Vowel Pronunciation - A & O

Boing. Hi. Would you like to learn some pronunciation? I would. I think I did. Okay. Today, we're

going to do one more, another vowel sound. These two vowel sounds are very similar, but

once you get the trick, easy peasy lemon squeezy. So here we are.

In the phonetic international world of alphabets, there's this symbol that looks like an A and

an E getting together. The other sound looks like an A, sort of, but it's not. I have never

learned the international phonetic alphabet. If you have learned that, you're lucky. All

systems go. What I know and what I will teach you is my brain. This is an "uh" sound, and

this is an "oh" sound. The very, very important thing is that you use your mouth when you

talk all the time. This word, your mouth is open a little bit, and it's "uh". When we

say "uh", when we say this word or this letter, it's an "oh", "ah". You're going to make your

mouth from an "oh" sound and drop it open, "ah". So it's "ah", "ah". Let's try this.

The first ones that we are going to do are the "ah" sound. This is a relaxed mouth. Your

mouth is open, not as wide or as "ah" as the other one. So we're going to try this. "Bag",

"bag". "Hat", "hat". "Dan", "Dan". "Dan" is a male name. It has a capital. Every time you

see a capital letter in the English alphabet, it's because it's a proper noun. It's a person's

name or place name. "Dan". The next word is "caps", "caps". "Cat", "cat". You'll notice

when I'm saying these, my mouth opens and closes quickly. The next word is "sack", "sack".

Let's review this. "Bag", "hat", "Dan", "caps", "cat", and "sack". Next, we're going to go

on to the other sound. This sound -- "song" -- yeah, sound. Let's do that. This sound

is when your mouth has to be open. Start with the "o" and drop it. "Bog", "bog". Your mouth

is very loose and open. "Bog". "Hot", "hot". "Dawn", "dawn". Again, this is a male name.

It can be a female name, too, because it begins with a capital letter. "Cops", "cops". "Cops"

is a slang word for police. "Caught", "caught". "Caught" is a little bed that you can pull

out in an emergency and have a snooze or sleep on. "Caught". And the last word is "sock".

"Socks" are things you wear on your feet sometimes in the winter to keep your toes warm. They

go under your shoes. Do you wear socks? It's kind of interesting. "Socks", "socks". "Socks"

go under your shoes. Do you wear socks? It's kind of important in the wintertime in Canada.

So the next thing that we're going to do is we're going to contrast the two sounds. The

first time I contrast the sounds, I'm going to do it in a very exaggerated way to help

you. I want you to repeat. The second time we do it, I'm going to say it in a more natural

way to help you improve your listening. So you're doing pronunciation and listening today

at the same time. Lucky you. Let's go. Ready? The first word is "bag", "bog". "Bag", "bog".

Word number two. "Hat", "hot". "Hat", "hot". "Dan", "dawn". "Dan", "dawn". "Caps", "cops".

"Caps", "cops". "Cat", "caught". "Cat", "caught". "Cat", "caught".

"hat", "caught". And the last one, "sack", "sock". "Sack", "sock". This time, when I

compare the two, I'm going to do it in a more natural way to help with your "ding-a-ling"

"ding-a-ling". "Bag", "bog". "Hat", "hot". "Dan", "dawn". "Caps", "cops". "Cat", "caught".

"Sack", "sock". If you pay attention to your mouth, how far it opens, you're going to be

able to pronounce these words like a regular English speaker. Till then, toodles.