3.5.2 exercise: open e or closed e

Those who speak French or Italian should be aware, that in opposite to Portuguese, the acento agudo ´ marks a CLOSED e in french, an e like in energy. (open e: evident / close e: cat). In words like écrire we have a closed e. The é in Portuguese is an open e like in English flat. The closed e in Portuguese is marked with an acento circunflexo, ê. If you say ê like energy and é like cat in a row ê, é, ê, é, ê, é, ê you will realize that in the case of the open é the chin goes down and the mouth is more open, in the case of the closed e you don't move the chin. If you don't believe it, try to pronounce cat without moving your chin. (Actually you will get a third sound, but in any way not an open e.)


example sound open e, é [ɛ] closed e, ê [e]
ela (she)
vela (sail)
certo (sure)
mês (month)
seis (six)
mesa (desk)
     








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