/i:/ is the vowel that we find in the word FLEECE. I put that word in capitals because that is how that vowel is often referred to by linguists: the fleece vowel - or FLEECE for short. (This is not random, the word was specifically chosen for a number of specific reasons.) It is the vowel sound at the end of the word guarantee. In transcriptions of British English it has a colon [ : ] in the symbol to describe the length.
/ɪ/ is the vowel in the word KIT. It is known as the kit vowel - or KIT for short. It is the vowel we find in prefixes and suffixes, the bits we stick onto the beginnings and ends of words. So, for example it is the vowel we hear in --ing verb endings.
The vowel represented by /i/ at the ends of words in dictionaries is usually referred to as the happy vowel - HAPPY. This vowel may sound like either FLEECE or KIT, but is always short in duration.
If you say the < y > sound that we find in the word yes, and then say the < e> we find in the word end, the kit vowel is somewhere between the two sounds. This is the first vowel in the word infinitely. This word would sound very odd to a native speaker if it was said with a fleece vowel, /i:/! It would sound like a made-up word: eenfinitely.
The Original Poster asks if there is a big difference between these vowels. If we are talking about the physical difference between the sounds, the answer is: no. In fact, it is very unusual to have two vowels that are so similar in one language. They are very close together. In most languages these would count as one vowel. However, if we are talking about the meaning, or the effect on a listener, the answer is: yes! There is a big difference. There are very, very, very many words that we can be confused about if you say the wrong vowel. For example, the words peace and piss. Nobody wants to say Piss man!, when they mean Peace man!.
If you want to type IPA script, this website is very useful
Hope this helps,
Peace!
This is used to convert an adjective to an abstract noun. For example,
- Timely (Adj) -> Timeliness (Noun)
- Bright (Adj) -> Brightness (Noun)
To convert adjectives and verbs to nouns, it is often attached with a suffix such as -ness, -age, -ment. etc.
Consider the following examples,
- Fulfill (Verb) -> Fulfillment (Noun)
- Cover (Verb) -> Coverage (Noun)
To know more about the conversion of adjectives to abstract nouns, go to this link.
Best Answer
I would say a good rule of thumb is to look at the base form of the word.
If the base form of the word ends in a "y," then a noun form ending in "-ian" will generally be pronounced as two syllables. Intuitively, these words have a hard time losing that "ee" sound. For example:
If the base form of the word ends in a "c" or "g" (velar stops), then that originally hard "k" or "g" sound becomes "sh" or "j" respectively in front of the front vowel "i" of "-ian" and is pronounced as a single syllable (a form of elision). A similar transformation can happen for words that already end in "s" or "sh" sounds. For example:
If the base form ends in most other consonants or vowels other than "y", then the "-ian" ending cannot be elided with the final consonant/vowel into a single syllable, and thus is pronounced as two syllables. In the case of final vowels, an infix "-n-" is generally used to separate the final vowel from the "-ian" ending. For example:
Finally, examples like "Asian" are in fact a slightly different construct, wherein the suffix "-n" is used to make an adjective. Words that would be confusing in this regard because they end in "-ian" include: