au In American English

'au' as a digraph represents three sounds that we are going to talk about here.

Digraphs are a set of two letters that stand together and produce a new sound.

Digraph	au
Name	au (pronounced /ˈeɪ ˈyou/)
Common Sound(s)	/ɔ/, /oʊ/, /ɑ/

The Digraph 'au'

Sound 1: /ɔ/

'au' in the middle or at the beginning of words sounds /ɔ/:

Example

laundry /ˈlɔːn.dɹi/

August /ˈɔɡəst/

sauce /ˈsɔs/

Sound 2: /oʊ/

'au' in French loanwords sounds /oʊ/:

Example

aubergine /ˈoʊ.bɚ.ʒiːn/

faux /foʊ/

haute /oʊt/

Sound 3: /ɑ/

'au' also sounds /ɑ/:

Example

audio /ˈɑː.di.oʊ/

vault /vɑːlt/

Other Sounds

Sound 4: /æ/

'au' in the middle of or at the beginning of words sounds /æ/:

Example

aunt /ænt/

laugh /læf/

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- Sound 4: /æ/

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au In American English

The Digraph 'au'

Sound 1: /ɔ/

Sound 2: /oʊ/

Sound 3: /ɑ/

Other Sounds

Sound 4: /æ/

Comments

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