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International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) reference for English

(see the following video to hear all the sounds):

http://youtu.be/o8KppNXfx2k

Comments / special characters:

/ The start and the end of the transcription. Example: cat = /kt/
The stressed syllable of a word.
Example: prefer (we stress the second syllable) = /prf/
. The start of a new syllable. Example: football (2 syllables) = /ft.bl/
This is not an official IPA sound. It means that we pronounce the r sound only if the
next word starts with a vowel. Example: prefer = /prf/

I prefer apples. (we pronounce the final r sound)

I prefer pears. (we do not pronounce the final r sound)

The consonant l is pronounced as a separate syllable. Example little = / t. /

In American English, the letter t sounds like a d Example butter = /b ./
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Vowels (long) Dipthongs

IPA examples IPA examples

i: tree, green ear, beer
u: shoe, food pure, tourist
: arm, car a my, five
: door, four boy, choice
: girl, nurse go, joke
e there, chair in some dictionaries
Vowels (short) a now, lounge
e they, say
IPA examples o nose

sit, fish
pull, good
mug, duck
hot, stop
amount, cinema
e red, dead in some dictionaries
cat, fat
mother
girl
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Consonants (voiceless and voiced pairs)

Consonants (voiceless) Consonants (voiced)

IPA examples IPA examples

p apple, stop b bad, beer
t tree, want d door, food
t chair, teacher d joke, lounge
k cat, walk g green, dog
f fish, if v vote, five
think, both they, mother
s stop, fast z zoo, noise
she, fish pleasure, vision
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Other consonants

IPA examples
m man, money
n never, ten
sing, drink
h hot, head
l love, pull
r red, tree
w want, window
j yes, yellow

(see the following video to hear all the sounds):

http://youtu.be/o8KppNXfx2k