Description of English Vowels sounds with examples

In this article, We will provide you English Vowels sounds with examples that are part and parcel of English linguistics.

1- Sound [ʌ]

The sound [  ʌ  ] is a short, relaxed vowel. When pronouncing [  ʌ  ], the mouth is half-open, the lips are neutral. The tongue is slightly moved away from the base of the lower teeth

Compare:

but [  bʌt  ] – but	come [  kʌm  ] – to come
love [  lʌv  ] – love	country [  kʌntri  ] – country
dull [  dʌl  ] – boring	us [  ʌs  ] – us
gun [  gʌn  ] – weapon	ugly [  ʌgli  ] – ugly
summer [  sʌmə  ] – summer	study [  stʌdi  ] – study

The differences in the pronunciation of the sounds [  ʌ  ] and [  a:  ] lie not only in the longitude – brevity, but also in the quality of these sounds.

When pronouncing [  ʌ  ], the tongue lies at the base of the lower teeth, the lips are neutral.

Compare:

[  kʌm  ] – [  ka: m  ]	come – calm	come – calm
[  dʌk  ] – [  da: k  ]	duck – dark	duck – dark
[  lʌk  ] – [  la: k  ]	luck – lark	luck is a lark
[  bʌt  ] – [  ba: t  ]	but – Bart	but – Bart (name)
[  pʌk  ] – [  pa: k  ]	puck – park	washer – park

2- Sound [æ]

This is a short open sound. When pronouncing [  æ  ], you need to pull the corners of the mouth to the sides a little, place the tongue as flat as possible in the mouth and lower the jaw quite vigorously.

Compare:

act [  ækt  ] – action	bad [  bæd  ] – bad
Ann [  æn  ] – Anna	map [  mæp  ] – map
add [  æd  ] – add	family [  fæmili  ] – family
Alice [  ælis  ] – Alice	plan [  plæn  ] – plan
lamp [  læmp  ] – lamp	narrow [  nærou  ] – narrow

In writing, the sound [  æ  ] is conveyed by the letter a , which is read like [  æ  ] , if after it there is one or more consonant letters: map , plan , cat , sand , Ann .

Since both of these sounds are short, the difference between them is in the degree of their openness.

The sound [  æ  ] is a very open sound, when pronounced, the tongue is placed as flat as possible in the mouth, and the jaw drops quite low. When pronouncing [  e  ], the jaw almost does not drop, the tongue is at the base of the lower teeth, the lips are stretched.

[  bed  ] – [  bæd  ]	bed – bad	bed – bad
[  lend  ] – [  lænd  ]	lend – land	lend – land
[  send  ] – [  sænd  ]	send – sand	send – sand
[  sed  ] – [  sæd  ]	said – sad	said – sad
[  pen  ] – [  pæn  ]	pen – pan	handle – pan

 

3-Sound [a:]

 When pronouncing a long sound [  a:  ], the tip of the tongue is significantly pulled away from the lower teeth. The dorsum of the tongue is curved and raised to the hard palate. (Imagine that the doctor asks you to open your mouth and show your throat. In this case, you instinctively pull your tongue away from your teeth!)

Compare:

garden [  ga: dn  ] – garden	dark [  da: k  ] – dark
calm [  ka: m  ] – calm	lark [  la: k  ] – lark
ask [  a: sk  ] – ask	raft [  ra: ft  ] – raft
aunt [  a: nt  ] – aunt	spark [  spa: k  ] – spark
after [  a: ftə  ] – after	class [  kla: s  ] – class

In writing, the sound [  a:  ] is transmitted:

a combination of letters a + r: park, car, dark, lark, art, jar.

the letter a is also read as [  a:  ] before f, nt, th: raft, after, father, bath, plant.

in combination a + s + consonant : class , ask , grass (exception: aunt ).

4- Sound [ai]

 The sound [  ai  ] is a diphthong consisting of a core and a slip. The core of a brief sound of the diphthong [  ʌ  ]. After pronouncing the nucleus, the tongue moves up in the direction of the sound [  i  ]. The sound [  i  ] should not sound distinct.

This is how [  ai  ] sounds in English words:

Compare:

ice [  ais  ] – ice	life [  laif  ] – life	why [  wai  ] – why
item [  aitm  ] – item	time [  taim  ] – time	bite [  bait  ] – to bite
island [  ailənd  ] – island	chime [  tʃaim  ] – ringing	try [  trai  ] – try
mild [  maild  ] – weak	write [  rait  ] – write	dry [  drai  ] – dry
file [  fail  ] – file	kind [  kaind  ] – kind	high [  hai  ] – high

In writing, the sound [  ai  ] is transmitted:

letter i if it is followed by a consonant + dumb e : time , life , chime , jive , ice , item .

if y is at the end of a monosyllabic word, then it reads as [  ai  ] : why , try , dry .

before the letter combinations ld , nd , gh, the letter i also transmits the sound [  ai  ] : mild , kind , high

5- Sound [aʊ]

The sound [  aʊ  ] is a diphthong. Its nucleus is pronounced in the same way as the first element of the sound [  ai  ], and then the tongue moves back and up in the direction of the sound [  ʊ  ].

The second element must be very weak.

This is how [  aʊ  ] sounds in English words:

Compare

out [  aʊt  ] – out	down [  daʊn  ] – below
about [  əbaʊt  ] – about, about	noun [  naʊn  ] – noun
owl [  aʊl  ] – owl	cloud [  klaʊd  ] – cloud
bow [  baʊ  ] – bow	brown [  braʊn  ] – brown
town [  taʊn  ] – city	drown [  draʊn  ] – to sink

In writing, the sound [  aʊ  ] is transmitted:

letter combination ou : house , noun , cloud , about .

combination of letters ow : town , how , owl , brown , drown , down .

exceptions: country [  kʌntri  ], cousin [  kʌzn  ].

6- Sound combinations [aiə, aʊə]

 The sound combinations [  aiə  ] , [  aʊə  ] consist of diphthongs [  ai  ] , [  aʊ  ] and a neutral vowel [  ə  ] .

It should be remembered that the middle element of the combination (i.e. the second element of the diphthong) is pronounced very weakly. When pronouncing [  aiə  ] , [  aʊə  ], you should not round your lips, so as not to replace the sound [  ʊ  ] with the sound [  w  ] .

This is how [  aiə  ] , [  aʊə  ] sound in English words:

fire [  faiə  ] – fire	our [  aʊə  ] – our
hire [  haiə  ] – to hire	flower [  flaʊə  ] – flower
wire [  waiə  ] – wire	towel [  taʊəl  ] – towel
lion [  laiən  ] – lion	vowel [  vaʊəl  ] – vowel
desire [  dizaiə  ] – desire	coward [  kaʊəd  ] – coward
tired [  taiəd  ] – tired	power [  paʊə  ] – power
iron [  aiən  ] – iron	sour [  saʊə  ] – sour

It should be remembered that the middle element of the combination (i.e. the second element of the diphthong) is pronounced very weakly. When pronouncing [  aiə  ], [  aʊə  ], you should not round your lips, so as not to replace the sound [  ʊ  ] with the sound [  w  ].

Please note that the sound [  ai  ] and the sound combination [  aiə  ] differ only in one element – the neutral vowel [  ə  ] , but it is this difference that carries the semantic load.

 

[  taid  ] – [  taiəd  ]	tied – tired	tied – tired
[  rait  ] – [  raiət  ]	write – riot	write – mutiny
[  lai  ] – [  laiə  ]	lie – liar	to lie is a liar
[  bai  ] – [  baiə  ]	buy – buyer	buy – buyer
[  drai  ] – [  draiə  ]	dry – dryer	dry – dryer
[  wai  ] – [  waiə  ]	why – wire	why – wire

 

7 – Sound [i]

When pronouncing a short vowel sound [  i  ], the tip of the tongue is at the lower teeth, the lips are slightly stretched

Before the sounds [  m  ] , [  n  ] , [  l  ], the sound [  i  ] is slightly lengthened, and before the voiceless consonants [  p  ] , [  t  ] , [  k  ] , [  s  ] is pronounced very briefly.

 

Compare:

“film” – film [  film  ] – film	“risk” – risk [  risk  ] – risk
“il” – ill [  il  ] – sick	“disk” – disk [  disk  ] – disk
” lick ” – lick [  lik  ] – to lick	“finish” – finish [  finiʃ  ] – finish
“city” – city [  siti  ] – city	“critic” – critic [  kritik  ] – critic

 

The following English words contain a short sound [  i  ]

pin [  pin  ] – pin	pit [  pit  ] – pit	IT [  IT  ] – it
till [  til  ] – before	lip [  lip  ] – lip	is [  iz  ] – is / to be
fill [  fil  ] – fill	tip [  tip  ] – tip	in [  in  ] – in
live [  liv  ] – live	miss [  mis  ] – miss	eleven [  ilevn  ] – eleven
the dip [  the dip  ] – dip	nil [  nil  ] – zero	ill [  il  ] – to be ill

 

In writing, the sound [  i  ] is transmitted:

• the letter i if it is followed by one or more consonants: pin, tip, fill, miss, ill .
  The exception is live [  liv  ].
• in an unstressed position in a word, the letter e conveys a short sound [  i  ]: eleven.

8- Sound [i:]

When pronouncing a long sound [  i:  ], the tongue is moved forward, the tip of the tongue slightly touches the lower teeth.

Compare:

“mil” – meal [  mi: l  ] – food	“leaf” – least [  li: st  ] – smallest
“peel” – peel [  pi: l  ] – peel	“wedge” – clean [  kli: n  ] – clean
“syn” – seen [  si: n  ] – visible	“cry” – creek [  kri: k  ] – stream
“nit” – neat [  ni: t  ] – neat	” steel ” – steel [  sti: l  ] – steel

This is how [  i:  ] sounds in English words:

key [  ki:  ] – key	teeth [  ti: θ  ] – teeth
geese [  gi: s  ] – geese	theme [  θi: m  ] – theme
beat [  bi: t  ] – beat	deal [  di: l  ] – deal
Pete [  pi: t  ] – Petya	seem [  si: m  ] – to seem
field [  fi: ld  ] – field	mean [  mi: n  ] – mean

In writing, the sound [  i:  ] is transmitted:

letter e, if it is followed by a consonant letter + mute e or any other vowel: for These , Pete, Eva

letter combinations: ea , ee, ei , ie, for example: veal, need , ceil, field

the exception is the word: key [  ki:  ]

9- Sound [e]

When pronouncing the short vowel [  e  ], the tip of the tongue is at the base of the lower teeth. The lips are slightly stretched.

Before voiceless consonants [  e  ] is pronounced very briefly, and before consonants [  n  ] , [  l  ] , [  m  ] it is noticeably lengthened.

English words in which the sound [  e  ] is pronounced :

pen [  pen  ] – pen	desk [  desk  ] – desk
bed [  bed  ] – bed	text [  tekst  ] – text
lesson [  lesn  ] – lesson	next [  nekst  ] – next
end [  end  ] – end	tent [  tent  ] – tent
beg [  beg  ] – to beg	less [  les  ] – less
spell [  spel  ] – spell	net [  net  ] – network

In writing, the sound [  e  ] is conveyed by the letter e if it is followed by one or more consonants: pen , bed, tent , egg, desk , end, next

10- Sound [ei]

The sound [  ei  ] is a diphthong, i.e. indivisible sound. The core of the diphthong is the vowel [  e  ] . After pronouncing the nucleus, the tongue makes a slight upward movement in the direction of the d [  i  ], without reaching its full formation.

Compare:

“game” – game [  geim  ] – game	“drink” – pay [  pei  ] – pay
” lay ” – lay [  lei  ] – to put	“seim” – same [  seim  ] – the same
“bay” – bay [  bei  ] – bay	“case” – case [  keis  ] – case
“safe” – safe [  seif  ] – safe	“glue” – clay [  klei  ] – clay
“pace” – pace [  peis  ] – step	“sale” – sale [  seil  ] – sale

This is how the diphthong [  ei  ] sounds in English words:

pale [  peil  ] – pale	plate [  pleit  ] – plate
take [  teik  ] – take	spade [  speid  ] – shovel
name [  neim  ] – name	snake [  sneik  ] – snake
sale [  seil  ] – sale	stale [  steil  ] – stale
late [  leit  ] – late	table [  teibl  ] – table
gate [  geit  ] – gate	ale [  eil  ] – ale
date [  deit  ] – date	able [  eibl  ] – able
tape [  teip  ] – tape	ape [  eip  ] – monkey

 In writing, the sound [  ei  ] is transmitted:

• letter a if it is followed by one consonant (sometimes two) + letter e , which is called a dumb letter. It is not pronounced, but only indicates that the letter a is read as [  ei  ] : name , date , sale , snake , gate , tape , late , stale .
• the letter combination ey also reads as [  ei  ] : gray , they .
  The exception is key [  ki:  ]

11- Sound [ə]

If the word has unstressed vowels, then in the transcription they are indicated by the [  ə  ] sign . The sound [  ə  ] is called neutral because it has no distinct coloration.

Compare

the pronunciation of English words with a neutral vowel [  ə  ] :

delta [  deltə  ] – delta	letter [  letə  ] – letter	again [  əgein  ] – again
paper [  peipə  ] – paper	enter [  entə  ] – enter	attend [  ətend  ] – to attend
geyser [  geizə  ] – geyser	better [  betə  ] – better	amaze [  əmeiz  ] – to amaze

 In writing, the sound [  ə  ] is transmitted:

• a combination of letters or , er, ar at the end of a word and pronounced without stress: paper, letter , better , doctor , dollar .
• the letter a in an unstressed position at the beginning and at the end of the word also conveys the sound [  ə  ] : delta , again , attend .

12- Sound [iə]

 The diphthong [  iə  ] starts with the vowel [  i  ] and ends with a slide towards the neutral sound [  ə  ] .

It should be remembered that the consonant preceding this sound is not softened.

This is how [  iə  ] sounds in English words:

near [  niə  ] – about	theater [  θiətə  ] – theater
dear [  diə  ] – dear	period [  piəriəd  ] – period
here [  hiə  ] – here	really [  riəli  ] – actually
weary [  wiəri  ] – tiresome	severe [  siviə  ] – severe
clear [  kliə  ] – clear	appear [  əpiə  ] – to appear

Description of English Vowels sounds

In writing, the sound [  iə  ] is transmitted:

• the letter e followed by the letter r + a vowel : here , severe , period .
• letter combination ear : appear , clear , weary , dear .
• letter combination eer : engineer , sheer .

13- Sound [ɜ:]

The sound [  ɜ:  ] is the most difficult sound to pronounce.This is a long, tense sound, when pronounced, the back of the tongue must be raised and positioned evenly and not bend

To pronounce this sound correctly, the back of the tongue should be raised and pulled back so that the edges of the tongue are slightly clamped between the upper and lower molars. The lips should be stretched and tense.

This is how [  ɜ:  ] sounds in English words:

curl [  kɜ: l  ] – curl	hurt [  hɜ: t  ] – to hit
girl [  gɜ: l  ] – girl	turn [  tɜ: n  ] – turn
first [  fɜ: st  ] – first	learn [  lɜ: n  ] – learn
serve [  sɜ: v  ] – serve	bird [  bɜ: d  ] – bird
purse [  pɜ: s  ] – wallet	dirty [  dɜ: ti  ] – dirty

Description of English Vowels sounds

In writing, the sound [  ɜ:  ] is transmitted:

vowels e , i , u , y if they are followed by the letter r : verb , girl , turn .

letter combination ear + consonant : early , earth .

The pronunciation of these vowels is distinguished by the degree of elevation of the language. When pronouncing [  e  ], the tongue is at the base of the lower teeth; it’s flat and relaxed. When pronouncing [  ɔ:  ], the tip of the tongue is pulled away from the lower teeth, its back is slightly curved. When pronouncing [  ɜ:  ], the entire body of the tongue is pulled away from the teeth, so that the edges of the tongue lightly touch the molars. The back of the tongue should not bend.

[  el  ] – [  ɜ: l  ] – [  ɔ: l  ]	l – earl – all	letter L – duke – all
[  ten  ] – [  tɜ: n  ] – [  tɔ: n  ]	ten – turn – torn	ten – turn – torn
[  len  ] – [  lɜ: n  ] – [  lɔ: n  ]	Len – learn – lawn	Len (name) – study – lawn
[  bed  ] – [  bɜ: d  ] – [  bɔ: d ]	bed – bird – board	bed – bird – board
[  hel  ] – [  hɜ: l  ] – [  hɔ: l  ]	hell – hurl – hall	hell – throw – hall

14- Sound [ɒ]

When pronouncing the sound [  ɒ  ], the mouth is wide open (about the distance of two fingers: index and middle), the lips are rounded, but not protruding forward. If you placed the organs of speech correctly for pronouncing this sound.

For example:

box [  bɒks  ] – box	lot [  lɒt  ] – lot
cock [  kɒk  ] – cock	soft [  sɒft  ] – soft
got [  gɒt  ] – got	rotten [  rɒtn  ] – rotten
pot [  pɒt  ] – bowler hat	what [  wɒt  ] – what
often [  ɒfn  ] – often	office [  ɒfis  ] – office

Description of English Vowels sounds

In writing, the sound [  ɒ  ] is conveyed by the letter o if it is followed by one or more consonants: box , got , pot , soft , ox , odd , often .

15- Sound [ɔ:]

 When pronouncing a long sound [  ɔ:  ], the tongue is pulled away from the teeth, and is at the back of the mouth. The lips are slightly rounded, but not protruding forward.

Imagine that you are pronouncing the word “ode” with slightly rounded lips and a drawl [  o  ]. Try it and you should get an English sound [  ɔ:  ] .

Compare:

“ox” – wall [  wɔ: l  ] – wall

“gender” – Paul [  pɔ: l  ] – Paul (name)

“table” – stall [  stɔ: l  ] – stall

“tol” – tall [  tɔ: l  ] – high

“current” – talk [  tɔ: k  ] – to speak

This is how [  ɔ:  ] sounds in English words:

call [  kɔ: l  ] – call	raw [  rɔ:  ] – raw
force [  fɔ: s  ] – force	also [  ɔ: lsou  ] – also
horn [  hɔ: n  ] – horn	always [  ɔ: lwiz  ] – always
salt [  sɔ: lt  ] – salt	already [  ɔ: lredi  ] – already
autumn [  ɔ: tm  ] – autumn	order [  ɔ: də  ] – order

Description of English Vowels sounds

In writing, the sound [  ɔ:  ] is transmitted:

letter o if followed by letter r : horn , lord ;

al + consonant : call , talk (and the l consonant is not readable);

letter combination au : autumn . The exception is aunt [  a: nt  ]

letter combination aw : law

The vowel sounds [  ɒ  ] – [  ɔ:  ] differ from each other not only in length, but also in the quality of pronunciation.

The sound [  ɔ:  ] has a darker shade, when pronounced, the mouth is not wide open, and the jaw practically does not drop.

When pronouncing the sound [  ɒ  ], the mouth should be open by the size of the index and middle fingers, and the jaw should be lowered rather low. Errors in pronouncing these sounds will affect the meaning of the words.

Description of English Vowels sounds

Compare:

[  spɒt  ] – [  spɔ: t  ]	spot – sport	place – sport
[  pɒt  ] – [  pɔ: t  ]	pot – port	pot – port
[  nɒt  ] – [  nɔ: t  ]	not – naught	not – nothing
[  kɒt  ] – [  kɔ: t  ]	cot – caught	cradle – caught
[  ʃɒt  ] – [  ʃɔ: t  ]	shot – short	shot – short
[  kɒd  ] – [  kɔ: d  ]	cod – cord	cod – cord
[  fɒks  ] – [  fɔ: ks  ]	fox – forks	fox – forks

16- Sound [ɔi]

 The sound [  ɔi  ] is a diphthong, i.e. indivisible sound. The core of the diphthong is a short vowel [  ɔ  ] ; the slide is in the direction of the vowel [  i  ] . When pronouncing the second element.

For example :

boy [  bɔi  ] – boy	poison [  pɔizn  ] – poison
toy [  tɔi ] – toy	coin [  kɔin  ] – coin
voice [  vɔis  ] – voice	oily [  ɔili  ] – oily
noise [  nɔiz  ] – noise	exploit [  iksplɔit  ] – to exploit

Description of English Vowels sounds

 In writing, the sound [  ɔi  ] is conveyed:

• letter combination oi : noise , coin , poison
• combination of letters oy : boy , toy , enjoy

17- Sound [əʊ]

The sound [  əʊ  ] is a diphthong.

When pronouncing the sound [  əʊ  ], the lips are at first slightly stretched, and then rounded, but not protruding forward. The first element of the diphthong resembles the neutral sound [  ə  ] , and the slide is in the direction [  ʊ  ] .

For example:

boat [  bəʊt  ] – boat	oak [  əʊk  ] – oak
vote [  vəʊt  ] – vote	only [  əʊnli  ] – only
rose [  rəʊz  ] – rose	old [  əʊld  ] – old
note [  nəʊt  ] – note	open [  əʊpn  ] – open
load [  ləʊd  ] – load	snow [  snəʊ  ] – snow
photo [  fəʊtəʊ  ] – photo	yellow [  jeləʊ  ] – yellow

Description of English Vowels sounds

In writing, the sound [  əʊ  ] is transmitted:

• letter o if it is followed by a consonant letter + mute e or any other vowel: note Note , rose , chose , Those
• letter combination boat , coat , oak , load
• the combination ow at the end of a word can also convey the sound [  əʊ  ] : snow , yellow
• before ld and at the end position in a word, the letter o is also read as [  əʊ  ] : old , potato , tomato

18- Sound [ʊ]

When pronouncing a short sound [  ʊ  ], the tongue is also pulled away from the lower teeth, but not as far as when pronouncing a long sound [  u:  ] . The lips are slightly rounded, but not protruding forward. Of course, if you curl your lips when pronouncing the sounds [  ʊ  ] and [  u:  ] , you will still be understood, but a strong accent will appear.

Compare:

“stud” – stood [  stʊd  ] – stood	“tuk” – took [  tʊk  ] – took
“hood” – hood [  hʊd  ] – hood	“bow” – look [  lʊk  ] – look
“foot” – foot [  fʊt  ] – foot	“put” – put [  pʊt  ] – put

Description of English Vowels sounds

 In writing, a short sound [  ʊ  ] is transmitted:

• the letter combination oo + k . For example: book , look , cook , took , rook .
  Exceptions: good , stood .
• in some words, the letter u (usually after the consonants p , b ) is read as a short sound [  ʊ  ] : put , pull , push , bush

Note the difference in pronunciation of [  u:  ] and [  ʊ  ] .

These sounds differ from each other in length. Longitude, brevity help to distinguish one word from another in English.

Description of English Vowels sounds

[  fu: l  ] – [  fʊl  ]	fool – full	fool – complete
[  pu: l  ] – [  pʊl  ]	pool – pull	puddle – pull
[  bu: m  ] – [  bʊl  ]	boom – bull	boom – bull
[  ru: m  ] – [  grʊm  ]	room – groom	room – groom
[  ru: t  ] – [  rʊk  ]	root – rook	root – rook
[  lu: s  ] – [  lʊk  ]	loose – look	lose – watch

 19- Sounds [ʊə, jʊə]

The sound [  ʊə  ] is a diphthong. The core of the diphthong is the short vowel [  ʊ  ] , which is pronounced with a flat lip. Before pronouncing the core of the diphthong, you need to slightly stretch your lips, as if in a half smile. And the diphthong ends with a slide towards the neutral sound [  ə  ] .

Sound combination [  jʊə  ] is a variant of sound [  ʊə  ] . At the beginning of pronouncing the diphthong [  ʊə  ].

Remember that both elements of diphthongs should be pronounced together:

poor [  pʊə  ] – poor	cure [  kjʊə  ] – cure
boor [  bʊə  ] – rough	Europe [  jʊərəp  ] – Europe
moor [  mʊə  ] – to moor	pure [  pjʊə  ] – pure
sure [  ʃʊə  ] – reliable	plural [  plʊərəl  ] – plural
cruel [  krʊəl  ] – cruel	surely [  ʃʊəli  ] – of course

 

Description of English Vowels sounds

 In writing, the sound combination [  jʊə  ] is conveyed by a combination of letters ure , following, mainly, after the consonants c , p , m , n : cure , pure , demure , manure .

The sound [  ʊə  ] is pronounced:

• after the sounds [  ʃ  ] , [  l  ] the letter u reads like [  ʊə  ] : sure [  ʃʊə  ], plural [  plʊərəl  ]
• diphthong [  ʊə  ] is also read in combination oor : poor [  pʊə  ]

20- Sound [eə] 

The sound [  eə  ] is a diphthong, and like all diphthongs, it is considered one sound and, accordingly, is pronounced together. The sound [  e  ] is the core of the diphthong .

This is how [  eə  ] sounds in English words:

pare [  peə  ] – crop	stare [  steə  ] – gaze
fare [  feə  ] – fare	staircase [  steəkeis  ] – staircase
chair [  tʃeə  ] – chair	parents [  peərənts  ] – parents
where [  weə  ] – where	there [  ðeə  ] – there
hair [  heə  ] – hair	care [  keə  ] – care

Description of English Vowels sounds

In writing, the sound [  eə  ] is transmitted:

• letters a + r + e : care , pare , fare , stare , parents .
  Exception: where , there .
• letter combinations air : staircase , hair .
• combination of letters eir in the word their .