Welcome to the American English Pronunciation Guide. My name is Trevor Kafka, and I am your host. There are many different varieties of American English. I was born and raised in New York, which has given me General American English pronunciation. The English that I speak has 15 vowel sounds. Please view the transcript for help while listening. Today, we will talk about the vowel sound number 1 of 15: /æ/ black cat. The mouth must be open and wide for this sound, maybe a little more than you are used to in your native language. Listen to me saying this sound and repeat: /æ/, /æ/, /æ/ Listen to and repeat the following single-syllable words: black cat bad can have laugh sad tax thank Listen to and repeat the following multiple-syllable words: eggplant gather happen master command family unsatisfied understand imagine Listen to and repeat the following sentences: The mad cat had a hat. It is bad to have a laugh when your family is sad. I can imagine you’re unsatisfied with the master’s command. I would like to thank Shirley Thompson and Karen Taylor for their work in developing the set of key phrases that I use with each vowel, such as /æ/ black cat, /eɪ/ grey day, etc.