Vowels: long a sound /eɪ/

Listen to the long a sound

How to pronounce the long a sound

The long a is a 2-sound vowel. The tongue begins pushed somewhat forward but in a neutral position in the mouth, and then, as the jaw closes slightly, the body of the tongue moves upward until it is near the tooth ridge, similar to the position of a y sound. The front sides of the tongue touch the inside of the top teeth at the end of the sound.

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Common long a spellings

spelling	example		other pronunciations for spelling
a_e (VCe)[1]	same cake safe		none
ai[1]	rain paid faith		none
ay	say play way		none
eigh	eight weigh sleigh		none

[1] ai and a_e spellings with the letter r
When the ai spelling is followed by the letter r or the consonant of the a_e spelling is the letter r (as in the words stair and care), the sound is more likely to be pronounced as the air sound instead of the long a sound followed by the r sound.

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The long a sound in suffixes

spelling	example		other pronunciations for spelling
-ate[2]	celebrate decorate evaluate		short i (delicate)

[2]: -ate suffix
Only verbs using the -ate suffix are pronounced with a long a sound, otherwise the short i pronunciation is more common (as in the words delicate and unfortunate).

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Non-phonetic long a words
The long a sound is underlined in the following words:
they great break grey café

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Pronuncian Lessons

  

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long e sound /i/

Compare long a/long e/long i

Introduction to Approximant Sounds

l sound /l/

velar l sound /ɫ/

Introduction to Stops

t sound /t/

b sound /b/

g sound /ɡ/

k sound /k/

Letter x Pronunciation: k+s or g+z

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