Lips
Drop your jaw wide open, about as far as the animation shows. Lips neutral and completely relaxed. Think of showing a doctor your throat.
Short vowels
/ɑ/ · /ɑː/as in father
The vowel in "car". A long, open "ah" from deep in the mouth, with no "r" (in British English).
Example words: start, car, father, garden, heart
Accent
Mouth
How do you pronounce the /ɑ/ · /ɑː/ sound?
Tongue
Tongue lies low and pulled far back toward the throat. The sound should feel deep and dark, not bright and front.
Length
Long. Let it ring: "car" and "father" hold the vowel noticeably longer than the short open vowels. Don't clip it.
Video lesson
Try it
- Open wide as if for a doctor and say "ahhh".
- Pull the tongue back and down so the sound gets deeper.
- Hold it long and steady, and resist adding any "r" at the end.
- Try: start, car, father.
Check
Record "car". The vowel should be one long, unchanging "ah" (in a British model, no r-coloring at the end). Then say "cat" and "cart": "cart" must sound deeper, darker, and clearly longer than "cat".
Common trap
Two traps. First, the spelling "ar" invites an "r" sound, but in British English "car" and "start" have no "r" at all, just the long open vowel. Second, keeping the tongue too far forward turns it into the "a" of "cat". This vowel lives at the back: if it sounds bright, pull the tongue back.
Practice: /ɑ/ · /ɑː/
Words
startstˈɑɹt
carkˈɑɹ
fatherfˈɑðəɹ
gardenɡˈɑɹdən
hearthˈɑɹt
Sentences
My father parked the car far away.mˌaɪ fˈɑðəɹ pˈɑɹkt ðə kˈɑɹ fˈɑɹ əwˈeɪ.
The party starts after dark.ðə pˈɑɹɾi stˈɑɹts ˈæftəɹ dˈɑɹk.
Her aunt has a large garden.hˌɜɹ ˈænt hæz ɐ lˈɑɹdʒ ɡˈɑɹdən.
It's hard to park in this large car park.ˌɪts hˈɑɹd tə pˈɑɹk ɪn ðɪs lˈɑɹdʒ kˈɑɹ pˈɑɹk.
My heart beats fast when I start running.mˌaɪ hˈɑɹt bˈits fˈæst wˌɛn ˌaɪ stˈɑɹt ɹˈʌnɪŋ.
Words
startstˈɑːt
carkˈɑː
fatherfˈɑːðə
gardenɡˈɑːdən
hearthˈɑːt
Sentences
My father parked the car far away.mˌaɪ fˈɑːðə pˈɑːkt ðə kˈɑː fˈɑː əwˈeɪ.
The party starts after dark.ðə pˈɑːti stˈɑːts ˈɑːftə dˈɑːk.
Her aunt has a large garden.hˌɜː ˈɑːnt haz ɐ lˈɑːdʒ ɡˈɑːdən.
It's hard to park in this large car park.ˌɪts hˈɑːd tə pˈɑːk ɪn ðɪs lˈɑːdʒ kˈɑː pˈɑːk.
My heart beats fast when I start running.mˌaɪ hˈɑːt bˈiːts fˈɑːst wˌɛn ˌaɪ stˈɑːt ɹˈʌnɪŋ.
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Sounds in the same group
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