Yesterday we looked at the sound / ɪə /.
Today we’re looking at / eɪ /. This sound is found in words such as today, say, may, hey, way and weigh.
Today = / tə'deɪ /
Say = / seɪ /
May = / meɪ /
Hey = / heɪ /
Way = / weɪ /
Weigh = / weɪ /
As is this case with much of the English spelling system, you can’t know how to pronounce a word by looking at how it’s spelt – but once you can read the phonetics, the pronunciation becomes clear.
Over the course of these blogs about phonetics, I have recommended listening to the phonetic sound, watching how it’s made and crucially, practising it for yourself. To avoid any further repetition I will stop saying this in future blogs, and instead refer you to How to learn phonetic symbols and their corresponding sounds.
Can you think of any other words containing the sound / eɪ / ? Can you feel how your mouth changes shape as you say this sound? Do you have diphthongs in your own language, and if so are they similar or different to English? Let me know in the comments section below!
Add comment
Comments