Mouth Position
/ɑː/ is a vowel sound made with the jaw open, the lips relaxed, and the tongue slightly back. It is such an open sound that your dentist will ask you to make it in order to see inside your mouth. Altogether then, open wide /ɑː/
Spellings of /ɑː/
In most spellings of /ɑː/ we’ll find the letter ‘a’ and a silent consonant ‘l’ or ‘r’; most commonly the <ar> in CAR and TART and the <al> in CALM and PALM. It’s also the <ear> in HEART, the <er> in DERBY, the <au> in AUNT, the <a> in LAGER and the <oir> in BOUDOIR.
Learning /ɑː/
Learners of English pronunciation should ensure that they make three different sounds in the words HEART /ˈhɑːt/, HUT /ˈhʌt/ and HAT /ˈhæt/ as many languages only have one sound in that area of the mouth. Learners should not pronounce the ‘r’ in words like CART /ˈkɑːt/ and BARK /ˈbɑːk/, unless you are aiming for American English so /ˈkɑːrt/ and /ˈbɑːrk/. The negative word AREN’T /ˈɑːnt/ is pronounced exactly the same as AUNT, your parent’s sister. Also, be very careful with the word CAN’T /ˈkɑːnt/ – as without /ɑː/ it can become the rudest word in English, can’t it?
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