Learn how to pronounce the vowel sound /ə/ used in words like "America," "pizza," or "address." Practice pronunciation of the /ə/ vowel sound with exercises recorded by a professional speech therapist. Find out about the essential spelling for the /ə/ vowel. Improve your American accent with efficient exercises by practicing your pronunciation of the most common words. Check if you can find something special at the very end of the video! :) Check out our website: https://soundsamerican.net/ Quick links: • Vowel sound /ə/, as in "ago:" 00:00 • How to make the /ə/ sound: 00:53 • Pronunciation exercise: 02:01 • Most common spelling for the sound /ə/: 04:15 Related videos: #AmericanPronunciation #VowelSounds #CentralVowels ► Interactive Vowel Sounds Chart: American English Pronunciation https://goo.gl/IwiOIn ► Vowel sound /ɪ /, as in "it": https://goo.gl/HJ3kDs ► Vowel sound /ɛ/, as in "bed": https://goo.gl/L7777P ► Vowel sound /ʌ/, as in "us": https://goo.gl/2LT6S2 [THIS VIDEO HAS ENGLISH, SPANISH, JAPANESE, CHINESE, KOREAN, VIETNAMESE, PORTUGUESE, AND RUSSIAN SUBTITLES] ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- TRANSCRIPT Hello there! This is the "Sounds American" channel. In this video, we’re going to talk about the American vowel sound /ə/, as in the word "ago." You can also hear this sound in words like "above," "person," "parent," or "action." Please, note, that we’ll be using a special phonetic symbol — /ə/ — for this sound. The /ə/ sound is one of the two most frequently used vowel sounds in American English. In fact, one in every five words has the /ə/ sound. If you want to pronounce it like an American, keep watching. OK, to pronounce the /ə/ sound, you should focus on relaxing your tongue and lips. Slightly open your mouth, relax your lips, and leave them in a neutral position. Place your tongue in the middle of your mouth and relax it. Remember, the /ə/ sound is very relaxed, so your tongue and lips should be relaxed when you pronounce it. Let’s try saying it: /ə/, /ə/, /ə/. [Pronunciation exercise] Now, let’s practice this sound in some words. You’ll see a word on the screen and hear its pronunciation. Like this. You’ll have a few seconds to pronounce the word, if you want to. Let’s begin. • ability • above • abrupt • absence • absent • abyss • academic • accident • accurate • accusal • achieve • achieve • across • action • actual • adapt • addition • address • adequate • adjust • administration • adopt • adult • advance • affect • afraid • Africa • again • against • agency You’re done! Congratulations! By the way, did you know that the /ə/ sound is written as the letter "a" in one-third of all cases? More on the spelling: Most often, the /ə/ sound is written as the letter "a," as in the word "above," then by the letter "o," as in the word "today," and the letter "e," as in the word "even." Less often it’s represented by a combination of the letters "io," as in the word "nation"; the letter "i," as in the word "pencil"; and the letter "u," as in the word "product." Thanks for watching! Hope you find it useful. Stay tuned on our Sounds American channel!