Is cat a short vowel sound

Discover Long and Short Vowel Sounds

Posted on Aug 3, 2017

Vowels are important letters. So important, in fact, that they appear in almost every word in the English language (“rhythm” we’re looking at you…) If you’re in the process of teaching the what’s what of vowels, this long and short vowel video for kids is a must-watch.

Know your vowels

Before we get into the juicy stuff, let’s make sure everyone here knows the five vowels:

The five vowels: a, e, i, o, and u!

Got it? Great. Now things get exciting. Each vowel has not one, but two unique sounds – a long sound and a short sound.

Differentiating between the two can be a tricky concept to grasp for young kids and ESL students. Luckily, this catchy tune and fantastical clip of regurgitating frogs is a fun and educational short and long vowel video for students.

Loooong vowel sounds

In this long vowel video, you will discover (with the help of two hungry frogs and a song that’ll get stuck in your head for days) that long vowel sounds name the letter.

To illustrate this, say “the letter A” out loud. Go on, no one’s watching. Excellent. You just used the long vowel sound. Some words that include the long vowel sound of A are acorn, snake, alien, apron, sale, play, and agent.

Now, the letter E. The long vowel sound sounds something like eee. Examples include eagle, green, cheat, peach, concrete, and theme.

Island begins with the long vowel sound of I

And the letter I. When we say, “I am the greatest human to ever set foot on planet Earth,” we are using the long vowel sound for I. Other examples are island, ice-cream, kite, idea, pilot, and pie.

Moving on to O. Oh my, oh my, the long vowel sound for O sounds like “oh”! Some more examples include oatmeal, oval, open, rose, poem, go, and yoga.

Finally, we come to U. The long vowel sound for U sounds like “you”. Words like unicorn, cube, statue, music, duty, human, and tissue use U’s long vowel sound.

Short vowel sounds

Now we introduce short vowel sounds with this short vowel video for ESL and kids. We’ll start again with the letter A.

The short vowel sound for A can be found in words like apple, attitude, cat, actually, and can.

Elephant begins with the short vowel sound of E.

E’s short vowel sound sounds a bit like eh, and features in words like elephant, exciting, excellent, and end.

Now I. Say it out loud, “inside an interesting insect is impossible information.” Nice work!

O’s short vowel sound is less like oh and more like o. Examples include ostrich, octopus, orange, moss, octagon, and bon-bon.

Last but not least, U. Words like umbrella, up, unbelievable, and gut use the short vowel sound for U.

Watch the video

Want all of this information in an easy to understand video designed to hold the attention of children? Watch our Long & Short Vowel Sounds Song Video right now.

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Short vowels video — Pronuncian: American English Pronunciation

See all of Pronuncian's videos!

Welcome to Seattle Learning Academy's video pronunciation series.

Of the 26 letters of the alphabet, 5 letters--a, e, i, o, and u--are considered vowels. Those 5 letters (a, e, i, o, and u--plus the letters w, y, and gh) are used in the spelling of the 15 vowel sounds of English.

To make the 15 vowel sounds easier to learn, we break them into the categories of

long vowels
short vowels
and the "other" vowels

When talking about the sounds of English, I'll use a name (such as long a or short a), and the International Phonetic Alphabet symbol.

We're including the names for sounds because non-native English speakers often can't hear the difference between sounds. For instance, (long e) and (short i)--that was the long e sound and the short i sound--or (short e) and (short u)--the short e and short u sound--are easily confused. So we use the sound's name, long e, short i, short e, and short u, and not just the sound itself (long e, short i, short e, short u).

We include the symbols because that's what pronunciation dictionaries use, and those specialized dictionaries can be very helpful when talking about pronunciation.

Today, we're going to talk about the 5 short vowel sounds and the most common spelling pattern of those sounds.

Before we begin, let me clarify that short vowel sounds aren't said for less time than long vowel sounds, though it certainly would be convenient if that were the case. These are just names historically given to these sounds.

The 5 short vowel sounds are:

short a: /æ/ cat
short e: /ɛ/ bed
short i: /ɪ/ sit
short o: /ɑ/ top
short u: /ʌ/ sun

We begin the study of vowel sound pronunciation by using key words. The five words I just used as examples are key words for the short vowel sounds. All 5 of our short vowel key words--cat, bed, sit, top, and sun--follow the most common phonetic pattern for short vowel sounds.

Phonetics is the connection between letters and sounds. It's the relationship between a word's spelling and its pronunciation. Our short vowel key words follow the consonant-vowel-consonant phonetic pattern. When a vowel occurs alone between two consonants we can expect a short vowel sound.

In the word 'cat,' c-a-t, the vowel letter a is between two consonants, the 'c' and the 't.' It isn't surprising, then, that the word 'cat' is pronounced with a /æ/ sound (/æ/).

If a word begins with a vowel letter that's followed by one or more consonants, we can still expect a short vowel sound pronunciation. If I take the 'c' off of the word 'cat,' I get the word 'at,' still pronounced with a short vowel sound.

If there's only one consonant after the vowel, and that consonant is followed by the letter 'e,' the formula changes, and we can expect a long vowel sound instead. For instance, if I take the word 'hat' h-a-t, and add the letter e I'll get the word 'hate' instead. The change in pronunciation from the word 'hat' to the word 'hate' is caused by the addition of the letter 'e.'

While common phonetic patterns like consonant-vowel-consonant (as in the word 'hat') and vowel-consonant-e (as in the word 'hate') and can help learners understand the pronunciation of English words, individual spelling patterns often exist for each sound.

There are also words that aren't pronounced in a way that we'd expect based on their spelling. We call these non-phonetic words. Common phonetic patterns and non-phonetic words are covered in each sound's individual video lesson.

Now that you know what the five short vowel sounds are, and their common phonetic pattern, it's worth studying each sound individually.

Thank you for watching this Seattle Learning Academy video lesson.

EXIT: (short a, short e, short i, short o, short u) cat, bed, sit, top, sun.

Cat Vocal Signals: sestratk — LiveJournal

Think your cat's meows, chirps, purrs and purrs are just random sounds? Think again. The cat is actually telling you information about her world and how she feels. The good news is that if you listen carefully, you can begin to understand what your cat is trying to tell you!

Cats have one of the widest vocal ranges in the animal kingdom. While cats are best known for their meows, purrs, hisses, and growls, the list of sounds they regularly make is more comprehensive. Depending on the situation, your cat is capable of many different trills and tirades, with many nuances, depending on what she wants to say. Some reflect joy and calmness, others anxiety, fear or even anger, but they all reflect your cat's emotional state. It is believed that cats are able to pronounce up to 15 simple sounds, and not only vowels, but also consonants.

After publishing my article about cat meowing for people, I was faced with the fact that not everyone understands the difference between one sound made by a cat and another. For example, they cannot understand what is the difference between the meowing of a cat in a dialogue with the owner or the cries of cats that have come together in a duel. But these are completely different signals! In this article, we will analyze the most common vocal signals of cats and try to find out what they mean.

MEOW
Perhaps the most common sound we hear from a cat is MEOW. Adult cats use this sound to communicate with people, and kittens use it to communicate with their mother cat. I already wrote about its meanings in this article:
Why do cats meow?

purring (purring, rattling, hrr-hrr)
Possibly the sweetest lulling cat sound. A purr is a soft, deep, husky hum, most often heard when your cat is in a good mood or petting its owner. Gently stroke the cat while it nestles in your lap and you will most likely be able to evoke that beautiful sound of relaxation, contentment, calmness.
Also, purring can be played by a cat for self-soothing. So, with strong and constant pain, the cat can lie down and purr loudly.
In rare cases, a cat may purr if it is excited. The key to distinguishing this "purr" is the position of the body; If your cat's ears are turned back and her body seems tense, purring means she's worried about something.

TRILLS (Mrrr, Murr, Mrya, Mrrrmeow)
Such sounds are originally used by mother cats to attract the attention of kittens, to call them to follow them. Also, your cat may say "Murr" to get you to pay attention to her or as a way to get you to check on something she thinks is important. Cats often respond with "Murr" to greetings. Singing and squeaky short trills can also be uttered when the cat is excited and happy. Some cats give out whole rolls and seem to be in dialogue with the owner.

THIRT
You may have heard your cat chattering its teeth while looking longingly out the window at a sparrow or dove. Sometimes this behavior is accompanied by chirping, squeaking, or a faint cry, and is considered an indication of the cat's predatory arousal and frustration at not being able to reach the prey.

HIS
This sound is unmistakable. It means that your cat feels threatened and is ready to fight if necessary. Along with the threatening sound, a change in the cat's body language may occur, which includes an arched back, upturned fur, tail wiggling from side to side, flattened ears, and an open mouth showing fangs ready to strike. The peak of hissing can be spitting. This already suggests that the cat is excited to the limit. If your cat hisses and spits, step back and do your best to eliminate the perceived threat.
The use of hiss is highly dependent on the cat's comfort level and sense of security. Some friendly, outgoing cats will only hiss when there is real danger, while more shy, insecure cats will resort to hissing whenever they are unsure of the situation. Abused, stray or feral cats are much more likely to go into "hiss mode" than well-socialized, outgoing pets.

SCREAMS (loud guttural meow)
In contrast to the rather calm "meow" sound, the scream is longer, longer and louder. Shouts of varying intensity can indicate anxiety, discomfort, territorial aggression, or accompany courtship before mating. Yelling is communication between cats and can mean "I want to mate" or "I don't want you to come near me".
The cat may yelp when feeling unwell, when senses or behavior become dull (eg, in deaf cats, in cats that are suddenly blind, in very old cats), or when something in its environment (perhaps a new cat or dog ) the cat does not like it. Cats that are moved to new territories or set up in a new home can often yell as they explore the new territory. And some cats may just yell out of boredom.
If your cat starts screaming incessantly, take her to the vet for a health check. This is very important, as cat yelps can be caused by the pain of an illness.
Make sure your cat gets enough attention during the day and is played with active games every day.

HOWLING - means that the cat is very excited and angry. Can be played when seeing another unfamiliar cat or dog. It usually starts with a growl and then turns into a howl.

SCREAMS AND SQUEALS (cat concert)
Screams and squeals can be made by a cat in a mating situation, in a fight between cats, if the cat feels sudden pain.
If an unneutered female is outside, sooner or later she will attract a cat, after which mating will definitely occur. She will assume a head down, back up position (called lordosis) while the cat grabs her scruff and starts the mating process. At the end of the process, the cat removes the spiny penis, which apparently creates great pain for the female, causing her to utter a bloodcurdling scream. Such cries often keep all the neighbors of a cat in love awake at night.
Cats in the middle of a fight can also scream. These primal cries are often followed by a long, ominous wail and usually accompany a paw strike or vicious bite. Unneutered cats fight more often, although castrati tend to defend their territory.

GROWLING and RUMBLING
Often accompanied by hissing. Usually indicates fear, anger or territorial aggression. Unlike larger cats such as tigers and lions, the growl of a domestic cat has a higher note and may begin or end with a howl. As a general rule, just leave this cat alone unless it is in danger from another cat or dog. A growl or purr may be accompanied by a defensive posture of the body: fluffy coat, arched back, ears back, tail twitching.
If you hold a cat in your arms and it starts to purr or growl, let it go.
Restrained purring of a mother cat - warning of kittens about possible danger.
Restrained rumbling, ending with a rise in tone, is a warning to a person or other animals not to approach her offspring.
By growling, a cat can warn friendly cats and the owner of danger. For example, my cat growls when neighbors walk outside the door or she hears some suspicious sounds or smells from the street.

This is a short list of cat vocal signals. Of course, it is difficult to list all the nuances of cat vocals in one article. But by learning even these signals, you'll know what your cat is trying to say, and you'll be better able to predict her moods, intentions, and needs. And this is very important for life with a cat in peace and mutual understanding for many years!

is... What is Russian phonetics?

Phonetics is a branch of the science of language, the subject of which is sound. Sound is the basic unit of language along with the word and the sentence, but unlike them, it has no meaning by itself.

Phonetics and sound

Sounds play an important semantic role in the language. They form the word phonetically, creating its external sound shell.

Here is the definition of what phonetics Wikipedia gives:

Phonetics (from Greek φωνή - “sound”, φωνηεντικός - “sound” ) - a section of linguistics that studies the sounds of speech and the sound structure of a language ( , patterns of connection of sounds in a speech chain).

Sounds, combined in different combinations, help to distinguish words in speech. Each word contains a certain number of sounds. Compare:

boron - collection;
port - sport;
cat - window;
helmet — fairy tale

Words differ in the set of sounds and the sequence of their arrangement. Let's observe the words that differ

in one sound

wagon - flowerpot;
hike - approach;
city-garden;

two sounds

spoon - cover;
beans - password;
grease - putty.

In the phonetic appearance of words, we observe a difference in the sequence of sounds:

variety - torso;
lace kite;
box - threshold ([box] - [pair]).

Formation of sounds of language

Phonetics studies each sound from the point of view of acoustics, as a physical object, and articulation - a way of sound formation with the help of human speech organs. Sounds are formed in the speech apparatus when air is exhaled. The speech apparatus includes the larynx with vocal cords, oral and nasal cavities, tongue, lips, and palate.

Vowel sounds

In the speech apparatus, the exhaled air passes through the larynx between the tense vocal cords and through the oral cavity, which can change its shape. This is how vowels are formed: [a], [o], [y], [e], [i], [s].

They consist of voice only.

Consonant sounds

Exhaled air can meet an obstruction in the oral cavity in the form of a closure or convergence of the organs of speech and exit through the mouth or nose. This is how consonants are formed. They are made up of noise, and some are made up of voice and noise.

Image source: abv-stand.rf

Phonetic position of sound

In speech, all sounds are either in a strong position or in a weak one. In a strong position, the sound is heard clearly. For vowels, a strong position is when the sound is stressed, and a weak position is when it is not stressed, for example:

hill - mountain [gara]
bucket [in' and dr o]

A consonant sound has a strong position if there are vowels next to it:

beard, gate, hurricane, hand , table, closet, trails .