LETTER A IN UNSTRESSED AND STRESSED SYLLABLES

Let's have a look at the words in Group A and Group B. Group A about account address afar ago ally (v) amiss amount annoy appear arrive assist attest atone away Group B absolute accent (n) adjective after agent aggravate alter ambit anchor apparatus aristocrat ascertain atom avid azure

You must have noticed that all the words in Group A and Group B start with letter a. But the difference is that letter a is unstressed in Group A but it is stressed in Group B. Unstressed letter a, when it is a syllable, as well, is pronounced as schwa, that is, /ə/ or अ (for Hindi speakers). But it is observed that many Hindi and Urdu speakers use the most common pronunciation of letter a, that is, /e:/ or ए. Listen to the recording: