pronunciations of O and I

[TaiwanPofLee]

Is it correct to say that the pronunciation of O as the 15th letter of the English alphabet starts with a vowel sound the same as the sound of 'aw' as in word law? And, the pronunciation of I as the 9th letter of the English alphabet starts with a vowel sound the same as the sound of 'a' as in word father? If not, what sound does each of them start with? Thank you.

I would like to put my question a second way: Does a person learn to pronounce two additional vowel sounds when he learns to pronounce the alphabet letter O? And, if yes, what are the two vowel sounds? The same way is with the alphabet letter I. I mean in received "standard", not regional, UK and USA English pronunciation. Thank you.

 

[Charlie Bernstein]

The letter O starts with an o sound and ends with an oo sound. The letter I starts with an ah sound and ends with an ee sound.

 

[MikeNewYork]

I disagree. The long O starts with an O sound and ends with an O sound. The same is true for I.

 

[TaiwanPofLee]

The letter O starts with an o sound and ends with an oo sound. The letter I starts with an ah sound and ends with an ee sound.

Thank you, Charlie. But o, oo, ah, and ee sounds as in what words?

 

[Roman55]

I disagree. The long O starts with an O sound and ends with an O sound. The same is true for I.

The pronunciation of the ninth and fifteenth letters of the alphabet, I and O, are diphthongs. That means that they glide from one quality to another. That's just the way it is.

To say that they each start and end with the same sound amounts to calling them pure vowels, which they are not. So it's back to the same old debate. I am incapable of pronouncing them as pure vowels. For our edification, why don't you post an audio file of you pronouncing these letters?

 

[TaiwanPofLee]

I quote the following two paragraphs on English diphthongs by Romeo Mlinar (2012)for reference:

A diphthong is defined by Jones as “a sound made by gliding from one vowel to another … represented phonetically by sequence of two letters” (Pronunciation 22). A sound realised as a diphthong marks “a change from one vowel quality to another, and the limits of the change are roughly indicated by the two vowel symbols” (O’Connor, Phonetics 155). It is important to note that even though a diphthong is “… phonetically a vowel glide or a sequence of two vowel segments [it] … functions as a single phoneme” (220).​

The first element in RP diphthongs is usually [ɪ, e, a, ʊ, ə], while the second is [ɪ, ʊ, ə] (Gimson, Introduction 126). However, one of the characteristics of diphthongs is great regional variety (not
discussed here).

(For Mlinar's full text, see http://www.languagebits.com/phonetics-english/english-diphthongs/)

 

[MikeNewYork]

In my opinion, I don't hear a diphthong in those letters, nor do I say a diphthong. Obviously some people disagree.

 

[konungursvia]

In my opinion, I don't hear a diphthong in those letters, nor do I say a diphthong. Obviously some people disagree.

The letter O is pronounced [əu].

 

[TaiwanPofLee]

I am familiar with the transcriptions of the O sound, including [o] (rather than [oʊ]) by Kenyon and Knott; I post two of them, including audios:


Cambridge, noun [C or U]UK /əʊ/ US /oʊ/ http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/o-o

Collins, UK o or O (əʊ

)http://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/o?showCookiePolicy=true
Collins, US o[SUP]1[/SUP] or O (oʊ

)http://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/american/o?showCookiePolicy=true

And, I would like to put my question a second way: Does a person learn to pronounce two additional vowel sounds when he learns to pronounce the alphabet letter O? And, if yes, what are the two vowel sounds? The same way is with the alphabet letter I. I mean in received "standard", not regional, UK and USA English pronunciation.

Looking forward to more responses to my question. Thank you.

 

[Tdol]

The vast majority don't stop to think about sounds, so few will consider whether something is a single vowel sound or two together. They learn the sound as a sound, though it may involve some movement.

 

[Charlie Bernstein]

Yup, I hear them as dipthongs. Now excuse me while I take a dip in my thongs!

 

[MikeNewYork]

Do you wear more than one thong at a time? :shock:

 

[Mrfatso]

Do you wear more than one thong at a time? :shock:

An Australian person would.

 

[Charlie Bernstein]

Thank you, Charlie. But o, oo, ah, and ee sounds as in what words?

o: cold
oo: noon
ah: arm
ee: see

 

[Charlie Bernstein]

Do you wear more than one thong at a time? :shock:

One on each foot!

 

[Charlie Bernstein]

An Australian person would.

Yeah. And upside down!

 

[TaiwanPofLee]

o: cold
oo: noon
ah: arm
ee: see

Hi Charlie!

What would you say if someone says the following?

o: cross
oo: foot
ah: arm
ee: beer

 

[emsr2d2]

The "oo" in "foot" is not the same as the "oo" in "noon".

noon = broom = soon = toot = hoot = boot = food

foot = soot = good

Pronunciation in English is not logical. For example, you would expect "food" to rhyme with "good" but it doesn't. Frequently, you simply have to learn the pronunciation of individual words. Forvo is a very helpful website where you choose a language, search for a word and then listen to the pronunciation of the word, recorded by native speakers from all over the world.

 

[TaiwanPofLee]

Different opinions about the pronunciations of O and I :

Charlie's:
The letter O starts with an o sound and ends with an oo sound. The letter I starts with an ah sound and ends with an ee sound.

Charlie's:
o: cold
oo: noon
ah: arm
ee: see

Someone's:
o: cross
oo: foot
ah: arm
ee: beer

Looking forward to more responses.

 

[MikeNewYork]

We have long vowel sounds in English and short vowel sounds. One has to learn the difference. That is not a simple process.