All the other rounded vowels have rounded and unrounded compliments. With the pronunciation of all the unrounded vowels, the tongue is placed at the roots of your bottom teeth. When rounding these sounds, pay close attention NOT TO MOVE YOUR TONGUE! Only round your lips and the appropriate sound will form. The minute you lift your tongue, you will produce an "OE" sound. You should pay special attention to this section since English does not have these rounded/unrounded versions of the same vowels. It will be easy to mispronounce them.
Note: word examples are a mix of real and fake words.
| Rounded & Unrounded Sounds | unround > round | With other sounds (prefixes are in bold) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
[rounded] ei/y (e.g. say, nay) > [unrounded] ui |
lei/ly > lui krei/kry > krui mei/my > mui blei/bly > blui pei/py > pui |
belei verklein onteien beskeie bilyne |
luie kluin uien skuipe luine |
verkuit ontbuik bebuile geduik hersuil |
ontgyl beguil hersuip besypel ontsuiker |
|
[rounded] ee (e.g. deer) > [unrounded] eu (e.g. neuro-surgeon) |
lee > leu kreet > kreut krete > kreute bleek > bleuk bleke > bleuke |
kleer verkleur teen teun been |
meur meer teun teen leun |
verkeut ontkeet bebeule gebele herseul |
ontgeel begeul herseep beseupel ontseke |
|
[rounded] i / ie (e.g. see, meet) > [unrounded] uu |
lies > luus krite > krute kriet > kruut blike > bluke piek > puuk |
verliek verkline ontdien geskiet billiene |
luuks kluun tuul skuut muur |
verkuut ontbuuk bebule gebuke hersuur |
ontgiel beguul hersiep besuupel onsieker |
| [rounded] oe (e.g. book, shook, shoe) ) |
boek skoen moen |
geboel ontsoen gedoen |
bedoeke hersoeke moenie |
oefen oester oekie |
toelie koelie poelie |