Difference between revisions of "A (grapheme)"

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Thanks in large part to the historical phenomenon of the [[Great English Vowel Shift]] of the late fifteenth century, English is not a language with predictable ways of writing down sounds, particularly [[vowel]] sounds. This page attempts to group some of the ways in which the letter 'A' is used.
 
Thanks in large part to the historical phenomenon of the [[Great English Vowel Shift]] of the late fifteenth century, English is not a language with predictable ways of writing down sounds, particularly [[vowel]] sounds. This page attempts to group some of the ways in which the letter 'A' is used.
 
*As a simple letter/[[monophthong]], it may be:
 
*As a simple letter/[[monophthong]], it may be:
−
**a [[Long vowel - short vowel|short]] '-a-' ({{IPA|æ}}) in 'man', 'cat' and 'as' - though the actual sound varies in spoken accents, such as the so-called 'flat '-a-' in north-west England, particularly in Lancashire, where it is associated with the local pronunciation of 'flat cap', which has a vowel akin to {{IPA|a}} of German ''Mann'', etc.
+
**a [[Long vowel - short vowel|short]] '-a-' [[IPA]] [[/æ/]]) in 'man', 'cat' and 'as' - though the actual sound varies in spoken accents, such as the so-called 'flat '-a-' in north-west England, particularly in Lancashire, where it is associated with the local pronunciation of 'flat cap', which has a vowel akin to [[IPA]] [[/a/]] of German ''Mann'', etc.
−
**a [[Long vowel - short vowel|long]] '-a-' ({{IPA|ɑː}}) as in ([[RP]]) 'father', 'dance' and 'bath':.
+
**a [[Long vowel - short vowel|long]] '-a-' ([[/ɑː/]]) as in ([[RP]]) 'father', 'dance' and 'bath':.
−
**As a [[diphthong]]al vowel, it is usually understood as the sound of its name, and such words as 'late', 'name' and 'same': {{IPA|eɪ}}; but there are many other possibilities, and great subtleties in its precise pronunciation. For more on this, see [[Speech sounds represented by the letter A]].
+
**As a [[diphthong]]al vowel, it is usually understood as the sound of its name, and such words as 'late', 'name' and 'same': [[/eɪ/]]; but there are many other possibilities, and great subtleties in its precise pronunciation. For more on this, see [[Speech sounds represented by the letter A]].
  
−
*There are at least four ways in which  it represents the /eɪ/ [[phoneme]]:
+
*There are at least four ways in which  it represents the [[/eɪ/]] [[phoneme]]:
 
**before a consonant with a [[silent '-e-']] ([ ] '''a''' + [C] + '''e''' ), as in <nowiki>'</nowiki>'''a'''t'''e'''<nowiki>'</nowiki>, 'p'''a'''l'''e'''<nowiki>'</nowiki>, 'h'''a'''t'''e'''<nowiki>'</nowiki> and 'w'''a'''st'''e'''<nowiki>'</nowiki>;
 
**before a consonant with a [[silent '-e-']] ([ ] '''a''' + [C] + '''e''' ), as in <nowiki>'</nowiki>'''a'''t'''e'''<nowiki>'</nowiki>, 'p'''a'''l'''e'''<nowiki>'</nowiki>, 'h'''a'''t'''e'''<nowiki>'</nowiki> and 'w'''a'''st'''e'''<nowiki>'</nowiki>;
 
**with '-'''i'''<nowiki>'</nowiki> ('''ai'''), as in '''ai'''d, p'''ai'''l ( a [[homophone]] of 'pale') and m'''ai'''nt'''ai'''n (some words, such as 'ag'''ai'''n', 's'''ai'''d' and 'ag'''ai'''nst', are pronounced with an /É›/ vowel, like that in 'get', by some speakers.);
 
**with '-'''i'''<nowiki>'</nowiki> ('''ai'''), as in '''ai'''d, p'''ai'''l ( a [[homophone]] of 'pale') and m'''ai'''nt'''ai'''n (some words, such as 'ag'''ai'''n', 's'''ai'''d' and 'ag'''ai'''nst', are pronounced with an /É›/ vowel, like that in 'get', by some speakers.);
−
**at the ends of words, the '''ai''' spelling is replaced by '''ay''' - for example in 'pl'''ay'''<nowiki>'</nowiki>, 'w'''ay'''<nowiki>'</nowiki> and 'd'''ay'''<nowiki>'</nowiki> (similarly, 's'''ays'''<nowiki>'</nowiki> may be realized with the /É›/ phoneme (as 'sez');
+
**at the ends of words, the '''ai''' spelling is replaced by '''ay''' - for example in 'pl'''ay'''<nowiki>'</nowiki>, 'w'''ay'''<nowiki>'</nowiki> and 'd'''ay'''<nowiki>'</nowiki> (similarly, 's'''ays'''<nowiki>'</nowiki> may be realized with the [[/É›/]] phoneme (as 'sez');
 
**in four words, the /eɪ/ sound is represented by '''ea''': 'gr'''ea'''t', 'br'''ea'''k', 'st'''ea'''k' and ([[archaic]]) 'y'''ea'''<nowiki>'</nowiki>.
 
**in four words, the /eɪ/ sound is represented by '''ea''': 'gr'''ea'''t', 'br'''ea'''k', 'st'''ea'''k' and ([[archaic]]) 'y'''ea'''<nowiki>'</nowiki>.
−
*With '''u''' ('''au'''), it represents the /ɔː/ [[phoneme]], as in 's'''au'''ce', <nowiki>'</nowiki>'''au'''thor' and '[[because (pronunciation)|bec'''au'''se']] (note that in North American accents, this may sound far more like the /ɒ/ sound of 'got' and 'dog') - the same is true in the [[RP]] realization of such words as '''<nowiki>'</nowiki>Au'''strian' and '''<nowiki>'</nowiki>Au'''stralian;
+
*With '''u''' ('''au'''), it represents the [[/ɔː/]] [[phoneme]], as in 's'''au'''ce', <nowiki>'</nowiki>'''au'''thor' and '[[because (pronunciation)|bec'''au'''se']] (note that in North American accents, this may sound far more like the [[/ɒ/]] sound of 'got' and 'dog') - the same is true in the [[RP]] realization of such words as '''<nowiki>'</nowiki>Au'''strian' and '''<nowiki>'</nowiki>Au'''stralian;
 
**the same pattern can be represented by th 'double u' of '''w''' ('''aw''') as in <nowiki>'</nowiki>'''aw'''eful', 's'''aw'''n', 'l'''aw'''<nowiki>'</nowiki> and 'dr'''aw'''l'.
 
**the same pattern can be represented by th 'double u' of '''w''' ('''aw''') as in <nowiki>'</nowiki>'''aw'''eful', 's'''aw'''n', 'l'''aw'''<nowiki>'</nowiki> and 'dr'''aw'''l'.
 
* '''-a-''' [[long vowel - short vowel|lengthens]] the vowel sound when it follows
 
* '''-a-''' [[long vowel - short vowel|lengthens]] the vowel sound when it follows
−
**'''o''' ('''oa'''), as in 'b'''oa'''t', 'r'''oa'''d', 's'''oa'''k', 's'''oa'''r' and 'g'''oa'''l'
+
**'''o''' ('''oa''', [[/əʊː/]]), as in 'b'''oa'''t', 'r'''oa'''d', 's'''oa'''k', 's'''oa'''r' and 'g'''oa'''l' -
−
**'''e''' ('''ea'''), as in 'b'''ea'''t', 'f'''ea'''st', 'n'''ea'''r' and 'm'''ea'''l'. (N.B. '''ea''' can represent three different sounds ('gr'''ea'''t', above, and 'br'''ea'''d', below. This is particularly confusing with [[Read (homograph)|read]], where in both [[verb]]s, the [[present tense]] and the [[past tense|past forms]] are spelled the same way but pronounced differently, the present with the [[Short e - long e|'long -ee']] (/iː/)*With '''e''' ('''ea'''), it may also represent the [[long vowel - short vowel|short vowel]] /ɛ/ in such words as 'br'''ea'''d', 'r'''ea'''dy' 'j'''ea'''lous' and 'sw'''ea'''t'.
+
***- confusingly, this can be the different 'longer' vowel of 'c'''au'''ght' ([[/ɔː/]]) in 'br'''oa'''d', or the [[/ɔə/]] diphthong in 'br'''oa'''d'
 +
**'''e''' ('''ea'''), as in 'b'''ea'''t', 'f'''ea'''st', 'n'''ea'''r' and 'm'''ea'''l'. (N.B. '''ea''' can represent three different sounds (this one, [[/iː/]], that in 'gr'''ea'''t', [[/eɪ/]] above, and 'br'''ea'''d', ([[/ɛ/]]) below. This is particularly confusing with [[Read (homograph)|read]], where both [[inflection|verb form]]s, the [[present tense]] and the [[past tense|past forms]], are spelled the same way but pronounced differently, the present with the [[Short e - long e|'long -ee']] ([[/iː/]]) and the past with the [[Short e - long e|'short -e']] [[/ɛ/]]
 +
*With '''e''' ('''ea'''), it may also represent the [[long vowel - short vowel|short vowel]] [[/É›/]] in such words as 'br'''ea'''d', 'r'''ea'''dy' 'j'''ea'''lous' and 'sw'''ea'''t'.
  
 
*Sometimes '''a''' combines with other vowel letters in strange spellings such as [[aisle|'''ais'''le' ('EYE-l', {{IPA|aɪl}}), <nowiki>'</nowiki>'''au'''nt' ('AHnt', /ɑːnt/), 'b'''eau'''ty' ('bYOU-ti', /bjuːtɪ/), 'br'''oa'''d' (BRAWd, /brɔːd/), 'guin'''ea'''<nowiki>'</nowiki> (GHINN-y, /gɪn ɪ/), 'l'''au'''gh' ('LARf', 'lɑːf/) and 'q'''uay'''<nowiki>'</nowiki> ('kee', /kiː/).  
 
*Sometimes '''a''' combines with other vowel letters in strange spellings such as [[aisle|'''ais'''le' ('EYE-l', {{IPA|aɪl}}), <nowiki>'</nowiki>'''au'''nt' ('AHnt', /ɑːnt/), 'b'''eau'''ty' ('bYOU-ti', /bjuːtɪ/), 'br'''oa'''d' (BRAWd, /brɔːd/), 'guin'''ea'''<nowiki>'</nowiki> (GHINN-y, /gɪn ɪ/), 'l'''au'''gh' ('LARf', 'lɑːf/) and 'q'''uay'''<nowiki>'</nowiki> ('kee', /kiː/).  
 
*In words borrowed from foreign languages, '''a''' occasionally has foreign uses:
 
*In words borrowed from foreign languages, '''a''' occasionally has foreign uses:
−
**'''aa''' represents the  
+
**'''aa''', always in recognizably foreign words, represents the [[Short a - long a|'long a']] [[/ɑː/]] in such [[Afrikaans|Afrik'''aa'''ns]] words as <nowiki>'</nowiki>'''aa'''rdv'''aa'''rk', and the [[/eɪ/]] diphthong in [[Semitic]] names such as <nowiki>'</nowiki>'''Aa'''ron' and 'B'''aa'''l'.
−
**'''ae''' usually has the value of long '-ay-' (/eɪ/), as in Dutch 'm'''ae'''lstrom', [[Celtic]] 'G'''ae'''l' (but see [[Gaelic]]) and Hebrew 'Ishm'''ae'''l' and  'Isr'''ae'''l'.  
+
**'''ae''' usually has the value of long '-ay-' ([[/eɪ/]]), as in Dutch 'm'''ae'''lstrom', [[Celtic]] 'G'''ae'''l' (but see [[Gaelic]]) and Hebrew 'Ishm'''ae'''l' and  'Isr'''ae'''l'.  
−
**in 'bureau', 'gauche' and 'fauve', etc, the '''au''' [[digraph]] (in 'bureau' a trigraph '''eau''') has its French value of /o/, or its nearest English equivalent, /əʊ/ (/oʊ/ in North American).
+
**in 'bureau', 'gauche' and 'fauve', etc, the '''au''' [[digraph]] (in 'bureau' a trigraph '''eau''') has its French value of /o/, or its nearest English equivalent, [[/əʊ/]] (/oʊ/ in North American).
−
**In most other European languages, '''au''' has its phonetic value 'ow' (/aÊŠ/), as in German 'Fr'''au'''<nowiki>'</nowiki> and 'Str'''au'''ss, Spanish 'g'''au'''cho' and '''<nowiki>'</nowiki>au'''to-da-fe', and the Italian pronunciations of 'Cl'''au'''dia' and 'L'''au'''ra'.
+
**In most other European languages, '''au''' has its phonetic value 'ow' ([[/aÊŠ/]]), as in German 'Fr'''au'''<nowiki>'</nowiki> and 'Str'''au'''ss, Spanish 'g'''au'''cho' and '''<nowiki>'</nowiki>au'''to-da-fe', and the Italian pronunciations of 'Cl'''au'''dia' and 'L'''au'''ra'.
−
**Sometimes [[digraph]]s which represent [[diphthong]]s in English (that is, proper diphthongs, or vowel glides) represent two separate [[monophthong]]s in their original languages, and academic speakers should try to maintain the distinction. The French 'N'''ai'''ve', for example (and its [[masculine]] equivalent 'n'''ai'''f') have two syllables: 'nah-EEVE', {{IPA|na ˈiːv}}  ('na-EEF', {{IPA|na ˈiːf}}). This may be shown by a [[diaeresis]], as in na'''ï'''ve (na'''ï'''f).
+
**Sometimes [[digraph]]s which represent [[diphthong]]s in English (that is, proper diphthongs, or vowel glides) represent two separate [[monophthong]]s in their original languages, and academic speakers should try to maintain the distinction. The French [[naive|'N'''ai'''ve']], for example (and its [[masculine]] equivalent 'n'''ai'''f') have two syllables: 'nah-EEVE', {{IPA|na ˈiːv}}  ('na-EEF', {{IPA|na ˈiːf}}). This may be shown by a [[diaeresis]], as in na'''ï'''ve (na'''ï'''f).
  
 
::You may also want to see [[A (phoneme)|Speech sounds represented by the letter A]] or [[long vowel - short vowel]].
 
::You may also want to see [[A (phoneme)|Speech sounds represented by the letter A]] or [[long vowel - short vowel]].

Revision as of 12:27, 10 June 2011

Thanks in large part to the historical phenomenon of the Great English Vowel Shift of the late fifteenth century, English is not a language with predictable ways of writing down sounds, particularly vowel sounds. This page attempts to group some of the ways in which the letter 'A' is used.

  • As a simple letter/monophthong, it may be:
    • a short '-a-' IPA /æ/) in 'man', 'cat' and 'as' - though the actual sound varies in spoken accents, such as the so-called 'flat '-a-' in north-west England, particularly in Lancashire, where it is associated with the local pronunciation of 'flat cap', which has a vowel akin to IPA /a/ of German Mann, etc.
    • a long '-a-' (/ɑː/) as in (RP) 'father', 'dance' and 'bath':.
    • As a diphthongal vowel, it is usually understood as the sound of its name, and such words as 'late', 'name' and 'same': /eɪ/; but there are many other possibilities, and great subtleties in its precise pronunciation. For more on this, see Speech sounds represented by the letter A.
  • There are at least four ways in which it represents the /eɪ/ phoneme:
    • before a consonant with a silent '-e-' ([ ] a + [C] + e ), as in 'ate', 'pale', 'hate' and 'waste';
    • with '-i' (ai), as in aid, pail ( a homophone of 'pale') and maintain (some words, such as 'again', 'said' and 'against', are pronounced with an /É›/ vowel, like that in 'get', by some speakers.);
    • at the ends of words, the ai spelling is replaced by ay - for example in 'play', 'way' and 'day' (similarly, 'says' may be realized with the /É›/ phoneme (as 'sez');
    • in four words, the /eɪ/ sound is represented by ea: 'great', 'break', 'steak' and (archaic) 'yea'.
  • With u (au), it represents the /ɔː/ phoneme, as in 'sauce', 'author' and 'because' (note that in North American accents, this may sound far more like the /É’/ sound of 'got' and 'dog') - the same is true in the RP realization of such words as 'Austrian' and 'Australian;
    • the same pattern can be represented by th 'double u' of w (aw) as in 'aweful', 'sawn', 'law' and 'drawl'.
  • -a- lengthens the vowel sound when it follows
  • With e (ea), it may also represent the short vowel /É›/ in such words as 'bread', 'ready' 'jealous' and 'sweat'.
  • Sometimes a combines with other vowel letters in strange spellings such as [[aisle|aisle' ('EYE-l', IPA: /aɪl/), 'aunt' ('AHnt', /ɑːnt/), 'beauty' ('bYOU-ti', /bjuːtɪ/), 'broad' (BRAWd, /brɔːd/), 'guinea' (GHINN-y, /gɪn ɪ/), 'laugh' ('LARf', 'lɑːf/) and 'quay' ('kee', /kiː/).
  • In words borrowed from foreign languages, a occasionally has foreign uses:
    • aa, always in recognizably foreign words, represents the 'long a' /ɑː/ in such Afrikaans words as 'aardvaark', and the /eɪ/ diphthong in Semitic names such as 'Aaron' and 'Baal'.
    • ae usually has the value of long '-ay-' (/eɪ/), as in Dutch 'maelstrom', Celtic 'Gael' (but see Gaelic) and Hebrew 'Ishmael' and 'Israel'.
    • in 'bureau', 'gauche' and 'fauve', etc, the au digraph (in 'bureau' a trigraph eau) has its French value of /o/, or its nearest English equivalent, /əʊ/ (/oÊŠ/ in North American).
    • In most other European languages, au has its phonetic value 'ow' (/aÊŠ/), as in German 'Frau' and 'Strauss, Spanish 'gaucho' and 'auto-da-fe', and the Italian pronunciations of 'Claudia' and 'Laura'.
    • Sometimes digraphs which represent diphthongs in English (that is, proper diphthongs, or vowel glides) represent two separate monophthongs in their original languages, and academic speakers should try to maintain the distinction. The French 'Naive', for example (and its masculine equivalent 'naif') have two syllables: 'nah-EEVE', IPA: /na ˈiːv/ ('na-EEF', IPA: /na ˈiːf/). This may be shown by a diaeresis, as in naïve (naïf).
You may also want to see Speech sounds represented by the letter A or long vowel - short vowel.
Much of the information on this page has been taken from McArthur and Bell (2004).
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