Key

(Words in SMALL CAPITALS are the standard lexical sets. Words in the lexical sets BATH and CLOTH are given two transcriptions, respectively one with // and one with //, and with // and //). Consonants Vowels

IPA

Examples

IPA

Full vowels

... followed by R[7][8]

buy, cab

PALM,

father, bra

r star (also /r./)

START,

bard, barn, snarl,

dye, cad, do

LOT,

pod, John[9]

r moral, forage

thy, breathe, father

TRAP,

pad, shall, ban

r barrow, marry[10]

giant, badge, jam

PRICE,

ride, file, fine, pie[11]

ar Ireland, sapphire (/ar./)[8]

phi, caff, fan

MOUTH,

loud, foul, down, how

ar hour (/ar./)[8]

()[1] guy, bag

DRESS,

bed, fell, men[12]

r error, merry[12]

high, ahead

e j[2]
yes, yacht

FACE,

made, fail, vein, pay

r (/er./)[13][8]

SQUARE,

scared, scarce, cairn, Mary

k
sky, crack

KIT,

lid, fill, bin

r mirror, Sirius

i l
lie, sly, gal

FLEECE,

seed, feel, mean, sea

NEAR,

beard, fierce, serious (/ir./)

straw[14] m
my, smile, cam

THOUGHT,

Maud, dawn, fall,

NORTH,

born, war, Laura (/r./)

n
nigh, snide, can

CHOICE,

void, foil, coin, boy

r loir, coir (/r./)[8]

o
sang, sink, singer

GOAT,

code, foal, bone, go[15]

FORCE,

boar, more, oral (/or./)[16]

finger, anger

FOOT,

good, full, woman

r courier

thigh, math

u do

GOOSE,

food, fool, soon, chew,

r boor, moor, tourist (/ur./)[17]

pie, spy, cap

ju queue,you[18]

cued, cute, mule, tune,

jr cure

rye, try, very[3]

r borough, hurry
STRUT,

mud, dull, gun[19]

sigh, mass

NURSE,

word, girl, fern, furry (//)[20]

shy, cash, emotion

Reduced vowels

tie, sty, cat, atom

Rosas, a mission, comma

LETTER,

perceive (also //)[20]

China, catch

roses, emission[21] (either or )

n button

vie, have

omission[22] (either o or )

m rhythm

wye, swine

([j])[23](either or )

beautiful, curriculum

l bottle

hw

why[4]

i z
zoo, has

HAPPY,

serious[24] (either or i)

, nasturtium)

(vowel is frequently dropped:

equation, pleasure, vision, beige[5]

Stress

Syllabification

Marginal consonants

IPA

Examples

IPA

Examples

ugh, loch, Chanukah[6]

intonation /ntnen/,[25] battleship /btlp/[26]

uh-oh /o/

hire /har/, higher /ha.r/ moai /mo.a/, Windhoek /vnt.hk/ Vancouveria /vn.kuvri/ Mikey /maki/, Myki /ma.ki/[27]