Long vowels a, e, i, o, and u are the second set
of vowels taught to kids, after they master the short vowels a, e, i, o, and u.
The sound of the long vowel is the same as the way we pronounce the name of the
vowel. Here, we will be talking about the long o sound /ō/, made
by several vowel combinations.
Differences between
short and long vowels:
It is quite useful here
to teach students the differences between short and long vowels.
Short vowel sounds are
mainly seen in c-v-c words. In these words, the vowel is a syllable followed by
a consonant. These sounds are also seen in v-c type of words as in an, at,
where again the vowel is followed by a consonant. The vowel in the syllable in
these words is a closed syllable as it is followed by the consonant. Such vowel
makes the short vowel sound. Therefore, short vowels are a result of closed syllables. Examples include fat,
met, bid, bog, and cut (Short vowels a, e, i, o and u respectively)
On the other hand, long vowel o
sound is often found in open syllables
as in the words, Examples: go, oval, no, open and so, etc.
S No.
|
Short Vowels
|
Long Vowels
|
1.
|
Make the short sounds
represented by /ă/, /ĕ/, /ĭ/, /ŏ/, and /ŭ/.
|
Say their own name
represented by /ā/, /ē/, /ī/, /ō/, and /ū/.
|
2.
|
Found in closed
syllables.
|
Found in open
syllables.
|
Pronunciation
of Long vowel o:
The long vowel o is a
two-sounded vowel.
Firstly, begin with the tongue which should be pushed slightly backward till the middle of the mouth, so
as to touch the bottom of teeth.
Secondly, as you continue,
the jaw rises slightly, the lips close to form a round circle shape and the
tongue rises slightly in the mouth and then just touches the side of the teeth.
It ends with a slight
sound of the consonant w, /w/.
Vowel
teams
such as o-e, oe, and oa make the long o sound.
Rule
to follow:
“Sound of the first vowel is dominant saying its own name and the second vowel
is silent.”
Vowel
teams that make the long o sound are:
o-e
as in the word cone
oe
as in the word toe
oa
as in the word goat
Other
vowel combinations (ow, ough) and vowel (o) that make the long o sound are:
ow
as in the word crow,
ough
as in the word dough,
o
as in the word go.
Word list (o-e) words:
Words made by the vowel
combination o-e are:
bone, cone, lone, zone,
home, dome, note, vote, rose, dose, hose, nose, poke, hole, whole, phone,
slope, smoke, stove, stone, drone.
Phonetic decoding of o-e
words:
1. bone: /b/+/ō/+/n/
2. cone: /c/+/ō/+/n/
3. lone: /l/+/ō/+/n/
4. zone: /z/+/ō/+/n/
5. home: /h/+/ō/+/m/
6. dome: /d/+/ō/+/m/
7. note: /n/+/ō/+/t/
8. vote: /v/+/ō/+/t/
9. nose: /n/+/ō/+/z/
10. rose: /r/+/ō/+/z/
11. hose: /h/+/ō/+/z/
12. dose: /d/+/ō/+/z/
13. poke: /p/+/ō/+/k/
14. hole: /h/+/ō/+/l/
15. whole: /h/+/ō/+/l/
16. stove: /st/+/ō/+/v/
17. smoke: : /sm/+/ō/+/k/
18. stone: /st/+/ō/+/n/
19. phone: /f/+/ō/+/n/
20. slope: /sl/+/ō/+/p/
21. drone: /dr/+/ō/+/n/
While teaching these
words it is important to note that the “letter e” that comes at the end is
silent. It makes the vowel in the middle to say its own name or become long.
Word list (oe) words:
Words made by the vowel
combination oe are:
toe, doe, hoe, foe, Joe,
woe, aloe
Phonetic decoding of oe
words:
1. toe:
/t/+/ō/
2. hoe:
/h/+/ō/
3. foe:
/f/+/ō/
4. doe:
/d/+/ō/
5. Joe:
/j/+/ō/
6. woe:
/w/+/ō/
7. aloe:
The Schwa+/l/+/ō/
Word list (oa) words:
Words made by the vowel
combination oa are:
goat, boat, goal, coat,
foal, road, soap, coal, foam, loaf, toast, coach, coast, throat.
Phonetic decoding of oa
words:
1. goat:
/g/+/ō/+/t/
2. boat:
/b/+/ō/+/t/
3. goal:
/g/+/ō/+/l/
4. coat:
/c/+/ō/+/t/
5. coal:
/k/+/ō/+/l/
6. foal:
/f/+/ō/+/l/
7. road:
/r/+/ō/+/d/
8. soap:
/s/+/ō/+/p/
9. foam:
/f/+/ō/+/m/
10. loaf:
/l/+/ō/+/f/
11. toast:
/t/+/ō/+/st/
12. coast:
/k/+/ō/+/st/
13. coach:
/k/+/ō/+/ch/
14. throat:
/thr/+/ō/+/t/
Word list (o) words:
Words made by the vowel
combination o are:
go, so, no, hotel,
focus, hello, tomato, potato, piano, zero, hero, fiasco.
Phonetic decoding of o
words:
1. go:
/g/+/ō/
2. so: /s/+/ō/
3. no: /n/+/ō/
4. hotel:
/h/+/ō/+/t/+The Schwa+/l/
5. focus:
/f/+/ō/+/k/+The Schwa+/s/
6. hello:
/h/+short e+/l/+/ō/
7. tomato:
/t/+The Schwa+/m/+long a+/t/+/ō/
8. potato:
/p/+The Schwa+/t/+long a+/t/+/ō/
9. zero:
/z/+long e+/r/+/ō/
10. hero:
/h/+long e+/r/+/ō/
11. fiasco:
/f/+/ia/ diphthong+/s/+/k/+/ō/
Word list (ow) words:
Words made by the vowel
combination ow are:
bow, row, sow, mow, low,
flow, blow, glow, grow, show, snow, slow, throw, mown, known.
Phonetic decoding of ow
words:
1. bow:
/b/+/ō/
2. sow:
/s/+/ō/
3. mow:
/m/+/ō/
4. low:
/l/+/ō/
5. row:
/r/+/ō/
6. flow:
/fl/+/ō/
7. blow:
/bl/+/ō/
8. glow:
/gl/+/ō/
9. grow:
/gr/+/ō/
10. show:
/sh/+/ō/
11. snow:
/sn/+/ō/
12. slow:
/sl/+/ō/
13. throw:
/thr/+/ō/
14. mown:
/m/+/ō/+/n/
15. known:
/n/+/ō/+/n/
Word list (ou and ough)
words:
Words made by the vowel
combination ou and ough are:
soul, boulder, shoulder,
poultry, poultice, dough, though, although.
Phonetic decoding of ou
and ough words:
1. soul: /s/+/ō/+/l/
2. shoulder: /sh/+/ō/+/l/+/d/+/The Schwa+r/
3. boulder: /b/+/ō/+/l/+/d/+/The Schwa+r/
4. poultry: /p/+/ō/+/l/+/t/+/r/+y as long e
5. poultice: /p/+/ō/+/l/+/t/+/i/+/s/
6. dough: /d/+/ō/
7. though: /th/+/ō/
8. although: /all/+/th/+/ō/
