IPA Phonetic symbols for English
1. Open front unrounded vowel; also for open vowel
between front and back. First element of English
diphthongs in price, high, mouth, how
2. Open back unrounded vowel; English father
3. raised open front unrounded vowel; English trap, bad
4. voiced bilabial plosive, English b
5. voiced alveolar (sometimes: dental) plosive, English d
6. voiced palato-alveolar affricate, English j
7. dr voiced post-alveolar affricate, English dr
8. voiced dental fricative, in English father
9. close-mid front unrounded vowel
10. mid central unrounded weak vowel
11. mid central unrounded vowel, RP nurse
12. f voiceless labiodental fricative, English f
13. voiced velar plosive, English ‘hard’ g
14. voiceless glottal fricative, English h
15. close front unrounded vowel; English fleece ; English
neutralization of - , happy
16. lax , English kit
17. voiced palatal approximant (semi-vowel), English y
in yet
18. k voiceless velar plosive, English k
19. voiced alveolar lateral, English l
20. m voiced bilabial nasal, English m
21. n voiced alveolar (sometimes:dental) nasal, English n
22. voiced velar nasal, English ng
23. first element of AmE diphthong in goat
24. open-mid back rounded vowel; English north, thought
25. open back rounded vowel; RP lot
26. p voiceless bilabial plosive, English p
27. voiced post-alveolar approximant, English red
28. voiceless alveolar fricative, English s
29. voiceless palato-alveolar fricative , English sh
30. voiceless alveolar (sometimes:dental) plosive, English t
31. voiceless palato-alveolar affricate, English ch
32. voiceless post-alveolar affricate, English tr
33. voiceless dental fricative, English th
34. close back rounded vowel , English goose , English
neutralization of - , thank you
35. lax , English foot
36. voiced labiodental fricative, English v
37. open mid-back unrounded vowel, English love
38. voiced labial-velar approximant (semivowel),
English w
39. ! voiced alveolar fricative, English z
40. voiced palato-alveolar fricative , in English measure
(Note: The 20 vowel phonemes are: , , , ,
, , ,…
(The 24 consonant phonemes are: (", , , d, k, ) plosives,
( , ) affricates, (j, w) semi-vowels, ( , ) dentals,
(m, n, )nasals, (r, l) liquids, (#, , s, !, , , ) fricatives. )
Plosives: ", , , d, k,
Alveolars: t, d, z, s, l, n
Velars: , , $,
Fricatives: , #, , s, , , , !,
Affricates: , , , tr Example: nutshell %& . Note the
gap between and so that ‘t ’ here is not an affricate.
(plosive+fricative)
Clusters: dr, tr
Approximants: , , w
Semivowels: j, w
Voiceless: #, , ", k, s, , t,
Voiced: b, d, d , , , , , , , , m, n, v, z,
Dentals: ,
Nasals: m, n,
Liquids: r, l
