PHONETICS: /ɒ/

In British English, the phonetic symbol /ɒ/ corresponds to the vowel sound in words like "not", "hot" and "stop". It is called a short vowel. 

• Some common words which practice the pronunciation of /ɒ/ include the following:
• with "o": cough - gone - got - hot - long - lot - job - song - strong - wrong;
• with "a": wad - wallet - wander - want - warrant - warranty - wasp - watch - what;
• homophones: knot - not.

While /ɒ/ is very similar to the Spanish letter "o", it is actually slightly shorter, and most Spanish speakers pronounce it pretty well. However, it's useful to point out the difference between this short vowel sound and a sound which is particularly difficult for many Spanish speakers: /əʊ/, as in "slow". Practice may be needed to distinguish between words like "want" and "won't".

Written by Victoria Overton

Native English Spain is dedicated to make learning English simple, fun and affordable for Spanish people.