Introduction to American English Other Vowel Sounds

Other Vowel Key Words
other u	put	p - u - t
oo sound	soon	s - oo - n
aw sound	dog	d - o - g
oi sound	join	j - oi - n
ow sound	down	d - ow - n

The five vowel sounds (other u, oo sound, aw sound, oi sound, and ow sound) that do not fit into the category of a long vowel or short vowel are referred to as other vowels.

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Pronunciation of other vowels

Two other vowels, the oi sound and ow sound, are two-sound vowels, also known as diphthongs (a diphthong is a vowel sound that also includes a w sound or a y sound). The other u, oo sound, and aw sound, are all single-sound vowels.

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Other vowel spellings

Many other vowels share spellings with long or short vowels, or with each other. For instance, the ow spelling can be used for words pronounced as long o, as in the word snow, or as the ow sound, as in the word cow. Within the category of other vowels, the oo spelling can be pronounced as the other u sound, as in the word good, or as the oo sound, as in the word soon. Understanding all the potential pronunciations of common spellings is an important aspect of learning other vowel pronunciations.

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Pronuncian Lessons

  

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