International Phonetic Alphabet

The sounds of English and the 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. Gimson’s 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.

To print the chart, use the printable PDF version.

vowels IPA examples listen ʌ cup, luck Amer ɑ: arm, father Amer /Brit æ cat, black Amer e met, bed Amer 1 ə away, cinema Amer 2 ɜ:ʳ turn, learn Amer /Brit 2 ɪ hit, sitting Amer i: see, heat Amer ɒ hot, rock Amer /Brit 3 ɔ: call, four Amer /Brit 4 5 ʊ put, could Amer u: blue, food Amer aɪ five, eye Amer aʊ now, out Amer eɪ say, eight Amer oʊ go, home Amer 6 ɔɪ boy, join Amer eəʳ where, air Amer /Brit 1 7 ɪəʳ near, here Amer /Brit 7 ʊəʳ pure, tourist Amer /Brit 7

consonants IPA examples listen b bad, lab Amer d did, lady Amer f find, if Amer g give, flag Amer h how, hello Amer j yes, yellow Amer k cat, back Amer l leg, little Amer m man, lemon Amer n no, ten Amer ŋ sing, finger Amer p pet, map Amer r red, try Amer 8 s sun, miss Amer ʃ she, crash Amer t tea, getting Amer 9 tʃ check,church Amer θ think, both Amer ð this, mother Amer v voice, five Amer w wet, window Amer z zoo, lazy Amer ʒ pleasure, vision Amer dʒ just, large Amer

         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. The “proper” symbol for the bed vowel is ɛ (do not confuse withɜ:). The same goes for eə vs. ɛə.

          2. In əʳ and ɜ:ʳ, the ʳ is not pronounced in BrE, unless the sound comes before a vowel (as in answering, answer it). In AmE, the ʳ is always pronounced, and the sounds are sometimes written as ɚ and ɝ.

          3. In AmE, ɑ: and ɒ are one vowel, so calm and cot have the same vowel. In American transcriptions, hot is written as hɑ:t.

         4. About 40% of Americans pronounce ɔ: the same way as ɑ:, so that caughtand cot have the same vowel. See cot-caught merger.

          5. In American transcriptions, ɔ: is often written as ɒ: (e.g. law = lɒ:), unless it is followed by r, in which case it remains an ɔ:.

          6. In British transcriptions, oʊ is usually represented as əʊ. For some BrE speakers, oʊ is more appropriate (they use a rounded vowel) — for others, the proper symbol is əʊ. For American speakers, oʊ is usually more accurate.

          7. In eəʳ ɪəʳ ʊəʳ, 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 ɪr ʊr.

          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 Americanr; it stands for the “hard” r that is heard, for example, in the Spanish wordrey or Italian vero. The “proper” symbol for the red consonant is ɹ.

          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.

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