How to Pronounce a proper [ʌ]?

[LordJenkins]

Hi guys, just wondering how I can pronounce ʌ properly. As far as im concerned this vowel shouldnt sound anything like (a).

The Americans seem to produce this vowel more faithfully than we Brits

Check out the pronuncation of the word buck. Feel free of course to type other words with ʌ in. You can see quite a stark comparison sometimes. When I try to produce it properly, it still comes out something like b[a]ck. What do i need to do with my tongue etc.. to make it sound more sounding?

buck pronunciation: How to pronounce buck in English.

Other

http://www.forvo.com/word/cut/#en

http://www.forvo.com/word/must/#sv




Thanks

 

[konungursvia]

If you're a native English speaker, you are entitled to pronounce it exactly as the people in your area do. No need to emulate us, particularly just for one vowel.

 

[DontBanMe]

If you're a native English speaker, you are entitled to pronounce it exactly as the people in your area do. No need to emulate us, particularly just for one vowel.

I'll Tell you what, I doubt he's a native speaker. Well, I think the difference between the /[ʌ/ sound as in butter and A as in caught( AmE) is the mouth position. When I say butter, I don't drop my jaw that far as I make the /ʌ/ sound. ( You simply make the sound in "hot" (/a/) with our mouth open the widest, just like you're going to dentist's and saying ahh..). I know it's pretty cool to have American/British accent but please don't force yourself if you can't make that sound correctly. ( Their pronunciation are so nice, huh?). But when I say "hut", I make the /ʌ/ sound in a more relaxed way. Keep your fingers crossed!
Here's a video link related to that sound
YouTube - ‪Perfect Your Pronounciation - Simple Vowels [Perfect Your English series]‬‏
there's another link. I can't get a hold of it, though.

 

[5jj]

The Americans seem to produce this vowel more faithfully than we Brits

I don't know what you mean by that. Except for people with some form of speech defect, either from birth or as a result of injury, every native speaker produces a 'proper' version of /ʌ/ for their particular dialect. Trying to change one phoneme and not the others will produce an unnatural dialect.

I'll Tell you what, I doubt he's a native speaker.

Do you have any evidence for this statement? If not, there is no point in making it.

 

[DontBanMe]

I don't know what you mean by that. Except for people with some form of speech defect, either from birth or as a result of injury, every native speaker produces a 'proper' version of /ʌ/ for their particular dialect. Trying to change one phoneme and not the others will produce an unnatural dialect.
Do you have any evidence for this statement? If not, there is no point in making it.

Well, why would I need an evidence? I was just guessing. Plus, one of the member named Raymott said native speaker say *how do you pronounce /ʌ/ sound properly? instead of how to blah blah blah...unless you're giving a rundown on the /ʌ/ sound. It's wrong. Reference link: https://www.usingenglish.com/forum/...-how-raise-back-tongue-touch-soft-palate.html
Also, I doubt any native speaker would ask this kind of question unless the people who have speech disorder or something
Also, I do have the right to say any word without any evidence, don't I? Man, It's just a reply! So what if he's not a native speaker?
By the way, Is it because I'm sensitive or what? I find you're picking on me or something. You know, I'm just trying to help him. (though it doesn't help at all ) Can you quit doing this to me? I'm sorry if I'm over panaroid and I'm awfully sorry if my remarks sound harsh. Before I forget, instead of arguing, I'm here is to help or learn something I don't know. So, please just GIVE ME A BREAK. Why can't we just be cool? Thank you!

 

[thatone]

He's talking about [ʌ], not /ʌ/.

RP indeed has [ɐ] for /ʌ/.

In North American English, the three most common pronunciations of /ʌ/ are [ʌ ̈], [ʌ ̟] and [ɜ ̠]. But [ɐ] is also used in California.
A vowel closest to a pure [ʌ] can be found in African American Vernacular English; geographically in the Inland North, some parts of Pennsylvania (esp. Philadelphia) in the US and Newfoundland in Canada.

I can't explain how to make it other than saying that [ʌ] is basically an unrounded [ɔ].

 

[BobK]

I don't know what you mean by that. ....

I suspect he means 'Realizations of the American English /ʌ/ are more like the Cardinal [ʌ] defined by the IPA than realizations of the Br English /ʌ/'. This may be true - my knowledge of the Cardinal vowels isn't sensitive enough for me to say. But I do wish teachers would distinguish between Cardinal vowels and nationally accepted allophones!

b

 

[LordJenkins]

Thank you Bobk and thatone. You understood me, and im sorry to the others for the confusion.

I suspect he means 'Realizations of the American English /ʌ/ are more like the Cardinal [ʌ] defined by the IPA than realizations of the Br English /ʌ/'.

Exactly!

RP indeed has [ɐ] for /ʌ/.

aha! That explanins everything! I have book on RP, a relatively new book published not too long ago actually. Ive just done some research on this [ɐ] vowel, and it explains why my book has the [ʌ] symbol with the incorrect articulation positions of mouth height, and the tongue position being central when in fact it should be back for a 'cardinal' [ʌ]. The reason is apparently for 'tradition'? This doesnt make sence at all, why cause the confusion for the sake of tradition?? lol




As a matter of fact I do have speech difficulties, no where near as bad as they once were. I decided to develope a more neutral accent as I found I didnt stammer and mumble anything like when I tried to speak my regional accent which seems strange right ? lol But an accent with flat vowels coupled with speech problems is pretty much confidence destroying and hell to listen too.


But my speech is clearer by the day, and this forum is a godsend, people here are so helpful I really appreciate it. Especially Bobk who I think has answered all my questions on this forum, so thanks mate


Thanks to everyone also, who try and help me! Thanks dontbanme for the video! It was helpful

 

[DontBanMe]

He's talking about [ʌ], not /ʌ/.

RP indeed has [ɐ] for /ʌ/.

In North American English, the three most common pronunciations of /ʌ/ are [ʌ ̈], [ʌ ̟] and [ɜ ̠]. But [ɐ] is also used in California.
A vowel closest to a pure [ʌ] can be found in African American Vernacular English; geographically in the Inland North, some parts of Pennsylvania (esp. Philadelphia) in the US and Newfoundland in Canada.

I can't explain how to make it other than saying that [ʌ] is basically an unrounded [ɔ].

Well, I don't get it. Can you explain what the difference between the /ʌ/ and [ʌ] is? I stand corrected

 

[thatone]

Well, I don't get it. Can you explain what the difference between the /ʌ/ and [ʌ] is? I stand corrected

In the IPA, each symbol stands for a precise vowel.

/ʌ/ means you're just using the ʌ symbol to represent another vowel, which may or may not be close to a real ʌ. This is kind of broad, or phonemic transcription is what you find in dictionaries and schoolbooks. It's not mean to be very accurate.

[ʌ] means you're referring to the actual ʌ vowel. This is a narrow phonetic transcription.

For instance little is usually written as as /lɪtəl/ in dictionaries, but that transcription is not very accurate. If I wanted to to show someone the exact vowels and consonants I would transcribe it as [lɪtəɫ], [lɪʔɫ], [ɫɪtəɫ], [ɫɪtɫ], [ɫɪdɫ] or [ɫɪɾɫ] depending on the dialect in question.

 

[DontBanMe]

In the IPA, each symbol stands for a precise vowel.

/ʌ/ means you're just using the ʌ symbol to represent another vowel, which may or may not be close to a real ʌ. This is kind of broad, or phonemic transcription is what you find in dictionaries and schoolbooks. It's not mean to be very accurate.

[ʌ] means you're referring to the actual ʌ vowel. This is a narrow phonetic transcription.

For instance little is usually written as as /lɪtəl/ in dictionaries, but that transcription is not very accurate. If I wanted to to show someone the exact vowels and consonants I would transcribe it as [lɪtəɫ], [lɪʔɫ], [ɫɪtəɫ], [ɫɪtɫ], [ɫɪdɫ] or [ɫɪɾɫ] depending on the dialect in question.

Oh I see. Little did I know that there was such a slight difference between these two symbols.
Best regards!

 

[5jj]

Well, I don't get it. Can you explain what the difference between the /ʌ/ and [ʌ] is?

[ʌ] is the (secondary) cardinal vowel, number 14. It is precisely defined, and every trained phonetician in the world will produce it in exactly the same way.

/ʌ/ is a phonemic transcription, and it means what the person who uses it wants it to mean! Most Britsh writers use it for the various allophones of the phoneme in run, hull, sun, but, son, rough, blood, does, etc. It is close in sound to the IPA [ɐ]


ps. Sorry; I didn't spot thatones's post #10.

 

[DontBanMe]

[ʌ] is the (secondary) cardinal vowel, number 14. It is precisely defined, and every trained phonetician in the world will produce it in exactly the same way.

/ʌ/ is a phonemic transcription, and it means what the person who uses it wants it to mean! Most Britsh writers use it for the various allophones of the phoneme in run, hull, sun, but, son, rough, blood, does, etc. It is close in sound to the IPA [ɐ]


ps. Sorry; I didn't spot thatones's post #10.

Well, Thank you for your explanation. You know what, I was extremely pumped last night as I realised that I didn't really need to place my tongue on the alveolar ridge PURPOSELY BEFORE making any alveolar sound like t,d,ch,dj and the l sounds (as for the dark l,im not sure if my tongue is touchin the alveolar ridge. I mean, when you pronounce the word correctly, your tongue is already there without you being aware of it. I can speak much faster than usual now. )Sorry, I just wanted to share what I felt with you guys.. I'm Sorry if I fly off on the tangent.