Boing. Hi. Would you like to learn some pronunciation? I would. I think I did. Okay. Today, we're
going to do one more, another vowel sound. These two vowel sounds are very similar, but
once you get the trick, easy peasy lemon squeezy. So here we are.
In the phonetic international world of alphabets, there's this symbol that looks like an A and
an E getting together. The other sound looks like an A, sort of, but it's not. I have never
learned the international phonetic alphabet. If you have learned that, you're lucky. All
systems go. What I know and what I will teach you is my brain. This is an "uh" sound, and
this is an "oh" sound. The very, very important thing is that you use your mouth when you
talk all the time. This word, your mouth is open a little bit, and it's "uh". When we
say "uh", when we say this word or this letter, it's an "oh", "ah". You're going to make your
mouth from an "oh" sound and drop it open, "ah". So it's "ah", "ah". Let's try this.
The first ones that we are going to do are the "ah" sound. This is a relaxed mouth. Your
mouth is open, not as wide or as "ah" as the other one. So we're going to try this. "Bag",
"bag". "Hat", "hat". "Dan", "Dan". "Dan" is a male name. It has a capital. Every time you
see a capital letter in the English alphabet, it's because it's a proper noun. It's a person's
name or place name. "Dan". The next word is "caps", "caps". "Cat", "cat". You'll notice
when I'm saying these, my mouth opens and closes quickly. The next word is "sack", "sack".
Let's review this. "Bag", "hat", "Dan", "caps", "cat", and "sack". Next, we're going to go
on to the other sound. This sound -- "song" -- yeah, sound. Let's do that. This sound
is when your mouth has to be open. Start with the "o" and drop it. "Bog", "bog". Your mouth
is very loose and open. "Bog". "Hot", "hot". "Dawn", "dawn". Again, this is a male name.
It can be a female name, too, because it begins with a capital letter. "Cops", "cops". "Cops"
is a slang word for police. "Caught", "caught". "Caught" is a little bed that you can pull
out in an emergency and have a snooze or sleep on. "Caught". And the last word is "sock".
"Socks" are things you wear on your feet sometimes in the winter to keep your toes warm. They
go under your shoes. Do you wear socks? It's kind of interesting. "Socks", "socks". "Socks"
go under your shoes. Do you wear socks? It's kind of important in the wintertime in Canada.
So the next thing that we're going to do is we're going to contrast the two sounds. The
first time I contrast the sounds, I'm going to do it in a very exaggerated way to help
you. I want you to repeat. The second time we do it, I'm going to say it in a more natural
way to help you improve your listening. So you're doing pronunciation and listening today
at the same time. Lucky you. Let's go. Ready? The first word is "bag", "bog". "Bag", "bog".
Word number two. "Hat", "hot". "Hat", "hot". "Dan", "dawn". "Dan", "dawn". "Caps", "cops".
"Caps", "cops". "Cat", "caught". "Cat", "caught". "Cat", "caught".
"hat", "caught". And the last one, "sack", "sock". "Sack", "sock". This time, when I
compare the two, I'm going to do it in a more natural way to help with your "ding-a-ling"
"ding-a-ling". "Bag", "bog". "Hat", "hot". "Dan", "dawn". "Caps", "cops". "Cat", "caught".
"Sack", "sock". If you pay attention to your mouth, how far it opens, you're going to be
able to pronounce these words like a regular English speaker. Till then, toodles.