IPA phoneme /ɔɪ/

In English, both in Received Pronunciation and in General American, the IPA phonetic
symbol /ɔɪ/ corresponds to the vowel sound in words like "toy" and "coin". The spelling
of this sound is very straightforward: normally "oy" at the end of the syllable and "oi" in
other positions. In the words in this page the only exceptions are proper nouns (Joyce,
Floyd, Lloyd and Freudian).

In strict IPA diphthongs need an inverted breve under their less prominent vowel: /ɔɪ̯/.
However the notation we are using does not have the symbol /ɔ/ by itself (it has /ɔː/), and
therefore we know that the sequence /ɔɪ/ has an implied inverted breve below /ɪ/.

In addition to the more common pronunciation [ɔɪ], the sound of this phoneme can have
many variations such as [oɪ],[1][2] [ɑi] or even [ɔjɪ].[3]

Common words
Some common words which practice the pronunciation of /ɔɪ/ include the following:

● with "oi": appoint - avoid - choice - coin - Illinois /ɪləˈnɔɪ/ - join - joint - noise -
oil - point - soil - spoil - voice
Exceptions: "oi" as /əʊɪ/: coincide - going

● with "oy": boy - destroy - destroyer - employ - employee - employer - enjoy -

Floyd - joy - Joyce - Lloyd - royal - toy

There is a tendency in English to move to the previous syllable a /j/ sound that is at the
beginning of a syllable. Then /V.jV/ becomes /Vɪ.V/. For example "lawyer" has a
common pronunciation of /ˈlɔ:jər/ but it can also be pronounced /ˈlɔɪər/. Similarly for
"sawyer": /ˈsɔ:jər/ or (less frequently) /ˈsɔɪər/.

Less common words

 ● with "oi": android - boil - foil - moisture - ointment - poison - sirloin - toilet
● with "oy": annoy - boycott - oyster - royal - soy
● Other: Freudian

Anticipated pronunciation
difficulties depending on L1
Preconceived ideas and other interferences from L1 obviously interfere in many cases
with how students perceive - and pronounce - sounds/words in English. The following
sections aims to point out some of the most typical difficulties teachers and students
may encounter regarding pronunciation.