Phonetic symbols
Consonants
The consonant-symbols b d f h k l m n p r s t v w z have their usual English values.
Note that s is always voiceless, not voiced as in “days”.
g
ŋ
θ
ð
y
ɣ
ʍ
girl
č
sing
ŝ
thin, thigh (voiceless)
ǰ
then, thy (voiced)
ž
yes, ye, yacht
ç
OE bugan (voiced velar fricative)
x
whine contrasted with wine (voiceless /w/)
Vowels
i
peat, see, green
ɪ
pit, sit, lyric
e
pate
e:
ME swete (sweet) (close e)
ɛ
pet
ɛ:
ME breeth (breath) (open e)
æ
æ:
a
ʊ̈
ü:
u
ʊ
o
o:
church, chug
ship
judge, jug
measure, vision
German ich, Scots licht
German ach, Scots loch (voiceless velar fricative)
French lune, OE fyllan (fill)
German Küche, OE mȳs (mice)
pooh, fool, moon
put, full1
Poe
same as Poe but lengthened, OE fōda (food),
ME rood (cross) (close o)
paw, law2
ME rood (rode) (open o)
pot (Am.), watch
pot (British)
ɔ
ɔ:
ɑ
ɒ
father (Br), pasta, ask (E New England)
ə
about, putt, pert, father, sofa, motor, ago [shwa: half open central]
ə:
bird, fur
ʌ
but (British)
pat, cat, pastor
OE dǣl (deal)
Diphthongs (vowel glides; “a sequence of two vowels in the same syllable,” Algeo 27)
eɪ
day
ɪə
here
əʊ
go
ɛə
there
aɪ
fly
ɔə
more
aʊ
now
uə
gourd
ɔɪ
boy
1
Note that Algeo represents this sound as /ʊ/ in the textbook (see, e.g. p. 25), but as /U/ in the Workbook.
The /U/ represents a handwritten form of the /ʊ/.
Note also that in some varieties of American and British English full is more like /fəl/ or even /fɨl/.
2
Note that “an increasingly large number of Americans do not distinguish between /ɔ/ and /ɑ/. For them,
caught and cot are homophones.” (Algeo, p. 26) Thus in exercise 2.3 in the Workbook, wrought is not
distinguished from rot. But even if the /ɔ/ sound is not used in your dialect, it’s as well to be aware of it as a
distinctive sound in other dialects.