Long Vowel a

Long vowels a, e, i, o, and u are the second set of vowels taught to kids, after they master the short vowels a, e, i, o, and u. The sound of the long vowel is the same as the way we pronounce the name of the vowel. Here, we will be talking about the long a sound /ā/, made by several vowel combinations.

Differences between short and long vowels: 

It is quite useful here to teach students the differences between short and long vowels.

Short vowel sounds are mainly seen in C-V-C words. In these words, the vowel is a syllable followed by a consonant. These sounds are also seen in the V-C type of words as in an, at, where again the vowel is followed by a consonant. The vowel in the syllable in these words is a closed syllable as it is followed by the consonant. Such vowel makes the short vowel sound. Therefore, short vowels are a result of closed syllables. Examples include fat, met, bid, bog, and cut (Short vowels a, e, i, o and u respectively)

On the other hand, long vowel a sound is often found in open syllables as in the words, Examples: acorn, apron, agent, and alien, etc.

Short vowels are pronounced as /ă/, /ĕ/, /ĭ/, /ŏ/, and /ŭ/. respectively Whereas long vowels say their own name represented as /ā/, /ē/, /ī/, /ō/, and /ū/ respectively.

S No.	Short Vowels	Long Vowels
1.	Make the short sounds represented by /ă/, /ĕ/, /ĭ/, /ŏ/, and /ŭ/.	Say their own name represented by /ā/, /ē/, /ī/, /ō/, and /ū/.
2.	Found in closed syllables	Found in open syllables

Pronunciation of Long vowel a:

The long vowel a is two-sounded vowel.

First, begin with the tongue, which should be slightly pushed forward yet still within the relaxed position of the mouth.

Secondly, as you continue, the jaw drops slightly, the lips open slightly and the tongue touches the bottom of the front teeth

Vowel teams such as a-e, ai, and ay make the long a sound. 

Rule to follow: “Sound of the first vowel is dominant saying its own name and the second vowel is silent”.

Vowel teams that make the long a sound are:

1.     a-e as in the word cave

2.     ai as in the word pail

3.     ay as in the word pray

Other vowel combinations that make the long a sound are:

1.     a as in the word lady, 

2.     ei as in the word vein, 

3.     ea as in the word break,

4.     ey as in the word hey, 

5.     eigh as in the word eight

Word list (a-e) words:

Words made by the vowel combination a-e are:
ape, cave, vase, fade, male, bake, wage, ate, stake, sale, shake, vale, cake, waste, rake, flame, game, frame, skate, cage, chase, brave, plate, paste, and trade.

Phonetic decoding of a-e words:

1.     ape: /ā/+/p/

2.     cave: /k/+ /ā/ +/v/

3.     vase: /v/+/ā/+/s/

4.     fade:/f/+/ā/+/d/

5.     male:/m/+/ā/+/l/

6.     bake:/b/+/ā/+/k/

7.     wage:/w/+/ā/+/j/

8.     ate: /ā/+/t/

9.     stake:/st/+/ā/+/k/

10.  shake:/sh/+/ā/+/k/

11.  vale:/v/+/ā/+/l/

12.  cake:/k/+/ā/+/k/

13.  rake:/r/+/ā/+/k/

14.  flame:/fl/+/ā/+/m/

15.  game:/g/+/ā/+/m/

16.  frame:/fr/+/ā/+/m/

17.  skate:/sk/+/ā/+/t/

18.  cage:/k/+/ā/+/j/

19.  chase:/ch/+/ā/+/z/

20.  brave:/br/+/ā/+/v/

21.  plate:/pl/+/ā/+/t/

22.  paste:/p/+/ā/+/s/+/t/

23.  waste:/w/+/ā/+/s/+/t/

While teaching these words it is important to note that the “letter e” that comes at the end is silent. It makes the vowel in the middle to say its own name or become long.

Word list (ai) words:

Words made by the vowel combination -ai are:

aim, bait, fail, wait, mail, paint, paid, sail, faint, pail, waist, tail, main, pain, vain, rain, and rail

Phonetic decoding of ai words:

1.     aim: /ā/+/m/

2.     bait:/b/+/ā/+/t/

3.     fail: /f/+/ā/+/l/

4.     wait: /w/+/ā/+/t/

5.     mail: /m/+/ā/+ /l/

6.     paint: /p/+/ā/+ /nt/

7.     paid: /p/+/ā/+ /d/

8.     waist: /w/+/ā/+ /st/

9.     tail: /t/+/ā/+ /l/

10.  main: /m/+/ā/+ /n/

11.  pain: /p/+/ā/+ /n/

12.  vain: /v/+/ā/+ /n/

13.  rain: /r/+/ā/+ /n/

14.  rail: /r/+/ā/+ /l/

Word list (ay) words:

Words made by the vowel combination ay are:

day, pray, lay, stay, hay, sway, ray, pay, stray, may, spray, say, way, clay, play, tray, and fray

Phonetic decoding of ay words:

1.     day: /d/+/ā/

2.     pray: /pr/+/ā/

3.     lay: /l/+/ā/

4.     stay: /st/+/ā/

5.     hay: /h/+/ā/

6.     sway: /sw/+/ā/

7.     ray: /r/+/ā/

8.     pay: /p/+/ā/

9.     stray: /str/+/ā/

10.  may: /m/+/ā/

11.  spray: /spr/+/ā/

12.  say: /s/+/ā/

13.  way: /w/+/ā/

14.  clay: /cl/+/ā/

15.  tray: /tr/+/ā/

16.  fray: /fr/+/ā/

The vowel combinations “ai” and “ay” are taught as vowel teams, which simply means that the sound of the first vowel is dominant and the second is silent. The first vowel says its own name or makes the long a sound. In both these combinations, therefore, make the long a sound.

There are other vowels combinations that make the long a sound.

 

Word list (a) words:

Words made by the vowel -a are:

lady, acorn, apron, baby, hazy, lady, table, maple, cable, paper, basic, agent, tomato, potato, and radio.

Phonetic decoding of a words:

1.     lady: /l/+ /ā/+/d/+ y as long e

2.     lazy: /l/+ /ā/+/z/+ y as long e

3.     hazy: /h/+ /ā/+/z/+ y as long e

4.     baby: /b/+ /ā/+/b/+ y as long e

5.     acorn: /ā/+/k/+.or/+/n/

6.     apron: /ā/+/p/+/r/+The Schwa+/n/

7.     table: /t/+ /ā/+/b/+ The Schwa+/l/

8.     maple: /m/+ /ā/+/m/+ The Schwa+/l/

9.     cable: /k/+ /ā/+/b/+ The Schwa+/l/

10.  paper: /p/+/ā/+/p/+ /The Schwa+/r/

11.  basic: /b/+/ā/+/s/+ /i/+/k/

12.  agent: /ā/+soft g /j/+ The Schwa+/nt/

13.  tomato: /t/+ The Schwa+/m/+ /ā/+/t/+long o

14.  potato: /p/+ The Schwa+/t/+ /ā/+/t/+long o

15.  radio: /r/+/ā/+/d/+/io/ as diphthong

Word list (ei, ea, ey and eigh) words:

Words made by the vowel combinations -ei, -ey, -ea and -eigh are:

Vein, break, hey, eight, veil, weight, weigh, neigh, sleigh, freight, grey, they, and whey.

Phonetic decoding of ei, ea, ey and eigh words:

1.     vein: /v/+ /ā/+/n/

2.     veil: /v/+ /ā/+/l/

3.     break: /br/+ /ā/+/k/

4.     hey: /h/+ /ā/

5.     they: /th/+ /ā/

6.     grey: /gr/+ /ā/

7.     whey: /wh/+ /ā/

8.     weigh: /w/+/ā/

9.     neigh: /n/+/ā/

10.  sleigh: /sl/+/ā/

11.  weight: /w/+/ā/+/t/

12.  freight: /fr/+/ā/+/t/