Pronouncing the various sounds of the letter A

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There are multiple sounds using the letter A. The difference is where the sound is created within the mouth. There are sharp sounds, regular sounds, and hollow sounds. In order to pronounce the various sounds of A correctly, we should look at the differences and practice them separately.

First, the sound of A that comes from the front of the mouth are the opposite of hollow sounds so I will call them sharp sounds (although the A sound is not really sharp).

Here are some words that come from the front of the mouth.

Bat
Base
Ate
Great
Fake

"The batter at bat was known to be a good slugger"
"He was running the bases so slow that he was thrown out at second"
"The little boy ate the whole pizza"
"He was a great man"
"It was hard to tell which one was real and which one was fake"

"A" Sounds that come from the center of the mouth are a little different. Pay close attention to the different sounds from the audio files and copy after what you hear.

Zebra
Farmer
Barn
Water

"The constant kicking of the zebra made the tiger give up the attack"
"The farmer was tired from harvesting crops all day long"
"The barn was filled with animals"
"Clean water is not available in all countries"

Finally, the "A" sound that is hollow and deep comes from the rear of the mouth. You should put focus on creating the sound in the back of the mouth.

Clock
Fall
Mall
Raw

"The clock wasn't moving because the batteries were dead"
"Fall is a busy shopping period for the Christmas season so the malls are usually packed"
"Raw fish is very popular in Japan"

Review: Hear the difference between using the front, middle, and rear part of the mouth.
Ah (front)
Ah (middle)
Ah (Rear)

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