PHONETICS

> The science and study of speech sounds is called “phonetics.”

Phonetic Symbols: It is a set of specific symbols or codes that show what
a letter or word sounds like.
> There are (44) different symbols in English language, each of which
represents a specific sound.
> These symbols / sounds are divided into two types: Vowel sounds and
Consonant sounds.
1 – VOWEL SOUNDS: (20)
> Vowel is a sound that is pronounced without blockage of air by tongue,
teeth and lips while saying a word.
> There are (20) Vowel Sounds which are divided into three kinds:
1_Short Vowel Sounds: (7)
01) /ɪ/ It, Ship, Kit, Bid, Live, Lick, Sit, Pill, Chip, Bill, Thick, Mill, Trim.
02) /e/ End, Pen, Ten, Peg, Pet, Bell, Set, Send, Desk, Bed, Check, Peck.
03) /ʌ/ Up, Uncle, Cup, Hut, Truck, Some, Hung, Run, Come, Mud, But.
04) /ʊ/ Book, Look, Put, Good, Should, Could, Cook, Pull, Full, Would.
05) /ɒ/ Hot, Got, Top, Pot, Shot, Rod, Spot, Lock, What, Block, dog, Fox.
06) /ə/ About, Admit, Aloud, Letter, Better, Future, Longer, Murder, Quiet.
07) /æ/ Axe, Ant, Anger, Man, Pan, Sand, Bad, Hat, Cat, Cap, Ran, Tap.
2_Long Vowel Sounds: (5)
08) /ɑː/ Heart, Park, Hard, Star, Bark, Father, Car, Part, Card, Calm, God.
09) /iː/ Eat, Each, Sheep, Bean, Meat, We, Leave, Cheek, Bee, Heel, He.
10) /uː/ Boot, Pool, Fool, Cool, Too, Fruit, Zoom, True, Zoo, Rood, Two.
11) /ɔː/ Ball, Tall, Dawn, Four, Short, Port, Sport, Warm, Cord, Fork, Course.
12) /ɜː/ Turn, Girl, Term, Work, Bird, Fur, Serve, Word, World, Birth, Curd.
3_Diphthong Sounds: (8)
13) /aɪ/ Iron, My, Fine, Try, Sky, Eye, Life, Bike, High, Light, Night, Why.
14) /ɔɪ/ Oil, Boy, Coin, Boil, Toy, Spoil, Royal, Noise, Choice, Moisture.
15) /ʊə/ Tour, Pure, Cure, Gourd, Tourism, Gourmet, Usual, Tourist.
1|Page| By: Mohammad Anas Wisal
16) /ɪə/ Ear, Here, Near, Dear, Hear, Clear, Tear, Beard, Year, Rear.
17) /əʊ/ Phone, Home, Bone, Toe, Boat, Woke, Bowl, Woe, Road, Row.
18) /aʊ/ House, Cow, Town, How, Wow, Bow, Ow, Mouth, Now, Ouch.
19) /eə/ Air, Square, Fair, Pair, Chair, Hair, Wear, Dare, Pear, Bear, There.
20) /eɪ/ Age, Face, Day, Break, Shade, Male, Main, Wait, Trait, Late, Pain.

Note 1: The short vowel sound /e/ can also be written as /ε/.
e.g: Lesson: /lesən/ or /lεsən/ Pet: /pet/ or /pεt/ Leg: /leg/ or /lεg/
Note 2: Most of the times, these two (/ɔː/, /ɑː/) Long Vowel Sounds are
used in the same word’s phonetic symbols. One difference we can indicate
between these two sounds is that /ɔː/ is mostly used in British pronunciation
while /ɑː/ is used in American pronunciation and therefore they are
pronounced differently. Let’s look at the phonetic symbols of some words
having these two sounds.
1-Ball: British Pron > /bɔːl/ American Pron > /bɑːl/
2-Tall: British Pron > /tɔːl/ American Pron > /tɑːl/
3-Small: British Pron > /smɔːl/ American Pron > /smɑːl/
4-Fall: British Pron > /fɔːl/ American Pron > /fɑːl/
> In addition to this, in some other words, /ɔː/ is used as long vowel sound
in both British and American pronunciations representing the same sound.
Here are some examples:
1-Short: /ʃɔːrt/ 2-Four: /fɔːr/ 3-Sport: /spɔːrt/ 4-Cord: /kɔːrd/
Note 3: The Diphthong /əʊ/ symbol can also be written as /oʊ/ in
American pronunciation. e.g: Home: British> /həʊm/ American> /hoʊm/

2 – CONSONANT SOUNDS: (24)

> Consonant is a sound in which breath/air is at least partly obstructed
either by tongue, teeth or lips while saying a word.
> There are (24) Consonant Sounds that are divided into two main kinds.
1_Voiced Consonant Sounds: (8)
> It is a sound that is pronounced with accompanying vibration of the
vocal cords.
2|Page| By: Mohammad Anas Wisal
21) /b/ Bad, Body, Baby, Bald, Trouble, Blood, Rubber, Robber, Rob.
22) /d/ Door, Done, Drink, Puddle, Does, Under, Loud, Pad, Dad, Rod.
23) /g/ Good, God, Great, Agree, Gargle, Struggle, Bag, Drag, Brag, Big.
24) /v/ Very, Voice, Vowel, Vow, Loved, Heavy, Seven, Move, Serve, Wave.
25) /z/ Zero, Zone, Zebra, Music, Misery, Buzz, Rose, Size, Noise, Nose.
26) /ʒ/ Genre, Vision, Pleasure, Measure, Treasure, Seizure, Leisure, Garage.
27) /dʒ/ Just, Joke, Justice, Judgment, Bridge, Judge, Oblige, Rage, Indulge.
28) /ð/ This, They, Though, That, Although, Father, Other, There, Smooth.
2_Voiceless Consonant Sounds: (9)
> It is a sound that is pronounced without accompanying vibration of the
vocal cords.
29) /f/ Fast, Father, Floor, Fat, Coffee, Afraid, Rough, Tough, Roof, Life.
30) /h/ Home, Hot, Hear, Hill, Ahead, How, Aha, Reheat, Rehear.
31) /k/ Call, Clock, Kite, Cat, Command, Lucky, Sick, Trick, Broke.
32) /p/ Park, Pick, Happy, Hope, Copy, Happen, Cop, Rope, Hop.
33) /s/ Sun, Soon, Center, City, Cycle, Missed, Mister, Duster, Cease.
34) /t/ Turn, Tremble, Trait, Ten, Butter, Tight, But, Bit, Lot, Boat.
35) /ʃ/ Show, Should, Ship, Sure, Introduction, Nation, Notion, Fish, Dish.
36) /tʃ/ Chest, Charm, Charge, Teacher, Match, Church, Stitch, Itch.
37) /θ/ Think, Thought, Thanks, Author, Healthy, Birth, Path, Health.
3_Other Consonant Sounds: (7)
38) /l/ Light, Leader, Louder, Valley, Ruler, Trouble, Role, Model.
39) /m/ Moon, Might, Miss, Tremble, Rumor, Home, Some, Room.
40) /n/ Night, Need, Now, Notify, Afternoon, Aunt, Noon, Win, Done.
41) /ŋ/ Ring, Sing, Wrong, Drink, Uncle, Drunk, Song, Thing, Hang.
42) /r/ Road, Ride, Write, Army, Order, Flower, Teacher, Reader.
43) /w/ Wide, Would, Wife, Won, Quit, Beware, Quick, Queen, Quite.
44) /j/ Yet, Yell, Yes, Yellow, Yesterday, Use, Few, Cute, Feud, Accuse.

3|Page| By: Mohammad Anas Wisal

Note: The Voiced Consonant sound /ð/ and Voiceless Consonant sound /θ/
are given by (th). We can understand which sound (th) represents in a word
based on the function of that word.
 (Th) gives voiced consonant sound /ð/ when it comes in:
 Pronouns: They, Them, Their, That, Theirs, etc.
 Adverbs: Then, There, Thus, Though, Further, etc.
 Conjunctions: Either, Although, Neither, than, though, etc.
 Determiners: This, Those, The, Other, Another, These, etc.

 (Th) gives voiceless consonant sound /θ/ when it comes in:

 Nouns: Thing, Thumb, Theatre, Length, Health, Breath, Truth, etc.
 Verbs: Think, Throw, Thank, Thunder, Thought, Thrill, etc.
 Adjectives: Thin, Thick, Thirsty, Healthy, Lengthy, Monthly, etc.
 Prepositions: With, Underneath, Through, Beneath, etc.
> It is important to remember that there are exceptions to the rules above.
For example: (bathe and smooth) have /ð/ sound although they are verbs.
Also, (worthy and northern) have /ð/ sound however they are adjectives.

{All Praise is due to ALLAH (the Almighty),

the One Who has always bestowed His mercy
and blessings upon His servants!}

4|Page| By: Mohammad Anas Wisal