American English Sounds
  • Home
  • Vowels
    • VOWEL CHART
    • Front >
      • /iy/ (see, keep)
      • /ɪ/ (sit, pick)
      • /ey/ (take, name)
      • /ɛ/ (pet, tell)
      • /æ/ (sat, past)
    • Central >
      • /ɜr/ (church, nurse)
      • /ər/ (mother, surprise)
      • /ʌ/ (cup, must)
      • /ə/ (about, undo)
      • /ɑ/ (stop, job)
    • Back >
      • /ʊ/ (good, put)
      • /uw/ (food, soon)
      • /ɔ/ (bought, lost)
      • /ow/ (low, coat)
    • Diphthongs >
      • /ɑɪ/ (light, pie)
      • /ɑʊ/ (cow, loud)
      • /ɔɪ/ (boy, voice)
  • Consonants
    • CONSONANT CHART
    • Lips (Bilabial) >
      • /p/ (peace, price)
      • /b/ (buy, brain)
      • /m/ (map, time)
      • /w/ (wait, win)
    • Lips-Teeth (Labio-dental) >
      • /f/ (fix, friend)
      • /v/ (vase, love)
    • Tongue-Teeth (Dental) >
      • /θ/ (thank, bath)
      • /ð/ (this, breathe)
    • Tongue-Gum Ridge (Alveolar) >
      • /t/ (take, stand)
      • /d/ (day, drive)
      • /s/ (sit, race)
      • /z/ (zoo, these)
      • /l/ (less, sleep)
      • /n/ (nice, man)
    • Tongue-Palate (Palatal) >
      • /ʃ/ (push, show)
      • /ʒ/ (measure, vision)
      • /tʃ/ (choose, match)
      • /dʒ/ (juice, edge)
      • /r/ (rose, borrow)
      • /y/ (yes, young)
    • Tongue-Soft Palate (Velar) >
      • /k/ (kiss, cat)
      • /g/ (gas, green)
      • /ŋ/ (hang, long)
    • Throat (Glottal) >
      • /h/ (help, hand)
  • Resources
    • Tips for Improving Pronunciation
    • Useful Links
    • Pronunciation Vocabulary

/ɑ/

LISTEN

listen_to_-a-.mp3
File Size: 256 kb
File Type: mp3
Download File

/ɑ/.../ɑ/.../ɑ/.../ɑ/...

stop...job...f
ar...doctor

WHAT IS IT?

Pronunciation:
The sound /ɑ/ is a low, central, tense vowel.
  • Lower your jaw and tongue.
  • Your lips should be very open but not wide.
  • Your tongue should be tightened, not relaxed
  • Breathe out to pronounce the vowel.
 
Note: In many American dialects, /ɑ/ and /ɔ/ are treated as the same sound.
 
Spelling:
  • “o” – stop, pot
  • “a” – father, garage
 
grammar_-a-_1.mp3
File Size: 175 kb
File Type: mp3
Download File

Grammar Tip:
The sound /ɑ/ is present in the suffix –ology. This suffix indicates a field of study.
  • Biology – the study of life
  • Hydrology – the study of water
  • Sociology – the study of human society
  • Dermatology - the study of the skin and its diseases
​
grammar_-a-_2.mp3
File Size: 186 kb
File Type: mp3
Download File

​The sound /ɑ/ is also present in the suffix -ography. This suffix indicates a field of study or something related to writing.
  • Ethnography - the study of cultures
  • Oceanography - the study of the ocean
  • Orthography - rules of correct writing
  • Biography - the written account of a person's life

COMPARE

Compare /ɑ/ with /ow/:
compare_a-ow_1.mp3
File Size: 153 kb
File Type: mp3
Download File

/ɑ/…/ow/…/ɑ/…/ow/…/ɑ/…/ow/…

The sound /ɑ/ is a low, central, lax vowel, but /ow/ is a mid, back, tense vowel. When you pronounce /ɑ/, your lips should not be rounded.

You can hear the difference between /ɑ/ and /ow/ in these words.
compare_a-ow_words.mp3
File Size: 182 kb
File Type: mp3
Download File

1. A. knot, B. note
2. A. sock, B. soak
3. A. tossed, B. toast
4. A. rob, B. robe
​5. 
A. honor, B. owner​
6. A. model, B. model

​​Practice recognizing words with /ɑ/ and /ow/ by taking the quiz below.

​Now compare /ɑ/ and /æ/:
compare_a-ae_1.mp3
File Size: 136 kb
File Type: mp3
Download File

/ɑ/…/æ/.../ɑ/…/æ/…/ɑ/…/æ/…

These are both low vowels. However, /æ/ is a front, tense vowel and /ɑ/ is a central, lax vowel. Your lips should be wider for /æ/ than for /a/.

You can hear the difference between /ɑ/ and /æ/ in these words.
compare_a-ae_words.mp3
File Size: 351 kb
File Type: mp3
Download File

1. A. block, B. black
2. A. pod, B. pad
3. A. hot, B. hat
​4. A. bond, B. band
5. A. adopt, B. adapt

6. A. bottle, B. battle​

Practice recognizing words with /ɑ/ and /æ/ by taking the quiz below.

PRACTICE

Listen and repeat these words:
words_with_a.mp3
File Size: 878 kb
File Type: mp3
Download File

1. stop
2. got
3. spa
4. job
5. father
6. lock
7. far
8. harm
9. doctor
10. proper
11. common
12. contact
13. garden
14. article
15. obvious
16. possible
17. co​llege
18. follow
19. opportunity
20. positive


Now practice ​/ɑ/ in sentences. Say the words first, then the sentence.
sentences_with_a.mp3
File Size: 1591 kb
File Type: mp3
Download File

1. party - starts - clock
The party starts at eight o'clock.

2. shopping - stop – latte
Before we go shopping, let's stop for a latte.

3. large - pots - garden
I bought some large pots for my balcony garden.
4. forgot - lock - car
I think I forgot to lock my car.

5. 
common - problem - college
​Stress is a c
ommon problem among college students.
6. not - possible - opportunity
It's not possible to say yes to every opportunity.


To practice with different varieties of English, choose another native English speaker by clicking one of the links below:
  • Male 1 (US Midwest - St Louis) - words, sentences
  • Male 2 (US Midwest - Iowa) - words, sentences
  • Male 3 (US Midwest) - words, sentences
  • Female 1 (US Northeast) - words, sentences
  • Female 2 (US Southeast) - words, sentences

USE IT!

​​Practice the task below. Then, record yourself completing that task. Give your recording to a teacher or an English-speaking friend for feedback.

Prepare:
“Job satisfaction” is a measurement of how happy workers are in their job. In your opinion, how much job satisfaction do people have in the professions below? Look at the list, and decide who has the most job satisfaction and who has the least job satisfaction.

  • College professors
  • Doctors
  • Pharmacists
  • Politicians
  • Police officers​
  • Garbage collectors
  • ​Stockbrokers
  • Psychologists
  • Shop assistants
  • Carpenters
  • Farmers
  • Auto mechanics
  • College professors
  • Doctors
  • Pharmacists
  • Politicians
  • Police officers
  • Garbage collectors
  • Stockbrokers
  • Psychologists
  • Shop assistants
  • Carpenters
  • Farmers
  • Auto mechanics

​Record:

In your recording, explain which 2 professions have the most job satisfaction and which 2 professions have the least job satisfaction. Give reasons for your choices.

​© 2018, Christine Wingate
​​
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.
  • Home
  • Vowels
    • VOWEL CHART
    • Front >
      • /iy/ (see, keep)
      • /ɪ/ (sit, pick)
      • /ey/ (take, name)
      • /ɛ/ (pet, tell)
      • /æ/ (sat, past)
    • Central >
      • /ɜr/ (church, nurse)
      • /ər/ (mother, surprise)
      • /ʌ/ (cup, must)
      • /ə/ (about, undo)
      • /ɑ/ (stop, job)
    • Back >
      • /ʊ/ (good, put)
      • /uw/ (food, soon)
      • /ɔ/ (bought, lost)
      • /ow/ (low, coat)
    • Diphthongs >
      • /ɑɪ/ (light, pie)
      • /ɑʊ/ (cow, loud)
      • /ɔɪ/ (boy, voice)
  • Consonants
    • CONSONANT CHART
    • Lips (Bilabial) >
      • /p/ (peace, price)
      • /b/ (buy, brain)
      • /m/ (map, time)
      • /w/ (wait, win)
    • Lips-Teeth (Labio-dental) >
      • /f/ (fix, friend)
      • /v/ (vase, love)
    • Tongue-Teeth (Dental) >
      • /θ/ (thank, bath)
      • /ð/ (this, breathe)
    • Tongue-Gum Ridge (Alveolar) >
      • /t/ (take, stand)
      • /d/ (day, drive)
      • /s/ (sit, race)
      • /z/ (zoo, these)
      • /l/ (less, sleep)
      • /n/ (nice, man)
    • Tongue-Palate (Palatal) >
      • /ʃ/ (push, show)
      • /ʒ/ (measure, vision)
      • /tʃ/ (choose, match)
      • /dʒ/ (juice, edge)
      • /r/ (rose, borrow)
      • /y/ (yes, young)
    • Tongue-Soft Palate (Velar) >
      • /k/ (kiss, cat)
      • /g/ (gas, green)
      • /ŋ/ (hang, long)
    • Throat (Glottal) >
      • /h/ (help, hand)
  • Resources
    • Tips for Improving Pronunciation
    • Useful Links
    • Pronunciation Vocabulary