Vowel /ɪ/ phoneme (short vowel)

The vowel /ɪ/ is the short or lax vowel as in words like fish and bit. Positionally, it is a front high vowel, which occurs in a number of other languages. The correct International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) symbol /ɪ/, i.e. a small capital letter i with serifs on both ends of the symbol (not an Arial or Sans Serif font style). Learners may confuse it with the long high vowel /i/ as in beat. In this article, slash marks like /ɪ/ indicate a phoneme, while angled brackets like <ɪ> indicate a letter or spelling, and square brackets like [ɪ] indicate a precise phonetic transcription, e.g. indicating a phonetic variant of a sound.

1 Linguistic description

The vowel /ɪ/ is not just a shortened version of /i/, but it is a qualitatively different vowel altogether.

• It is a high front vowel, meaning that the tongue blade and tip are relatively high in the mouth. The locus of the vowel is the front of the mouth above the tongue blade and tongue tip. More precisely, it is a near-close and near-front, while the long vowel /i/ as in beat is the true and fully high and fully front vowel.
• In English it is a short vowel, while /i/ is long. However, the crucial difference between /ɪ/ and /i/ is that /i/ is tense, while /ɪ/ is lax, so /ɪ/ is primarily a lax vowel. The tongue is essentially a muscle, and for /i/ it tenses, making the tongue blade and tip fully high and front, and making the vowel longer in duration. For /ɪ/ the tongue muscle is relaxed, making the vowel shorter. The laxness also affects the tongue position, so that the tongue is not raised as high and is not fully protruded as for /i/. Thus, the tongue is positioned not quite as high or forward as /i/; the vowel is slightly lowered and mid-centralized (drawn somewhat toward the center of the mouth) for /ɪ/.
• The vowel /ɪ/ is unrounded, i.e., the lips are spread open, not rounded (though this is not a concern for most teachers, as front vowels in English are all unrounded, and tend to be unrounded by default in other languages).

Until 1989, the IPA allowed for an alternate symbol for this sound, the symbol <ɩ>, which is no longer an IPA symbol, though a few texts may still use it.

As a vowel, the glottis (vocal cords) vibrate, producing a fundamental frequency (F0), which provides the basic intonation of the voice, particularly the vowels and voiced consonants. As the F0 bounces around the vocal cavity, other harmonic frequencies are produced, including the so-called F1 and F2, which are responsible for primary vowel quality.

1.1 Cross-linguistic comparison

This vowel is fairly common in the world's languages, and is a common phoneme in various European languages. But it can pose difficulty for those whose first language (L1) lacks this vowel, such as East Asian learners, as various East Asian languages lack this vowel.

1.2 Teaching /ɪ/ production

Again, it is important to realize that /ɪ/ is not just a shortened version of /i/, but it is a qualitatively different vowel altogether, as the tongue tensing and position are different. The main distinction has to do with muscular tenseness in the tongue; the long vowel is actually tensed, while the short vowel is relaxed, which slightly alters the tongue position; for the lax vowel, the tongue is slightly lower and not so strongly fronted – slightly more toward the center of the mouth, but still front. Students from an L1 without this vowel will confuse it with /i/ in their listening and pronunciation.

In teaching to produce it, students should not just learn to clip the long /i/ vowel short. They need to learn to relax the tongue to modify the tongue position. One could have students to pretend that the tongue is numb, e.g., due to cold weather, or from having had an anesthetic shot or medication for the tongue from a dentist.

Some dictionaries and learner materials can cause confusion. The long vowel /i/ can also be indicated with a colon to specify the long vowel, as in /i:/; this may be helpful for learners, but this is not really necessary for English, as the /i/ sound is naturally longer and tensed. Because /i/ is long and tensed, it has a slight off-glide, and may also be written as /iy/ in some texts. The lax vowel should not be indicated with /i/ as some dictionaries published in Korea do, where the lax vowel is written incorrectly as /i/ and the tensed vowel as /i:/.

2 Practice materials and activities

Minimal pairs, which contrast a target sound with a sound that is a separate phoneme, are typical starting points for production and practice activities, particularly comparing /ɪ/ and /i/. These sounds can be contrasted with each other in minimal pair contrasts in syllable-initial or word-initial position, and in medial position (middle of a word). The lax vowel does not generally occur in word-final position. For more on types of minimal pairs activities to train listeners to discern and produce sounds, see the following.

1. Pronunciation: Listening exercises
2. Pronunciation: Production exercises
3. Pronunciation: Controlled activities
4. Pronunciation: Interactive activities

2.1 Basic practice minimal pairs

Here are a few sample word pairs contrasting /ɪ/ and /i/.

Caesar’s      scenically forefeet liter lever reason re-sole streaked

scissors      cynically forfeit litter liver risen rissole strict

2.2 Minimal pair sentences

1a. How much did the meat cost?      2a. She always takes the list. 3a. Bill’s living with his father. 4a. Did you make the bids? 5a. These beans are large. 6a. Jill took the lead. 7a. What a large feast! 8a. He pointed to the ship. 9a. Did he catch the pitch? 10a. How many did you fill?

1b. How much did the mitt cost?      2b. She always takes the least. 3b. Bill’s leaving with his father. 4b. Did you make the beads? 5b. These bins are large. 6b. Jill took the lid. 7b. What a large fist! 8b. He pointed to the sheep. 9b. Did he catch the peach? 10b. How many did you feel?

2.3 Internal minimal pair sentences

1. Don’t sit on that seat.
2. He’ll climb the hill.
3. We’ll go if you will.
4. He’s eating his dinner.
5. He thinks potato chips are cheap.
6. I feel we can fill the position.
7. The ship is taking the sheep to market.
8. It’s difficult to climb hills in high heels.
9. These shoes don’t fit his feet.
10. The field is filled with flowers.
11. They picked Tim for the team.
12. Please beat the sweet cream.
13. The heat wave will hit the city.
14. Jean has been cooking beans.
15. His pet eel is still ill.
16. At least my list is finished.
17. Is he at ease on skis?
18. Take a dip in the deep water.

2.4 Practice sentences

1. This jalapeño weener is the winner of the hot dog contest.
2. When the heat hits fifty degrees, the sauna is not fit for any feats of physical endurance.
3. In scholarly debates, you can rip an article, and reap the benefits if you have a better idea.
4. Caesar always misplaces his scissors. Where are Caesar’s scissors? He’s so ticked - I think Caesar is going to have a seizure over his scissors.
5. Don’t you think Gene drinks too much gin? He keeps tripping, and bumping into things.
6. Some shifty-looking foxes were spying the sixteen succulent chickens in the steel cage behind the ash trees.
7. Phil cannot feel any pain, thanks to a swimming accident. He was stung by a bunch of electric eels – the eels made him ill, and damaged his nerves. So Phil has no feeling of pain.
8. One oval is an ellipsis, but two of them are ellipses; you can have one neurosis, or two neuroses if you’re really in distress. If you’re really out of touch, you have a psychosis; two psychoses, and you’re really in a mess.
9. This initial study examined risk factors for risky accidents due to itchy shins or unfit feet. Shin problems can make our patients skid and slip in their hospital slippers. Patients should sit or walk, not trip and slip. So we will suggest six tips for this. Our next studies will investigate risk factors for cysts of thin lips and thick hips.
10. In a case study of a fifty-six year-old mental patient, we asked, what deeds did he do to his liver, besides sipping too much gin? Why does he like to lick leeks and pick peppers? Why has he beaten and bitten his lips? Why does he sit still all day, sipping skim milk? What is the reason for this silly behavior? Why is he so cynical? Is this behavior one neurosis, or a bit of two different neuroses?

(Author: Kent Lee)

2.5 Limericks and tongue twisters

1. I wish you were a fish in my dish.
2. If two witches watch two watches, which witch would watch which watch?
3. Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers. A peck of pickled peppers Peter Piper picked. If Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers, where's the peck of pickled peppers Peter Piper picked?

A limerick tongue twister:

There once was a fisherman named Fisher,
 Who fished for some fish in a fissure.
 Till a fish with a grin,
Pulled the fisherman in.
And now they’re fishing the fissure for Fisher.
 

2.6 More practice with -ism words

Words ending in the suffix -ism may be interesting for learning or practice. Some of these are eponyms, or words derived from a person's name, such as Marxism.

absenteeism activism ageism albinism alcoholism altruism Americanism anachronism anarchism aneurism Anglicism antagonism anthropomorphism aphorism archaism asceticism atavism atheism authoritarianism      autism baptism barbarism bilateralism cabalism Calvinism cannibalism catechism charlatanism chauvinism collectivism colonialism commercialism communism conformism congregationalism      constructivism consumerism

conventionalism cosmopolitanism      creationism criticism cubism dadaism defeatism deism despotism determinism dogmatism dualism dwarfism egalitarianism egocentrism egoism elitism emotionalism empiricism environmentalism      euphemism evangelism existentialism exorcism expansionism expressionism extremism factionalism fanaticism fascism fatalism favoritism feminism formalism fraternalism fundamentalism

globalism hedonism hermaphroditism      heroism Hinduism hooliganism humanism humanitarianism hypnotism impressionism individualism intellectualism internationalism isomorphism journalism Judaism leftism legalism liberalism literalism Lutheranism malapropism mannerism Maoism Marxism mechanism mercantilism mesmerism metabolism monarchism monasticism monism monotheism moralism multiculturalism      mysticism

narcissism nationalism nativism naturalism neologism nepotism nihilism objectivism obscurantism      optimism organism ostracism pacificism paganism pantheism parallelism parasitism paternalism patriotism perfectionism pessimism photojournalism pointillism polymorphism polytheism populism pragmatism Presbyterianism      racism radicalism rationalism realism schism solipsism theism vegetarianism

3 More minimal pairs

initial	medial
antique antic beach bitch bead bid beading bidding beaker bicker bean bin beat bit beaten bitten beater bitter beef biff been bin bees biz beet bit bleats blitz bleep blip bream brim ceased cyst cede Sid cheap chip cheat chit cheek chick cheeped chipped crease Chris clique click creak/creek crick deal dill dean din deed did deem dim deep dip deeper dipper feast fist feat fit feeling filling fees fizz feet fit field filled fleet flit freely frilly frees frizz	freesia frizzier freeze frizz gene gin greased grist greed grid green grin greet grit he'd hid he'll hill he's his heal hill heap hip heat hit heed hid heel hill jean gin Jean gin jeep gyp keel kill keen kin keep kip keeper kipper Keith kith keyed kid kneel nil lead lid leafed lift leak lick lean Lynn leap lip leased list least list leave live Leeds lids leek lick lees Liz lever liver lied lit liter litter	mead mid meal mill measles mizzles meat/meet mitt meek Mick mealie Millie neat knit neater knitter Neil nil peach pitch peak pick peat pit peek pick peel/peal pill peeler pillar peep pip Pete pit pique pick queen quin reach rich read/reed rid ream rim reap rip reason risen reef riff reek rick reel rill Rheims rims scene sin scenic cynic scheme skim seal sill seat sit seek sick seeks six seen sin seep sip sheen shin sheep ship Sikhs six	skeet skit sleek slick sleep slip sleet slit sneak snick sneakers snickers steal/steel still streaked strict teak tic/tick teak tick teal till team Tim teases tizzies teem Tim teen tin teeny tinny teeter titter treacle trickle tweet twit tweeted twitted tweeter twitter we'll will weak/week wick weaker wicker weal will weald willed wean whin wean win weaned wind weaner winner weep whip weeping whipping wheat whit /wit wheel will wheeled willed wheeze whizz wield willed weeny Winnie wreak rick