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Pre-lesson exercise: Short /ʌ/ vs. long /ɜː/ vs. long /ɑː/
/ɑː/ is the sound the doctor asks you to make when he wants to inspect your tonsils.
The mouth is wide open. The tongue is lowered to a fully open position; that's why the doctor can see your tonsils so well.
As the mouth is so wide open, the lips are in a neutral position.
/ɑː/ is a long vowel.
/ɑː/, or a sound very like it, is common among the world's languages and it shouldn't cause much problem.
The main problem is distinguishing it from similar sounds, so let's first just compare /ɑː/ with vowel No. 4, /æ/.
No. 4 - black
No. 8 - barge
No. 4 - tap
No. 8 - tarp, short for tarpaulin
lack - lark
hat - heart
And No. 8, /ɑː/ compared with No. 7 /ɜː/. No. 8 is much lower, much more open:
No. 7: heard
No. 8: hard
No. 7: first
No. 8: fast
lurk - lark
firm - farm
The archetypal spelling of No. 8 /ɑː/ is 'ar', as in 'car, cart', and 'park'. There is absolutely no /r/ sound in standard British English in those words.
/ɑː/ can also be spelt with just the letter 'a', as in 'last', 'after', 'father' and 'blast'.
A very common spelling is with a silent 'l' following 'a': 'half, halve; calf, calve; alms, arms; calm, palm'.
As far as I can think of, there is only one word with the strange spelling 'ear', and that's 'heart'.
Due to a historical change in pronunciation, there are a few words and names spelt 'er' but pronounced /ɑː/: 'Derby, clerk, sergeant' and the British pronunciation of Berkeley and Berkshire. The US pronunciation is Berkeley and Berkshire.
We have the spelling 'au' in 'laugh', and very oddly, 'aunt'.
As I said, this shouldn't be a difficult sound so this is a relatively short lesson … on to the practice sentences:
Far, far, away the parson started his parboiled partridge with parsley.
Far too many of the nasty farmers laughed heartily at Mark.
So far I have made up all the practice sentences myself but here are two very well-known ones I like:
Barbara's car is a Jaguar / And Barbara drives rather fast. / Castles, farms and draughty barns, / She goes charging past.
When I, good friends, was called to the bar, / I'd an appetite fresh and hearty, / But I was, as many young barristers are, / An impecunious party.
No. 8, /ɑː/
Post-lesson exercise: Short /ʌ/ vs. long /ɜː/ vs. long /ɑː/
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