Decoding exercises: "wa"

The vowel in the sequence "wa" has many different pronunciations.


 * /ɔː/: walk, wall, walnut, walrus, Walter, waltz
 * /æ/: Kwanzaa, swam, wag, wagon, wax
 * /ɒ/: swallow, swamp, swan, swap, wand, wander, wasp, watch, watt
 * /ɔː/, /ɒ/: water
 * /ɒ/, /ɔː/: waffle, want, wash, Washington
 * /ɒ/, /ʌ/: was
 * /eɪ/: waste
 * with magic e: awake, wade, wage, wake, wave


 * /ɑː/: schwa


 * Hawaii /həˈwaɪiː, həˈwɑːiː/ Rwanda /ruːˈɑːndə, ruːˈændə/, Taiwan /ˈtaɪˈwɑn/


 * "war"
 * /ɔː/: award, dwarf, reward, swarm, war, wardrobe, warm, warn, warp
 * /ə/: afterward, afterwards, awkward, backward, backwards, forward
 * //: wary
 * with magic e: aware, beware, Delaware, software


 * In combinations
 * "wai" and "way" as /weɪ/: always, away, Norway, wait, way
 * "wai" as /ə/: boatswain, bosun /ˈbəʊsən/


 * Two different syllables
 * allowance, coward, renewal, withdrawal

Variant pronunciations

 * towards /təˈwɔːrdz, tɔːrdz/