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The vowel sounds /I:/ and /ı/

1. Listen to the sound / i:/ on its own. Look at the mouth diagram to see how to make this long vowel sound.

The front of the tongue is raised high in the direction of

the hard palate. The air passage between the tongue and

the hard palate is narrow. The tip of the tongue is near the lower teeth. The soft palate is raised and the air, exhaled from the lungs, passes freely through the mouth cavity. The lips are spread, slightly revealing the upper and lower teeth.

2. Listen and repeat.

Bean, heel, meal, peel, sheep, cheap, seat, eat, leek, cheeks.

Edith, evening, easy, Jean, cheese, see, tea, pea, three, eating, Peter, meat.

3. Read these examples of the sound /i:/.

me	piece	key	meet	greet	see
be	scene	keys	ceiling	chief	season
meat	seas	keeps	field	receive	people
least	seat	pea	machine	ski	free
bee	meat	peas	quay	veto	brief

2.1

- Can you read tea-leaves, Peter?

- I can read yours, Eve.

- What can you see?

- I can see… the beach… and the sea… and two people – Eve and Peter.

- Can’t you see three?

- No, Eve. Just you and me. I can’t see Aunt Frieda at all.

4. Listen to the sound/ ı /. Look at the mouth diagram to see how to make this short vowel sound.

The tongue is in the front part of the mouth but

slightly retracted. The air passage between the tongue and the hard palate is narrow but a little wider than in the English /i:/. The tip of the tongue is near the lower teeth. The lips are spread or neutral, the jaw is lowered, the distance between the jaws being bigger than for /i:/.

5. Read these examples of the sound /ı/.

pick	pink	kit	tin	finish	daily
will	fill	pit	many	crystal	remain
sit	kid	pretty	become	alley	donkey
fit	pig	money	climate	village	minute
king	fish	busy	business	alphabet	hockey

6. Listen to the sounds / i: / and / ı /in contrast and repeat.

Sheep – ship, bean – bin, eat – it, seat – sit, leek – lick, cheeks – chicks.

7. Read the contrasted sounds / i: / and / ı /. Transcribe the words.

Be – big lead - lid

Me – miss wheat - wit

Dene – dig been - bin

Mete – fit cheek - chick

Reach - rich feel - fill

8. Read the following sentences. Mind the right articulation of the sounds / i: / and / ı /.

1. Steve keeps the cheese in the freezer.

2. We need to be at least free.

3. Kitty will fill this tin with pretty many crystals.

4. These donkeys are busy picking pink peaches.

9. Listen to the dialogue (Sound Right 3.1). Intone it. Learn and reproduce it, paying attention to the pronunciation of the sounds / i: / and / ı /.

- Is this seat free, please?

- No, it isn’t – I’m keeping it for Miss Grimm.

- Well, can I sit in this seat?

- I’m afraid not – but that seat by the window's free.

- Then I’ll sit in it.

- But if you sit in that seat, you will not see a thing.

10. Learn the following graphical rules:

• Vowel / i: / is represented in spelling by:

1. the letter “e” in open and historically open syllables (be, meter, these)

2. the diagraphs “ee” (meet, see)

“ea” (meat, seat)

“ie” (piece, field)

“ei” (ceiling, receive)

“ey” (key)

“ay” (quay)

“eo” (people)

“i” (ski, machine)

• Vowel / ı / is represented in spelling by:

1. the letters “i” and “y” in stressed closed syllables (sit, window, myth, syllable)

2. “y”, “ey”, “ai”, “ay” when unstressed (city, money, mountain, Sunday)

3. the letter “e” in prefixes (before, decide)

4. the letters “e”, “a” and “u” when unstressed and sometimes stressed (alphabet, pretty; climate; minute, busy)

11. Find Ukrainian equivalents to the proverbs and sayings, learn them:

/ i: /

1. A friend in need is a friend indeed.

2. No sweet is without some sweat.

3. Extremes meet.

/ ı /

5. As fit as a fiddle.

6. As busy as a bee.

7. Little pitches have big ears.

12. Learn the following tongue twisters:

/ i: /

1. I scream, 2.A sailor went to sea

You scream, To see what he could see,

We all scream But all he could see

For ice-cream. Was sea, sea, sea.

/ ı /

3. Miss, miss, little miss

When she misses he misses like this.