IPA chart for English

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This chart shows concisely the most common way in which the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) is applied to represent the English language.

See International Phonetic Alphabet for English for a more complete version and Pronunciation respelling for English for phonetic transcriptions used in different dictionaries.

IPA: English Consonants IPA Examples p pen, spin, tip b but, web t two, sting, bet d do, odd tʃ chair, nature, teach dʒ gin, joy, edge k cat, kill, skin, queen, thick ɡ go, get, beg f fool, enough, leaf v voice, have θ thing, teeth ð this, breathe, father s see, city, pass z zoo, rose ʃ she, sure, emotion, leash ʒ pleasure, beige h ham m man, ham n no, tin ŋ singer, ring l left, bell ɹ run, very[1] w we j yes ʍ what[2] x loch (Scottish)

IPA: English Vowels IPA Examples RP GenAm AuE ɑː ɑ aː father iː i iː see i or ɪ i i city ɪ ɪ ɪ city ɛ ɛ e bed[3] ɜː ɝ ɜː bird æ æ æ lad, cat, ran[4][5] ɑː ɑɹ aː arm ʌ ʌ a run, enough ɒ ɑ ɔ not, wasp ɔː ɔ oː law, caught[6] ʊ ʊ ʊ put, wood uː u ʉː soon, through ə ə ə about ə ɚ ə winner   IPA: English Diphthongs IPA Examples RP GenAm AuE eɪ eɪ or e æɪ day aɪ aɪ ɑe my ɔɪ ɔɪ oɪ boy əʊ oʊ or o əʉ no aʊ aʊ æɔ now ɪə ɪɹ ɪə near, here ɛə ɛɹ eː hair, there[7] ʊə ʊɹ ʊə tour juː ju jʉː pupil

IPA: Other symbols used in transcription of English pronunciation
IPA	Explanation
ˈ	Primary stress (placed before the stressed syllable), for example rapping /ˈɹæpɪŋ/
ˌ	Secondary stress, for example battleship /ˈbætl̩ˌʃɪp/
.	Syllable separator, for example plankton /ˈplæŋk.tən/
̩	Syllabic consonant, for example ridden /ˈɹɪdn̩/

1. ^ Although the symbol r technically represents an alveolar trill, which is absent from most dialects of English, it is nevertheless widely used instead of ɹ in phonemic transcriptions.
2. ^ Some accents, such as Scottish and much of the American South; see whine and wine and voiceless labiovelar approximant
3. ^ Often transcribed /e/ for RP, for example in Collins English Dictionary.
4. ^ Often transcribed /a/ for RP, for example in dictionaries of the Oxford University Press.
5. ^ See bad-lad split for more discussion of this vowel in Australian English.
6. ^ See low back merger for more discussion of this vowel in American English.
7. ^ Alternative symbols used in British dictionaries are /ɛː/ (Oxford University Press) and /eə/.

See also

• Pronunciation respelling for English
• SAMPA chart for English
• English vowel wheel
• NATO phonetic alphabet - also known as the international radiotelephony spelling alphabet or military alphabet. The NATO phonetic alphabet differs from linguistics term phonetic alphabet, and is often confused with the IPA because of their similar names.