How do you pronounce æ?

The Old English Letter

(1) The Old English letter æ* is found in some spellings of a number of English Words, for example encyclopædia / encyclopædic. (also written as encyclopedia, encyclopaedia / encyclopedic, encyclopaedic)

The pronunciation of vowels differs from country to country. Regional and cultural accents also play a part.

Even the e's in the Word encyclopedia sound different in American-English, British-English and Australian-English.

So it is best to check for the standard or received pronunciation of æ in your country.

For example, some phonetic dictionaries suggest that the æ in encyclopædia has a standard pronunciation like a long ee, as in bee, see, me.

However, on other Words, the suggested pronunciation of æ in other Words may be different, as in Æsop's Fables, possibly pronounced as eesop or aysop, or somewhere in between!

In all cases it is good idea to actually check in a relevant dictionary to determine the standard pronunciation of any specific Word that uses the letter æ. Also listen to how that Word is usually pronounced in your country.

* The letter æ is called an ash.

(2) The phonetic (IPA) symbol æ , as in / kæt / is pronounced as the 'a' in cat, bat, fat, mat, sat.

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