The Sounds of English
A Basic Course

The long half-open back vowel

The long half-open back vowel (monophthong) is pronounced by the back of the tongue being moved towards the velum so as to form a relatively narrow opening. The lips are rounded. The sound is fairly similar to its Norwegian counterpart, and Norwegians have no problems in pronouncing it. The illustration on the right shows its relative tongue position as compared to other back sounds.

 


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