Hi. This is the /eɪ/ sound, as in the words: they /ðeɪ/
make /meɪk/
great /greɪt/
/eɪ/ is a diphthong sound which means it is a combination of two vowel sounds that
are pronounced within the same syllable.The /eɪ/ sound is a combination of the /e/ sound and the /ɪ/ sound.
Like vowels the diphthongs are all made through
the mouth and they're voiced which means that you vibrate you vocal chords to make the sound.
Unlike with vowels and consonants, when you pronounce a diphthong sound, your mouth will
change position and shape as you say the sound, because they combine two vowel sounds.So as
you say the /eɪ/ sound your mouth will start on the position of the /e/ sound and finish
on the position of the /ɪ/ or /i:/ sound.
In this case both the sounds are what we call unrounded so we keep our lips stretched like we are
smiling but our mouth will close a little as we move to the /i:/ sound.
One of the most difficult things about learning English is the spelling. This is because spelling
is often not phonetic especially the vowels and diphthongs. So you will find the /eɪ/
sound spelled many different ways. But it's often spelled with the letter "a",
as in the words: take /teɪk/
way /weɪ/
same /seɪm/
case /keɪs/
Here are some words that start with the /eɪ/ sound.
able /eɪdʒ/
age /eɪdʒ/
eight /eɪt/
agent /ˈeɪdʒәnt/
Here are some words with the /eɪ/ sound in the middle.
game /geɪm/
state /steɪt/
later /ˈleɪtə/
change /tʆeɪndʒ/
Here are some words with the /eɪ/ sound at the end.
day /deɪ/
play /pleɪ/
away /әˈweɪ/
stay /steɪ/
So thats it for the /eɪ/ sound but we have made additional videos on each of the groups
We've also made videos on each of the phonetic sounds.
Which you can see by clicking on these links.
We've also made videos on the groups of sounds:
Vowels, Diphthongs, Consonant Pairs and Single Consonants,
as well as a video explaining the overall phonetic chart.
We regularly post new videos.
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