WAEC 2020 English Language · Question 66

/æl — choose the word that contains the sound represented by the given phonetic symbol

Question

From the words lettered A to D, choose the word that contains the sound represented by the given phonetic symbol. /æl

A.bag
B.park
C.get
D.class

Answer: A. bag

Explanation written with AI and checked against the answer key

Analyze the question: You are asked to find the word that contains the vowel sound /æ/. This is the short "a" sound, as in cat, man, flat.

Explain the concept: /æ/ is a short front vowel. Your mouth opens fairly wide and your tongue stays low and forward. Don't confuse it with:

/ɑː/ (as in park, car), the long "ah" sound
/e/ (as in get, bed), a shorter, higher vowel

Work through each option:

A. bag is /bæɡ/. It has the /æ/ sound. ✔
B. park is /pɑːk/. It has the long /ɑː/ sound. ✘
C. get is /ɡet/. It has the /e/ sound. ✘
D. class is /klɑːs/ in standard British English (the pronunciation used in WASSCE). It has /ɑː/, not /æ/. ✘ (In American English class is /klæs/, but Nigerian exams follow British English.)

Answer: The only word with /æ/ is bag, so the correct option is A.

Tip: Words like class, grass, past, fast, answer, dance are tricky. In British English they take /ɑː/, not /æ/. Words with a short "a" before a hard consonant, such as bag, cat, map, hat, black, take /æ/. When in doubt, say the word aloud: if your mouth opens wide, as in "ah", it is /ɑː/, not /æ/.

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