Words in Contrast
/ɔ/ vs. /ow/
Now you will hear some pairs of words which differ in their vowel sounds: the first has the /ow/-sound as in know; the second has the /ɔ/-sound, as in saw. Pronounce the words while listening to the recording, and don’t worry if you don’t understand some of the words. You can check their meaning later on.
| /ow/ | /ɔ/ | /ow/ | /ɔ/ |
| so | saw | oat | ought |
| low | law | cold | called |
| toll | tall | choke | chalk |
| owe | awe | ode | awed |
| mode | Maude | oaf | off |
| pose | paws | close | clause |
| Joe | jaw | goes | gauze |
| phone | fawn | row | raw |
| droll | drawl | coast | cost |
| scroll | scrawl | slow | slaw |
| loan | lawn | hole | hall |
Sentences
Now, carefully read the following sentences that include some of the words above.
01. A local phone call costs ten cents.
02. Now’s the time to show us how.
03. Do cows cause tuberculosis?
04. Now Paul, drive downtown slowly.
05. I saw Maude by a boat near the coast.
06. When Joe woke up, his oatmeal was cold.
07. I ought to phone the office; the sercice is rather low in quality and slow.
