I’ve looked all over the Internet but cannot for the life of me find the answer.
Rhymes (in American English accent) with:
shall la otter
Rhymes with “palma otter”
What @jym626 said.
My alma mater has an alma mater song that is sung on every conceivable occasion, and it’s always pronounced this way.
In the version suggested by @GMTplus7, the first vowel is a little off to my ears, but that may be a regional difference in pronunciation.
agree with marian. Don’t quite understand “shall la”. Alma rhymes with “calm - ma” or, to some, “cal- ma”. Or, in my previous example, 'palm- ma".
al - muh (as in “You can call me Al”) mah - tur (as in “ma-ma”)
I have heard all mah mah tur as well.
It is a regional difference, like “aunt” (sounding like the insect) and “aunt” (sounding like “on” - t)
My oldest took Latin and he says it is all bull anyway, the way they are taught to pronounce Latin and the general pronunciation of Latin phrases in English.
The first Youtube hit I found was unlike any pronunciation of alma mater I have ever heard. It was al-muh matter, not mah-tur. Every other I can find online has “mah - tur”.
And LOL, the British pronunciation does sound very British: al-mer mah-tuh…
It definitely does not rhythm w the Brit pronunciation of otter.
The palma otter description is correct. It’s the ah sound in both words for the a.
Many years of studying Latin … there is no exact right way because there is still disagreement over how the Romans pronounced things and Latin pronunciation surely changed over hundreds of years and the “a” can have somewhat different sounds depending on where it is in the word and what follows. It’s possible they had more an “ail” sound for the first a in alma and more of an “eh” sound for the a in mater. I think the idea that pater and mater are long a’s is a corruption of the “eh” sound as in payter pushed closer to pehter.
Just look at the mess about “v”. Was it “w” in the Republic, then more of a Spanish style “b”? Where is the line between a vuh and bvuh? And the “w” … was that “vwuh”?
That said, Kai-sahr is probably closer to Caesar’s name (not Kai-zerr).
To me, this thread highlights in an interesting way how difficult it is to discuss pronunciations without resorting to an objective set of phonetic symbols because of regional differences, even in the context of a relatively simple phrase. For example, saying “alma” rhymes with “palm-a” or “calm-a” is ambiguous because many American speakers pronounce those words without the “l” sound. In fact, the snoots (not me) claim that the only correct way to pronounce them is with a silent “l.” For example, Charles Harrington, the most pedantic of the pronunciation experts (and therefore one of the most entertaining), says that voicing the L sounds in those words is “beastly”! I pronounce them with “L” sounds, but I think there are plenty of people who don’t. I wonder if those who say “pahm” and “cahm” also say “ahma” mater?
And Lergnom, in my accent or orthography, “eh” and “ay” sound the same, so the distinction you are trying to draw is lost on me.
Anyway, I find these regional differences interesting.
all-ma motter
I am not sure I follow the link to the pronunciation of Caesar to Pater. The different sound comes from the “ae” combination and not from a different type of a.
The differences appear and are made clear in this example: Pater Patriae. The first two “a” are standard as in … grandpa! The ae combination is different. Caesar is a different case.
By the way, the L in Alma is surely NOT silent! The first and second a are also pronounced with an accent on the As. The R at the end is also pronounced – so no alma mata!
Well, except in British English where the “r” sound is not voiced at the end of “mater.” Listen to the British pronunciation in the link in my post earlier in the thread. At the very least, you disagree with the editors of the dictionary I linked to.
Yes, I agree the L in “alma” is not silent. That’s my point – saying that “alma” rhymes with “palm-a” or “calm-a” is not helpful to those Americans who pronounce “palm” and “calm” with a silent “L.” To those people, “alma” does not sound like “palm-a,” if they pronounce alma with a audible L.
Oh, and the two a’s in grandpa are pronounced differently in my accent. The a’s in alma mater are pronounced like the second a, but not like the first.
Oh. I meant that the second A in grandpa was the same as the two As in AlmA or in PAter PAtriae. Did not mean to write that the a in grand was the same.
I also agree with the Palm-a being wrong because of the American version of Palm. Bu then, I also think that Brian de Palma is pronounced like the Alma with an audible L and not Pahma.
Oh, Xiggi, now you are just trying to confuse everyone! 
As your link shows, unlike palm or pahm (no matter how you pronounce it), palmetto has a “pal” in it, with the same vowel as “gal.” Alma, by contrast, has the same vowel as “call” or “ball.” So, to sum up – Alma and palmetto – different vowels, same L.
Haha – not trying to confuse anyone. Just positing that the Alma does not start with “call” or “ball.” In so many words, I see it as Pal (as you wrote - or bad or flag) with a Ma as the end of grandma. So, no ALL-ma and no sound borrowed from Call or Ball or Four – Not that ɔ: sound. Nor ɑ: but something closer to æ or even better that ə!
Oh boy, we’re really in trouble now. Can’t do the IPA symbols on my phone, but my grandma ends with the “a” sound in “father” – which in my California dialect is the same vowel that I use in not, paw, pot, dawn, Don, thought and ought! So how’s that for confusing! And, the first a in grandma is the ae in cat, pal, flag etc.
So, as to the pronunciation of alma, I think you agree with GMT+7 but disagree with many of the rest of us who would use the a sound in father (as father is pronounced in a pretty standard American accent).
Whew! My geek muscles have gotten quite a workout this morning!
To the OP: maybe you should use the phrase “my school” instead. (Just kidding! Any pronunciation that is anywhere close to the ones we have been discussing is fine.)
Palm is pronounced “paaahlm” not “pom” so alma mater is, IMO, similar in pronunciation. It could be pronounced AL- ma, but no ALL-ma.