Cap-Cup-Cop (The 3 A's) | American English Pronunciation | vowels

162,487 views ・ 2016-05-03

Accent's Way English with Hadar


Please double-click on the English subtitles below to play the video.

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Hey guys.
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It's Hadar, and this is the Accent's Way, your way to finding clarity, confidence, and freedom in English.
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I got a lot of questions on how to pronounce the pair 'cap' and 'cup', and also 'cup' and 'cop'.
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So, today we're going to talk about my favorite triplet 'cap', 'cup'
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and 'cop', also known as the three 'A' sounds in American English: the
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front [æ], central [ʌ], and back [ɑ].
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What defines the sound is the tongue position.
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For the front [æ] sound the tongue pushes forward, and the sound resonates
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in the front part of the mouth.
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[æ]: cat, hat, cap.
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So to make this sound, drop your jaw, push the tongue forward, and
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pull the lips to the sides a bit.
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The tongue is flat in the front and high in the back.
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You can also think of it as a sound that is right in the
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middle between [e] and [ɑ].
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'hat', 'last', 'cap'.
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All right?
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So it's not 'cup' or 'lust'.
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These are different words.
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It's 'cap' and 'last'.
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For the central [ʌ] the tongue is, you figured, in the center, all right?
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So it's like a stressed schwa.
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The mouth is pretty much a neutral pose, and the jaw drops a bit.
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'cup'.
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You push the air out and create sound.
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'cup', 'love', 'fun', 'month'.
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[ʌ].
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And then you have the back [ɑ].
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For that, you drop your jaw, relax your lips, and pull the tongue back a bit.
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[ɑ]: 'father', 'cop', 'lost', and 'hot'.
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So although it's spelled with an O, it's not 'h[o]t' or
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'l[o]st', it's [ɑ] - 'l[ɑ]st'.
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It's also not 'lust' cause then it's going to sound like the
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central [ʌ] sound - 'lust'.
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'Lost'.
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All right.
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So again, 'cap' - [æ], front [æ]: usually associated with a letter A - [æ].
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Then we have the central [ʌ]- 'cup', usually associated with O, OU or U: 'cup', 'love', ' country'.
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And then we have the back [ɑ], usually spelled with O, AW, AU, or OU: [ɑ] - 'cop'.
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All right? Good.
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Now let's try it in a few sentences.
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So first let's practice the three words - 'last', 'lust', 'lost'.
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"Last night I lost my lust for chocolate".
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I hope this never happens to you, but just for the sake of practice, let's try it.
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"Last night", 'l[æ]', okay?
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It's not 'l[ʌ]st night', then it's going to sound like the central [ʌ].
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"Last night I lost my lust" - central [ʌ] - "for chocolate".
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'cap-cup-cop': "The cop took off his cap and drank from the cup".
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"The cop" - open [ɑ] - "took off his cap" - not his 'cup', right?
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- "his cap and drank from the cup" - central [ʌ].
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'hat' - 'hut' - 'hot'.
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'stack' - 'stuck' - 'stock'.
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'backs' - 'bucks' - 'box'.
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All right.
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So remember: what defines the sound is the tongue position and the jaw drops.
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So to make the distinction between these words, make sure that you
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use your entire face - the tongue and the jaw to make these sounds.
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All right?
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And remember that practice makes perfect, so keep on practicing.
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And that's it for today.
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Please share this video with your friends if you liked it.
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And come on over to my website to check it out and get more
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great content every single week.
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You can also get my free Accent Crash course if you sign up.
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All right.
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So, have a great week and I will see you next week in the next video.
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Bye.
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