trying to understand how to pronounce the vowels

hello

I want to know how to read the vowels in words .

for example in some words we use the word u (umbrella) in au sound
and in the word uniqe we use it like in it's original sound

are there any roles in this ?
I once saw a table of the sounds of the vowels. is this the reason ?

ancious to know
Alon

[Tdol]

I'm afraid the vowels can have many different pronunciations, and the same word can be said with different vowel sounds according to things like speed. It depends on the origin of the word and many other factors. Spelling and pronunciation are a mess in English, so there are few consistent rules.

[DBP]

Originally Posted by tdol

I'm afraid the vowels can have many different pronunciations, and the same word can be said with different vowel sounds according to things like speed. It depends on the origin of the word and many other factors. Spelling and pronunciation are a mess in English, so there are few consistent rules.

While I agree with the first part, I find that I must disagree with you on what you expressed in your last sentence, Tdol.

Every language has its own unique sound system and even within languages there can be a large number of dialects, each with yet another unique sound system.

The rules for these sound sytems are hardly a mess for we all fastidiously follow the same rules and we produce the same sounds; even in fast speech, rules are followed. If they weren't we wouldn't understand each other.

Listen to another dialect of English other than our own and we can be quite lost.

Spelling could be better but spelling isn't made for ESLs. It's made for ENLs, the ones who, by the time they start to read already know their language and the sounds that their dialect gives to most words.

Listen to a native speaker child versus an ESL reading some new material. The child is often only momentarily at a loss, then the correct sound comes out because the child is following the phonological rules of their language. The ESL, even some fairly advanced, still don't have the actual phonological rules internalized, which results in poor pronounciation.

[yrah04]

In the English language, vowels do have different sounds, like "a" (ah, ey, au) that's why usually the pronunciation is different from its spelling, like the word, "people" you don't read it as PE-O-PLE, but PEEPUHL right?

[Ben_Adam]

There are many ways of pronouncing, for instance umbrella... I pronounce it (to make it clear): YOU-MBRE-LA :D

[Tdol]

Which variation of English do you speak? Do you say 'a umbrella'? I have never come across this pronunciation.