Long Vowel i

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 i sound /ī/, 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 i sound is often found in open syllables as in the words, Examples: hi, island, ice, and I, etc.

Short vowels are pronounced as /ă/, /ĕ/, /ĭ/, /ŏ/, and /ŭ/. respectively Whereas long vowels say their own name represented as /ā/, /ē/, /ī/, /ō/, and /ū/ respectively.

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 the Long vowel i:

The long vowel i is a two-sounded vowel.

Firstly, begin with the tongue which should be pushed down so as to touch the bottom of the mouth and bottom teeth.

Secondly, as you continue, the jaw closes slightly, the lips close slightly 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 y, /y/. 

Vowel teams such as i-e and ie make the long i 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 e sound are:

i-e as in the word bike

ie as in the word tie

Other vowel combinations (ei, eigh, igh) and vowels (i and y) that make the long i sound are:

ei as in the word heist,

eigh as in the word height,

igh as in the word high,

i as in the word kind,

y as in the word sky.

 

Word list (i-e) words:

Words made by the vowel combination i-e are:

bike, hike, like, bite, kite, dive, live, hive, five, mile, file, pile, fine, nine, wine, pine, dine, tire, ripe, pipe.  

Phonetic decoding of ea words:

1.     bike: /b/+/ī/+/k/

2.     hike:/h/+/ī/+/k/

3.     like:/l/+/ī/+/k/

4.     bite:/b/+/ī/+/t/

5.     kite:/k/+/ī/+/t/

6.     dive:/d/+/ī/+/v/

7.     live:/l/+/ī/+/v/

8.     hive:/h/+/ī/+/v/

9.     five:/f/+/ī/+/v/

10.  mile:/m/+/ī/+/l/

11.  pile:/p/+/ī/+/l/

12.  file:/f/+/ī/+/l/

13.  fine:/f/+/ī/+/n/

14.  dine:/d/+/ī/+/n/

15.  nine:/n/+/ī/+/n/

16.  pine:/p/+/ī/+/n/

17.  wine:/w/+/ī/+/n/

18.  tire:/t/+/ī/+/r/

19.  ripe:/r/+/ī/+/p/

20.  pipe:/p/+/ī/+/p/

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 (ie) words:

Words made by the vowel combination i-e are:

tie, pie, lie, die, fries, cried, tried, replied. 

Phonetic decoding of ie words:

1.     tie: /t/+/ī/

2.     pie: /p/+/ī/

3.     lie: /l/+/ī/

4.     die: /d/+/ī/

5.     fries: /fr/+/ī/+/z/

6.     cried: /cr/+/ī/+/d/

7.     tried: /tr/+/ī/+/d/

8.     replied: /r/+/i/+/p/+/l/+/ī/+/d/

 

Word list (-y, -ei, -eigh) words:

Words made by the vowel combination ei, eigh and vowel y are:

sky, shy, spy, fly, cry, fry, dry, July, rely, heist, height. 

Phonetic decoding of y, ei and eigh words:

1.     sky: /sk/+/ī/

2.     shy: /sh/+/ī/

3.     spy: /sp/+/ī/

4.     cry: /cr/+/ī/

5.     fry: /fr/+/ī/

6.     dry: /dr/+/ī/

7.     fly: /fl/+/ī/

8.     July: /j/+short oo+/l/+/ī/

9.     rely: /r/+short i+/ī/

10.  heist: /h/+/ī/+/st/

11.  height: /h/+/ī/+/t/

 

Word list (-i, -igh) words:

Words made by the vowel combination igh and vowel i are:

kind, find, bind, ice, high, sigh, sight, tight, fight, light, night, flight. 

Phonetic decoding of i and igh words:

1.     kind: /k/+/ī/+/nd/

2.     find: /f/+/ī/+/nd/

3.     bind: /b/+/ī/+/nd/

4.     ice: /ī/+/s/

5.     high: /h/+/ī/

6.     sigh: /s/+/ī/

7.     sight: /s/+/ī/+/t/

8.     tight: /t/+/ī/+/t/

9.     light: /l/+/ī/+/t/

10.  night: /n/+/ī/+/t/

11.  fight: /f/+/ī/+/t/

12.  flight: /fl/+/ī/+/t/