Pronunciation of English ⟨a⟩: Difference between revisions

 

== {{IPA|/æ/}} raising ==

 

In the [[sociolinguistics]] of English, '''{{IPA|/æ/}} raising''' is a process that occurs in many [[Accent (dialect)|accent]]s of [[American English]], and to some degree in [[Canadian English]], by which {{IPAc-en|audio=near-open front unrounded vowel.ogg|æ}}, the "short ''a''" vowel found in such words as ''ash, bath, man, lamp, pal, rag, sack, trap,'' etc., is [[tenseness|tensed]]: pronounced as more raised, and lengthened and/or [[diphthong]]ized in various environments. The realization of this "tense" (as opposed to "lax") {{IPA|/æ/}} varies from {{IPAblink|ɛː}} to {{IPA|[ɛə]}} to {{IPA|[eə]}} to {{IPA|[ɪə]}}, depending on the speaker's [[Regional accents of English speakers|regional accent]]. The most commonly tensed variant of {{IPA|/æ/}} throughout North American English is when it appears before [[nasal consonants]] (thus, for example, in ''fan'' as opposed to ''fat'').<ref>Boberg, Charles (Spring 2001). "Phonological Status of Western New England." ''American Speech'', Volume 76, Number 1. pp. 3-29 (Article). Duke University Press. p. 11: "The vowel {{IPA|/æ/}} is generally tensed and raised [...] only before nasals, a raising environment for most speakers of North American English."</ref>