Short lax vowelKIT /ɪ/
- Place
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- Manner
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- Tongue tip
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- Airflow
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- Voice
- voiced
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Guided practice · General American English
English Sound Laboratory
KIT /ɪ/ versus FLEECE /iː/ vowel control
Contrast the lax near-high KIT vowel with the tenser higher FLEECE vowel in matched words and connected speech.
PracticeGuided practiceRecord and listen at every stage
Practise with trustworthy examples. Reviewed audio is used where it is available. On other items, you can still record, listen back and retry. Pronunciation feedback appears only where this lab has a reviewed feedback check.
See · compare · feel the vowel space
Raise and tense the tongue for FLEECE; relax and lower slightly for KIT
Both targets are front vowels. KIT /ɪ/ is shorter and laxer, with the tongue slightly lower and less tense. FLEECE /iː/ is higher, tenser and typically longer. Keep the contrast in vowel quality first; duration is a supporting cue rather than the only difference.
Long tense vowelFLEECE /iː/
- Place
- —
- Manner
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- Tongue tip
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- Airflow
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- Voice
- voiced
What you are hearing: these short clips come from the reviewed sentence at the end of this lab. Use them as context examples for the sound.