Specific lingual and typological features in the vowel system in the English and Russian languages

In pronouncing the English [i:] the tongue moves forward and upward. The front of the tongue is raised high in the direction of the hard palate. The air passes between the tongue and the hard palate.
The tip of the tongue is near the lower teeth. The resonance chamber is enlarged in the back part of the mouth cavity. The soft palate is raised and the air passes freely through the mouth cavity.
The articulation of the English [i:] is not the same at the beginning and at the end of it. At the beginning the tongue occupies a somewhat lower position while at the end the front part of the tongue is raised higher towards the hard palate. The end of the English [i:] is more advanced than its beginning. The English [i:] is a comparatively long vowel. It is especially long at the end of words, before sonorants and voiced consonants.
The English [i:] is a long tense non-labialized front close vowel phoneme of the narrow variety. Its articulation differs from that of the Russian [I].
The Russian [I] contrary to the English [i:] is equally close during the whole period of the articulation. The Russian [I] is nearer to the final position of the English [i:], than to its beginning. It is more open than the English [i:]. It is a short vowel. A very near approach to the correct pronunciation of the English [i:] is obtained by starting from the Russian [I] in such words as ми, тихо.
In pronouncing the English [ı] the tongue is moved forward and upward but occupies a rather more backward and lower position than in pronouncing the English [i:].

The phonetic system of English consists of the following four components: speech sounds, the syllable structure of words, word stress and intonation (prosody). These four components constitute what is called intonation of English.
All the four components of pronunciation are treated from the point of view of their articulatory or acoustic aspects and linguistic functions.
It’s very important to mention here that large categories of speech difficulties including pronunciation could be overcome in the course of a comparative study of the phonetic systems of English and Russian.
Phonetics may be considered the grammar of pronunciation. To succeed in making English sounds and intonation perfect we need to know exactly how to make them. We realize the fact that a teacher of English must be able to pronounce isolated sounds and know how to treat them in different phonetic contexts. If we wish to understand and be understood in English we are to make a clear distinction between consonant and vowel sounds with absolute accuracy.
The work of the speech organs necessary for making speech sounds is called articulation. According to the specific character of the work of the speech organs, especially according to the presence or absence of the obstruction speech sounds are divided into vowels and consonants.
The most substantial difference between vowels and consonants is that in the articulation of vowels the air passes freely through the mouth cavity, while in making consonants an obstruction is formed in the mouth cavity or in the pharynx and the flow of the air meets a narrowing or a complete obstruction.
Therefore the flow of the air is weaker in pronouncing vowels and stronger in pronouncing consonants.
Vowels have no fixed place of articulation, the whole of the speaking apparatus takes part in their formation, while the articulation of consonants can be localized, an obstruction or a narrowing for each consonant is formed at a definite place of the...

It should be pointed out here that the systems of English and Russian vowel phonemes differ in many points:
1. The number of phonemes is not the same in the two languages.
There are 20 vowel phonemes in the English language, 12 of them are monophthongs, 8 diphthongs.
Vowel phonemes: [ı], [i:], [æ], [3:], [ə], [υ], [u:], [λ], [o:], [Þ], [α:].
There are only 6 phonemes in the Russian language [І], [И], [Е], [А], [О], [У].
2. Besides the difference in quality, English vowel phonemes differ form Russian vowel phonemes in length.
In the English language there are long and short vowel phonemes while in Russian long vowel phonemes do not exist.
3. According to the stability of the articulation and quality English vowel phonemes are divided into monophthongs and diphthongs.
All the Russian vowel phonemes are monophthongs; there are no diphthongs in Russian.
4. The division of vowel phonemes into different groups according to the position of the tongue is not the same in the English and Russian languages.
In the English language there are front, back and mixed vowel phonemes. In Russian there are no mixed vowel phonemes.
The English front and back vowel groups include a considerably greater number of phonemes than those of the Russian language.
5. Phonematic systems of the English and Russian languages differ also in the articulation of vowel phonemes, within the same group.
Thus the English front vowel phonemes [ı], [i:], [e] are closer and more front than the corresponding Russian [I], [И], [E].
The English back vowel phonemes [υ], [u:], [o:] are more retracted than the Russian back vowel phonemes [O], [У].
6. The position of the lips is not the same in forming English and Russian labialized vowel phonemes. In forming English labialized sounds the lips are rounded but not protruded. In Russian the rounding of the lips is accompanied by considerable protrusion.
The position of the lips is not the same...