The word "alterings" is spelled with the letter "a" as the first vowel instead of "e" due to the pronunciation of the word. The IPA phonetic transcription for "alterings" is /ɔːltərɪŋz/. The sound "aw" is in the word "alter", which is followed by the sound "ihng" in "ing", and the sound "z" at the end to indicate plural form. Therefore, the spelling of "alterings" accurately represents its pronunciation.