Pronunciation: What is this /i/ for the word ready?

[LisaYang606]

Good morning everyone,

I know there is a long vowel sound /i:/ for sheep, and a short vowel sound /ɪ/ for ship. But what is this /i/ for the words ready?

I initially thought maybe it's an alternative for one of those sounds, but when I look up the word 'really', it comes UK /ˈrɪə.li/ US /ˈriː.ə.li/. This means /i/ is different, isn't it?


I am very confused about this, and I hope you can help me with this. Thanks!

 

[Loob]

It's explained in John Wells' paper IPA transcription systems for English.

Another recent trend is that of pronouncing the vowel at the end of happy, coffee, valley tense, like beat, rather than lax like bit. [...] Traditionally it was identified with the vowel of bit, and transcribed identically, /ɪ/. However LDOCE decided instead to use the symbol /i/ (without length marks) for this vowel. This was intended as a kind of cover symbol, which everyone could interpret in their own way: traditionalists could think of it as identical with /ɪ/, whereas users of the tenser vowel might want to identify it with /i:/.​

​

(Note: LDOCE = Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English)

 

[natkretep]

Yes, this is known as the happY vowel. I think for some people it's an in-between vowel too. I don't use /ɪ/ because it sounds really old fashioned. (The Queen had it.) I make it tenser, but it's not as long as in 'sheep'.

This vowel can be pronounced in a range of different ways.

The happy lexical set is a part of the Weak Vowel group of sets that exist in unstressed, free syllables, most notably at the ends of words. Depending on the accent, happy can be associated with either fleece, kit, or face, with vowel qualities in the range of /i ~ ɪ ~ e ~ ɛ/.

The happY Lexical Set – Lexical Sets for Actors

 

[dojibear]

Ready is /ˈrɛdi/. In AE, this final /i/ sounds the same as the /i/ in "heat", "meat" and the 'i' or 'y' in many Mandarin syllables. It is not the other sound /ɪ/ in "hit" and "mitt".

But my comments are only AE, not BE.

 

[LisaYang606]

Summary:

/i/ is known as happy i. The sound is close to /i:/ but tenser.

This vowel can be pronounced in a range of different ways.

The happy lexical set is a part of the Weak Vowel group of sets that exist in unstressed, free syllables, most notably at the ends of words. Depending on the accent, happy can be associated with either fleece, kit, or face, with vowel qualities in the range of /i ~ ɪ ~ e ~ ɛ/.