EnglisH AcademY
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The "ash" sound
Æ (minuscule: æ) is a grapheme formed from the letters a and e.
Its traditional name in English is "ash".
The phoneme "æ"corresponds to the vowel sound in words like "trap, hat and brand and also in bath, laugh and ask.
To pronounce it, drop your jaw down as if you were going to say [a]; then from that position, try to say eh. The final sound is not two separate vowels, but rather the end result of the combination. It is very close to the sound that a goat makes: ma-a-a-ah
The sound is Aaash with the mouth open wide, don't be shy remember we have to exaggerate, tell your brain something new to get this right.
Look at this to words:
FAT
FOUGHT
NEXT WORD
DAD
DEAD
The sound æ at the begening of the word
Animal
After
Ask
Am
The sound æ in the middle of the word.
Last
Have
Back
Chance
"æ sound"
then than
Brendan Brandon
bet bat
Kent can't
met mat
bread Brad
blend bland
guess gas
end and
led lad
letter ladder
rep rap
set sat
left laughed
Exercise Four: Minimal Pair Distinction
You will hear the sentences below, but only one of the italicized words will be spoken.
Circle the word which you hear.
1. The boys set/sat their bottoms down on the curb.
2. They bought a lot of gems/jams from the specialty shop.
3. All my friends saw me and left/laughed.
4. He was sending/sanding some furniture when I called.
Tongue Twisters
Read each of the following sentences aloud, paying attention to the sounds from this lesson.
1. Lassie headed back to Peg and Allen for ten apples.
/læsiy hdd bæk tu p n æln fr tn æplz/
2. Hedley sadly said sending Sally a man was extra bad.
/hdliy sædliy sd snd sæliy mæn wz kstr bæd/
3. Matt never had less capital than several checks ago.
/mæt nvr hæd ls kæptl æn svrl tks o/
4. Rather than settling Al and Ellie's debts, Fran just laughed and left.
/rær æn stl æl n liyz dts, fræn dst læft ænd lft/
5. Dennis and Kent can't dance because they're dense dancers.
/dns n knt kænt dæns bikz r dns dænsrz/
6. Dan's den is a sad shed back of Beck's badly built bed and breakfast.
/dænz dn z sæd d bæk v bks bædliy blt bd ænd brkfst/
7. Clem's clams went up Betty's back and tampered with her temper.
/klmz klæmz wnt p btiz bæk ænd tæmprd w hr tmpr/
8. Ed's ad said track treks led lads into mass messes.
/dz æd sd træk trks ld lædz ntu mæs msz/
9. Ted tampered a tad in Brad's bread and jam.
/td tæmprd tæd n brædz brd n dæm/
10. Stan stemmed his temper tantrum and lent Landry a bank check.
/stæn stmd hz tmpr tæntrm ænd lnt lændri bk tk/
Lectures containing the "ash" sound
Fat Pat
Pat was so fat that she made a bet with Lenny the vet. She bet him that she could get a fat
cat and a wet rat under her hat. Unfortunately, the fat cat was not Fat Pat's pet, and it sat on
the rat. The rat naturally ran away. Poor Fat Pat. She lost her bet.
Lenny the Vet
Lenny is a vet, and he met Fat Pat's wet rat. The rat had been sat upon by Pat's fat cat while
it was under Pat's hat. That rat was in bad shape. Lenny had to let that rat have a little nap.
DIALOGUE
SITUATION
Two friends give each other advice on their pets.
Terry: Allison, what can I do? My pet rabbit likes to nap on the door mat.
Allison: Well, Terry, why does the rabbit like the mat?
Terry: I think it's because the rabbit has a habit of napping
in warm places.
Allison: That's easy. Place a plastic map there.
Terry: Good idea, Allison.
Allison: My problem, Terry, is with my dog, Lassie. He likes to leave home.
Terry: That's really bad. He could have an accident.
Allison: I know! Last January, he ran away to Saskatchewan!
Terry: Saskatchewan?! That's where Ariadne lives. Give Lassie to her.
Allison: Excellent suggestion, Terry
