palate 2)the tip of the tongue is usually kept down behind the lower teeth 3)the lips are spread li: /is longer than yi(l)in Chinese, and the front of the tongue is not raised so high as tor /i/ is not so close as yi(a )in Chinese, that is to say, the tongue is not raised so high as for the yi((意) /e/ the front of the tongue touch the lower teeth the back tongue is lower in themouth, the lips are spread /ae/ the distance between the lips is rather wide; the front of the tongue is very much overt The back vowels Common features 1)the tongue is retracted, the back part is raised to various levels in the direction of the soft palate 2)The tip of the tongue is slightly drawn away from the lower teeth /a: the tongue is very low in the mouth. The lips are neutrally open but do not spread or round them. It is different from the chinese“a”(啊) when we say“a” in Chinese the central part of the tongue is raised, and the tip of the tongue is not drawn away from the lower teeth /0: / the tongue is very low in the mouth. The lips are fully open but slight rounded o/ the muscles are slightly tense The lips are more rounded and pushed forward a little /u /the tongue position is very high. it is higher than for//, but not so high as to cause the air stream to produce audible friction hu/ the lips are fairly closely rounded but the lips are held rather slackly and only slightly protruded The central vowels Common feature The middle of the tongue is raised towards the dividing line between the hard and he soft palates, the lip position is neutral, that is the lips are held naturally and normally /A/ is difficult for many Chinese learners they tend to use lip-round for/a/ /o: /in producing it the lips are spread, the tongue-tip is drawn away from the lower teeth. The main body of the tongue is rather flat, only the middle of the tongue is some what raised in the direction of the soft palate /a/ in non-final positions, the tongue position is about the same as that for /a / but // is always said extremely short when it occurs finally and before a pause the tongue position is lower and more open than that for/a Diphthongs Fe When we make a diphthong the position of the tongue and the lips is changed topalate. 2) the tip of the tongue is usually kept down behind the lower teeth . 3) the lips are spread. /i:/ is longer than yi(衣) in Chinese ,and the front of the tongue is not raised so high as for the yi. /i/ is not so close as yi(意) in Chinese, that is to say, the tongue is not raised so high as for the yi(意). /e/ the front of the tongue touch the lower teeth ,the back tongue is lower in themouth, the lips are spread. /æ/ the distance between the lips is rather wide; the front of the tongue is very much lowered. The back vowels Common features: 1) the tongue is retracted, the back part is raised to various levels in the direction of the soft palate. 2) The tip of the tongue is slightly drawn away from the lower teeth. /a:/ the tongue is very low in the mouth. The lips are neutrally open but do not spread or round them. It is different from the Chinese “a” (啊) when we say “a” in Chinese the central part of the tongue is raised, and the tip of the tongue is not drawn away from the lower teeth. /ɔ:/ the tongue is very low in the mouth. The lips are fully open but slight rounded /ɔ/ the muscles are slightly tense. The lips are more rounded and pushed forward a little. /u:/ the tongue position is very high. it is higher than for/u/ ,but not so high as to cause the air stream to produce audible friction. /u/ the lips are fairly closely rounded but the lips are held rather slackly and only slightly protruded. The central vowels Common feature The middle of the tongue is raised towards the dividing line between the hard and the soft palates, the lip position is neutral, that is the lips are held naturally and normally. /ʌ/ is difficult for many Chinese learners they tend to use lip-round for /a / /ə:/ in producing it the lips are spread, the tongue-tip is drawn away from the lower teeth. The main body of the tongue is rather flat, only the middle of the tongue is some what raised in the direction of the soft palate. /ə/ in non-final positions, the tongue position is about the same as that for /ə:/, but /ə/ is always said extremely short., when it occurs finally and before a pause the tongue position is lower and more open than that for/ə:/ . Diphthongs Features: When we make a diphthong the position of the tongue and the lips is changed to