Skip navigation

PRONUNCIATION: The sounds /æ/ and /ɑː/

Listen to the pronunciation of these words and answer the questions below with your partner.


Ana Losada e José Luis Murado. CC BY-SA

 

  • Which sound is more open?
  • Which sound is longer?

Pronunciation

Feedback

  • Which sound is more open? /æ/ in /kæn/
  • Which sound is longer? /ɑː/ in /kɑːnt/

 

Click these links to see how each sound is pronounced:

Exercise 1

Read the words in the box aloud. In pairs, write them in the corresponding column considering how the spelling underlined is pronounced.

Car - cat - aunt - sand - map - glad - laugh - catch - heart - class - after - park

 

/æ/ /ɑː/

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Try and read these sentences aloud:

  • I can’t drive a car without a map
  • I can’t stand cats
  • After class we can go to the park
  • I’m glad you aunt is better now

 

Listen to the sentences twice and repeat them:

Ana Losada e José Luis Murado. CC BY-SA