Is /æ/ pronounced like the shortened version of /ɑː/? Or are they totally different?
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In a word, yes. The former is the TRAP vowel, and the latter is the PALM vowel. – Roaring Fish Oct 25 '12 at 02:43
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1In American English, /æ/ is quite often just as long as /ɑ/. We can tell them apart because they're different vowels. – Peter Shor Oct 25 '12 at 11:31
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1Possible duplicate of How is "æ" supposed to be pronounced? – gen-ℤ ready to perish Nov 06 '17 at 13:48
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@ChaseRyanTaylor: They're quite different questions, despite the surface similarity: this question is asking about the symbol /æ/ used in phonemic transcription, while the question you've linked to is asking about how the symbol "æ" is pronounced in general, including in words like "encyclopædia" where it does not represent the sound /æ/. – herisson Nov 07 '17 at 20:18
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@sumelic I understand; that makes sense. – gen-ℤ ready to perish Nov 07 '17 at 20:25
1 Answers
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- /æ/ is a near-open front unrounded vowel
- /ɑ/ is an open back unrounded vowel
They are different vowels with different tongue positions. The tongue position for /æ/ is near-open and front, meaning the tongue is nearly as low as it can go, and pushed towards the front of the mouth. The tongue position for /ɑ/ is open and back, meaning the tongue is as low as it can go and pushed towards the back of the mouth. The tongue height is almost the same but the frontness is very different.
nohat
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@Kris In many dialects the vowels will vary (sometimes by a lot!), but they are generally correct both for Standard American English and Standard British English. – nohat Oct 25 '12 at 03:57
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Thank you nohat. And is there any picture or animation that shows the differences? – Oct 25 '12 at 04:55
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2In terms of British English at least, the main difference is that typical pronunciations of the /ae/ vowel are nowadays open for many speakers to the extent that you probably may as well label the vowel /a/. – Neil Coffey Oct 25 '12 at 05:16
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1@Chenggang Duan: For animations, see here: http://www.uiowa.edu/~acadtech/phonetics/# – Barrie England Oct 25 '12 at 06:55