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English has 5 written vowels (a,e,i,o and u), but 20 vocalic sounds: 12 vowel sounds (/i:/,/ɪ/,/e/,/æ/,/ɑ:/,/ɒ/,/ɔ:/,/ʊ/,/u:/,/ʌ/,/ɜ:/,/ə/), 8 diphthongs (centring: /ɪə/, /eə/, /ʊə/; closing: /eɪ/, /aɪ/, /ɔɪ/; and /aʊ/, /əʊ/). Besides, 6 triphthongs (/eɪə/, /aɪə/, /ɔɪə/ /aʊə/, /əʊə/), and about 26 consonantal sounds.

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It depends on the dialect of English you are referring to, and can vary from 14 to 20 or more.

Basic Vowel Sounds (according to one classification scheme)

long A - day, paid, name

long E - we, seed, bean

long I - lie, fine, sigh

long O - bowl, comb, low, sew

long U (oo or yoo) - cool, moon, suit / cute, fuel, unit

short A - apple, bad, last,

short E - bed, get, head

short I - did, pin, sit

short O - body, cop, hot

short U - cut, dumb, flood

short OO - good, foot, could, put

R-shaped A - car, star

R-shaped I (usually considered long E) - near, pier

AW/OR (may include long O words in British English) - saw, lawn, caught / horse, court

R-shaped U - bird, her, heard, purr, urge

* R-shaped long A - air, pair

OI (oy)- boy, noise, point

OU (ow) - cow, sound, out

Schwa sound (eh/uh) - unstressed sound like A in about or sofa, E in fasten

*Schwa R sound (er/ur) - A in cedar, E in water

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10y ago
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2w ago

There are around 15-20 vowel sounds in English, depending on the dialect and accent. These sounds can be divided into short and long vowels, as well as diphthongs.

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Q: How many vowel sounds are there in English?
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How many vowel sounds and consonant sounds are there in English?

There are 15-20 vowel sounds in English, depending on the dialect, and around 24 consonant sounds. Vowel sounds are produced without any significant constriction or closure in the vocal tract, while consonant sounds are created by obstructing airflow in different ways.


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How come love and move do not rhyme?

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