In my pronunciation and accent reduction classes I work with many people who speak Spanish and Filipino as their first language. One American English vowel sound that both these groups have trouble pronouncing is the /iy/ sound as in the word “sheep”. They often confuse this sound with the /I/ vowel sound as in the word “ship”.
On her website, speech pathologist Cheryl Posey explains how to make these two vowel sounds and she provides a nice picture that should help you see the difference.
Tags: american accent, American English Pronunciation, american english vowels, filipino speakers, learn american english pronunciation, spanish speakers
