Pronouncing English Vowels. Some of the most difficult pairs: Long-E vs. Short-i
Do the words “he’s” and “his” sometimes sound the same to you? Are you confident about how to pronounce both words clearly? Or, how about “slip” and “sleep”?
If distinguishing these words is difficult for you, then you are definitely not alone. Distinguishing Long-E (like in “see”) and Short-i (as in “six”) is one of the most common pronunciation difficulties for English learners.
Try Testing Yourself With “Slip” and “Sleep”
If it is hard for you to hear the difference between “slip” and “sleep”, then you are probably also uncertain about how to pronounce them correctly. And even if you can hear the difference with your ear, are you confident about how to pronounce them well?
Try using these two sentences to do a little experiment:
“We don’t want to slip on the ice.”
“We don’t want to sleep on the ice.”
Test yourself with a friend, classmate, neighbor or co-worker who is a native speaker of English. Say these two sentences to them. Can they clearly identify which sentence you are saying? Or are they uncertain about which one they hear? Do they think that both sentences sound the same when you say them?
