003 OO as in DOOM
1: The 5 Long Simple Vowels or Monophthongs
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9m 8s
The OO sound needs a relaxed tongue but your lips should be rounded and pushed forward as though you’re about to whistle.
You will feel your jaw is nearly closed and that the back of your tongue lifts up towards your soft palate – this is the movable part of the roof of your mouth that raises whenever you yawn.
Also, try to anticipate this whistling lip position and don’t let the surrounding consonants distort the vowel in any way. If you slide into the OO position too late, then the vowel will be distorted.
Up Next in 1: The 5 Long Simple Vowels or Monophthongs
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004 AW as in AWE
For the AW sound, the lips are still pushed forward but not so far forward as they were for OO. Your lips should be slightly rounded and the lip muscles should be engaged. The back of the tongue still comes up but it is much lower than it was for OO.
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005 ER as in EARTH
For the ER sound, relax your lips, allow your jaw to be half-open and feel that the centre of your tongue lifts up a little bit.
A common fault with this sound is that it can be mispronounced in a way that pushes it closer to the AH vowel – so “girl” becomes “garl”. To avoid this, relax your lip...
