Week 4: Diagraph /æ/

What's a Diagraph?

Diagraph is a common vowel in the English language. It is also present in a number of other languages around the world, such as French, but it is not a regular sound for Spanish variations. This particular sound is represented by the symbol /æ/, and it is characterized by two important features: on the one hand, a diagraph is pronunced by spreading your mouth a bit to the sides and, on the other hand, by not applying any kind of tension to your muscles in the chin or in your jaw.

The most common way to find a diagraph in English is by locating one-syllable words that contain letter "a," except for those that end in letter "e." Take a look at the contrastive-words examples below:

at / ate

bat / bait

cat / Kate

fat / fate

hat / hate

mat / mate

rat / rate

shack / shake

back / bake

Can you now read the following transcriptions?

/'læfıŋ/

/ræk/

/læk/

/'læstlı/

/æt/

/stænd/

/glæd/

/sæd/

/pæs/

/ækt/

/'mænlı/

/hæv/

/hæf/

/kæst/

/æskt/

For further practice, work on the following links:

http://www.shiporsheep.com/page5.html

http://www.shiporsheep.com/page6.html

http://www.shiporsheep.com/page7.html

http://rbeaudoin333.homestead.com/files/short_vowels/short_vowel_pattern_1.html

http://rbeaudoin333.homestead.com/files/short_vowels/short_vowel_pattern_2.html

http://rbeaudoin333.homestead.com/files/short_vowels/short_vowel_pattern_3.html

http://rbeaudoin333.homestead.com/files/short_vowels/short_vowel_pattern_4.html

For further practice and review on general vowels, visit the following sites:

http://www.sadlier-oxford.com/phonics/grade2_3/name_pict/name_pic1.htm

http://www.sadlier-oxford.com/phonics/grade2_3/vowel_sound/long_vowel_2_3a.htm

http://www2.nkfust.edu.tw/~emchen/Pron/vowel.htm

For the explanation on diagraph formation or pronunciation, watch the following video. In case you can't see it here, please visit either of the sites below:

http://www.rachelsenglish.com/vowel_aa_bat

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YW1sYpwYWPE&feature=player_embedded