Welcome to the American English Pronunciation Guide. My name is Trevor Kafka, and I am your host.
There are many different varieties of American English. I was born and raised in New York, which has given me General American English pronunciation. The English that I speak has 15 vowel sounds.
Please view the transcript for help while listening.
Today, we will talk about the vowel sound number 1 of 15: /æ/ black cat. The mouth must be open and wide for this sound, maybe a little more than you are used to in your native language.
Listen to me saying this sound and repeat: /æ/, /æ/, /æ/
Listen to and repeat the following single-syllable words:
black
cat
bad
can
have
laugh
sad
tax
thank
Listen to and repeat the following multiple-syllable words:
eggplant
gather
happen
master
command
family
unsatisfied
understand
imagine
Listen to and repeat the following sentences:
The mad cat had a hat.
It is bad to have a laugh when your family is sad.
I can imagine you’re unsatisfied with the master’s command.
I would like to thank Shirley Thompson and Karen Taylor for their work in developing the set of key phrases that I use with each vowel, such as /æ/ black cat, /eɪ/ grey day, etc.