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For example: here, dear, clear. I sometimes hear American people when saying those words, the words come out from deep into their throats. But, still, I don't know how to do it.

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  • Clear UK /klɪər/, US / klɪr/ – Mia Apr 20 '16 at 14:29
  • Dear UK /dɪər/, US /dɪr/ – Mia Apr 20 '16 at 14:31
  • Here UK / hɪər/ US / hɪr/ – Mia Apr 20 '16 at 14:32
  • In ɪəʳ, the r is not pronounced in BrE, unless the sound comes before a vowel (as in dearest, dear Ann). In AmE, the r is always pronounced, and the sound is often written as ɪr . – Mia Apr 20 '16 at 17:54
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    @Mia so the /ɪ/ in /hɪr/ (here) should be pronounced like the /ɪ/ in sit or the /i:/ in bee? I hear them more like /hi:r/ than /hɪr/ ? – Little Straw purple Apr 20 '16 at 23:30
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Notice to pronounce the words "here", " dear" and " clear"in American English, you need to make /iy/ sound. In order to make this sound ,set your lips 3/8 inch (1cm) apart.Widen your lips into a big smile. The sound is long. Count to two silently to be sure it is long enough.

Examples:

here

hear

ear

tier

Now I would also like to discuss /eə/ sound because I wanted you to compare them and see how they differ.

To make this sound, keep your jaw halfway open. The lips are 1/2 inch (1.3cm) apart. Tense your lips, and form a wide, downward smile. Begin the sound, then move your lips close together into the /ə/ position.

You can practice saying the following words, which feature this vowel sound:

bear

chair

Where

hair

Spare

pair

Cram

They're

Theirs

Now Compare ear /iy/, /ɪ/ with 

        air /eər/

Note: In /ɪəʳ/ as in "Near", the r is not pronounced in BrE, unless the sound comes before a vowel (as in dearest, dear Ann). In AmE, the r is always pronounced, and the sound is often written as /ɪr/.

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    "Cram"? How does that sound similar to the others? – Deusovi Apr 20 '16 at 12:59
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    You should make it clearer that "bear" and "ear" have different sounds. I'm not sure why you're discussing the former at all, since the question only asked about the latter. – sumelic Apr 20 '16 at 13:15
  • Cram /kræm/,/kreəm/ laugh/læf/,/leəf/ – Mia Apr 20 '16 at 14:02
  • @Deusovi Wikipedia has a description of that phenomenon. Which of those words sound like each other can depend a lot on one's accent. – Dan Getz Apr 21 '16 at 0:36

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