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PRONUNCIATION: BASIC SOUNDS
The Short U Sound and the Short E Sound
/ʌ/ and /ɛ/

GOAL

I can make the short U sound and the short E sound.

TRY IT!

Read the sentence below.

Our company spent a lot of money on jets.

SOUNDS

Learn how to pronounce today's sounds.
Sound Profile

/ʌ/

Voicing

yes

Mouth

slightly open

Lips

Teeth

Tongue

relaxed and low

Jaw

Steps

  1. Slightly open your mouth. Keep your tongue relaxed and low.

  2. Make a voiced sound.

Katakana Otoshiana

Because there is no perfect match for the short U sound in Japanese, many English words with that sound are written with a (ア) in katakana.

 

cup ➡ kappu (カップ)

love ➡ rabu (ラブ)

lucky ➡ rakkii (ラッキー)

 

Be careful to make them the short U sound in English!

/ɛ/

Voicing

yes

Mouth

slightly open

Lips

Teeth

Tongue

the middle of the tongue slightly rounded up

Jaw

Steps

  1. Slightly open your mouth.

  2. Arch the middle of your tongue slightly up.

  3. Make a voiced sound.

  4. You should feel the apples of your cheeks rise slightly.

Katakana Otoshiana

The way you form the short E sound in English is different from the katakana e (エ) sound by itself. However, it’s almost identical to the way you form the katakana e (エ) sound in an actual word.

 

dress ➡ doresu (ドレス)

best ➡ besuto (ベスト)

jet ➡ jetto (ジェット)

Steps

  1. Slightly open your mouth. Keep your tongue relaxed and low.

  2. Make a voiced sound.

Steps

  1. Slightly open your mouth.

  2. Arch the middle of your tongue slightly up.

  3. Make a voiced sound.

  4. You should feel the apples of your cheeks rise slightly.

Katakana Otoshiana

Because there is no perfect match for the short U sound in Japanese, many English words with that sound are written with a (ア) in katakana.

 

cup ➡ kappu (カップ)

love ➡ rabu (ラブ)

lucky ➡ rakkii (ラッキー)

 

Be careful to make them the short U sound in English!

Katakana Otoshiana

The way you form the short E sound in English is different from the katakana e (エ) sound by itself. However, it’s almost identical to the way you form the katakana e (エ) sound in an actual word.

 

dress ➡ doresu (ドレス)

best ➡ besuto (ベスト)

jet ➡ jetto (ジェット)

WORDS

Practice today’s sounds in the words below.

/ʌ/

cup

month

sun

fun

nut

cut

/ɛ/

dress

desk

jet

neck

send

spend

SENTENCES

Practice today’s sounds in the sentences below.

/ʌ/

  1. That’s my lucky mug.
  2. I love to run under the sun.
  3. Mina cut her hair this month.
  4. Some nuts are left in the cup.
  5. My son comes home every Sunday.

/ɛ/

  1. This is the best wedding dress.
  2. My friend didn’t like the hotel bed.
  3. Ben went out to get help.
  4. The pen and the letter are on the desk.
  5. I’m going to send a present to my special friend.

/ʌ/ + /ɛ/

  1. Eric gave his toy truck to his cousin.
  2. Jen’s son is having fun with his friends at the Dance Festival.
  3. Your neck will get burned in the sun.
  4. Help me find my pen under the bed.
  5. Our company spent a lot of money on jets.

DIALOGUES

Practice today’s sounds in the dialogues below.

/ʌ/

Tutor:

Are you and your son going to come to the Fun Run?
Student:

The one on Sunday? Yes! We love to run!
Tutor:

Oh, right! You and your son are in a running club!
Student:

Yup! We run all the time! We’re planning to join a Summer Run next month too.

/ɛ/

Student:

I want to send this letter to my friend at the Red Hotel.
Tutor:

Do you know your friend’s room at the Red Hotel?
Student:

Oh, no! I forgot. Can he just get the letter at the hotel’s front desk?
Tutor:

Sure. You can call the hotel’s front desk and tell them.
Student:

Thanks! I hope the letter arrives at the hotel before Wednesday.

/ʌ/ + /ɛ/

Tutor:

Greg and Sunny’s wedding was the best! I really loved it!
Student:

Yeah, they’re a special couple! It was such a fun event.
Tutor:

Did you see Sunny’s wedding dress? It had some sunflowers on it!
Student:

Yup! My sister wants to get a fun dress like that for her wedding too.

TRY IT AGAIN!

Reread the sentence below.

Our company spent a lot of money on jets.