Minimal Pair /ɑ:/ and /ɜ:/

as in fast and first

Below is a list of words that vary only by one having the vowel sound /ɑ:/ and the other the vowel sound /ɜ:/.

You can use this list to practise the sounds, or as a list of words to be careful in pronouncing.

Both sounds are long single sounds but the mouth position is different, with /ɑ:/ having a much wider open mouth position. This is why your doctor asks you to say this sound to show him or her inside your mouth. /ɜ:/ is much more like the sound people make when they are disgusted.

Elementary

fast first

Pre-Intermediate

bath berth

far fir

ha her

hard heard

heart hurt

pass purse

Intermediate

bath birth

bard bird

car cur

card curd

far fur

farm firm

guard gird

hard herd

Pa per

Upper-Intermediate

bar burr

barn burn

card Kurd

cart curt

carve curve

dart dirt

par purr

park perk

part pert

sharper Sherpa

star stir

Advanced

arc irk

barbs burbs

blah blur

carbs curbs

harpies herpes

parched perched

parp perp

quark quirk

sarge surge

shark shirk

tarps turps

Alex Case, founder TeflTasticAlex Case is the author of TEFLtastic and the Teaching...: Interactive Classroom Activities series of business and exam skills e-books for teachers. He has been a teacher, teacher trainer, director of studies, and editor in Turkey, Thailand, Spain, Greece, Italy, UK, Korea and now Japan. He has published a book with Macmillan and hundreds of articles, reviews, lesson plans and worksheets with Onestopenglish, Modern English Teacher and many others. In addition to contributing articles and teaching ideas to Tefl.NET, Alex for many years edited Tefl.NET Book Reviews.

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