© Paul Smit 2006-2021
This is a very common minimal pair for Korean speakers. When Koreans learn English in South Korea, they almost always learn North American English, in which there is only a small difference in the /ɒ/ and /ʌ/ sounds. If you have learnt another variety of English (e.g. Australian English) this may not be a minimal pair for you.
Exercise 1: Contrasting the sounds
- Listen to the word pairs, focusing on the two different sounds.
- Then repeat, again focusing on producing the different /ɒ/ and /ʌ/ sounds.
| /ʌ/ | /ɒ/ | |
|---|---|---|
| nut | not | |
| hut | hot | |
| gut | got | |
| lung | long | |
| bum | bomb | |
| rubber | robber | |
| rut | rot | |
| cut | cot | |
| suck | sock | |
| colour | collar | |
| duller | dollar | |
| cuff | cough |
Tongue twister
- Repeat the following tongue twister.
- Focus on the two different sounds /ɒ/ as in cold and /ʌ/ as in but.
- Repeat again, trying to say the tongue twister faster and faster.
What colour collar has a rubber robber got?
The rubber robber’ collar’s colour is the same colour as the rubber robber’s cuff.
Rubber robber, cough in your cuff, not your collar.
© Paul Smit 2006-2021