This is the Sounds American channel!

In this video, we’re going to talk about the American vowel sound /ɑ/

as in the word “got.”

You can also hear this sound in words like “top,” “want,” “box,” or “wash.”

We’ll be using a special phonetic symbol — /ɑ/ — for this sound.

The vowel sound /ɑ/ is pretty common around the world,

however, it's sometimes distorted or confused with other vowels in American English.

Next we'll tell you how to make this sound properly and provide exercises for practice.

OK, to pronounce the /ɑ/ sound, you should focus on the correct position of your jaw and tongue.

Open your mouth as wide as possible,

relax your lips and allow them to rest in a neutral position.

Flatten your tongue and place it very low in your mouth.

Your tongue should be in the center of your mouth.

The tip of your tongue should be touching the back of your bottom front teeth.

Remember, the /ɑ/ is a very open sound, so your mouth should be open as wide as possible.

Let's try saying it:

/ɑ/

/ɑ/

/ɑ/

Now, let’s practice this sound in some words.

You'll see a word on the screen and hear its pronunciation. Like this:

[aunt]

You'll have a few seconds to pronounce the word, if you want to.

[sound prompt to start speaking]

Let's begin!

You're done! Congratulations!

By the way, the /ɑ/ sound is most often written as the letter “o.”

More on the spelling:

the letter “o” stands for the /ɑ/ sound, as in the word “got,” in 87% of cases.

The remaining 13% belong to the letter “a,” as in the word “want.”

Sometimes, this sound is written by a combination of the letters “al,” as in the word “calm.”

Thanks for watching!

Hope you find it useful!

Stay tuned on our Sounds American channel!