Question

æ English sad. Spanish does not have this vowel sound. Mostly spelled a: trap, bat, plaid, cat, path, laugh, grass, chance, aunt. In some dialects of English (mostly southern England) some of these words are pronounced with the vowel [ɑ] (known as the TRAP-BATH split). Some people in New England also pronounce bath and aunt with [ɑ]. In parts of the US [æ] becomes [ɛ] before [n], e.g. tank [tɛŋk].

Accepted Answer

Near-open Front Unrounded http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Near-open_front_unrounded_vowel

Symbol	æ
Name	Near-open Front Unrounded
Notes	English sad. Spanish does not have this vowel sound. Mostly spelled a: trap, bat, plaid, cat, path, laugh, grass, chance, aunt. In some dialects of English (mostly southern England) some of these words are pronounced with the vowel [ɑ] (known as the TRAP-BATH split). Some people in New England also pronounce bath and aunt with [ɑ]. In parts of the US [æ] becomes [ɛ] before [n], e.g. tank [tɛŋk].
Ref	http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Near-open_front_unrounded_vowel

English Vowel æ Near Open Front Unrounded S D