Jump to navigation Jump to search Ipa names page is about the pronunciation of words in English. For sounds not found in English, see Help:IPA. This is the pronunciation key for IPA transcriptions of English on Wikipedia.
It provides a set of symbols to represent the pronunciation of English in Wikipedia articles, and example words that illustrate the sounds that correspond to them. For an introductory guide on IPA symbols, see Help:IPA. The following tables list the IPA symbols used for English words and pronunciations. Please note that several of these symbols are used in ways that are specific to Wikipedia and differ from those used by dictionaries. The template provides tooltips for each symbol in the pronunciation. See the template page for instructions. If there is an IPA symbol you are looking for that you do not see here, see Help:IPA, which is a more complete list.
The words given as examples for two different symbols may sound the same to you. For example, you may pronounce cot and caught the same, do and dew, or marry and merry. Not all of the sets are used here. L-vocalization may trigger even more mergers, so that e. The vowels of kit and bit, distinguished in South Africa. The difference between the vowels of fir, fur and fern, maintained in some Scottish and Irish English but lost elsewhere.
The vowels of north and force, distinguished in Scottish English, Irish English and by a minority of American speakers. The vowels of pause and paws, distinguished in Cockney and by some Estuary English speakers. The difference between the vowels of pain and pane found in some English, Welsh, and Newfoundland dialects. The difference between the vowels of holy and wholly found in Cockney and many Estuary English speakers. Any allophonic distinctions, such as: The vowels of bad and lad, distinguished in many parts of Australia and Southern England. The vowels of spider and spied her, distinguished in many parts of Scotland, plus many parts of North America. The vowels of rider and writer, distinguished in most parts of Canada and many parts of the United States.
The vowels of powder and pouter distinguished in most parts of Canada and some parts of the United States. English and everyone should interpret that transcription according to their own dialect. Other words may have different vowels depending on the speaker. For more extensive information on dialect variations, you may wish to see the IPA chart for English dialects. Note that place names are not generally exempted from being transcribed in this abstracted system, so rules such as the above must be applied in order to recover the local pronunciation.
This is best practice for editors. If you feel it is necessary to add a pronunciation respelling using another convention, then please use the conventions of Wikipedia’s pronunciation respelling key. To compare the following IPA symbols with non-IPA American dictionary conventions that may be more familiar, see Pronunciation respelling for English, which lists the pronunciation guides of fourteen English dictionaries published in the United States. Conventions for English, which lists the conventions of eight English dictionaries published in Britain, Australia, and the United States.
This rule is generally employed in the pronunciation guide of our articles, even for local terms such as place names. You would still distinguish man and men. This is also not distinguished in this system. Tuesday is pronounced the same as choose. RP and most varieties of General American. For more information on this sound, see voiceless labialized velar approximant.
English speakers, but the spelling is found even in some common English words like hallelujah and fjord. British or Southern Hemisphere accents, and therefore a transcription that includes it must always be prefaced with a label indicating the variety of English. It is to be used only when a reliable source shows that General American has a different vowel in the same position. American English make a full three-way distinction like in RP and similar accents. Since this occurs in a predictable fashion, it is not distinguished in this transcription system. It will not always be clear which they are. British literature, based on its modern realization in Received Pronunciation.
Scottish English, Canadian English and many varieties of General American. In England, the merger may not be fully consistent and may only apply to more common words. England, some bordering parts of Wales, and some broad eastern Ireland accents. Pairs like roses and Rosa’s are kept distinct in American accents because of the difference in morphological structure, but may be homophonous in Australian. Merriam-Webster, but no other dictionary uniformly follows this practice. Journal of the International Phonetic Association. A Handbook of Varieties of English.