Long vowel sounds /α:/, /ɔ:/, /ɜ:/

I suppose the name ‘long vowel sounds’ is pretty self-explanatory, so I’m not going to bore you with lengthy definitions. 

In this post I’m going to tell you about three long vowel sounds, /α:/, /ɔ:/, and /ɜ:/. Shall we begin?

/α:/ as in car

/α:/ is a long vowel sound generated at the back of the mouth. To make this sound, open your jaw and relax your lips while keeping your tongue flat and pulled a little bit back. In writing it can be represented by the following combinations of letters:

ar as in far [fɑː]

ear as in heart [hɑːt]

er as in sergeant ['sɑːʤənt]

al as in psalm [sɑːm]

au as in laugh [lɑːf]

as as in castle ['kɑːsl]

ath as in rather ['rɑːðə]

an as in enhance [ɪn'hɑːns]

Please, see the video below to practise this sound (posted with kind permission by Anna Tyrie, the head vocal coach at www.elocutiononline.com).

/ɔ:/ as in door

/ɔ:/ is another long vowel sound that is created at the back of the mouth. To pronounce this sound, slightly round your lips and push them a little forward. The back of your tongue should be rising, but not all the way to the soft palate. In writing you might see one of the following word combinations:

or as in organic [ɔː'gænɪk]

au as in Paul [pɔːl]

augh as in caught [kɔːt]

aw as in law [lɔː]

al as in talk [tɔːk]

a before l as in almost ['ɔːlməust]

Check out the video below to practise the sound (posted with kind permission by Anna Tyrie, the head vocal coach at www.elocutiononline.com).

/ɜ:/ as in word

Based on my experience as a teacher of English, /ɜ:/ seems to be one of the most difficult sounds in the English language. Surprisingly, very little needs to be done to produce it: just relax your lips, half open your jaw, and slightly raise the middle of your tongue. Here’s what you can see in writing:

er as in verse [vɜːs]

ur as in burden ['bɜːdn]

ir as in bird [bɜːd]

or as in world [wɜːld]

ear as in earn [ɜːn]

Please, see the video below for more information on this sound (posted with kind permission by Anna Tyrie, the head vocal coach at www.elocutiononline.com).