5th Vowel Sound AW (/ɑ/) vs Schwa Sound UH (/ə/ /ʌ/) | Minimal Pairs | American English Ear Training

[@GenZNation445]

great job, please we need part two for those two minimal pairs aw and uh

[@personalJoke]

The structure of these series are almost perfect in my opinion. The only thing that is making me struggle, is that I can't see the IPA symbols , and I need them as the air to breathe. I totally agree with you saying that IPA is not enough, but I can find it in dictionaries and now I am familiarized with it. Still, I will learn your way if that's the way to go. Great video, none the less!

[@NativeEnglishHacks]

Thanks, I try to arrange things in the best way possible 🙂 Not all dictionaries use the exact same IPA transcription, which is one of the problems. There are many problems, actually, which I'll eventually be making a video about

[@professorBonna]

excellent video

[@calincucuietu8220]

Great work

[@alberto_pereda]

Hey! your videos are great, congratulations, you really teach what intermediate learners need to improve our pronunciation!

[@NativeEnglishHacks]

Thanks ☺

[@nicomelmo]

It was mind blowing that I noticed the difference between hat and hut! But it’s almost done impossible to distinguish between wander and wonder!! Anyway, it’s a great video that made me a different speaker.

[@calincucuietu8220]

I dont get the exercises but I like your easier approach.

[@adanmendezeng]

I really think that you're video is awesome great game to learn English. I consider myself that I have an intermediate-level and even that way I cannot distinct the difference of these pairs

[@NativeEnglishHacks]

It's a common problem even for intermediate learners because most teachers don't think it's that useful or important, which is something that baffles and angers me. This stuff should be part of lessons from day 1

[@adanmendezeng]

@@NativeEnglishHacks thanks, I recommend this video to my friends, thanks for create this kind of content. I subscribed to your channel, you Rock! Have a nice day teacher.

[@jb_1971]

A slow version would be nice. I can tell these sounds apart when they are a bit longer, but this video is still beyond my ability.

[@razelmichellewang643]

It is too similar I can't differentiate :(

[@NativeEnglishHacks]

This is a very difficult pair. Keep practicing. Some pairs take a while

[@jb_1971]

Out of curiosity, could you hear a difference between the sounds in isolation?

[@o_felipe_reis]

Great! Thank you!

[@NativeEnglishHacks]

You're welcome ☺

[@edo7131]

that's was a good practice!

[@ter2710]

you put in a lot of work, and the merger sounds good in the begining untill the word like lawyer, mall, door get in the way. Buy the way where is your accent from

[@NativeEnglishHacks]

I have one of the neutral American accents (yes, there's more than one with minor variations). Specifically, I speak Western American. I don't really have an "accent." I just speak slightly differently than what most teachers teach (mistakenly thought of as THE neutral accent). Btw, the caught/cot merger has been slowly becoming the norm across the country for several decades now. Also, not everything shifts the same. How I speak, lawyer uses OI, mall uses the merged AW (hot) + L, and door uses O+R.

[@gracetraver]

I've always learnt AW [ɔ] as in lawyer. Maybe in your area, people don't make the AW [ɔ] sound.Maybe that's why you make the AW sound like AH as in FATHER.

[@NativeEnglishHacks]

Exactly! This is known as the cot/caught merger, which is one of the few differences between General American and Western American (which is still considered neutral and is under the umbrella of "General American"). Even if I didn't naturally use this merger, I would still teach it to you because it makes English easier. I made a lesson talking about the AW sound (what I call the 5th vowel: kzbin.info/www/bejne/d520nmyhe8eZppo ), including info about the merger, and you can also download the English Hacks vowel chart from my website (link in description of every video).

[@gracetraver]

@@NativeEnglishHacks Thanks for your timely reply! After I left the comment, I went to watch your video on cot/caught merger! I'll choose to keep the AW [ɔ] sound, because it's also British and is easier for me to remember. I haven't finished watching all your videos, but I've already noticed you do have unique ways to teach.

[@NativeEnglishHacks]

Thanks ☺ And yeah, if you've already learned and are able to properly produce the unmerged sounds, then there's no reason to try to merge them unless you want to sound more like me. The English Hacks way is all about making things easier and building a feeling for the language from the inside out rather than the more traditional, outside-in approach. I've been talking a lot about pronunciation, but I'll also be making more lessons in the future about the logic of prepositions (and similar approaches for verbs and other areas) and a bunch of other things. If you think the way I teach pronunciation is unique, go check out the logic of prepositions playlist if you get a chance ☺

[@gracetraver]

@@NativeEnglishHacks I keep AW [ɔ] sound and save AH [a] sound for words such as father, hot, watch, octopus. It's easier for me. I will finish watching all your videos and comment when I need to. :) I also learn with Rachel's English. I've witnessed the growth of her channel. I believe your channel will grow big eventually.

[@calincucuietu8220]

​@@gracetraver, keep the aw sound because the /o/ variant is winning everywhere

[@Ahmedelsayed-lb7ch]

4:12 4:39

[@GenZNation445]

9:18

[@GenZNation445]

8:59

[@GenZNation445]

10:48

[@liangxu530]

Wander and wonder is the most difficult one for me. Not sure why. Probably they are at the end; I am tired. I did get more and more correct each time.

[@NativeEnglishHacks]

Awesome! That pair can be difficult even for more advanced learners, so don't worry!

[@maguaz4754]

These are the most difficult ones of the minimal pairs

[@calincucuietu8220]

Are you still in the business?

[@NativeEnglishHacks]

You can find a link to my italki profile in the description of any recent video

[@GenZNation445]

4:39

[@GenZNation445]

4:12