APPENDIX B

Phonetic transcription

B.1 Phonemic and phonetic transcription

The two main kinds of transcription are phonemic transcription, which uses
only one symbol per phoneme, and phonetic transcription, which uses extra
symbols in order to show the different variants (called allophones /​ˈæləˌfəʊnz/​)
of phonemes in different contexts. Phonemic transcription is also known
as broad transcription, and phonetic transcription as narrow or allophonic
/​ˌæləˈfɒnɪk/​transcription. The style of transcription we teach in this book is
phonemic with one exception: we use the symbols [l ̩ n̩ m̩ ŋ̍] to indicate that the
phoneme sequences /​əl ən əm əŋ/​are realised as syllabic consonants.
In this appendix we will briefly explain, demonstrate and practise tran-
scribing with the appropriate IPA symbols some of the most important
allophones of the GB phonemes. Detailed articulatory descriptions of English
sounds are beyond the scope of a book such as this. For further information,
readers are advised to consult the phonetics textbooks in the References and
Suggested Reading section.

B.2 Accurate IPA symbols

It may seem surprising, but many of the phonemic symbols that are used for
transcribing English are not used with their specific IPA values. There are two
mains reasons for this: first, some of the sounds, particularly vowels, have
changed over time and the symbols haven’t been updated; second, when using
IPA symbols for phonemic transcriptions, there’s a tradition of avoiding the
more exotic symbols in favour of the nearest non-​exotic symbol in order to
make phonetic works cheaper and simpler to publish.
 Appendix B: Phonetic transcription 147

Our first step when making phonetic transcriptions, therefore, is to use IPA
symbols which more accurately represent English sounds (see the IPA chart):

/​r/​ → [ɹ] /​e/​ → [ɛ] /​æ/​ → [a]‌

/​ɜː/​ → [əː] /​ʊ/​ → [ɵ]

In some cases, we have to combine IPA symbols with IPA diacritics

/​ˌdaɪəˈkrɪtɪks/​. These are marks added above and below the main symbol
to modify the value of the symbol. We use the ‘opener’ [ ̞ ], ‘closer’ [ ̝ ] and
‘centralised’ [ ̈ ] diacritics in order to more precisely specify the qualities of the
GB vowels:

/​ʌ/​ → [ʌ̈] /​ɔː/​ → [o̞ ː]

/​ɑː/​ → [ɑ̈ː] /​ɒ/​ → [ɔ̞]

Note that the phonetic symbols for the kit, square and schwa vowels are
the same as those used for phonemic transcription, i.e. /ɪ/ = [ɪ], /ɛː/ = [ɛː],
/ə/ = [ə].
In the case of the diphthongs, we include the length mark after the first
element to show that these are inherently long vowels, and add the IPA ‘non-​
syllabic’ diacritic [ ̯ ] to the second element to indicate that the [ɪ], [ʊ] and [ə]
elements are glides and not syllables in their own right. And so in a more pre-
cise phonetic transcription, the diphthongs are written:

/​eɪ/​ → [e̞ːɪ̯ ] /​aɪ/​ → [äːɪ̯ ] /​ɔɪ/​ → [ɔːɪ̯ ]

/​aʊ/​ → [äːʊ̯] /​əʊ/​ → [əːʊ̯]

In the case of the fleece, goose, near and cure vowels, the choice of
phonetic symbols is more complicated because they commonly have both
monophthongal and diphthongal variants. While fleece and goose have
phonemic symbols that suggest that they are monophthongs, diphthongal
variants are not unusual, and so fleece can be transcribed phonetically as
either [iː] or [ɪ̝ ːi̯ ], and goose can be transcribed as either [ʉː] or [ɵːʉ̯].
The situation is reversed in the case of the near and cure vowels. These
have phonemic symbols that suggest that they’re diphthongs, but monoph-
thongal variants are nowadays very common. The monophthongal variants
are transcribed [ɪː] and [ɵː], and the diphthongal variants are transcribed [ɪːə̯]
and [ɵːə̯]. The monophthongal variants are more usual word-​internally before
/​r/​, while the diphthongal variants are more usual elsewhere (though the
thought vowel tends to replace the cure vowel in this context).

Transcribe these words phonetically, including all the phonetic details

covered so far.
1) Superman. Aberdeen. Observation. Elsewhere. Disappearance.
Thighbone.
148 Appendix B: Phonetic transcription

2) Cowboy. Snowplough. Forearm. Footprint. Engineer. Password.

Toothbrush.
The key to all exercises in Appendix B can be downloaded at paulcarley.com.

B.3 Variation in length

There are more influences on vowel length than we can go into here,
but three factors are worth integrating systematically into our phonetic
transcriptions.
First, there’s inherent length. All other things being equal, some GB
vowels are longer (fleece, goose, square, nurse, thought, palm, face,
price , choice , mouth , goat , near , cure ), and we indicate this with the
length mark [ː], while others are shorter (kit, dress, trap, strut, lot, foot,
schwa), and so we don’t use a length mark with them.
Second, there’s the phenomenon known as pre-​fortis clipping, which means
that GB vowels are shorter when followed by a voiceless consonant in the
same syllable. In such cases, we indicate the shortening of the inherently short
vowels by using the ‘extra short’ diacritic [ ̆ ] (e.g. [ɛ̆] in met), and indicate the
shortening of the long vowels by using the IPA ‘half-​long’ symbol [ˑ] (e.g. [ɜˑ]
in purse; [əˑʊ̯] in most).
In the case of the fleece and goose vowels, there’s a tendency for their
shortened realisations to be monophthongal and their long realisations
to be diphthongal, so we recommend following this patterning in phonetic
transcriptions, i.e. transcribing [ɪ̝ ːi̯ ] in bead, [iˑ] in beat, [ɵːʉ̯] in rude, [ʉˑ] in root.
Pre-​ fortis clipping also affects sonorant consonants (i.e. nasals and
approximants), and so in words like help and hint the sonorants are shortened
together with the vowels. We show this shortening with the ‘extra short’ dia-
critic [ ̆ ], for example [l̆ m̆ n̆ ŋ̆].
The third factor affecting vowel length that we recommend including
in phonetic transcriptions is stress, vowels being shorter when unstressed.
Because of the distribution of English vowels in stressed and unstressed
syllables, it’s really only the fleece and goose vowels of the inherently
long vowels, and schwa and kit of the short vowels, that occur in unstressed
syllables in the citation forms of words with any real frequency. We show this
shortening with the half-​long mark [ˑ] for inherently long vowels (e.g. [iˑ] in
happy, [ʉˑ] in supreme) and the extra short diacritic [ ̆ ] for the inherently short
vowels (e.g. [ɪ̆ ] in bucket, [ə̆] in about).

Transcribe these words phonetically, including all the

phonetic details covered so far.
1) Fleece. Kit. Goose. Foot. Scarce. Dress. Purse. Trap. Cart. Strut. Goat.
2) Lot. Face. Pricey. Choices. About. Pierce. Continuous. Thought. Meaty.
 Appendix B: Phonetic transcription 149

B.4 Nasalisation
When vowels or approximants (i.e. /​l r j w/​) are next to a nasal consonant, i.e.
/​m n ŋ/​, they tend to be somewhat nasalised. This is particularly true when the
nasal consonant follows, and so we usually indicate this nasalisation in phon-
etic transcriptions. The IPA diacritic for nasalisation is a tilde [ ̃ ] placed above
the symbol(s) (e.g. kiln [kɪl̃ ñ ], coin [kɔ̞ ːɪ
̃ ̯ n]).
̃

Transcribe these words phonetically, including all the phonetic details

covered so far.
1) Theme. Sing. Doom. Woman. Elm. Gong. Fame. Line. Coin. Cairn. Men.
Fern.
2) Hand. Farm. Corn. Cunning. London. Morning. Moment. Mountain.
Film.

B.5 Aspiration and fricative /​r/​

In certain phonetic contexts, the voiceless plosives /​p t k/​are aspirated, which
means that voicing for the following sound begins with a slight delay, during
which air from the lungs travels through the vocal tract giving the impression
of a short [h]‌sound. The IPA diacritic for aspiration is [ʰ], and /​p t k/​are
aspirated [pʰ tʰ kʰ] at the beginning of stressed syllables, as in pick, tea, car.
When /​p t k/​are preceded by /​s/​in the same syllable, they are unaspirated,
as in spot, stick, skin. There’s no IPA diacritic for ‘unaspirated’ because the
default interpretation of the [p t k] symbols is that they are unaspirated. When
dealing with English, however, phoneticians find it convenient to indicate
more explicitly when [p t k] are unaspirated by using the non-​IPA diacritic
[˭] and writing them [p˭ t˭ k˭]. At the end of syllables and at the beginning
of unstressed syllables (as in mop, rat, lack; perform, tomorrow, career),
/​p t k/​can be accompanied by a certain amount of weak aspiration, but we
don’t usually indicate this because it’s of lesser importance.
When aspirated /​p t k/​are followed by /​r l j w/​in the same syllable (as in
cross, play, cute, twin), the aspiration takes place during the articulation of
/​r l j w/​and takes the form of partial or complete devoicing of them. We indi-
cate this devoicing using the IPA diacritic for voicelessness [ ̥ ], for example
[kɹ̥ pl̥ kj̊ tw̥ ] (not *[kʰɹ̥ pʰl̥ kʰj̊ tʰw̥]). There’s no devoicing of /​r l j w/​, of course,
when /​s/​precedes /​p t k/​(as in spray, splint, skew, square) because there’s no
aspiration. Note, however, that the /​str/​cluster (as in street) is exceptional in
that the /​r/​is devoiced despite the presence of the /​s/​.
When transcribing /​r/​after /​t/​and /​d/​in the same syllable, it’s enough to
transcribe /​tr/​phonetically as [tɹ̥ ] to show that the /​r/​is both voiceless and
fricative since devoiced approximants are usually somewhat fricative. In the
case of voiced /​dr/​, however, there is a significant distinction between voiced
150 Appendix B: Phonetic transcription

approximants and voiced fricatives, and so to specify that the /​r/​in /​dr/​is
realised as a fricative, we use the ‘closer’ diacritic [ ̝ ], which in this context
transforms the symbol for a voiced approximant into the next narrower (or
‘closer’) manner of articulation, which is a voiced fricative, giving [dɹ̝ ].

Transcribe these words phonetically, including all the phonetic details

covered so far.
1) Stop. Drown. Support. Spin. Attain. Skid. Prop. Drip. Spew. Quit. Pin.
Squint.
2) Cute. Drill. Top. Twin. Square. Plain. Screw. Kid. Cry. Spring. Account.
Dry.

B.6 Devoicing of obstruents

The voiced obstruents, i.e. /​b d ɡ ʤ v ð z ʒ/​, become somewhat devoiced when
they are adjacent to a pause or a voiceless consonant, i.e. /​p t k ʧ f θ s ʃ h/​
(though this is less marked when the fricatives /​v ð z ʒ/​are preceded by a pause
or a voiceless consonant). Devoicing is shown using the ‘voiceless’ diacritic [ ̥ ],
for example [b̥ ] and [d̥ ] in bad. In clusters of voiced obstruents at the ends
of words (e.g. /​ɡd/​ in begged, /​ʤd/​ in bridged), the first obstruent is partially
devoiced and the second completely devoiced, both being shown with the
voiceless diacritic (e.g. [ɡ̊d̥ ʤ̊d̥ ]).

Transcribe these words phonetically, including all the

phonetic details covered so far.
1) Outdoors. Judged. Badge. Football. Dog. Breakdown (n.). Vase.
Cheesecake.
2) Inkjet. Latvia. Bathe. Lobster. Rouge. Robbed. Hardship. Vegetable.
Pleased.

B.7 Glottal reinforcement, ejectives and glottal replacement

When the voiceless stops, i.e. /​p t k ʧ/​, occur at the end of a syllable, are
preceded by a vowel, approximant or nasal, and are followed by a consonant
or pause, they are often accompanied by a glottal stop (made by a complete
closure of the vocal folds), a phenomenon known as glottal reinforcement. In
the case of /​ʧ/​, glottal reinforcement is possible even if a vowel follows. We
indicate glottal reinforcement with the IPA symbol for a glottal stop [ʔ], for
example [ʔp ʔt ʔk ʔʧ].
Sometimes /​p t k ʧ/​are realised realised as ejectives at the ends of words,
e.g. in stop, what, quick, catch, particularly in utterance-​final position. This
 Appendix B: Phonetic transcription 151

means the vocal folds are held together while the closures are made for /​p t
k ʧ/​, the larynx lifts, compressing the air between the larynx and the closure
in the mouth, and then the closure is released with a noticeably sharper burst
than usual. This most commonly occurs with /​k/​, but can be heard with the
other voiceless stops as well. The IPA diacritic for an ejective is an apostrophe
[’] added to the symbol for the voiceless stop, i.e. [p’ t’ k’ ʧ’].
In the case of /​t/​, glottal reinforcement often goes a step further and
becomes glottal replacement, meaning that the /​t/​phoneme is realised as a
glottal stop [ʔ]. We indicate glottal replacement by replacing [t]‌with [ʔ].

Transcribe these words phonetically, including all the phonetic details

covered so far.
1) Hot water. Hop! Kept. Roots. Bitch! Football. Technical. Hatchet.
2) Start! Not that. Look down. Look! Locked. Upbeat. Walk! Flat tyre.

B.8 Fronting, retracting and lip-​rounding

Certain consonants tend to be influenced by the place of articulation of
surrounding sounds, particularly following consonants. When /​l n t d/​are
followed by a dental consonant, i.e. /​θ ð/​, in either the same word or a following
word, their alveolar place of articulation becomes a fronter, dental place of
articulation. We show this with the IPA ‘dental’ diacritic [ ̪ ], for example
[l̪ n̪ t̪ d̪ ].
When /​l n t d/​are followed by /​r/​, their place of articulation becomes post-​
alveolar, and when /​n t d/​are followed by /​ʧ/​or /​ʤ/​, their place of articula-
tion becomes palato-​alveolar. Both changes involve a more retracted place of
articulation and so we use the IPA ‘retracted’ diacritic [ ̠ ] to indicate this, for
example [ḻ ṉ ṯ ḏ].
When /​k/​and /​ɡ/​are followed by /​j/​or a front vowel, i.e. fleece, kit, face,
square , trap , their place of articulation moves forward a little. We indicate
this with the IPA ‘advanced’ diacritic [ ̟ ], for example [k̟ ɡ̟]. When /​k/​and /​ɡ/​
are followed by a back vowel, i.e. thought, choice, lot, palm, their place
of articulation moves back a little. We indicate this with the IPA ‘retracted’
diacritic [ ̠ ] for example [ḵ ɡ̠].
When consonants or consonant clusters precede the lip-​rounded phonemes
/​w/​, /​ɔː/​, /​ɒ/​or /​ɔɪ/​, they become lip-​rounded in anticipation of the following
sound. The technical term for lip-​rounding is labialisation and the IPA dia-
critic for ‘labialisation’ is [ʷ], for example [tʷ] in twin, tall, top and toy.
The palato-​alveolar consonants /​ʃ ʒ ʧ ʤ/​and post-​alveolar /​r/​include lip-​
rounding as an inherent part of their articulation and are therefore transcribed
phonetically as [ʃʷ ʒʷ ʧʷ ʤʷ ɹʷ].
152 Appendix B: Phonetic transcription

Transcribe these words phonetically, including all the

phonetic details covered so far.
1) In June. Walrus. Eat this. Sunrise. Tall. Kiss. Bad results. Core. Lunch.
2) Bloodthirsty. Geese. Well, then. Brown rice. Tenth. Quiz. Chitchat.
3) Ten things. Godchild. Swim. Guard. Dwell. Good job. Children. Country.
4) Get ready. Well read. Eighth. Fall. Hot chocolate. Healthy. Red thread.

B.9 Clear and dark /​l/​

Since /​l/​is articulated with the tip of the tongue, the rest of the tongue is
able to take a variety of positions. When /​l/​is followed by a vowel or /​j/​, the
tongue takes a rather neutral position merely anticipating the position of the
following sound somewhat; this is known as clear /l/. When /​l/​is followed by
a consonant or a pause, however, the back of the tongue is raised towards the
soft palate, a process called velarisation. The IPA symbol for velarised /​l/​(also
known as dark /l/) is [ɫ], as in belt.
There’s a tendency for the tongue-​tip contact with the alveolar ridge to be
lost during velarised /​l/​, a process known as /​l/​-​vocalisation, leaving the back of
the tongue raised in an [ʊ] position. This is most common when velarised /​l/​is
syllabic, and so we can transcribe [ʊ] for syllabic [ɫ] in phonetic transcriptions.
The raising of the back of the tongue for velarised /​l/​affects preceding
vowels. The front vowels kit, dress and trap (e.g. in pill, bell, pal) become
retracted to more centralised positions, [ɘ], [ɛ̈] and [ä] respectively. The close
central vowels, goose and foot (e.g. in cool, pull), have their more traditional
back and more rounded qualities represented in their phonemic symbols, [uː]
and [ʊ]. The strut vowel has a backer realisation [ʌ], while the goat vowel
has an opener, backer, rounded starting point [ɔ̞ːʊ̯].
When velarised /​l/​follows the close front fleece vowel and the closing-​
fronting diphthongs face, price and choice, a brief non-​syllabic schwa
tends to be inserted between the vowel and the velarised /​l/​. This process is
known as breaking, and we transcribe it [iːə̯] or [ɪ̝ ːi̯ ə̯] for fleece, [e̞ ːɪ̯ ə̯] for
face , [äːɪ̯ ə̯] for price , and [ɔːɪ̯ ə̯] for choice .

Transcribe these words phonetically, including all the phonetic details

covered so far.
1) People. Fool. Meal. Pull. Pale. Still. Bell. Final. Coil. Pal. Mile. Castle.
Coal.

B.10 Release stage of plosives

Plosives involve a complete closure in the vocal tract, stopping the airflow
from the lungs. The closure can be released in a number of ways. When a
 Appendix B: Phonetic transcription 153

plosive is followed by a nasal, which can be syllabic, with the same place of
articulation (i.e. /​p b/​+ /​m/​, /​t d/​+ /​n/​, /​k ɡ/​+ /​ŋ/​), it can be released by
lowering the soft palate, a process known as nasal release. The IPA diacritic
for ‘nasal release’ is [ⁿ], for example [pⁿ] in stop me, [dⁿ] in sudden.
When /​t/​or /​d/​are followed by /​l/​, including syllabic /​l/​, they are released
by lowering the sides of the tongue, a process known as lateral release. The
IPA diacritic for ‘lateral release’ is [ˡ], for example [tˡ] in butler, [dˡ] in bad luck.
When a plosive is followed by a stop (i.e. plosive or affricate) with the
same place of articulation, the first plosive is not released and instead the two
plosives share a single long closure. There is no IPA diacritic for ‘unreleased
plosive’, but phoneticians often use a superscript zero [⁰], for example [p⁰p] in
ripe pair, [d⁰t] in red tie, [ɡ⁰k] in big cat, [ḏ⁰ʧ] in hard cheese (note that in this
last example, /​d/​has the same place of articulation as /​ʧ/​, see Section B.8).
When a plosive is followed by a stop (i.e. plosive or affricate) with a different
place of articulation, the release of the first plosive is masked by the closure
made for the second plosive and therefore inaudible. The IPA diacritic for
‘inaudible release’ is [˺], for example [k˺t] in lack time, [k˺b] in thick book, [p˺ɡ]
in cheap gift, [b˺ʤ] in superb job.
Inaudible release of plosives can also occur word-​finally before pauses, for
example [p˺] in stop, [d˺] in hide.

Transcribe these words phonetically, including all the phonetic details

covered so far.
1) Sick. Submerge. Dig. Partner. Rub. Kidney. Hop. Slightly. Midday.
2) Padlock. Eggplant. Top pocket. Drugged. Nighttime. Big toe. Bad joke.
3) Bookcase. Sector. Egypt. Jukebox. Lapdog. Cockpit. Napkin. Sick
child.
4) Scapegoat. Robbed. Inspect. Rugby. Weekday. Shipment. Subculture.

B.11 Voiced /​t/​, labio-​dental nasal [ɱ] and allophones of /​h/​

When /​t/​occurs between vowels at the end of a stressed syllable, both word-​
internally and across a word boundary (especially in high-​frequency words),
it can be realised as a brief voiced [t]‌. The IPA diacritic for the voicing of a
usually voiceless consonant is [ˬ], e.g. [t̬ ] in get it, what I, not if, pretty, etc.
When /​n/​or /​m/​are followed by labio-​dental fricatives /​f v/​, they can be
realised as a labio-​dental nasal [ɱ], e.g. in invent, symphony.
When /​h/​is between vowels, as in ahead or a head, it can have a voiced
allophone. The IPA symbol for a voiced glottal fricative is [ɦ]. When /​h/​is
followed by /​j/​, as in huge, it can be realised as a voiceless palatal fricative [ç],
i.e. [çjuːʤ], or the /​h/​and /​j/​can merge to form [ç], i.e. [çuːʤ].
154 Appendix B: Phonetic transcription

Transcribe these words phonetically, including all the

phonetic details covered so far.
1) Human. Comfy. A hat. Let him. Humid. Infant. A hand. Humane.
Influence.
2) In fact. Behind. A lot of. Humour. Emphasis. Hue. Warehouse. Pamphlet.
Better.

B.12 Chapter revision

Transcribe these words phonetically, including all the
phonetic details covered so far.
1) Overwhelmed. Driving. Beauty. October. Thwarted. Hue. Squirming.
Accept.
2) Victim. Sponge. Cold. Whilst. Jogged. Indulged. Cabbage. Sceptic.
Plectrum.
3) Lightning. Popcorn. Imperial. Strategy. Traumatic. Atlas. Chipmunk.
Proudly.