struggling with the phonetic distinctions between certain vowel sounds

[Anna_shi]

Hello everyone,

I'm currently working on improving my English pronunciation and have come across a few challenges that I'm hoping to get some advice on. Specifically, I'm struggling with the phonetic distinctions between certain vowel sounds that seem very similar to my ears. Could anyone explain or provide tips on how to correctly pronounce the vowel sounds in words like 'ship' and 'sheep'? I find it hard to differentiate and consistently produce these sounds correctly.

Additionally, if there are any resources or exercises you recommend for practicing these types of phonetic nuances, I would greatly appreciate your suggestions. I'm eager to improve my English speaking skills and believe that mastering these subtleties could make a significant difference.

 

[emsr2d2]

The most important thing to start with is making the "i" in "ship" very short but the "ee" in "sheep" longer. To start with, you can make the "ee" unnaturally long in order to practice. When you say "ship", your mouth barely moves. When you say "sheep", try smiling on the "ee" sound. That mouth position is the reason that native English speakers tell people to say "cheese" when having their photo taken. It forces you to smile!

Forvo is a great resource for hearing words pronounced by native speakers from all variants. Click on the link, enter the word you want to hear in the box at the top left, then click on the Search button. It will bring up a list of recordings and you can play them and try to copy them.

 

[dunchee]

I find this quite helpful. On YouTube, search:
American Accent - "heel" or "hill"?

Also:
Fix a Common English Vowel Mistake /i/ and /I/ - "bit" versus "beat"

(They're from the same channel. I don't want to appear like I'm advertising for her, so I removed the links.)

 

[jutfrank]

I presume that the problem (if there really is one) is to do with pronouncing the short vowel (ship) and not the long one (sheep).

I've come to believe that the most effective way to get this is to find the closest equivalent sound in Russian and start there. The problem is I don't speak Russian and can't help with that, but maybe you know someone who can.

 

[5jj]

I've come to believe that the most effective way to get this is to find the closest equivalent sound in Russian and start there.

The problem with that is that even professionals cannot agree on the Russian equivalens. (see here).

 

[jutfrank]

The problem with that is that even professionals cannot agree on the Russian equivalens. (see here).

Yes, that's a problem. Unfortunately, I know almost nothing of Russian, but French I do know, concerning which you might be interested in the following method of Geoff Lindsay, which is really what I was thinking of:

I know this is not helpful for the OP, but I thought members may be interested.