One of the 40 sounds Nunzio listens for. When you read a sentence aloud, the app scores every single sound in it on your phone — this page is what he knows about this one: what tends to come out in its place, and what to do about it.
Shorten the vowel and keep the tongue relaxed in the middle of the mouth, not low and far back.
“Too long, too deep, like a doctor said open wide! This vowel is a quick little grunt in the middle — uh! Short!”Nunzio, when he hears it
Open the jaw a touch more and give the vowel a small push of voice — short, but with a little punch, not just a mumble.
“Almost, bello! But this little sound wants a bit of muscle — uh! — not a sigh. Small, but alive!”Nunzio, when he hears it
In the app, this sound is put under pressure in Everyday English — whole sentences built so it cannot hide.
The classic mix-ups involving this sound, one page per pair: cup vs father, cup vs banana, cup vs apple.
People often say “uh” when a word actually wants “ah” as in father, “uh” as in banana, “a” as in apple — each of those pages shows the way back.
Reading about a sound is one thing. Hearing which ones you miss is another.
Nunzio records you reading a sentence, scores every sound in it on your phone — nothing is uploaded — and tells you the one thing worth fixing. Nunzio — Accent Coach is coming to the App Store and Google Play.