IPA Symbols

IPA Symbols
Vowel Sounds Consonant Sounds
ɑː calm, ah b bed, rub
ɑːʳ heart, far d done, red
æ act, mass f fit, if
aɪ dive, cry g good, dog
aɪəʳ fire, tyre h hat, horse
aʊ out, down j yellow, you
aʊəʳ flour, sour k king, pick
e met, lend, pen l lip, bill

ə
eɪ say, weight l handle, panel
eəʳ fair, care m mat, ram
ɪ fit, win n not, tin

ə
iː me, seem n hidden, written
ɪəʳ near, beard p pay, lip
ɒ lot, spot r run, read
oʊ note, coat s soon, bus
ɔː claw, maul t talk, bet
ɔʳ more, cord v van, love
ɔɪ boy, joint w win, wool
ʊ could, stood ʰw why, wheat
uː you, use x loch
ʊəʳ lure, pure z zoo, buzz
ɜːʳ turn, third ʃ ship, wish
ʌ fund, must ʒ measure, leisure
ə the first vowel in about ŋ sing, working
əʳ the first vowel in forgotten ʧ cheap, witch
i the second vowel in very ɵ thin, myth
u the second vowel in actual ð then, bathe
ʤ joy, bridge
Notes
/ɑː/ or /æ/
A number of words are shown in the dictionary with alternative pronunciations
with /ɑː/ or /æ/, such as ‘path’ /pɑːθ, pæθ/. In this case, /pɑ:θ/ is the standard
British pronunciation. However, in many other accents of English, including
standard American English, the pronunciation is /pæθ/.
/r/
One of the main ways in which RP differs from most other accents of English is
that ‘r’ is only pronounced as /r/ when the next sound is a vowel. Thus, in
RP ,‘far gone’ is pronounced /fɑː gɒn/ but ‘far out’ is pronounced /fɑːr aʊt/. In
other accents of English, including GenAm, the ‘r’ in ‘far’ is always pronounced.
The /ʳ/ superscript shows that:
1. in RP, /r/ is pronounced only when it is followed by a vowel;

2. in GenAm, /r/ is always pronounced.
Some of the complex vowel sounds shown in the table above are simplified in
GenAm.
The vowel sound in ‘fire’ is shown as /aɪəʳ/.This represents the

pronunciation /aɪə/ in RP, but in GenAm the pronunciation is not /aɪər/,
but /aɪr/. So ‘fire’, ‘flour’, ‘fair’, ‘near’, and ‘lure’ are pronounced /faɪə/, /flaʊə/,
/feə/, /nɪə/, and /lʊə/ in RP, but /faɪr/, /flaʊr/, /fer/, /nɪr/, and /lʊr/ in GenAm.
/ɒ/
In GenAm, this symbol represents the same sound as the symbol /ɑː/, so that
the first syllable of ‘common’ sounds like ‘calm’. In RP, the sounds are different.
/oʊ/
This symbol is used to represent the sound /əʊ/ in RP, and also the sound /o/
in GenAm, as these sounds are almost entirely equivalent.
/i/ and /u/

These are short vowels which only occur in unstressed syllables:
 /i/ has a sound like /iː/, but is short like /ɪ/: very /veri/ create /krieɪt/
 /u/ has a sound like /uː/, but is short like /ʊ/: actual /æktʃuəl/
/əl/ and /ən/

These show that /l/ and /n/ are pronounced as separate syllables:
 handle /hændəl/ hidden /hɪdən/

/ʰw/
This shows that some people say /w/, and others, including many American
speakers, say /ʰw/: why /ʰwaɪ/
Stress
Stress is shown by underlining the vowel in the stressed syllable:
 two /tuː/
 result /rɪzʌlt/
 disappointing /dɪsəpɔɪntɪŋ/
When a word is spoken in isolation, stress falls on the syllables which have
vowels which are underlined. If there is one syllable underlined, it will have
primary stress.
 ‘TWO’
 ‘reSULT’
If two syllables are underlined, the first will have secondary stress, and the
second will have primary stress:
 ‘DISapPOINTing’
A few words are shown with three underlined syllables, for example
‘disqualification’ /dɪskwɔlɪfɪkəɪʃən/. In this case, the third underlined syllable will
have primary stress, while the secondary stress may be on the first or second
syllable:
 ‘DISqualifiCAtion’ or ‘disQUALifiCAtion’
RP tends to prefer ‘DIS-’, while GenAm usually prefers ‘dis-’.
In the case of compound words, where the pronunciation of each part is given
separately, the stress pattern is shown by underlining the headword: ‘off-peak’,
‘first-class’, but ‘off day’.
Stressed syllables
When words are used in context, the way in which they are pronounced
depends upon the information units that are constructed by the speaker. For
example, a speaker could say:
1. ‘the reSULT was disapPOINTing’

2. ‘it was a DISappointing reSULT’
3. ‘it was VERy disappointing inDEED’
In (3), neither of the two underlined syllables in disappointing /dɪsəpɔɪnɪiŋ/

receives either primary or secondary stress. This shows that it is not possible
for a dictionary to predict whether a particular syllable will be stressed in
context.
It should be noted, however, that in the case of adjectives with two stressed
syllables, the second syllable often loses its stress when it is used before a
noun:
 ‘an OFF-peak FARE’

 ‘a FIRST-class SEAT’
Two things should be noted about the marked syllables:
1. They can take primary or secondary stress in a way that is not shared by
the other syllables.
2. Whether they are stressed or not, the vowel must be pronounced
distinctly; it cannot be weakened to /ə/, /ɪ/ or /ʊ/.
These features are shared by most of the one-syllable words in English, which
are therefore transcribed in this dictionary as stressed syllables:
 two /tuː/
 inn /ɪn/
 tree /triː/
Unstressed syllables
It is an important characteristic of English that vowels in unstressed syllables
tend not to be pronounced clearly. Many unstressed syllables contain the
vowel /ə/, a neutral vowel which is not found in stressed syllables. The
vowels /ɪ/ and /ʊ/, which are relatively neutral in quality, are also common in
unstressed syllables.
Single-syllable grammatical words such as ‘shall’ and ‘at’ are often pronounced
with a weak vowel such as /ə/. However, some of them are pronounced with a
more distinct vowel under certain circumstances, for example when they occur
at the end of a sentence. This distinct pronunciation is generally referred to as
the strong form, and is given in this dictionary after the word strong.
shall /ʃəl, strong ʃæl/
at /ət, strong æt/

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IPA Symbols

Vowel Sounds Consonant Sounds

ɑː calm, ah b bed, rub

ɑːʳ heart, far d done, red

æ act, mass f fit, if

aɪ dive, cry g good, dog

aɪəʳ fire, tyre h hat, horse

aʊ out, down j yellow, you

aʊəʳ flour, sour k king, pick

e met, lend, pen l lip, bill

eəʳ fair, care m mat, ram

ɪ fit, win n not, tin

ɪəʳ near, beard p pay, lip

ɒ lot, spot r run, read

oʊ note, coat s soon, bus

ɔː claw, maul t talk, bet

ɔʳ more, cord v van, love

ɔɪ boy, joint w win, wool

ʊ could, stood ʰw why, wheat

uː you, use x loch

ʊəʳ lure, pure z zoo, buzz

ɜːʳ turn, third ʃ ship, wish

ʌ fund, must ʒ measure, leisure

ə the first vowel in about ŋ sing, working

əʳ the first vowel in forgotten ʧ cheap, witch

i the second vowel in very ɵ thin, myth

u the second vowel in actual ð then, bathe

1. in RP, /r/ is pronounced only when it is followed by a vowel;

The vowel sound in ‘fire’ is shown as /aɪəʳ/.This represents the

/i/ and /u/

/əl/ and /ən/

 handle /hændəl/ hidden /hɪdən/

RP tends to prefer ‘DIS-’, while GenAm usually prefers ‘dis-’.

1. ‘the reSULT was disapPOINTing’

3. ‘it was VERy disappointing inDEED’

In (3), neither of the two underlined syllables in disappointing /dɪsəpɔɪnɪiŋ/

 ‘an OFF-peak FARE’

Two things should be noted about the marked syllables:

shall /ʃəl, strong ʃæl/

at /ət, strong æt/

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