After studying the /ʌ/ phoneme in my previous post Uh... But... What?, this post will help you to create distinction between that sound and the /ɑ/ phoneme. The /ɑ/ phoneme is produced in the back of the mouth and by opening the mouth wide with the tongue down. It's the "ah" sound doctors ask you to make before they stick that uncomfortable wooden paddle on your tongue to have a look-see inside.
The /ʌ/ sound, on the other hand, is a lazy, relaxed grunt-like sound produced in the center of the mouth with the mouth only partially open. I call it the caveman sound because I believe it could be the first sound man ever made. It will also likely be the last. By the way, it's basically the same as the English schwa sound /ə/, the difference being that /ʌ/ is stressed and /ə/ is unstressed.
Below is a list of words with these sounds. Some of these are near minimal pairs as they differ in more than one way. But most are true minimal pairs. The last one with "z" is the first syllable of some guy's last name.
The /ʌ/ sound, on the other hand, is a lazy, relaxed grunt-like sound produced in the center of the mouth with the mouth only partially open. I call it the caveman sound because I believe it could be the first sound man ever made. It will also likely be the last. By the way, it's basically the same as the English schwa sound /ə/, the difference being that /ʌ/ is stressed and /ə/ is unstressed.
Below is a list of words with these sounds. Some of these are near minimal pairs as they differ in more than one way. But most are true minimal pairs. The last one with "z" is the first syllable of some guy's last name.
| /ɑ/ ah ought bought, bot caught, cot chaulk dock fawn gone hot job cop cause lock mop not pop raw saw shot tall thought vox wall yawn czar | /ʌ/ uh um but cut chuck duck fun gun hut just cup 'cause luck much nut pup rug sub shut touch thump vug what young zuck |
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