I have an issue with the /æ/ sound. There is no such vowel sound in my native language, which is Russian, so it's quite problematic for me to master this sound. The main problem is I can't even HEAR it as the same sound in different words. For example, the word "can" sounds to me more like there is an /e/ sound, but in the word "back" it sounds closer to an /ɑ/. I can clearly hear the difference between "man" and "men" but when it comes to words with different consonants around /æ/ (like can/back) I hear completely different sounds.
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I offer an unrelated observation about usage. OP reports, “I have an issue” with the phoneme. In idiomatic English, this kind of use of the noun issue typically conveys a negative judgment, as though the fault lay in the phoneme or the way others use it, whereas I suspect he meant something more like, “I have a difficulty” or, “I struggle.”– PaulTanenbaumCommented Aug 22, 2023 at 13:16
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"can" isn't pronounced with /e/ in any standard or near-standard dialect: when stressed, /ɛ/ or /æ/ or /a/, when unstressed often little or nothing. I guess your problem is wider, e.g. inability to distinguish /ɛ/ and /e/.– Stuart FCommented Aug 22, 2023 at 13:46
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1No, it's never the same. That's true of all phonemes, which are sets of sounds used by one or another person in one or another context.– John LawlerCommented Sep 18, 2023 at 16:51
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3 Answers
There are multiple ways of pronouncing this phoneme. The “pure” pronunciation is a near-open front unrounded vowel [æ] (as in cap and back), which as you can see on a vowel chart is directly between [ɛ] (Э) and [a] (А).
Before a nasal consonant such as /n/, it is also pronounced as [eə] or [εə] (as in can and Mary) in many accents.
Furthermore, in English, unstressed vowels are usually pronounced [ə], so “can” is often pronounced [kən] as in “I can do that”.
answered Feb 6, 2015 at 22:13
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5Dayum is not an attempt at writing the [εə ~ eə] found in many different US dialects; it’s an attempt at writing the [æʲə] found in a much more limited group of dialects in the South. This Wikipedia table gives a very good overview of what happens where. It’s far too confusing for anyone to remember by heart, like all English vowel developments in recent times … Commented Feb 6, 2015 at 23:03
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For further research, you might find some of the links on this page useful: photransedit.com/Resources/Links.aspx Commented Feb 6, 2015 at 23:50
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@JanusBahsJacquet: I thought of that—honestly I would guess it’s both. Removing that bit. Commented Feb 7, 2015 at 1:03
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The "many accents" you mention include nearly all American ones; in some it also happens before many non-nasal consonants.– alphabetCommented Mar 1, 2023 at 22:13
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Also, I suspect that it's pronounced further forward between alveolar consonants than between velar consonants, but maybe that's not a universal rule.– Stuart FCommented Mar 2, 2023 at 20:06
If you're listening to American English, when you hear /ɛ/ in the word can, you're probably hearing correctly.
In American English, can is often pronounced with the /ɛ/ vowel; this helps to distinguish it from can't. See the Merriam-Webster dictionary.
answered Aug 22, 2023 at 13:40
Actually, it is not a difficult sound to master. It is a combination of /e/ and /a/ (rEd and fAther) or (мЕра и вАня). For Russians it is very easy to produce /æ/, because /æ/ is made in the back of the mouth (throat) and the Russian 'a'/^/ (as in 'влад')is made in the back of the mouth, that is the Russian /^/ coincide coincides with the American /^/. So,just add a bit of /e/ to the Russian /a/, et voilà, you have got the /æ/. If you don't want to stress yourself with /a/, you can use /e/+/ə/ or /e/ or /ə/instead.
My advice is that you use only /æ/ or /ə/ all the time and don't bother yourself with allophones, even in unstressed positions.
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Welcome to EL&U. Do you mean [ɛ] in red? Please take a moment to tour the site and see the help center for clarification. Commented Mar 19, 2022 at 22:53
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Yes, it is considered a front vowel. However if you really try to pronounce it in the front of the mouth, you wil get a 'yah'. So, I stick to what I said. Commented Sep 17, 2023 at 20:10