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{{IPA key|H:IPA-EN|H:IPAE|H:IPAEN}}
ThroughoutOn Wikipedia, the pronunciation of words is indicatedshown using the '''[[International Phonetic Alphabet]]''' ('''IPA'''). The following tables listbelow provide a key to the IPA symbols used for English words and pronunciations. Please note that severalsome of these symbols are used in ways that are specific to Wikipedia, and may differ from thosetheir usedusage byin dictionaries.
 
If the IPA symbols aredo not displayeddisplay properlycorrectly byin your browser, see the [[Help:IPA/English#See also|troubleshooting links below]].
 
Editors should use [[Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Pronunciation#IPA templates on Wikipedia|IPA templates]] such as {{tl|IPAc-en}} when adding IPA to Wikipedia articles, see [[MOS:PRON#Entering IPA characters|Manual of Style/Pronunciation § Entering IPA characters]] for guidance. These templates ensure accessibility and tooltip functionality, see [[Template:IPAc-en|the documentation page]] for usage instructions.
If you are adding a pronunciation using this key, such pronunciations should generally be formatted using the template {{t|IPAc-en}}. The template provides tooltips for each symbol in the pronunciation. See the template page for instructions.
 
{{Horizontal TOC|nonum=y}}
 
==Key==
If thereyou isare looking for an IPA symbol youthat aredoes lookingnot forappear thatin youthe dopronunciation not seekey herebelow, see [[Help:IPA]], which isprovides a more completecomprehensive list. For a table listingshowing all spellings ofhow the sounds on this page correspond to English spellings, see {{section link|English orthography|Sound-to-spelling correspondences}}. For helpassistance in converting spellingspellings to pronunciationpronunciations, seerefer to {{section link|English orthography|Spelling-to-sound correspondences}}.
 
TheIn some cases, words given as examples for two different symbols may sound the same to you. For exampleinstance, you maymight pronounce [[Cot–caught merger|''cot'' and ''caught'' the same]], [[Do-dew merger|''do'' and ''dew'']], or [[Marry merry mary|''marry'' and ''merry'']] the same. This oftentypically happensresults because offrom dialect variation (see our articles [[English phonology]] and [[International Phonetic Alphabet chart for English dialects]]). If this is the caseso, you will likely pronounce those symbols the same forin other words as well.{{refn|name=localterms|This rule is generally employed in the pronunciation guide of our articles, even for local terms such as place names. However, be aware that not all editors may have followed this consistently, so for example if a pronunciation of an English town ending in ‑ford reads /‑fəd/, it doesn't mean that the /r/ would be absent in a rhotic dialect.}} Whether this isapplies true forto all words, or just when the sounds occuronly in thecertain same context,contexts depends on the specific [[sound merger]].<ref>For example, if you have the ''marry–merry'' merger, you probably only merge {{IPA //|/æ/}} and {{IPA //|/ɛ/}} before {{IPA |/r/|r}}. You would still distinguish ''man'' and ''men''.</ref> The footnotes explainprovide somefurther explanation of these cases.
 
{| style="background:none"
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|-
| {{big|{{IPA|dj}}}}
| style="text-align: left" | '''d'''ew{{refn|name=yod|In dialects with [[yod dropping]], {{IPA|/j/}} in {{IPA|/juː/}}, {{IPA|/ju/}}, or {{IPA|/jʊər/}} is not pronounced after [[coronal consonant]]s ({{IPA|/t/}}, {{IPA|/d/}}, {{IPA|/s/}}, {{IPA|/z/}}, {{IPA|/n/}}, {{IPA|/θ/}}, and {{IPA|/l/}}) in the same syllable, so that ''dew'' {{IPA|/djuː/}} is pronounced the same as ''do'' {{IPA|/duː/}}. In dialects with [[yod coalescence]], {{IPA|/tj/}} and {{IPA|/dj/}} mostly merge with {{IPA|/tʃ/}} and {{IPA|/dʒ/}}, so that the first syllable in ''Tuesday'' is pronounced the same as ''choose''. In some dialects {{IPA|/sj/}} and {{IPA|/zj/}} are also affected and frequently merge with {{IPA|/ʃ/}} and {{IPA|/ʒ/}}. Where {{IPA|/j/}} in {{IPA|/juː/}}, {{IPA|/ju/}}, or {{IPA|/jʊər/}} following a coronal is still pronounced in yod-dropping accents, place a syllable break before it: ''menu'' {{IPA //|/ˈmɛn.juː/}}.}}
|-
| {{big|{{IPA|dʒ}}}}
| style="text-align: left" | '''gj'''iantive, ba'''dg'''e
|-
| {{big|{{IPA|ð}}}}
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| style="text-align: left" | {{Not a typo|'''p'''ie, s'''p'''y, ca'''p'''}}
|-
| {{big|{{IPA|r}}}}{{refn|In most varieties of English, {{IPA|/r/}} is pronounced as an [[Voiced alveolar and postalveolar approximants|Voiced postalveolar approximant]] {{IPAblinkangbr IPA|ɹɹ̠}}. Although the IPA symbol {{angbr IPA|r}} represents the [[alveolar trill]], {{angbr IPA|r}} is widely used instead of {{angbr IPA|ɹɹ̠}} in broad transcriptions of English for convenience.}}
| style="text-align: left" | '''r'''ye, t'''r'''y, ve'''r'''y
|-
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! colspan="4"| [[Vowel]]s
|-
! colspan="2" | Strong vowels !! colspan="2" | ...followed by R{{refn|In [[Rhotic and non-rhotic accents|non-rhotic accents]] like RP, {{IPA //|/r/}} is not pronounced unless followed by a vowel.}}
|-
! IPA !! Examples !! IPA !! Examples
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|-
| {{big|{{IPA|ɒ}}}}
| style="text-align: left" | {{sc2|L'''O'''T}}, blb'''o'''ckadether, c'''o'''t, bbl'''o'''therckade{{refn|In dialects with the [[Father–bother merger|''father''–''bother'' merger]] such as General American, {{IPA|/ɒ/}} is not distinguished from {{IPA|/ɑː/}}.}}
| {{big|{{IPA|ɒr}}}}
| style="text-align: left" | m'''or'''al{{refn|In most of the United States, {{IPA|/ɒr/}} is merged with {{IPA|/ɔːr/}}, except for a handful of words such as ''borrow'', ''tomorrow'' and ''sorry'', which instead have {{IPA|/ɑːr/}}. In some parts of the Southern and Northeastern US, it is always merged with {{IPA|/ɑːr/}}. In Canada, it is always merged with {{IPA|/ɔːr/}}.}}
|-
| {{big|{{IPA|æ}}}}{{refn|Some British sources, such as the [[Oxford English Dictionary]], use {{angbr IPA|a}} instead of {{IPA|/æ/}} to transcribe this vowel. This more closely reflects the actual vowel quality in contemporary [[Received Pronunciation]].{{efn|{{cite web|url=https://www.oed.com/information/understanding-entries/pronunciation/british-english-pronunciations/|title=British English Pronunciations|publisher=[[Oxford English Dictionary]]|accessdate=4 September 2023}}}}}}
| style="text-align: left" | {{sc2|TR'''A'''P}}, tb'''a'''ttoog, s'''a'''ng, t'''a'''ttoo{{refn|In North America, {{IPA|/æ/}} is often pronounced like a diphthong {{IPA|[eə~ɛə]}} before nasal consonants and, in some particular regional dialects, other environments. See [[:/æ/ raising|{{IPA|/æ/|cat=no}} raising]].}}
| {{big|{{IPA|ær}}}}
| style="text-align: left" | m'''arr'''y{{refn|name=marymarrymerry|Many North American accents have the [[Mary–marry–merry merger|''Mary''–''marry''–''merry'' merger]] and therefore don't distinguish between the corresponding sounds {{IPA|/ɛər/}}, {{IPA|/ær/}}, and {{IPA|/ɛr/}}. Some speakers merge only two of the sounds (most typically {{IPA|/ɛər/}} with one of the short vowels), and less than a fifth of speakers of American English make a full three-way distinction like in RP and similar accents.{{efn|{{cite web|last1=Vaux|first1=Bert|last2=Golder|first2=Scott|year=2003|url=http://dialect.redlog.net/staticmaps/q_15.html|title=How do you pronounce Mary/merry/marry?|work=Harvard Dialect Survey|publisher=Harvard University Linguistics Department}}}}}}
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| style="text-align: left" | {{sc2|PR'''I'''CE}}, p'''ie'''{{refn|name=CanadianRaising|In much of North America, {{IPA|/aɪ/}} or {{IPA|/aʊ/}} may have a slightly different quality when it precedes a [[voiceless]] consonant, as in ''price'' or ''mouth'', from that in ''ride/pie'' or ''loud/how'', a phenomenon known as [[Canadian raising]]. Since this occurs in a predictable fashion, it is not distinguished in this transcription system.}}
| {{big|{{IPA|aɪər}}}}
| style="text-align: left" | h'''ire'''{{refn|name=triphthong|Some speakers pronounce ''higher, flower'' and ''coyer'' ("more coy") with two syllables, and ''hire, flour'' and ''coir'' with one. Most pronounce them the same. For the former group of words, make use of syllable breaks, as in {{IPA |//|ˈhaɪ.ər/, /ˈflaʊ.ər/, /ˈkɔɪ.ər/}}, to differentiate from the latter. Before vowels, the distinction between {{IPA |//|aɪər, aʊər, ɔɪər/}} and {{IPA |//|aɪr, aʊr, ɔɪr/}} is not always clear; choose the former if the second element may be omitted (as in {{IPA|[ˈdaəri]}} ''diary'').}}
|-
| {{big|{{IPA|aʊ}}}}
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|-
| {{big|{{IPA|ɛ}}}}{{refn|{{IPA|/ɛ/}} is transcribed with {{angbr IPA|e}} in many dictionaries. However, {{IPA|/eɪ/}} is also sometimes transcribed with {{angbr IPA|e}}, especially in North American literature, so {{angbr IPA|ɛ}} is chosen here.}}
| style="text-align: left" | {{sc2|DR'''E'''SS}}, prb'''e'''stigeg, l'''e'''ngth, pr'''e'''stige
| {{big|{{IPA|ɛr}}}}
| style="text-align: left" | m'''err'''y{{refn|name=marymarrymerry}}
|-
| {{big|{{IPA|eɪ}}}}
| style="text-align: left" | {{sc2|F'''A'''CE}}, v'''a'''gue
| {{big|{{IPA|ɛər}}}}
| style="text-align: left" | {{sc2|SQU'''ARE'''}}, M'''ar'''y{{refn|name=marymarrymerry}}{{refn|name=centering|{{IPA |/ɛə/|ɛə}}, {{IPA |/ɪə/|ɪə}}, or {{IPA |/ʊə/|ʊə}} may be separated from {{IPA |/r/|r}} only when a stress follows it. The [[Template:IPAc-en|IPAc-en]] template supports {{IPA |/ɛəˈr/|ɛəˈr}}, {{IPA //|/ɪəˈr/}}, {{IPA |/ʊəˈr/|ʊəˈr}}, {{IPA |/ɛəˌr/|ɛəˌr}}, {{IPA |/ɪəˌr/|ɪəˌr}}, and {{IPA |/ʊəˌr/|ʊəˌr}} as distinct diaphonemes for such occasions.}}
|-
| {{big|{{IPA|ɪ}}}}
| style="text-align: left" | {{sc2|K'''I'''T}}, hb'''i'''storicg, s'''i'''ng, h'''i'''storic{{refn|name=strong-weak|{{angbr IPA|ɪ}} and {{angbr IPA|oʊ}} represent strong vowels in some words and weak vowels in others. It will not always be clear which they are.{{efn|{{harvp|Flemming|Johnson|2007|pp=91–2}}.}}{{efn|{{cite web|last=Wells|first=John|date=25 March 2011|url=http://phonetic-blog.blogspot.com/2011/03/strong-and-weak.html|title=strong and weak|work=John Wells's phonetic blog}}}}}}<br>rabb'''i'''t, b'''i'''zarre, Lat'''i'''n{{refn|name=strong-weak}}{{refn|{{angbr IPA|ɪ}} represents a strong vowel in some contexts and a weak vowel in others. In accents with the [[weak vowel merger]] such as most Australian and American accents, weak {{IPA|/ɪ/}} is not distinguished from schwa {{IPA|/ə/}}, making ''rabbit'' and ''abbot'' rhyme and ''Lenin'' and ''Lennon'' homophonous. (Pairs like ''roses'' and ''Rosa's'' are kept distinct in American accents because of the difference in morphological structure,{{efn|{{harvp|Flemming|Johnson|2007|pp=94–5}}.}} but may be homophonous in Australian.{{efn|{{harvp|Wells|1982|p=601}}.}}) In these accents, weak {{IPA|/ɪl, ɪn, ɪm/}} merge with {{IPA|/əl, ən, əm/}}, so that the second vowel in ''Latin'' may be lost and ''cabinet'' may be disyllabic (see the previous note).}}
| {{big|{{IPA|ɪr}}}}
| style="text-align: left" | m'''irr'''or, S'''ir'''ius
|-
| {{big|{{IPA|iː}}}}
| style="text-align: left" | {{sc2|FL'''EE'''CE}}, l'''ea'''gue, pedigr'''ee''', id'''e'''a{{refn|name=smoothing|Words like ''idea, real,'' and ''theatre'' may be pronounced with {{IPA|/ɪə/}} and ''cruel'' with {{IPA|/ʊə/}} in non-rhotic accents such as Received Pronunciation, and some dictionaries transcribe them with {{IPA|/ɪə, ʊə/}},{{efn|name=wells-smoothing|{{harvp|Wells|1982|p=240}}.}} but since they are not pronounced with {{IPA|/r/}} in rhotic accents, they are transcribed with {{IPA |//|iːə, uːə/}}, not with {{IPA |//|ɪə, ʊə/}}, in this transcription system.}}
| {{big|{{IPA|ɪər}}}}
| style="text-align: left" | {{sc2|N'''EAR'''}}, s'''er'''ious{{refn|name=centering}}
|-
| {{big|{{IPA|oʊ}}}}{{refn|{{IPA|/oʊ/}} is often transcribed with {{angbr IPA|əʊ}}, particularly in British literature, based on its modern realization in Received Pronunciation. It is also transcribed with {{angbr IPA|o}}, particularly in North American literature.}}
| style="text-align: left" | {{sc2|G'''OA'''T}}{{refn|name=strong-weak}}
| style="text-align: left" | {{sc2|G'''OA'''T}}{{refn|name=strong-weak}}<br>mott'''o''', retr'''o'''active, foll'''ow'''er{{refn|name=strong-weak}}{{refn|name=schwa-w|{{IPA|/oʊ/}} and {{IPA|/u/}} in unstressed, prevocalic positions are transcribed as {{IPA|/əw/}} by Merriam-Webster, but no other dictionary uniformly follows this practice.{{efn|{{cite web |last=Windsor Lewis |first=Jack |author-link=Jack Windsor Lewis |date=10 April 2009 |url=http://www.yek.me.uk/archive18.html#blog174 |title=The Elephant in the Room |work=PhonetiBlog}}}} Hence the difference between {{IPA|/əw/}} in Merriam-Webster and {{IPA|/oʊ/}} or {{IPA|/u/}} in another source is most likely one in notation, not in pronunciation, so {{IPA|/əw/}} in such cases may be better replaced with {{IPA|/oʊ/}} or {{IPA|/u/}} accordingly, to minimize confusion: {{IPA //|ˌsɪtʃəˈweɪʃən}} → {{IPA //|ˌsɪtʃuˈeɪʃən}}, {{IPA //|ˈfɒləwər}} → {{IPA //|ˈfɒloʊər}}.}}▼
| rowspan="2" | {{big|{{IPA|ɔːr}}}}
| style="text-align: left" | {{sc2|F'''OR'''CE}}, h'''oar'''se{{refn|name=horse|Some accents, such as [[Scottish English]], many forms of [[Irish English]] and some conservative [[American English|American]] accents, make a distinction between the vowels in ''horse'' and ''hoarse'' (i.e. they lack the [[horse–hoarse merger|''horse''–''hoarse'' merger]]). Since most modern dictionaries do not differentiate between them, neither does this key.}}
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|-
| | {{big|{{IPA|ɔː}}}}
| style="text-align: left" | {{sc2|TH'''OUGH'''T}}, c'''auaugh'''dacioust, c'''aughau'''tdacious{{refn|{{IPA|/ɔː/}} is not distinguished from {{IPA|/ɒ/}} in dialects with the [[Cot–caught merger|''cot''–''caught'' merger]] such as Scottish English, Canadian English and many varieties of General American. In North America, the two vowels most often fall together with {{IPA|/ɑː/}}.}}
| style="text-align: left" | {{sc2|N'''OR'''TH}}, h'''or'''se{{refn|name=horse}}
|-
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| style="text-align: left" | {{sc2|G'''OO'''SE}}, cr'''u'''el{{refn|name=smoothing}}
| {{big|{{IPA|ʊər}}}}
| style="text-align: left" | t'''our''', {{nowrap|{{sc2|C'''URE'''}} {{small|({{IPA //|/ˈkjʊər/}})}}}}{{refn|{{IPA|/ʊər/}} is not distinguished from {{IPA|/ɔːr/}} in dialects with the [[cure–force merger|''cure''–''force'' merger]], including many younger speakers. In England, the merger may not be fully consistent and may only apply to more common words. In conservative RP and Northern England English {{IPA|/ʊər/}} is much more commonly preserved than in modern RP and Southern England English. In Australia and New Zealand, {{IPA|/ʊər/}} does not exist as a separate phoneme and is replaced either by the sequence {{IPA|/uːər/}} ({{IPA|/uːr/}} before vowels within the same word, save for some compounds) or the monophthong {{IPA|/ɔːr/}}.}}{{refn|name=centering}}
|-
| rowspan="2" | {{big|{{IPA|ʌ}}}}{{refn|Some, particularly North American, dictionaries notate {{IPA|/ʌ/}} with the same symbol as {{IPA|/ə/}}, which is found only in unstressed syllables, and distinguish it from {{IPA|/ə/}} by marking the syllable as stressed. Also note that although {{angbr IPA|ʌ}}, the IPA symbol for the [[open-mid back unrounded vowel|open-mid back vowel]], is used, the typical modern pronunciation is rather close to the [[near-open central unrounded vowel|near-open central vowel]] {{IPA|[ɐ]}} in some dialects, including Received Pronunciation.}}
| rowspan="2" style="text-align: left" | {{sc2|STR'''U'''T}}, s'''u'''ntidyng, tr'''u'''steentidy, str'''u'''ngstee{{refn|{{IPA|/ʌ/}} is not used in the dialects of the northern half of England, and some bordering parts of Wales,Ireland and some broad eastern Ireland accentsWales. These words would take the {{IPA|/ʊ/}} vowel: there is no [[Foot–strut split|''foot''–''strut'' split]].}}
| {{big|{{IPA|ɜːr}}}}
| style="text-align: left" | {{sc2|N'''UR'''SE}}, bl'''urr'''y, '''ur'''bane, forew'''or'''d{{refn|In Received Pronunciation, {{IPA|/ɜːr/}} is pronounced as a lengthened schwa, {{IPA|[əː]}}. In General American, it is phonetically identical to {{IPA|/ər/}}. Some dictionaries therefore use {{angbr IPA|əː, ər}} instead of the conventional notations {{angbr IPA|ɜː, ɜr}}. When {{angbr IPA|ər}} is used for {{IPA|/ɜːr/}}, it is distinguished from {{IPA|/ər/}} by marking the syllable as stressed.}}
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| {{big|{{IPA|ər}}}}
| style="text-align: left" | {{sc2|LETT'''ER'''}}, forw'''ar'''d, hist'''or'''y{{refn|name=syllabic}}
|-
| {{big|{{IPA|ɪ}}}}
| style="text-align: left" | rabb'''i'''t, b'''i'''zarre, Lat'''i'''n{{refn|name=strong-weak}}{{refn|{{angbr IPA|ɪ}} represents a strong vowel in some contexts and a weak vowel in others. In accents with the [[weak vowel merger]] such as most Australian and American accents, weak {{IPA|/ɪ/}} is not distinguished from schwa {{IPA|/ə/}}, making ''rabbit'' and ''abbot'' rhyme and ''Lenin'' and ''Lennon'' homophonous. (Pairs like ''roses'' and ''Rosa's'' are kept distinct in American accents because of the difference in morphological structure,{{efn|{{harvp|Flemming|Johnson|2007|pp=94–5}}.}} but may be homophonous in Australian.{{efn|{{harvp|Wells|1982|p=601}}.}}) In these accents, weak {{IPA|/ɪl, ɪn, ɪm/}} merge with {{IPA|/əl, ən, əm/}}, so that the second vowel in ''Latin'' may be lost and ''cabinet'' may be disyllabic (see the previous note).}}
| {{big|{{IPA|oʊ}}}}
▲| style="text-align: left" | {{sc2|G'''OA'''T}}{{refn|name=strong-weak}}<br>mott'''o''', retr'''o'''active, foll'''ow'''er{{refn|name=strong-weak}}{{refn|name=schwa-w|{{IPA|/oʊ/}} and {{IPA|/u/}} in unstressed, prevocalic positions are transcribed as {{IPA|/əw/}} by Merriam-Webster, but no other dictionary uniformly follows this practice.{{efn|{{cite web |last=Windsor Lewis |first=Jack |author-link=Jack Windsor Lewis |date=10 April 2009 |url=http://www.yek.me.uk/archive18.html#blog174 |title=The Elephant in the Room |work=PhonetiBlog |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250306085850/http://www.yek.me.uk/archive18.html#blog174 |archive-date=6 March 2025}}}} Hence the difference between {{IPA|/əw/}} in Merriam-Webster and {{IPA|/oʊ/}} or {{IPA|/u/}} in another source is most likely one in notation, not in pronunciation, so {{IPA|/əw/}} in such cases may be better replaced with {{IPA|/oʊ/}} or {{IPA|/u/}} accordingly, to minimize confusion: {{IPA |/ˌsɪtʃəˈweɪʃən/|ˌsɪtʃəˈweɪʃən}} → {{IPA |/ˌsɪtʃuˈeɪʃən/|ˌsɪtʃuˈeɪʃən}}, {{IPA |/ˈfɒləwər/|ˈfɒləwər}} → {{IPA |/ˈfɒloʊər/|ˈfɒloʊər}}.}}
|-
| {{big|{{IPA|i}}}}
| style="text-align: left" | {{sc2|HAPP'''Y'''}}, med'''i'''ocre{{refn|name=i-u|{{angbr IPA|i}} represents variation between {{IPA|/iː/}} and {{IPA|/ɪ/}} in unstressed prevocalic or morpheme-final positions. It is realized with a quality closer to {{IPA|/iː/}} in accents with [[Happy tensing|''happy'' tensing]], such as Australian English, General American, and modern RP, and to {{IPA|/ɪ/}} in others. {{angbr IPA|u}} likewise represents variation between {{IPA|/uː/}} and {{IPA|/ʊ/}} in unstressed prevocalic positions.}}
| {{big|{{IPA|iə}}}}
| style="text-align: left" | Californ'''ia'''{{refn|The sequence {{angbr IPA|iə}} may be pronounced as two syllables, {{IPA|[i.ə]}} or {{IPA|[ɪ.ə]}}, or as one, {{IPA|[jə]}} or {{IPA|[ɪə̯]}}. When pronounced as one syllable in a non-rhotic accent, it may be indistinguishable from, and identified as, the {{sc2|NEAR}} vowel ({{IPA|/ɪər/}}).{{efn|name=wells-smoothing}} This transcription system uses {{angbr IPA|iə}}, not {{angbr IPA|i.ə}}, {{angbr IPA|jə}}, {{angbr IPA|ɪə}}, etc., to cover all these possibilities.}}
|-
| {{big|{{IPA|u}}}}
| style="text-align: left" | fr'''u'''ition{{refn|name=schwa-w}}{{refn|name=i-u}}
| {{big|{{IPA|uə}}}}
| style="text-align: left" | infl'''ue'''nce{{refn|The sequence {{angbr IPA|uə}} may be pronounced as two syllables, {{IPA|[u.ə]}} or {{IPA|[ʊ.ə]}}, or as one, {{IPA|[wə]}} or {{IPA|[ʊə̯]}}. When pronounced as one syllable in a non-rhotic accent, it may be indistinguishable from, and identified as, the {{sc2|CURE}} vowel ({{IPA|/ʊər/}}).{{efn|name=wells-smoothing}} This transcription system uses {{angbr IPA|uə}}, not {{angbr IPA|u.ə}}, {{angbr IPA|wə}}, {{angbr IPA|ʊə}}, etc., to cover all these possibilities.}}
|-
! colspan="4" | [[Syllabic consonant]]s{{refn|name=syllabic|In a number of contexts, {{IPA|/ə/}} in {{IPA |/ər/|ər}}, {{IPA |/əl/|əl}}, {{IPA |/ən/|ən}}, or {{IPA |/əm/|əm}} is often omitted, resulting in a syllable with no vowel. Some dictionaries show {{IPA|/ə/}} in those contexts in parentheses, superscript, or italics to indicate this possibility, or simply omit {{IPA|/ə/}}. When followed by a weak vowel, the syllable may be lost altogether, with the consonant moving to the next syllable, so that ''doubling'' {{IPA|/ˈdʌb.əl.ɪŋ/}} may alternatively be pronounced as {{IPA|[ˈdʌb.lɪŋ]}}, and ''Edinburgh'' {{IPA|/ˈɛd.ɪn.bər.ə/}} as {{IPA|[ˈɛd.ɪn.brə]}}.<!-- Symbols are deliberately kept diaphonemic since their realizations vary. -->{{efn|{{harvp|Wells|2008|pp=173, 799}}.}} When not followed by a vowel, {{IPA|/ər/}} merges with {{IPA|/ə/}} in non-rhotic accents.}}
|-
! IPA !! Examples !! IPA !! Examples
Line 243 ⟶ 248:
| style="text-align: left" | lo'''ch''', '''Ch'''anukah{{refn|In most dialects, {{IPA|/x/}} can also be replaced by {{IPA|/k/}} in most words, including ''loch''. It is also replaced with {{IPA|/h/}} in some words, particularly of Yiddish origin, such as ''Chanukah''.}}
| {{big|{{IPA|ʔ}}}}
| style="text-align: left" | uh'''-'''oh {{IPA //|/ˈʌʔoʊ/}}
|-
| {{big|{{IPA|ɒ̃}}}}
| style="text-align: left" | b'''on''' viv'''an'''t{{refn|name=nasalvowel|{{IPA |//|ɒ̃, æ̃/}} are only found in French loanwords and often replaced by another vowel and a nasal consonant: ''bon vivant'' {{IPA|/ˌbɒn viːˈvɒnt/}}, ''ensemble'' {{IPA|/ɒnˈsɒmbəl/}}, etc.{{efn|{{harvp|Jones|2011}}.}}}}
| {{big|{{IPA|æ̃}}}}
| style="text-align: left" | f'''in''' de siècle{{refn|name=nasalvowel}}
|-
| {{big|{{IPA|ɜː}}}}
| style="text-align: left" | M'''ö'''bius {{small|(non-rhotic only)}}{{refn|{{IPA |/ɜː/|ɜː}} is only found in loanwords and represents a situation where such an ''r''-less vowel is used only in British or Southern Hemisphere accents, and therefore a transcription that includes it must always be prefaced with a label indicating the variety of English. If ''r''-ful {{sc2|NURSE}} is used in GA too, even if spelled without {{angbr|r}}, as in ''Goethe'' and ''hors d'oeuvre'', use {{IPA |/ɜːr/|ɜːr}}. {{IPA |/ɜː/|ɜː}} is also not the same as {{angbr|œ}} seen in some American dictionaries. {{angbr|œ}} in those dictionaries is merely a notational convention and does not correspond to any vowel in any accent of English, so a transcription containing {{angbr|œ}} cannot be converted to one that uses this key.}}
| colspan="2" |
|-
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|-
| {{big|{{IPA|ˈ}}}}
| rowspan="2" style="text-align: left" | {{nowrap|'''in'''to'''na'''tion {{IPA //|/ˌɪntəˈneɪʃən/}}}}{{refn|name=secondary stress|Scholars disagree on how to analyze [[Stress_and_vowel_reduction_in_English#Degrees_of_lexical_stress|degrees of stress]] in English. A particular unstressed syllable with phonetic prominence or a [[Stress_and_vowel_reduction_in_English#Unstressed_full_vowels|full (unreduced) vowel]] is analyzed by some scholars as having secondary stress. For simplicity, we follow British rather than American English conventions, only marking secondary stress when it occurs before, not after, the primary stress.}}
| rowspan="2" | {{big|{{IPA|.}}}}
| rowspan="2" style="text-align: left" | {{nowrap|{{IPA |/ˈhaɪər/|ˈhaɪər}} hire}}, {{nowrap|{{IPA |//|ˈhaɪ.ər/}} higher}}{{refn|Syllable divisions are not usually marked, but the IPA dot {{angbr IPA|.}} may be used when it is wished to make explicit where a division between syllables is (or may be) made.}}<br>{{nowrap|{{IPA |//|ˈtæks.peɪər/}} taxpayer}}
|-
| {{big|{{IPA|ˌ}}}}
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'''Notes'''
* Words in {{sc2|SMALL CAPITALS}} are the standard [[lexical set]]s. Not all of the sets are used here. In particular, we excluded words in the lexical sets {{sc2|BATH}} and {{sc2|CLOTH}}, which may be given two transcriptions, the former either with {{IPA |/ɑː/|ɑː}} or {{IPA |/æ/|æ}}, the latter with {{IPA |/ɒ/|ɒ}} or {{IPA |/ɔː/|ɔː}}.
* The length mark {{angbr IPA|ː}} does not mean that the vowels transcribed with it are always longer than those without it. When unstressed, followed by a voiceless consonant, or in a [[polysyllabic]] word, a vowel in the former group is frequently shorter than the latter in other environments (see {{section link|Clipping (phonetics)|English}}). {{IPA |//|i, u/}} likewise do not mean shorter versions of {{IPA|/iː, uː/}} but represent a situation in which some speakers have {{IPA|/iː, uː/}} and others {{IPA|/ɪ, ʊ/}} (see [[Happy tensing|''Happy'' tensing]]).
 
==Dialect variation==
{{further|English phonology|International Phonetic Alphabet chart for English dialects}}
This key represents [[diaphoneme]]s, abstractions of speech sounds that accommodate <!--"standard ... English ... pronunciations" is not OK, so "English" alone is not OK-->[[General American]], British [[Received Pronunciation]] (RP) and to a large extent also [[Australian English|Australian]], [[Canadian English|Canadian]], [[Irish English|Irish]] (including [[Ulster English|Ulster]]), [[New Zealand English|New Zealand]], [[Scottish English|Scottish]], [[South African English|South African]] and [[Welsh English]] pronunciations. Therefore, not all of the distinctions shown here are relevant to a particular dialect. To indicate the use of diaphonemes rather than any one dialect's phonemes, double slashes ({{Template://|...}}) are used in this Wikipedia-specific system.
* {{angbr IPA|i}} does not represent a phoneme but a variation between {{IPA|/iː/}} and {{IPA|/ɪ/}} in unstressed positions. Speakers of dialects with [[happy tensing|''happy'' tensing]] (Australian English, General American, modern RP) should read it as an unstressed {{IPA|/iː/}}, whereas speakers of other dialects (e.g. some Northern England English) should treat it the same as {{IPA|/ɪ/}}. In Scotland, this vowel can be considered the same as the short allophone of {{IPA|/eɪ/}}, as in ''take''. Before {{IPA|/ə/}} within the same word, another possible pronunciation is {{IPA|/j/}} as in '''''y'''et''.
* Many speakers of American, Canadian, Scottish and Irish English pronounce ''cot'' {{IPA|/ˈkɒt/}} and ''caught'' {{IPA|/ˈkɔːt/}} the same.{{efn|{{harvp|Wells|1982|pp=473–6, 493, 499}}.}} You may simply ignore the difference between the symbols {{IPA|/ɒ/}} and {{IPA|/ɔː/}}, just as you ignore the distinction between the written vowels ''o'' and ''au'' when pronouncing them.
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==See also==
* If your browser does not display IPA symbols, you probably need to install a font that includes the IPA (for good, free IPA fonts, see the download links in the articles for [[Gentium]], and the more complete [[Charis SIL]]; for a monospaced font, see the complete [[Everson Mono]]).
* For a guide to adding IPA characters to Wikipedia articles, see {{section link|Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Pronunciation|Entering IPA characters}}.
* [[Help:IPA/Conventions for English]]
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==External links==
* [http://www.personal.psu.edu/ejp10/blogs/gotunicode/2008/09/getting-jaws-61-to-recognize-e.html Getting JAWS 6.1 to recognize "exotic" Unicode symbols]{{dead link}} – for help on getting the [[screen reader]] [[JAWS (screen reader)|JAWS]] to read IPA symbols
* [http://ipa-reader.xyzcom/ IPA Reader] – web-based IPA synthesizer using [[Amazon Polly]]
* [https://itinerarium.github.io/phoneme-synthesis/ Phoneme Synthesis] – web-based IPA synthesizer using [[eSpeak]]
 
{{IPA keys}}
{{IPA templates|state=collapsed}}
{{Wikipedia help pages}}
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