are used whenever the vowel makes a new or different sound. This happens because it is working
with conjunctions and with another vowel. For example, The word “oil” has two different
pronunciations. When you pronounce the word oil then you can notice two different vowels working
side by side which creates different sounds. The vowel ‘i’ and ‘o’ produce sound that is different than
anything ‘o’ and ‘i’ alone can produce. Now, this was just the basic example so that it helps you in
understanding the sounds made by other vowels.

Note: Diphthongs will vary between dialects, languages and also continents.

Examples of Diphthongs with Words

Let’s have a look at all the symbols of diphthong sounds with their examples in a quick tabular form.

Vowel diphthongs Examples

/aɪ/ Cry, My, Like, Bright, Lime

/eɪ/ Bake, rain, lay, eight, break

/əʊ/ Go, oh, slow, loan, though

/aʊ/ Bound, house

/eə/ Pair, lair, chair

/ɪə/ Career, fear

/ɔɪ/ Boy, coy, toy

/ʊə/ Fur, sure

In this list, you would find some diphthong have just one vowel. You would keep wondering as to why
single vowels are listed in the diphthong list. This happens whenever there is a movement in your mouth
while pronouncing the letters. It will help in making the long vowel sound and mimicking two vowels.
Hence you would notice the “di” remains even if there is only one vowel. Let’s look at each diphthong in
detail:

1. /aɪ/

/aɪ/ diphthong uses letters and letter combinations like /i/, /igh/, and /y/ to form sounds similar to
“eye.” Let’s have a look at some of the examples

Cry – What made you cry yesterday?

My – I have kept my pen on the table.

Like – You would like to listen to some good music.

Bright – Today seems to be a bright, sunny day.

Lime – Would you like to have some lime soda?

2. /eɪ/

/eɪ/ diphthong uses letters and letter combinations like /ey/, /ay/, /ai/ and /a/ to form sounds similar to
“great.” Here are a few more examples:

Bake – Can you bake a cake for me?

Rain – I guess it will rain today.

Lay – You must lay down on your back and rest.

Eight – There were eight chocolates in the basket.

Break – You must take regular breaks while working.

Related Blogs: ai and ay sound words

3. /əʊ/

/əʊ/ diphthong uses letters and letter combinations like /ow/, /oa/ and /o/ to form sounds similar to
“boat.” Here are a few more examples:

Go: You must not go inside the hidden cave.

Oh: Oh! It is such great news.

Slow: You should slow down while driving on the bumpers.

Loan: Did you take an education loan to support your studies?

Though: Though it was tasty but was very expensive.

You can study some more words with diphthong /əʊ/ – Oa Sound Words

4. /aʊ/

/aʊ/ diphthong uses letters and letter combinations like /ou/ and /ow/ to form sounds similar to “ow!”
Here are a few more examples:

Bound – You are bound to pay the money.

House – The house looks really beautiful.

Learn more words with diphthong /aʊ/ – Ou and Ow Sound Words

5. /eə/

/eə/ diphthong uses letters and letter combinations like /ai/, /a/, and /ea/ to form sounds similar to
“air.” Here are a few more examples:

Pair – These are a nice pair of shoes.

Lair – He is a liar.

Chair – This is my new chair.

6. /ɪə/

/ɪə/ diphthong uses letters and letter combinations like /ee/, /ie/ and /ea/ to form sounds similar to
“ear.” Here are a few more examples:

Career – What have you thought about your career?

Fear – Fear is more greater than danger.

7. /ɔɪ/

/ɔɪ/ diphthong uses letters and letter combinations like /oy/ and /oi/ to form sounds similar to “oil.”
Here are a few more examples:

Boy – The boy is very active.

Coy – It seemed to be coy on the farm.

Toy – I want to play with my toy.

8. /ʊə/

/ʊə/ diphthong uses letters and letter combinations like /oo/, /ou/, /u/, and /ue/ to form sounds similar
to “cure.” Here are a few more examples:

Fur – The teddy bear has got good fur on the body.

Sure – Yes, for sure. You would get all the things done.

We hope this guide on diphthongs gave you a good insight on how to use them. Stay tuned for more
awesome content like this one.

SSLC COMPLETE STUDY MATERIAL 2021-22

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24 Consonant Sounds

A Complete Guide to the 24 Consonant Sounds of English

A Complete Guide to the 24 Consonant Sounds of English

Introduction

The air which is coming from the lungs with restrictions is called consonants.

As you already know that there are 24 letters of the alphabet in the English language. The 24 letters of
the alphabet produce 44 sounds of English. Among the 44 sounds, there 12 Pure Vowel sounds
(monopthongs), 8 Diphthongs, and 24 Consonant sounds.

Why Is English Like That?

Consonants
There are 24 consonant sounds in most English accents, conveyed by 21 letters

of the regular English alphabet (sometimes in combination, e.g., ch and th).

THE CONSONANTS OF ENGLISH

Sound Examples

/p/ pair, cup

/b/ bad, crab

/t/ tall, hit

/d/ dark, head

/k/ cab, lack

/g/ good, tag

/f/ fine, wife

/v/ very, above

/θ/ thing, both

/ð/ this, father

/s/ saw, house

/z/ zap, goes

/ʃ/ shape, push

// pleasure, beige

/h/ her, ahead

/x/ loch

/tʃ/ cherry, match

// judge, raj

/m/ man, team

/n/ nail, tan

/ŋ/ ring, singer

/l/ let, tall

/r/ right, scary

/w/ wet, away

/j/ you, soya

Related: How to Spell the 24 Consonant Sounds of the English language

In this post, you will learn the sounds and symbols of 24 Consonant sounds along with examples.
Table of Contents

The 24 Consonant Sounds:

Bilabial Plosives: /p/, /b/

The soft palate is raised and the nasal resonator shut off.

The air – stream is blocked by closing the lips.

Lung air is compressed behind this closure.

When the lips are opened, the air suddenly escapes

with force and an explosive sound is produced.

The vocal cords are held apart of /p/. They are made to vibrate for /b/

Definition:

/p/ is a voiceless bilabial plosive.

/b/ is a voiced bilabial plosive.

Example:

/p/

pin / pɪn /

spin / spɪn /

nip / nɪp /

/b/

bag / bæg /

rub / r˄b/
Alveolar Plosives: /t/, /d/

The soft palate is raised and the nasal resonator shut off.

The air - stream is blocked by raising the tongue to touch the alveolar ridge.

Lung air is compressed behind the closure.

When the tongue is removed from the alveolar ridge, the air suddenly escapes with force and an
explosive sound is produced.

The vocal cords are wide apart for /t/. They are made to vibrate for /d/.

Definition:

/t/ is a voiceless alveolar plosive.

/d/ is a voiced alveolar plosive.

Related: All-in-One PDF for all the 44 Sounds of English

Example:

/t/

torn / tɔ:n /

stop / stɒp /

caught / kɔ:t /

/d/

dawn / dɔ:n /

leader / li:dǝ/

hard / ha:d /
>> Click here to watch the video on the /t/ sound.

>> Click here to watch the video on the /d/ sound.

Post Alveolar Affricates - /tʃ/, /dƷ/

The soft palate is raised and the nasal passage shut off.

The air stream is blocked by raising the tip of the tongue to touch the back part of the teeth ridge.

The front of the tongue is raised towards the hard palate.

When the closure is released slowly, the air escapes in a diffused manner over the surface of the tongue
so that friction occurs.

The lip protrusion is present

The vocal cords are wide apart for /tʃ/ and they are made of vibrate /dƷ/.

Definition:

/tʃ/ is a voiceless post – alveolar affricate.

/dƷ/ is a voiced post – alveolar affricate.

Spellings:

/tʃ/

ch – church / tʃ˄tʃ/, chalk / tʃa:k/

tch – match / mætʃ/, watch / wɔ:tʃ/

t – nature / neɪtʃə/

ti – question / kwestʃən/
/dƷ/

j – jump / dƷ˄mp/, judge / dƷ˄dƷ/

g – gender / dƷendə/, age / eIdƷ /

dge – bridge / brɪdƷ /, judgement / dƷ˄dƷmənt/

>> Click here to watch the video on the /tʃ/ sound.

>> Click here to watch the video on the /dƷ/ sound.

Velar Plosives /k/, /g/

The soft palate is raised and the nasal resonator shut off.

The air stream is blocked by raising the back of the tongue to touch the soft palate.

Lung air is compressed behind the closure.

When the tongue is lowered from the soft palate the air suddenly escapes with force and an explosive
sound is produced.

The vocal cords are wide apart for /k/ they are made to vibrate for /g/.

Definition:

/k/ is a voiceless velar plosive.

/g/ is a voiced velar plosive.

Spellings:

/k/
k – king / kɪŋ /

c – cart / ka:t/

ch – character /kærǝktǝ/

qu – conquer /kɒŋkǝ/

/g/

g – go / gǝʊ /

Example:

/k/

king / kɪŋ /

skip / skɪp/

weak / wi:k /

/g/

go / gǝʊ/

big /bɪg /

hunger / h˄ŋgǝ /

>> Click here to watch the video on the /k/ sound.

>> Click here to watch the video on the /g/ sound.

You may like:

44 Sounds of English with their keywords.

Labio-dental Fricatives /f/, /v/

The soft palate is raised and the nasal passage shut off.

The inner surface of the lower lip makes light contact with the upper teeth

The escaping air produces friction.

The vocal cords are wide apart for /f/

They are made to vibrate for /v/

Definition:

/f/ is a voiceless labio-dental fricative

/v/ is a voiced labio-dental fricative.

Spellings:

/f/

f – fan / fæn/, fit / fɪt/

ph – phone / fǝʊn/

gh – laugh / lɔ:f/, tough / t˄f/

ff – coffee / kɒfi:/

/v/

v – vivid / vɪvɪd/
f – of /ɒv/

ph – nephew / nevju:/

>> Click here to watch the video on the /f/ sound.

>> Click here to watch the video on the /v/ sound.

Dental Fricatives /ɵ/, /ð/

The soft palate is raised and the nasal resonator shut off.

The top of the tongue is held close to the upper teeth.

There is firm contact between the rims of the tongue and the upper side teeth.

The air escapes through the narrow passage causing friction.

The vocal cords are wide apart for /ɵ/ they are made to vibrate for /ð/

The lip position will depend upon the adjacent vowel.

Definition:

/ɵ/ is a voiceless dental fricative.

/ð/ is a voiced dental fricative.

Spellings:

/ɵ/

th – think / ɵɪŋ /, method / meɵəd /

/ð/

th – this / ðɪz /, father / fa:ðə/, with / wɪð/

the – breath / bri:ð/

>> Click here to watch the video on the /ɵ/ sound.

>> Click here to watch the video on the /ð/ sound.

Alveolar Fricatives /s/, /z/

The soft palate is raised and the nasal resonator shut off.

The top and blade of the tongue make light contact with the alveolar ridge.

The side rims of the tongue are in close contact with the upper side teeth.

The airstream escapes through a narrow passage at the point of articulation thereby causing friction.

There is very little opening between the teeth

The lips are spread.

The vocal cords are wide apart for /s/ and they are made to vibrate for /z/.

Definition:

/s/ is a voiceless alveolar fricative.

/z/ is a voiced alveolar fricative.

Spellings:

/s/

s - sits / sɪts/, sing / sɪŋ /

c - cycle / saɪkl/, place / pleɪs /

x - axe / æks /

ss - pass / pa:s /

sc - science / saɪns /
/z/

z - zebra / zi:bra:/, zoo / zu:/

s - rose / rǝʊz/

ss - scissors / sɪz3:s/

>> Click here to watch the video on the /s/ sound.

>> Click here to watch the video on the /z/ sound.

Palate – Alveolar Fricatives /ʃ/, /Ʒ/

The soft palate is raised and the nasal resonator shut off.

The top of the tongue makes light contact with the alveolar ridge.

The side rims of the tongue are in contact with the upper side teeth.

The airstream escapes through a wide passage between a more expensive area of the tongue and the
roof of the mouth.

The vocal cords are wide apart for /ʃ/ they are made to vibrate for /Ʒ/

Definition:

/ʃ/ is a voiceless palate – alveolar fricatives

/Ʒ/ is a voiced palate – alveolar fricatives

Spellings:

/ʃ/

Sh – ship / ʃɪp/, wash / wa:ʃ/

si – Asia / eɪʃɪə/

ci – social / səʊʃɪəl/
sci – conscious / kɒnʃəs/

ti – patience / peɪʃns /

s - sugar / ʃʊgə /

ch – moustache / mʊstæʃ/

sch – schedule / ʃedju:l/

/Ʒ/

sure – leisure / leƷə/

si – confusion / kɒnfju:Ʒn/

ge – vamoʊlage /

s – vision / vɪƷn /

z – sezure / si:Ʒə/

>> Click here to watch the video on the /ʃ/ sound.

>> Click here to watch the video on the /Ʒ/ sound.

Bilabial Nasal /m/

The soft palate is lowered. So that the lung air can pass through the nose freely.

The lips are in firm contact with each other to form a closure as for /p/, /b/.

The tongue is held in a neutral position.

The vocal cords vibrate, producing voice.

Definition:
/m/ is a voiced bilabial nasal.

Spellings:

m – may / meI/, summer / s˄mə/, aim /eim/

Examples:

man / mæn /

demand / dɪmænd /

seem / si:m /

>> Click here to watch the video on the /m/ sound.

Alveolar Nasal /n/

The soft palate is lowered so that the lung air can pass through the nose freely.

The lip of the tongue is in contact with the teeth ridge to form a closure as for /t/, /d/.

The lip position depends upon that of adjacent vowels.

The vocal cords vibrate, producing voice.

Definition:

/n/ - is a voiced alveolar nasal.

Spellings:

n – now /naʊ/, noon / nu:n/

nn – funny / f˄nɪ /

kn – know / knəʊ /
gn – sign / saɪn /

pn – pneumonia / nju:məunjə/

Examples:

night / naɪt /

dinner / dɪnə /

sun / s˄n /

>> Click here to watch the video on the /n/ sound.

Velar Nasal /ŋ/

The soft palate is lowered so that the lung air can pass through the nose freely.

The back of the tongue is in contact with the velum to form a closure as for /k/, /g/.

The lip position depends upon that of the preceding vowel.

The vocal cords vibrate, producing voice.

Definition:

/ŋ/ is a voiced alveolar nasal.

Spellings:

ng – king / kɪŋ /, sing / sɪŋ/

nk – sink / sɪŋk/

nx – anxious / æŋkʃəs/
nc – uncle / ˄ŋkl/

>> Click here to watch the video on the /ŋ/ sound.

Glottal Fricative /h/

The soft palate is raised

The lung air is expelled with considerable pressure.

This causes friction.

The mouth is held ready for the articulation of the following vowels.

The vocal cords are not normally made to vibrate.

Definition:

/h/ is a voiceless glottal fricative.

Spellings:

h – hand / hænd/, behave / bɪheɪv/

Example:

heart / ha:t /

behave / bɪheɪɪv /

>> Click here to watch the video on the /h/ sound.

Alveolar Lateral /l/

The soft palate is raised and the nasal passage is shut off completely.

The tip of the tongue is in contact with the upper teeth ridge.

There is a partial closure in the middle of the mouth.

The lung air escapes along the sides of the tongue.

The vocal cords vibrate, producing voice.

Definition:

/l/ is a voiced alveolar lateral.

Spellings:

l – live / lɪv/, felt / felt/

ll – fill / fɪl/

lk – milk / mɪlk/

ld – filed / fi:ld/, lm – film / fɪlm/

Example:

live / lɪv /

silly / sɪlɪ /

apple / æpl /

>> Click here to watch the video on the /l/ sound.

Post-alveolar Frictionless Continuant /r/

The soft palate is raised and the nasal passage shut off.

The top of the tongue is held close to the rear part of the teeth ridge.

The back rims of the tongue are in contact with the upper molars.

The tongue assumes a concave shape.

The lung air escapes freely, without friction.

The lip position will depend largely on that of the following vowel but they are usually somewhat
sounded.

The vocal cords vibrate, producing voice.

Definition:

/r/ is a post-alveolar frictionless continuant.

Spellings:

r – red / red/, bring/ brɪŋ/

rr – carry / kærɪ/

wr – write / wraɪt/

rh – rhyme / raɪm/

Examples:

ring / rɪŋ /

afraid / əfraɪd /

fury / fju:rɪ /

>> Click here to watch the video on the /r/ sound.

Labio-Velar semi-vowel /w/

The soft vowel is raised and the nasal passage shut off.

The back of the tongue is raised in the direction of the soft palate to a point between close and half-
close vowels.

The tongue immediately glides away to the positions of the following vowel.

The lips are closely rounded. (The lips go-round).

The vocal cords vibrate so that voice is produced.

Definition:

/w/ is a voiced labio-velar semi-vowel.

Spellings:

w – well / wel/, wet / wet/

wh – why / waɪ/, which / wɪtʃ/

u – quick / kwik/

o – one / w˄n/, once / w˄ns/

Examples:

wash / wa:ʃ /

womb / wɒmb /

away / əweɪ /

>> Click here to watch the video on the /w/ sound.

Palatal semi-vowel /j/

The soft palate is raised and the nasal resonator shut off completely.
The front of the tongue is raised in the direction of the hard palate to a point between close and half-
close vowels.

The tongue immediately glides away to the position of the following vowel.

The lips are neutral or spread.

The vocal cords vibrate to produce voice.

Definition:

/j/ is a voiced palatal semi-vowel.

Spellings:

y - yes / jes/, jet / jet/

i – opinion / ɒpɪnjn/

e – hideous / haɪdjes /

u – music / mjuzɪk /

ew – new / nju:/

eau – beauty / bju:tɪ /

ui – suit / sju:t /

eu – feud / fju:d/

Example:

Yet / jet /

beyond / bɪjɔ:nd /