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PRONUNCIATION: BASIC SOUNDS
The A-R Sound and the Final Schwa-L Sound
/ɑːr/ and /əl/

GOAL

I can make the A-R sound and the final schwa-L sound.

TRY IT!

Read the sentence below.

The apple tarts and little dark chocolate candy bars are on sale too!

SOUNDS

Learn how to pronounce today's sounds.
Sound Profile

/ɑːr/

Voicing

yes

Mouth

open

Lips

slightly rounded ➡ pushed forward

Teeth

Tongue

the tip of the tongue touching the back of the bottom front teeth ➡ raised + the sides of the tongue touching the top side teeth

Jaw

down ➡ neutral

Steps

  1. Open your mouth and round your lips slightly.

  2. Drop your jaw down.

  3. Press the tip of your tongue against the back of your bottom front teeth.

  4. Make a voiced sound.

  5. Raise your jaw up to neutral and push your lips forward.

  6. Raise your tongue up and push it forward. The sides of your tongue should touch your top side teeth.

  7. Make a voiced sound.

  8. The tip of your tongue should not be touching anything.

Katakana Otoshiana

Because there is no perfect match for the A-R sound in Japanese, many English words with that sound are written with aa (アー) in katakana.

 

market ➡ maaketto (マーケット)

start ➡ sutaato (スタート)

guitar ➡ gitaa (ギター)

 

Be careful to make them the A-R sound in English!

/əl/

Voicing

yes

Mouth

slightly open

Lips

Teeth

Tongue

the middle of the tongue slightly rounded up ➡ the tip of the tongue touching behind the top front teeth ➡ pulled back

Jaw

Steps

  1. Slightly open your mouth and stretch your lips horizontally.

  2. Arch the middle of your tongue slightly up.

  3. Make a voiced sound.

  4. Slightly open your mouth.

  5. Press the tip of your tongue behind your top front teeth.

  6. Make a voiced sound. At the same time, pull your tongue back.

Katakana Otoshiana

When English words ending with the final schwa-L sound are written in katakana, a vowel sound is added after them.

 

pineapple ➡ painappuru (パイナップル)

idol ➡ aidoru (アイドル)

trouble ➡ toraburu (トラブル)

 

Be careful not to add the vowel sound in English!

Steps

  1. Open your mouth and round your lips slightly.

  2. Drop your jaw down.

  3. Press the tip of your tongue against the back of your bottom front teeth.

  4. Make a voiced sound.

  5. Raise your jaw up to neutral and push your lips forward.

  6. Raise your tongue up and push it forward. The sides of your tongue should touch your top side teeth.

  7. Make a voiced sound.

  8. The tip of your tongue should not be touching anything.

Steps

  1. Slightly open your mouth and stretch your lips horizontally.

  2. Arch the middle of your tongue slightly up.

  3. Make a voiced sound.

  4. Slightly open your mouth.

  5. Press the tip of your tongue behind your top front teeth.

  6. Make a voiced sound. At the same time, pull your tongue back.

Katakana Otoshiana

Because there is no perfect match for the A-R sound in Japanese, many English words with that sound are written with aa (アー) in katakana.

 

market ➡ maaketto (マーケット)

start ➡ sutaato (スタート)

guitar ➡ gitaa (ギター)

 

Be careful to make them the A-R sound in English!

Katakana Otoshiana

When English words ending with the final schwa-L sound are written in katakana, a vowel sound is added after them.

 

pineapple ➡ painappuru (パイナップル)

idol ➡ aidoru (アイドル)

trouble ➡ toraburu (トラブル)

 

Be careful not to add the vowel sound in English!

WORDS

Practice today’s sounds in the words below.

/ɑːr/

market

farm

jar

candy bar

cartoon

scarf

/əl/

turtle

label

bagel

tunnel

channel

beetle

SENTENCES

Practice today’s sounds in the sentences below.

/ɑːr/

  1. They sell jars of honey at the supermarket.
  2. We drove our car to the park.
  3. Lisa drew the stars during art class.
  4. In this cartoon, the talking shark wears a scarf.
  5. My guitar is larger than Mark’s guitar.

/əl/

  1. I want a bagel with pineapple jam.
  2. Rachel canceled her travel plans with her friend.
  3. Some people are scared of beetles.
  4. The model became a famous idol.
  5. Luis watched a show about turtles on the Animal Channel.

/ɑːr/ + /əl/

  1. Every March, I travel to Rachel’s farm.
  2. Our car passed through a dark, little tunnel.
  3. I filled the purple jar with little chocolates and candy bars.
  4. I check the labels on cereal boxes and candy bars at the supermarket.
  5. I’m going to buy some pineapples and large red apples at the farmer’s market.

DIALOGUES

Practice today’s sounds in the dialogues below.

/ɑːr/

Tutor:

Oh, no! What happened to your arms? There are large marks!
Student:

I bought a lot at the farmer’s market. I carried everything home, so now my arms hurt.
Tutor:

The market is far from your house. Why did you carry everything? You have a car, right?
Student:

Yeah! But my sister used my car to go to the amusement park!

/əl/

Student:

I’m going to travel with Rachel to Thailand this summer.
Tutor:

Oh, cool! Are you going to Turtle Beach? A lot of people go there to see the sea turtles!
Student:

Yeah! After that, Rachel and I want to see the underwater caves and tunnels!
Tutor:

Nice! By the way, you should try the apple and pineapple tea there! They’re really good!
Student:

Okay! We’re going to try some noodles too! I’m so excited to travel!

/ɑːr/ + /əl/

Tutor:

Hey! Jars of pineapple jam are on sale at the supermarket today!
Student:

I know! The apple tarts and little dark chocolate candy bars are on sale too!
Tutor:

The sale starts at 10 o’clock today! Let’s go! We can use my car.
Student:

Okay! I hope the large bagels and ramen noodles are also on sale!

TRY IT AGAIN!

Reread the sentence below.

The apple tarts and little dark chocolate candy bars are on sale too!