During the articulation of this sound, the front part of the tongue is raised in the direction of the hard palate to a position between the close and half-close positions. The lips are loosely spread. It is thus a centralised front unrounded vowel between close and half-close positions. It is represented in spelling by i, e, y, a, u, ee, ey, ia, ai, ui, and ei as in hit, begin, pity, baggage, ladies, busy, coffee, money, carriage, bargain, build and foreign respectively. This sound can occur initially as in it, medially as in fit, and finally in a word as in city. It is a short vowel. Some more examples:
a – village, private, baggage, surface
ai – bargain, captain, mountain
ay – Sunday, Monday, Tuesday
e – pretty, ticket, system, harmless, horses, extempore, apostrophe
