Beater Bitter Better Butter Batter

Comparing Vowel Sounds: iy, ɪ, ɛ, ə/ʌ, æ
/iy/ -- heel, heal
/ɪ/ -- hill
/ɛ/ -- hell

We begin with the highest front vowel /iy/.

● beater:  /iy/ -- The tongue 👅 is raised in the mouth, and the lips are tense.

● bitter:  /ɪ/ -- The tongue and jaw lowers slightly.

● better:  /ɛ/ -- The tongue and jaw lowers a little more.

● butter:  /ʌ/
/ə/ and /ʌ/ -- actually sound the same
* /ə/ is the schwa, and it represents UNSTRESSED vowels/syllables
* /ʌ/ is called "wedge" or "caret." It represents the STRESSED "uh" sound in words like "up", "under", "luck", "butter", "cut"
* The lips and tongue are relaxed. The jaw is lowered slightly
● batter:  /æ/ -- lowest front vowel. Tongue is low and flat.  Corners of the lips are pulled back slightly.  Jaw is lowered more.