the diphthong /eɪ/ as in ace and important, typically when ⟨a⟩ is accompanied by one, or at times two, consonants and after that A different vowel letter—this effects from Center English lengthening followed by the Great Vowel ChangeWithin the International Phonetic Alphabet, ⟨a⟩ is used for the open front unrounded vowel, ⟨ä⟩ is em