How to say 'aw' in a word (law vs. low) | American English Pronunciation | Vowels

1 Mar 2016 · 2 min

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A short pronunciation lesson by Hadar Shemesh explaining the spelling pattern 'aw' as in 'law'. The speaker emphasizes that when W follows A it typically represents the 'ah' (as in 'father') vowel sound (law), not a rounded 'o'/'ow' sound (low). Several example words are given (draw, dawn, crawl, lawn, awe) and dialectal variation (slightly rounded realizations) is noted.

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Hi, it's hadar. And this is the accent's way, your way to finding clarity, confidence and freedom in English. Today we are going to discuss the spelling pattern. Aw as in law. Aw. Now, we've already established that spelling and pronunciation do not always correspond in English. And this is a really good example because although you have a W there, remember. Right. Law. We do not round our lips to make a W sound. It is not lo. Alright, that's a different word. We say law. Law. So remember, whenever the W appears after an A, it represents together the ah as in father vowel sound. Law. Now, in some dialects you'll hear it as a more rounded sound. Law. That's also okay. The most important thing is that you have to remember it is not a changing vowel. It's not lo. It's law. Awful and not awful. Awesome. Awesome and not awesome. Right? Let's look at a few more words. Draw. Dawn. Crawl. Lawn. Awe. Alright, that's it for today. So thank you for watching. Please share this video with your friend if you think they're gonna like it. And do not forget to subscribe if you haven't yet. Have a good week and I will see you next week in the next video. Bye.