/æ/

LISTEN

/æ/…/æ/…/æ/…/æ/
​
sat…past…fan…camera

WHAT IS IT?

Pronunciation: 
The sound /æ/ is a low, front, tense vowel.

  • Lower your jaw
  • Widen your lips
  • Tighten your tongue
  • Breathe out and let your vocal cords vibrate

Spelling:

  • “a” – cat, fan
  • “au” – laugh, aunt
  • “ai” (not common) – plaid

COMPARE

​Compare /æ/ with /ɛ/:

​/æ/…/ɛ/…/æ/…/ɛ/…/æ/…/ɛ/

These are both front vowels. However, /æ/ is a low, tense vowel and /ɛ/ is a mid, lax vowel. When you pronounce /æ/, your tongue should be lower than when you pronounce /ɛ/.

You can hear the difference between /æ/ and /ɛ/ in these words.

1. A. bag, B. beg
2. A. fad, B. fed
3. A. past, B. pest
4. A. jam, B. gem
5. A. batter, B. better
6. A. expand, B. expend

​Practice recognizing words with /æ/ and /ɛ/ by taking the quiz here (external site).

​Now, compare /æ/ with /ɑ/:

/æ/…/ɑ/…/æ/…/ɑ/…/æ/…/ɑ/

These are both low, tense vowels. However, /æ/ is a front vowel, and /ɑ/ is a central vowel. When you pronounce /æ/, your tongue should be near the front of your mouth and your lips should be spread wide.

​You can hear the difference between /æ/ and /ɑ/ in these words.

1. A. sack, B. sock
2. A. math, B. moth
3. A. cap, B. cop
4. A. band, B. bond
5. A. jab, B. job
6. A. lagged, B. logged

Practice recognizing words with /æ/ and /ɑ/ by taking the quiz here (external site)

PRACTICE

Listen and repeat these words:

1. sat
2. cap
3. bag
4. pack
5. crash
6. path
7. have
8. match
9. pal
10. strand

11. grasp
12. passion
13. nasty
14. translate
15. challenge
16. capital
17. example
18. attitude
19. attachment
20. collaborate

​Now, practice /æ/ in sentences. Say the words first, then the sentences.

1. had – bad – accident – Saturday
She had a bad accident on Saturday
2. saxophone – jazz – band
He plays saxophone for a jazz band
3. family – travel – California
My family is travelling to California.
4. absent – class – last
You were absent from class last week.
5. example – bad – habit
Can you give me an example of a bad habit?
6. haven’t – had – chance – answer

To practice with different varieties of English, choose another native English speaker by clicking one of the links below:

Male – US Midwest (St. Louis)

Male – US Midwest (Iowa)

Male – US Midwest

Female – US Northeast

Female – US Southeast

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:
Imagine you are traveling to another town to visit a friend for a weekend. You’re taking a backpack that will only hold 5 items. Look at this list and decide which 5 items you would pack.

  • Snacks
  • Jacket
  • Pajamas​
  • Shampoo
  • Laptop or tablet
  • Sandwich
  • Napkins
  • Hand sanitizer
  • Cash (money)​
  • Passport
  • Glasses or contact lenses
  • Notepad

Record:
​In your recording, explain which 5 items you would pack and why

Home

©2024, Christine Wingate

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.


​