Proper Pronunciation Guide

saw

[sɔ]

Pronounce the vowel as a very distinct
/ɔ/—like the sound of disappointment: “Awwwwww!”
Lengthen the vowel sufficiently so that the word does not end too abruptly.
Be careful not to add the weak R-vowel
/ɚ/ to the end of the word, making it [sɔɚ].

	I saw her last week.
	He used a saw to cut the wood into shorter pieces.
	I'll saw this board in half.

(verb) The past tense of “see” (see, saw, seen).
(noun, verb) A thin metal tool with sharp teeth for cutting wood or lumber; the act of cutting wood with a saw.

Be careful of pronouncing the vowel /ɔ/ as a diphthong making this word sound like /suɔ/, /sɔo͜u/, or /sɔ͜ɚ/.
The consonant glides— /w/, /j/, /r/—cannot be used to link from the vowel /ɔ/ to another vowel, so when /ɔ/ ends a word and is followed by a word beginning with a vowel, there is necessarily somewhat of a break between the two vowels—saw us, saw Evan, saw off. Fortunately, not many words end in /ɔ/: draw, law, paw, jaw, Arkansas, gnaw, flaw, Shaw, claw, thaw — and some of these words are not used all that often.