Tag Archives: american english

Pronouncing the Indefinite Article

In his speeches, President Obama commonly pronounces the indefinite article “a” like the “a” in “may”.  You can hear it in this speech.  Most people, most of the time, pronounce it with the schwa.   In that speech, I have also caught him pronounce “to” like “too” before a vowel, but with a schwa before a consonant.

Hilary Clinton pronounces “a” that way in speeches, too.  Example.

They may not use this pronunciation mode in ordinary conversation.   Is this a generational change or do they have the same speech teacher?

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