A A
We will cover both the short a and long à forms of the vowel a, with examples to get you used to the sound. Don't worry too much about understanding the phrases, just listen to the sounds.
Let's listen to the sound.
Listen to the a sound within a Gaelic word:
a stick
Let's put the word bata into context.
a long stick
There is also the long à, represented by the “grave” accent ( ` ).
Listen for the à sound in this Gaelic word:
a boat
Listen out for the à sound again in a short phrase:
a long boat
Listen once again to the difference between these two sounds, starting with the short a sound:
a hat
And finally, the long à sound once more:
lovely