The /ɑː/ Vowel (START)
/ɑː/
/ɑː/ is a back open unrounded vowel. It is a long monophthong, so it keeps one steady quality.
Example Words
| Word | UK | US | |
|---|---|---|---|
| car | /kɑː/ | /kɑːr/ | Syllables · Pronounce |
| father | /ˈfɑː.ðə/ | /ˈfɑː.ðɚ/ | Syllables · Pronounce |
| start | /stɑːt/ | /stɑːrt/ | Syllables · Pronounce |
Distinctive Features
/ɑː/ is told apart from every other English sound by two distinctive features.
Allophones Of /ɑː/
/ɑː/ has 3 allophones in the app, starting with [ɑːʴ], after the vowel wherever the spelling has a post-vocalic r. The full list, where each occurs and the examples are in Allophones, which opens with any course or with Adroit Plus.
Words With The /ɑː/ Sound
/ɑː/ At The Start Of A Word
- aha
- arm
- art
- ask
- alms
- amen
- army
- after
- argon
- argue
- arson
- almond
- answer
- arcade
- armour
- armpit
- artery
- artist
- archaic
- archery
- archive
- arsenic
- article
- artisan
- argument
- armature
- armchair
- artistic
- afternoon
- arbitrage
/ɑː/ In The Middle Of A Word
- balm
- barb
- bark
- barn
- bask
- bath
- calf
- calm
- card
- cart
- cast
- daft
- dark
- farm
- fast
- garb
- gasp
- half
- hard
- hark
- harm
- harp
- imam
- lard
- last
- lava
- mark
- mask
- mast
- palm
/ɑː/ At The End Of A Word
- aha
- bar
- bra
- car
- far
- jar
- oba
- scar
- spar
- star
- radar
- schwa
- guitar
- hurrah
- isobar
- memoir
- patois
- quinoa
- bizarre
- bourgeois
- registrar
- reservoir
- repertoire
Minimal Pairs
Minimal Pairs /æ/ And /ɑː/ (Cat And Cart)Minimal Pairs /ʌ/ And /ɑː/ (Cut And Cart)Minimal Pairs /ɜː/ And /ɑː/ (Heard And Hard)
Questions Students Ask
How do you describe the vowel /ɑː/?
/ɑː/ is a back open unrounded vowel.
Which words have the /ɑː/ sound?
For example car, father, start.