IPA chart for English
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.
RP = Received Pronunciation. GA = General American. AuE = Australian English. NZE = New Zealand English.
- Note: An image of the chart is also available.
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IPA: Marginal Sounds | |
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IPA | Examples |
x | Scottish loch |
ʔ | uh-(ʔ)oh |
IPA: Other symbols used in transcription of English pronunciation | ||
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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/ |
Notes
- ^ 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.
- ^ Some accents, such as Scottish and much of the American South; see whine and wine and voiceless labiovelar approximant
- ^ Often transcribed /e/ for RP, for example in Collins English Dictionary.
- ^ Often transcribed /a/ for RP, for example in dictionaries of the Oxford University Press.
- ^ See bad-lad split for more discussion of this vowel in Australian English.
- ^ See low back merger for more discussion of this vowel in American English.
- ^ Alternative symbols used in British dictionaries are /ɛː/ (Oxford University Press) and /eə/.
See also
- English vowel wheel
- NATO phonetic alphabet - also known as the international radiotelephony spelling alphabet or military alphabet. The NATO phonetic alphabet is often confused with the IPA because of the occurrence of "phonetic" in its name. However, the NATO alphabet is a cipher of the Latin alphabet, while the IPA strives for one-to-one representation of the sounds of all languages.
- Phonetic alphabets (military)
- Pronunciation respelling for English
- SAMPA chart for English
References
- Gimson, A. C. (1980). An Introduction to the Pronunciation of English, 3rd edn., London: Edward Arnold. ISBN 0-7131-6287-2.
- Kenyon, John Samuel (1950). American Pronunciation, 10th edn., Ann Arbor: George Wahr.
- Kenyon, John S.; Thomas A. Knott (1944/1953). A Pronouncing Dictionary of American English. Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster. ISBN 0-87779-047-7.
- Wells, J. C. (2000). Longman Pronunciation Dictionary, 2nd edn., Harlow, Essex: Pearson Education Limited. ISBN 0-582-36468-X.
External links
- Learning the IPA for English, (Standard American English)
- Online keyboard with MP3 sound files for IPA symbols
- IPA chart with AIFF sound files for IPA symbols
- IPA chart with MP3 sound files for all IPA symbols on the chart (limited version is available to anyone)
- The International Phonetic Alphabet (revised to 2005) Symbols for all languages are shown on this one-page chart.
- lexconvert a GPL command-line program to convert between Unicode IPA and the ASCII notations of various English speech synthesizers