Hi, I'm Rebecca from engVid, and this is a pronunciation lesson.
This is actually a really special pronunciation
lesson because in this one, you're not just
going to learn how to pronounce certain words,
which is always very helpful, but you're actually
going to learn how to pronounce a particular
sound, the short "a" sound, which appears
in thousands of words, alright?
So, by learning and mastering this sound
correctly, you will actually be able to speak
much more clearly and be understood very clearly.
So, what happens if you don't say this sound correctly?
What happens is that it ends up actually sounding
like another sound, which I'm going to tell
you about in a minute, and then people who are listening to you get confused, alright?
They're not sure what you meant, they're not
sure what you were trying to say, and as a
result, your communication is just not as effective.
So, what we want to do is to make sure that you understand it, and it's actually really
easy to master and understand.
Just stay with me, we're going to practice, and we'll go forward so that you really can
master it.
Okay, so let's start first.
What is this short "a" sound?
So, look at me for a second, I'm going to say it.
Ready?
"Aa", I'm going to say it again.
"Aa", so what did I do?
To say this short "a" sound correctly, you need to open your mouth wide, don't be shy,
I know it looks weird, just pretend you're
like an American cheerleader, you know, "Aa,
ra", okay?
And don't be shy, you need to open your mouth
to say this sound and make it correctly, okay?
"Aa", so keep your mouth open wide and your tongue low.
If you don't say it correctly, it's going to
sound like something else, which I'll show
you in a second.
But first, let's say a lot of words that have this short "a" sound.
So, repeat after me.
"Dad", "fad", "mad", "sad", okay?
So you see those all rhyme, okay?
"Dad", "fad", "mad", "sad", okay?
On purpose, because I want you to get used to opening your mouth like that, okay, each
time.
Let's do another set, ready?
"Ban", "fan", "ran", "tan", okay?
Again, we have that rhyming sound, "ban",
"fan", "ran", "tan", and each time, you need
it to be opening your mouth, so make sure that you are.
Let's see now what happens if you don't open your mouth.
The problem is, if you don't say this short "a" properly and open your mouth, then it's
going to end up sounding like a short "e".
So, let me say the short "a" sound for you again once, "a".
Now let me say the short "e" sound for you, "e", "e".
So what was the difference?
What did you notice?
For this one, my mouth opened, right, "a".
For this one, "e".
The mouth isn't opening much at all.
So, this one is also a longer sound, "a".
This one is a really short sound, "e", okay?
So now, let's apply these to a number of words
which could sound different if you don't say
them, the "a" properly, okay?
Then it's going to sound like an "e" and it's
going to make another word altogether, okay?
So, repeat after me these pairs of words.
"Pan", "pen".
Your turn.
Good.
"Bad", "bed".
Good.
"Can", "ken".
Good.
"Had", "head".
"Than", "then".
Good.
"Dan", "den".
Good.
"Land", "lend".
Good.
And the last one, "and", "end".
Okay.
Really good. Alright?
So, now you had a chance to try it out.
Now, let's train your ear a little bit more, okay?
So, I'm going to now go through this list, and you're going to tell me if I'm saying
this word or this word, okay?
Whether I'm saying the short "a" word or whether I'm saying the short "e" word. Alright?
Now, there are two ways you can do this.
One way is keep watching the video, but then you might get fooled because...
Not get fooled, it's kind of like a way to cheat.
If you look at my face, you might see my mouth
opening, and then you'll say, "Okay, you're
saying this one."
And when you don't see my mouth opening, then
you might say, "Okay, you're saying that one."
And you can do that, no problem.
However, if you want to make it a little bit
harder for yourself, you might want to just
look away while I'm saying these and try to tell me if I'm saying the first one or the
second one. Okay?
So, here we go.
I'm going to say one of them.
"Pin".
So, which one was that?
The second one.
"Bad".
The first.
"Can".
The first.
"Head".
The second.
"Hand".
"Then".
The second.
"Dan".
The first.
"Land".
The first.
"End".
The second.
Okay?
Good.
And now you're training your ear as well, because your ear is also very much involved
in pronunciation.
Okay?
So, now, let's practice a few more words so
that you can really apply whatever we've learned
here about the short "a".
All right.
So, now, let's see how the short "a" sound appears in the names of famous companies,
places, foods, and people.
Okay?
So, now, I'm going to say it; you just repeat after me.
Okay?
"Canon".
"Apple".
"The Gap".
Okay?
Good.
Let's go ahead and say the names of some places.
"Miami". "Canada". "Africa".
Now, am I exaggerating it a little bit?
Yes, I am exaggerating it a little bit just so that you can hear it.
But when you say it, you're probably not going
to say it as long and you're going to end
up sounding perfect.
Okay?
So, yes, I'm saying "Africa".
I mean, most people are not saying "Africa", they're just saying "Africa".
But when you say it, that's what will happen.
Okay?
All right.
Let's go to say some foods now.
"Hamburger".
"Salad".
"Snacks".
This one is actually really famous for being
really messed up in terms of pronunciation.
If you don't say it properly, if you don't say that "a" properly, and it sounds like
an "e", then it sounds like "snakes" or "snakes".
Okay?
You don't want any of that to happen.
All right?
So, how should we say it?
"Snacks".
"Salad".
"Hamburger".
Okay?
All right.
Now, let's say the names of some famous people.
"Albert Einstein".
Good.
"Tom Hanks".
Good.
And this is the test.
Okay?
If you can say this, you've got that short "a" sound because it's there in two places.
All right?
Are you ready?
"Batman".
Okay?
Let's do it again.
"Batman".
One more time.
"Batman".
Okay.
If you're saying that properly, that's great.
All right?
Now, these are some words.
Now, let's put it in some sentences and make
sure that you're still saying that short "a"
properly.
Okay?
Let's do that.
All right.
So, let's try some sentences now.
Now, in the first four, basically we have both sounds.
The short "a" sound and we have a short "e" sound.
So, I'm going to say one, and then I'm going
to say the other, and you can repeat after
me.
Okay?
Here we go.
"Do you like Brad?"
"Do you like bread?"
Good.
"Brad", "bread".
Okay, good.
Number two.
"We laughed."
"We left."
Okay?
"Laughed", "left".
Do you see how if you don't pronounce it properly,
it can sound completely like that second word?
Okay?
So, make sure it's really quite different when you're saying it.
Number three.
"Where's Alice?"
Good.
"Where's Alice?"
Good.
"Alice", "Ellis".
Okay?
Next.
"Did you meet the man?"
Oops, oops.
We forgot a question mark.
Okay, let's do it again.
"Did you meet the man?"
Good.
"Did you meet the men?"
Good.
"Man", "men".
Okay.
All right?
So, that's how you can differentiate between these sounds.
Again, record yourself.
Listen to yourself.
Practice these sounds.
Make sure you can hear a difference between the two.
You should be able to.
And I'm sure that as you've been doing it,
you probably have found a difference yourself
in what you can hear and what you can say.
So, here, just to end up, we're just going to practice saying a few common expressions
that have this short "a" sound.
Words that you say every day, probably.
Okay?
Here we go.
The first one, "thanks".
See how the mouth opened?
You didn't realize that before, right?
Now you know.
Ready?
Let's say it again.
"Thanks".
Good.
The slightly more formal version, "thank you".
Good.
Make sure you're not saying the short "e" sound.
Another very common question, "what happened?"
Let's try it again.
"What happened?"
Good.
And a very popular greeting, and in case it's
your birthday today, we all want to wish you
what?
"Happy birthday".
Say it again.
"Happy birthday".
Again, see that short "a" coming in there?
Everything here in blue basically had the short "a" sound in it.
All right?
So, there is no quiz on this.
The quiz was what we were doing here.
In order for you to master it, go back...
Go back in the course of the week also.
Okay?
Listen to it.
Practice it.
Repeat it.
It's not enough to do pronunciation just once in a week or once in a year.
Okay?
If you want to master a particular point, practice it several times during the week.
Record yourself.
Listen.
Go back after another week and listen to yourself,
or practice some more, and become aware of
it.
You'll start to hear it around you everywhere,
and you'll also start to say it more accurately
yourself.
Okay?
So, this is one thing you can do.
The second thing you can do, this was to improve some pronunciation points.
Okay?
Another thing you can do if you really want to improve your English is check my English
course.
It's called Correct Your English Errors in 10 Minutes a Day.
And there, we help you to improve lots of different areas of English.
Grammar, vocabulary, pronunciation, idioms, lots of things.
Okay?
Very quick, very easy, just 10 minutes a day.
And every small correction takes you forward
one more step towards your goal of speaking
English fluently.
All right?
And, last of all, if you haven't already, please subscribe to my YouTube channel and
ring the bell so you know whenever there is a new video.
Okay?
Thanks very much for watching.
I'm sure you've improved your English if you've
stuck all the way with me throughout this
lesson, and keep on paying attention to it.
You can do it.