Sounds of letters I and Y
Let's see what sounds we can get from the vowels I and Y in a stressed syllable. Don't forget to listen to the examples.
1) /ɪ/
The short i is characteristic for one-syllable words that end with a consonant (like "bit"). However, there are other words with i and y that have the same pronunciation.
{mp3}/files/mp3/i-y-vowels/1.mp3{/mp3}begin, dinner, listen, big, fifty, picture, sit, wing, think
{mp3}/files/mp3/i-y-vowels/2.mp3{/mp3}crystal, lynx, physics, syllable, system, typical
2) /aɪ/
This long sound almost always occurs in the pattern I(Y)_consonant_E and in also in igh.
{mp3}/files/mp3/i-y-vowels/3.mp3{/mp3}drive, fine, life, price, smile, write, style, type, Skype
{mp3}/files/mp3/i-y-vowels/4.mp3{/mp3}bright, fight, light, sigh, thigh
{mp3}/files/mp3/i-y-vowels/5.mp3{/mp3}die, lie, tie, dye, child, find, pint, wild
{mp3}/files/mp3/i-y-vowels/6.mp3{/mp3}by, cry, my, try, why
3) /ɜː/
The pattern I_R_consonant is the hint to use this long sound.
{mp3}/files/mp3/i-y-vowels/7.mp3{/mp3}bird, birth, circle, dirt, girl, shirt, third, thirsty, virtue
4) /ɪː/
Ie always has a long, not a short ɪ sound, so do some other words with stressed i.
{mp3}/files/mp3/i-y-vowels/8.mp3{/mp3}kilo, pizza, machine, suite, magazine, police, ski, kiwi
{mp3}/files/mp3/i-y-vowels/9.mp3{/mp3}achieve, believe, chief, field, piece