English Sounds & Spelling: English Sounds and Spelling (#4)

The symbols / iy / and / I / show the English vowel sounds
in the words beat (or beet) and bit. These vowels have
very similar pronunciation: both are made with the tongue
high at the front of the mouth. For the / iy / sound, however,
the tongue is tense and for / I / it is more relaxed. Also, / iy /
is longer than / I /. Although the sounds of these vowels
often seem very similar or even the same to many learners
of English, native English speakers hear them as completely
different sounds.

There are many pairs of words that are different only in
whether / iy / or / I / is used. Here are some examples: