/Simple Tip To Sound Australian – /ɑ

1 Simple Tip To Sound Australian – /ɑ/

G’day guys.

Welcome to this episode of Aussie English.

Today I want to talk to you about 1 simple trick to sound more like an Aussie when you speak English.

Let’s go.

So, this one simple trick is words that end with -er, -or, -ar, -ure, -our, and -a (and -re*), all have the same pronunciation in Australian English, at least the majority of the time.

And this is the short /ɑ/ sound.

So, we make this sound by just lowering our jaw, quite a way, and literally just saying the sound /ɑ:/, but short, /ɑ/.

So, as opposed to words like “bar” and “car”, which have the long ɑ sound, this sound is a very short sound. /ɑ/.

So, let’s go through a couple of words for each one of these endings so you can practice sounding more like an Aussie.

And I will admit there are exceptions.

Like everything in English, the rule is that there is always an exception.

But, the majority of the time these words are going to end with the sound /ɑ/.

So it’s a good place to start.

So,

Words that end with -a.

Area

Cobra

Coma

Flora

Words that end with -ar.

Polar

Cheddar

Linear

Jaguar

Words that end with -er.

Water

Laser

Maker

Beer

Words that end with -re.

Centre

Theatre

Tyre

Fire

Words that end with -or.

Mirror

Actor

Alligator

Doctor

Words that end with -ure.

Treasure

Cure

Nature

Structure

Words that end with -our.

Favour

Neighbour

Humour

Hour

And then, as a little bonus here at the end, guys, sometimes words with -ur at the end are pronounced as /ɑ/ as well.

Although, a lot of the time they’re going to sound like /ɜ/.

And one example I could think of was “amateur”.

So, that’s it for this episode guys.

I really recommend trying to make these pronunciation changes IF you want to sound like an Australian.

Otherwise, you’re going to have somewhat of an American accent if you’re pronouncing that /r/ sound at the ends of words like “water”, “anchor”, “treasure”, “neighbour”.

That is a very American sound with that /r/ sound.

In Australian English we don’t curl the tongue up to make the /r/ sound.

We drop the jaw and we keep our tongue flat. /ɑ/

“Neighbour”, “treasure”, “hour”, “actor”.

Anyway, good luck guys.

Keep at it.

Keep improving your Aussie English, and I’ll chat to you soon.

Peace out. All the best!