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As I am a foreigner, I have great difficulty differentiating the sounds /æ/ and /e/ . When spoken softly, it becomes almost impossible for me to discern the sounds. Such as this one from movie Inception at 2:06 (...Saito knows. He's playing with us. Dicaprio: It doesn't "MATTER".)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D659PzLQDKk

Matter here almost sounds like "MEtter". As such, I am frustrated by such hardship.

Are /æ/ and /e/ always distinguished when spoken? I always make sure that I emphasize the vowel sound when I speak so as to achieve the best clarity I possibly can. However, it seems that when native speakers speak, the difference becomes extremely subtle or just indistinguishable. Is it only me? And if so, what should I do to attain the ability to hear such difference?

tchrist
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ohgodpleasegod
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    It's probably the influence of your first language. They're fairly close vowels, but native English speakers can distinguish them most of the time. – Peter Shor Jun 05 '16 at 01:49
  • Is the one in the video clear to you? – ohgodpleasegod Jun 05 '16 at 01:50
  • Hi ohgodpleasegod, welcome to ELU. The issue you raise isn't specific to English, it occurs in many other languages: most people speak lazily in their native tongue, not taking the care to use good diction, enunciate clearly, etc. Education, socio-economic status, ethnic background and geography are all strong influences on accent / pronunciation / diction. Two solutions are exposure (eg watching films from different English-speaking countries) and practice at discerning words based on context. But I assure you that even native speakers can struggle with understanding poor diction. – Chappo Hasn't Forgotten Jun 05 '16 at 02:46
  • As a native speaker of English I was confused at your title, these are very distinct sounds to me, and I imagine to most English speakers. /æ/ is a fairly English sound, and one that is less common worldwide . If your native language does not have it, it's no surprise you confuse it with other vowels. What is your native language? – Azor Ahai -him- Jun 05 '16 at 07:59
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    The one in the video is fairly clear. Another thing ... there are a lot of dialects of English, and in several of them (New Zealand, Chicago) the vowel /æ/ moves into the vowel space of /ɛ/. This can confuse native speakers who aren't used to these dialects (although when we're visiting a region that speaks one of these dialects, we adapt after a while). – Peter Shor Jun 05 '16 at 13:04
  • Leo says "It doesn't m/æ/ter I can g/e/t it here..." and even though he's not speaking very loudly, the difference in the quality of these vowels is readily discerned by native speakers. /e/ is a front vowel sounded in the head whereas /æ/ is a more open back vowel sounded in the throat. It is difficult to sing /e/ because of its brevity, and not much air is required to produce it, but relatively easy to sing /æ/ because it is a sound that is relatively sustained. – TimR Jun 05 '16 at 16:16
  • Related: How can I practice differentiating between the “æ” and “ɛ” sounds in English phonology? – herisson Jun 06 '16 at 06:28
  • @TimRomano Both /e/ and /æ/ are front vowels; /æ/ is just more open than /e/. They're sounded the same place, in the oral cavity (i.e., they're not nasal). – Janus Bahs Jacquet Jun 14 '16 at 08:36
  • @Janus Bahs Bacquet: The vowel in "pet" is a front vowel. The vowel in "cat" is much farther back. In my dialect there is a very big difference between them: our /ae/ partakes of /a/. Who said anything about nasal? – TimR Jun 14 '16 at 10:48
  • @TimRomano /æ/ may be slightly farther back, but not distinctively so (just like /e/ is slightly farther back than /i/). It's about as far to the front as a vowel can be at that height, and it is definitely a front vowel. It is not by any means a back vowel as you first wrote, and “sounded in the head/throat” doesn't really make any sense at all. They're both ‘sounded’ (produced) in exactly the same place; the only logical meaning I could get from your use of ‘sounded’ would relate to whether they're oral sounds or not, and they both are. – Janus Bahs Jacquet Jun 14 '16 at 10:54
  • @Janus Bahs Jacquet: A New Zealander, say, would sound the /e/ in Central Atlantic "pet" /pet/ like /pit/; the vowel would be very closed and shifted farther to the front. They would say /ket/ to our /kæt/. Our /æ/ is about as open as can be and begins moving towards the back, though It's not the back vowel of the doctor's "Say aah" or the sound people make when they see a kitten (aaaw) or cute baby, by any means. I should have said open, not "back". But it's definitely moving towards the back. – TimR Jun 14 '16 at 10:59

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Phonology works together with word sense and context. In your example, there is no need to mark /æ/ from /Ɛ/ much: "m æ tter" or "m Ɛ tter", the word sense remains the same. I do not mean to support unclear pronunciation. This is just how it happens (along with recording quality; in your example, I hear /æ/).

You would hear more difference, when the sounds are distinctive, i.e. make divergent word senses. Compare

afferent

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/afferent

efferent

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/efferent

The website has audio pronunciation.

I understand your language does not have /æ/. It sure has /a/ and /e/. Telling /æ/ comes easier when we can say it ourselves. Try saying /e/ and lowering your jaw, gradually, as for /a/. You should get /æ/, I've tried with students. :)