- Words
- Mouth: Tense or Lax
- Tongue Position
- Jaw Position
- Lip Position
- sea, pea, feat
- Tense
- Highest front near top of mouth
- High closed
- Widely spread, smiling
- bit, pin, fit
- Lax
- High front, but lower and more centered than /iy/
- Slightly lower than /iy/
- Relaxed, slightly parted and spread
- paint, fate
- Tense
- Mid-front, gliding up toward /iy/
- Begins lower than /ZZZ/ but rises during glide
- Spread more during glide to /iy/
- pen, fed
- Lax
- Mid-front centered
- Open wider than /ey/
- Slightly spread
- pan, fad
- Lax
- Lower front than /ɛ/, centered
- Slightly more open than /ɛ/; may drop a bit lower during articulation
- Spread
- pa, fob
- Tense
- Lowest, central, lying flat on bottom
- Open widest
- Yawn
- Paul, fought
- Tense
- Low back
- Closed slightly
- Oval
- pole, foe
- Tense
- Mid-back, gliding up toward /uw/
- Begins hier than /ɔ/; rises more during glide
- Very rounded, closing like a camera shutter
- put, foot (unrecorded)
- Lax
- High back and more centered than /ow/
- Slightly higher
- Relaxed, slightly parted and weakly rounded
- pool, fool
- Tense
- Highest, back of tongue pushed up
- High, closed
- Closed and rounded, as for whistling
- pun, fun
- Lax
- Relaxed mid-level
- Relaxed
- Relaxed, slightly parted
- pine, fight
- Diphthong
- Moves low central to high front
- Rises with tongue, closes
- Moves from open to slightly parted and spread
- pound, foul
- Diphthong
- Moves low central to high back
- Rises with tongue, closes
- Moves from open to slightly parted and round
- poise, foil
- Diphthong
- Moves low back to high front
- Rises with tongue, closes
- Moves from oval to slightly parted and spread
From Teaching Pronunciation