International Phonetic Alphabet This chart contains all the sounds (phonemes) used in the English language.

For each sound, it gives: The symbol from the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA), as used in phonetic transcriptions in modern dictionaries for English learners that is, in A. C. Gimsons phonemic system with a few additional symbols. The chart represents British and American phonemes with one symbol. One symbol can mean two different phonemes in American and British English. See the footnotes for British-only and American-only symbols. Two English words which use the sound. The underline shows where the sound is heard. The links labeled Amer and Brit play sound recordings (Flash is required) where the words are pronounced in American and British English. The British version is given only where it is very different from the American version. consonants examples bad, lab did, lady find, if give, flag how, hello yes, yellow cat, back leg, little man, lemon no, ten sing, finger pet, map red, try sun, miss she, crash tea, getting check, church think, both this, mother voice, five wet, window zoo, lazy pleasure, vision

IPA : e

vowels examples listen cup, luck arm, father Amer Amer / Brit

cat, black Amer met, bed Amer away, cinema Amer Amer / Brit Amer Amer Amer / Brit Amer / Brit Amer Amer Amer Amer

: turn, learn hit, sitting i: see, heat hot, rock : call, four put, could u: blue, food a five, eye a now, out e o e

IPA b d f g 1 h 2 j k 2 l m n 3 45 p r s t

listen Amer Amer Amer Amer Amer Amer Amer Amer Amer Amer Amer Amer Amer 8 Amer Amer Amer 9 Amer Amer Amer Amer Amer Amer Amer Amer

t say, eight Amer go, home Amer 6 boy, join Amer v where, air Amer / Brit 1 7 w near, here Amer / Brit 7 z pure, tourist Amer / Brit 7

d just, large

1.

1. Almost all dictionaries use the e symbol for the vowel in bed. The problem with this convention is that e in the IPA does not stand for the vowel in bed; it stands for a different vowel that is heard, for example, in

the German word Seele, or at the beginning of the e sound in English. The proper symbol for the bed vowel is (do not confuse with :). The same goes for e vs. . 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 2. In and :, the is not pronounced in BrE, unless the sound comes before a vowel (as in answering, answer it). In AmE, the is always pronounced, and the sounds are sometimes written as and . 3. In AmE, : and are one vowel, so calm and cot have the same vowel. In American transcriptions, hot is written as h:t. 4. About 40% of Americans pronounce : the same way as :, so that caught and cot have the same vowel. See cot-caught merger. 5. In American transcriptions, : is often written as : (e.g. law = l:), unless it is followed by r, in which case it remains an :. 6. In British transcriptions, o is usually represented as . For some BrE speakers, o is more appropriate (they use a rounded vowel) for others, the proper symbol is . For American speakers, o is usually more accurate. 7. In e , the r is not pronounced in BrE, unless the sound comes before a vowel (as in dearest, dear Ann). In AmE, the r is always pronounced, and the sounds are often written as er r r. 8. All dictionaries use the r symbol for the first sound in red. The problem with this convention is that r in the IPA does not stand for the British or American r; it stands for the hard r that is heard, for example, in the Spanish word rey or Italian vero. The proper symbol for the red consonant is . 9. In American English, t is often pronounced as a flap t, which sounds like d or (more accurately) like the quick, hard r heard e.g. in the Spanish word pero. For example: letter. Some dictionaries use the t symbol for the flap t.

7. 8.

9.

special symbols IPA what it means The vertical line () is used to show word stress. It is placed before the stressed syllable in a word. For example, /kntrkt/ is pronounced like this, and /kntrkt/ like that. Word stress is explained in our article about phonetic transcription. is not a sound it is a short way of saying that an r is pronounced only in American English. For example, if you write that the pronunciation of bar is /b:/, you mean that it is /b:r/ in American English, and /b:/ in British English. However, in BrE, r will be heard if is followed by a vowel. For example, far gone is pronounced /f: gn/ in BrE, but far out is pronounced /f: rat/. i i is usually pronounced like a shorter version of i:, but sometimes (especially in an old-fashioned British accent) it can sound like . Examples: very /veri/, create /kriet/, previous /pri:vis/, ability /blti/.

l means that the consonant l is pronounced as a separate syllable (the syllabic l, which sounds like a vowel), or that there is a short sound before it. Examples: little /ltl/, uncle /kl/.

l Instead of the l symbol, some dictionaries use an l with a small vertical line underneath, or simply l, as in /ltl/.

n means that the consonant n is pronounced as a separate syllable (the syllabic n, which sounds like a vowel), or that there is a short sound before it. Examples: written /rtn/, listen /lsn/.

n Instead of the n symbol, some dictionaries use an n with a small vertical line underneath, or simply n, as in /rtn/.