In English, there are three vowel sounds for "a". It is super important to notice the differences in pronunciation, because different sounds will produce different words.
Let's look at our Spanish "a" first. It is pretty simple: we produce roughly the same "a" sound in all Spanish words.
Some examples: Alicia, amor, planeta, hora.
In English, however, we don't rely on spelling, that is, NOT all words spelt "a" are pronounced like "a". English spelling can be a little hard to understand, but practice makes perfect, so let's start!
/ʌ/ is found in such words as: sun, under, ton, blood, luck, upper, love, suck. This sound is mid close, which means you produce it with a relaxed, half open mouth. You should "feel" - so to speak - this sound in the middle of your mouth cavity, and make it as short as possible.
/a:/ is found in words like: car, glass, art, Arthur, part. This is an open back sound, which means you produce it with your mouth open, and should feel it at the back of your mouth cavity.
/æ/ is found in words like: apple, cat, sand, pack, rat. It is a somewhote open sound, and in order to produce it accurately, you should spread your lips, as if you were going to smile. You should feel this sound at the front of your mouth cavity.
Tip: when listening to material in English, pay attention to this sound. It is a good idea to focus on separate sounds at a time, so that your brain starts "feeling" and assimilating them.
I hope this has been useful. Feel free to leave your comment, questions, or some suggestion for further topics. Thank you! : )
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