Monophthong

A monophthong is a "pure" vowel, that stays the same for all of its length.

Monophthongs in English

 * Short monophthongs
 * /æ/ as in "trap", so-called “short a”
 * /e/ as in "let", so-called “short e”
 * /ɪ/ as in "kit", so-called “short i”
 * /ɒ/ as in "hot", so-called “short o”
 * /ʌ/ as in "but", so-called “short u”
 * /ʊ/ as in "book", so-called “short oo”
 * Long monophthongs
 * /ɔː/ as in "law"
 * /ɑː/ as in "car"
 * /ɜː/ as in "nurse"

Most linguists agree that /iː/ as in "feet" or /uː/ as in "cool" are actually diphthongs, because they do not end with the exactly same vowel as they begin. In the notation of Geoff Lindsey for Southern British English they are [ɪj] and [ʉw].