This is the /ɑ:/ sound. As in the words: after /'ɑːftə/
last /lɑːst/
ask /ɑːsk/
It is a Vowel sound and it’s technical name is the ‘Open Back Unrounded Vowel’.
Remember that the key to pronunciation s physical and the name tells us about how the sound is made
physically. In this case your tongue is low and at the back of your mouth.
Unrounded refers to your lips because they are relaxed and not rounded.
All vowels are made through the mouth and are voiced so you vibrate your vocal chords
to make the sound.
It is similar to the /æ/ sound but it is longer, but the two
little dots mean that it is a longer sounds. /ɑ:/ not /æ/.
To produce the sound put your tongue low and at the back of your mouth, then make a long
voiced sound with you mouth open.
The /ɑ:/ sound is normally spelled with the letters 'a-r' as in the words:
start /stɑːt/
part /pɑːt/
large /lɑːdʒ/
party /ˈpɑːI/
Like with all vowels in English, the spelling can be very inconsistent and you will always
find alternative and unusual spellings of the vowels sounds.
It is one of the most difficult things in English but you just have to learn it.
Here are some words that start with the /ɑ:/ sound:
art /ɑːt/
arm /ɑːm/
answer /ˈɑːnsə/
argue /ˈɑːgjuː/
Here are some words that have the sound in the middle:
father /ˈfɑːðə/
market /ˈmɑːkɪt/
class /klɑːs/
hard /hɑːd/
Here are some words with the /ɑ:/ at the end.
far /fɑː/far
car /kɑː/
star /stɑː/
bar /bɑː/
So that is it for the /ɑ:/ sound but we have made additional videos on each of the groups
of sounds Vowels, Diphthongs, Single Consonants, or Consonant Pairs as well as a video explaining
the overall phonetic chart.
You can also click on any of the symbols behind me to see a similar video with lots of example
and an explanation about how to pronounce that sound.
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