— One Minute Pronunciation: Vowel Roundedness — The shape of your lips is one of the factors which determines how your vowels sound. It can be sort of weird to describe, but it’s easy to see if you have a mirror. - open your mouth wide and say “ahh” like the doctor is checking your throat - maintaining the same sound, slowly close your lips and make a circle (sort of like you’re puckering up to kiss someone) How do the muscles around your lips feel during each part? When my lips aren’t rounded they feel quite relax, but there is a bit of tension when I round them. Then, practically every vowel has both a rounded and unrounded version. So once you’ve got the idea of what rounding your lips feel like, pick random vowels and start experimenting! Pick a vowel, start with your lips relaxed and open, then slowly round them and listen for how the vowel changes.