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English Phonetic Symbols

Monophthongs (pure vowels) Consonants

1 iː bead /biːd/ beat /biːt/ bee /biː/ 23 p pin /pɪn/ happy /ˈhæpi/ cap /kæp/
2 ɪ bid /bɪd/ bit /bɪt/ 24 b bin /bɪn/ cabin /ˈkæbɪn/ cab /kæb/
3 e bed /bed/ bet /bet/ 25 t ten /ten/ butter /ˈbʌtə/ cut /kʌt/
4 æ bad /bæd/ bat /bæt/ 26 d duck /dʌk/ ladder /ˈlædə/ odd /ɒd/
5 ɑː card /kɑːd/ cart /kɑːt/ car /kɑː/ 27 k cold /kəʊld/ soccer /ˈsɒkə/ lock /lɒk/
6 ʌ bud /bʌd/ butt /bʌt/ 28 ɡ good /ɡʊd/ foggy /ˈfɒɡi/ fog /ˈfɒɡ/
7 ɜː herd /hɜːd/ hurt /hɜːt/ fur, fir /fɜː/ 29 f fog /ˈfɒɡ/ coffee /ˈkɒfi/ cough /ˈkɒf/
8 ɒ God /ɡɒd/ got /ɡɒt/ 30 v view /vjuː/ heavy /ˈhevi/ move /muːv/
9 ɔː board /bɔːd/ bought /bɔːt/ bore /bɔː/ 31 θ thing /θɪŋ/ author /ˈɔːθə/ cloth /klɒθ/
10 ʊ good /ɡʊd/ foot /fʊt/ 32 ð that /ðæt/ other /ˈʌðə/ with /wɪð/
11 uː mood /muːd/ moot /muːt/ moo /muː/ 33 s soon /suːn/ fussy /ˈfʌsi/ face /feɪs/
34 z zoo /zuː/ roses /ˈrəʊzɪz/ buzz /bʌz/
Diphthongs 35 ʃ ship /ʃɪp/ nation /ˈneɪʃn̩/ wash /wɒʃ/
36 ʒ (genre /ˈʒɒnrə/) vision /ˈvɪʒn̩/ (beige /beɪʒ/)
12 eɪ made /meɪd/ mate /meɪt/ may /meɪ/ 37 h hot /hɒt/ behave /bɪˈheɪv/
13 aɪ hide /haɪd/ hight /haɪt/ high, hi /haɪ/ 38 ʧ chill /ʧɪl/ feature /ˈfiːʧə/ rich /rɪʧ/
14 ɔɪ noise /nɔɪz/ voice /vɔɪs/ boy /bɔɪ/ 39 ʤ just /ʤʌst/ lodger /ˈlɒʤə/ age /eɪʤ/
əʊ node /nəʊd/ note /nəʊt/ no /nəʊ/ m moon /muːn/ army /ˈɑːmi/ sum /sʌm/
™

15 40

16 aʊ loud /laʊd/ out /aʊt/ now /naʊ/ 41 n now /naʊ/ dinner /ˈdɪnə/ sun /sʌn/
St Kliment Ohridski University of Sofia

17 ɪə fears /fɪəz/ fierce /fɪəs/ fear /fɪə/ 42 ŋ singer /ˈsɪŋə/ long /lɒŋ/
18 eə scares /skeəz/ scarce /skeəs/ scare /skeə/ 43 l light /laɪt/ valley /ˈvæli/ small /smɔːl/
19 ʊə toured /tʊəd/ bourse /bʊəs/ tour /tʊə/ 44 r right /raɪt/ sorry /ˈsɒri/
45 j yes /jes/
Weak vowels (Never stressed!) 46 w wet /wet/ award /əˈwɔːd/

20 ə about /əˈbaʊt/ comma /ˈkɒmə/ ‘Schwa’. Never stressed in RP. Because is the only exception
where it can be stressed in RP: /bɪˈkɒz/ or /bɪˈkəz/.
21 i glorious /ˈɡlɔːri.əs/ happy /ˈhæpi/ Only before another vowel or at the end of a word.
22 u actual /ˈækʧu.əl/ thank you /ˈθæŋkju/ Only before another vowel or at the end of a word.

Other symbols
/ / phonemic transcription enclosed (Do not use square brackets ‘[ ]’.)
ˈ primary stress monkey /ˈmʌŋki/, become /bɪˈkʌm/
ˌ secondary stress phonetician /ˌfəʊnəˈtɪʃn̩/
. syllable boundary (where necessary) lineage /ˈlɪni.ɪʤ/
£ British variant follows again /əˈɡen, £əˈɡeɪn/
$ American variant follows suggest /£səˈʤest, $səɡˈʤest/
̩ syllabic consonant cotton /ˈkɒtn̩/, little /ˈlɪtl ̩/

© M. Sabev 2006 Course website: http://phonetics.hit.bg