BASICS OF ENGLISH PHONETICS

First it is important to distinguish letters and distinctive sounds or phonemes.

 Letters are the written symbols of the alphabet; they are used to spell
words. In English there are 26 letters but there are many more sounds. This
is how English letters are pronounced:

A [eɪ], B [biː], C [siː], D [diː], E [iː], F [ef], G [dʒiː], H [eɪtʃ], I [aɪ], J

[dʒeɪ], K [keɪ], L [el], M [em], N [en], O [oʊ], P [piː], Q [kjuː], R [ɑr], S
[es], T [tiː], U [juː], V [viː], W [ˈdʌbəl juː], X [eks], Y [waɪ], Z [zed,
ziː(AE)].

 Phonemes are the smallest units of speech sound, sounds that have
distinctive meaning. We know that a sound has meaning because when we
change it for another there is a change in meaning. The number, identity and
membership of phonemes differ from language to language.
In Standard English there are 44 phonemes: 12 pure vowels, 8 diphthongs
and 24 consonants (The sounds of English and the International Phonetic
Alphabet):

 Pure vowels (12) can be compared in terms of duration, tongue position

and lip shape:

1. Duration:

Short vowels æ ʌ e ə ɪ ɒ ʊ

Long vowels ɑ: ɜ: i: ɔ: u:
 2. Tongue position:

front centre back

close

Vertical
half-close
distance
between
the tongue half-open
and hard
palate

open

Part of the tongue which is highest

3. Lip shape:

spread neutrally open open rounding close rounding

 Diphthongs (8) have continually moving tongue shape and changing sound
quality. Although they are counted as one phoneme they are written by
two vowel symbols, which represent the beginning and the end of their
sound. The jaw, tongue and lips make a gliding movement from the first
element, which is much stronger, to the second.

They can be classified as either closing or centering:

Vowels Diphthongs

i: ɪ ʊ u: eə aɪ aʊ

sleep sit book boot bear high how

e ə ɜ: ɔ: ɪə eɪ əʊ
 ten after bird horse beer say go

æ ʌ ɑ: ɒ ʊə ɔɪ oʊ (Am.E.)

cat up arm hot fewer boy go

 Consonants (24) are a class of sounds where there is obstruction to the

flow of air. Consonants are described and distinguished according to:

1. Manner of articulation (HOW are they produced?)

2. Place of articulation (WHERE does the obstruction take place?)

3. Breath force (Do they require more or less breath force in their
production? Are they lenis or fortis?) and Voice (Do the vocal cords
vibrate or not? Are they voiced or voiceless?)

Therefore, while the vowel and diphthong phonemes are all voiced, some
consonants are voiced and lenis (16) but some others are voiceless and
fortis phonemes (8). In the following table, VOICELESS consonants
appear in red:

PLACE BILABIAL LABIO DENTAL ALVEAOLA PALATO- PALATAL VELAR GLOTTAL

R
MANNER DENTAL ALVEOLAR

PLOSIVE p….pen t……tea k…..key

bee.....b day…d get…..g

FRICATIVE f…...fan θ…..thin s…. sea ʃ..sheep h......hat

eleven.v the..…ð zoo..…z leisure.ʒ

AFFRICATE tʃ.church

judge.dʒ

NASAL m...man n… now ŋ…sing

LATERAL l… lip

APROXI w…was r...rabbit j….yet

MANT

 Interactive, downloadable phonemic chart (The consonant phonemes in the

first line of that chart are voiceless and those of the second line are their
voiced counterparts).

 The type of voice of each sound must be known because the last sound of a
word determines the pronunciation when we add the very common English
word endings –(E)D, -(E)S or ‘S. In the next table we distinguish the two
categories:

Voiceless consonants p f t θ tʃ s ʃ k

Their voiced counterparts b v d ð dʒ z ʒ g

 Mnemonic tip for voiceless consonants: “So she caught a cheap thief”

Moreover, as we have said, the rest of consonants and all the vowel and
diphthong phonemes are also voiced.

 Pronunciation of –(E)D:

/ t / after voiceless sounds / d / after voiced sounds / Id / after /t/ or /d/

(exc. /d/)
(exc. /t/) It implies an extra syllable

asked, coughed, danced, agreed, answered, called, accepted, added, counted,

developed, promised, cancelled, changed, created, decided, loaded,
pushed cleaned, closed, tried needed, wanted

Exceptions: The following adjectives ending in -ed are always pronounced with
IDaged, blessed, crooked, dogged, learned, naked, ragged, wicked,
wretched.

 Pronunciation of -(E)S or ‘S (for regular plurals, 3rd person present simple

and possessive or genitive case):

/ S / after voiceless sounds / Z / after voiced sounds / IZ / after sibilant sounds*

(exc. / s, ʃ, tʃ / ) (exc. / z, ʒ, dʒ / ) (/s, z, ʃ, ʒ, tʃ, dʒ / )

It implies an extra syllable.

pictures, echoes, babies,

beliefs, cats, clocks, helps, buses, buzzes, wishes,
fries, toys, thieves, kings,
writes, myths pitches, judges, ages
hills

Mnemonics for the 6 sibilants: “Joe chose a shy seizure” /dʒəʊ tʃəʊz ə ʃaɪ
*

ˈsiːʒə/

Common English words with weak and strong pronunciation

(The weak form is normally used when the word is not stressed):
 WEAK STRONG EXAMPLES OF WEAK AND STRONG FORMS
FORMS
FORMS

/eɪ/ I bought a new dress. / Two? / I said a new

A /ə/ dress.

AM /(ə)m/ /æm/ I am going home, are you? / Yes, I am.

/æn/ We just have an apple. / Two apples? / No, just

AN /ən/ an apple.

/ənd, ən, nd, /ænd/ You have to add some salt and pepper. / Some
AND n, m, ŋ/ salt or pepper? / No, some salt and pepper.

ANY /ənɪ/ /ˈeni/ I don´t mind any option? / Any?

/ɑː(r)/ Are they going to school just now? / Yes, they

ARE / əː(r)/ are.

/æz/ He worked as a slave. // Like a slave? // As a

AS / əz / slave.

AT / ət / /æt/ Look at him! What is he looking at?

/biː/ He’s going to be late. / How would you like it to

BE /bɪ/ be?

/biːn/ What have you been doing? Where have you

BEEN /bɪn/ been?

/bʌt/ The food is good but the service is terrible. / I´m

BUT /bət/ not but a fool.

/kæn/ Can you speak any foreign language? / Yes, I

CAN /kən, kn, kŋ/ can.

/kʊd/ I don´t think he could pass that exam. / I´m

COULD /kəd/ afraid he could.

/ də (+C), du, /du:/ How do you do? / Do you know what to do?
DO dʊ (+V) /

/dʌz/ He doesn’t live in London, does he? / Yes, he

DOES /dəz/ does! / He does like living there.

/fɔː(r)/ It’s a present for my dad. / I´m looking for a

FOR /fə(r)/ job. / A good job is what I´m looking for.

FROM /frəm/ / frɒm /, (AmE: I´m from Burgos, and you, where are you
 /fra:m/ ) from?.

/hæd/ Finally, I had understood it: If you had a

problem, you had to work it out. / You had had
HAD /həd, əd, d/ your chance.

/hæz/ He has been here for years, has he? He has to

HAS /həz, əz, z, s/ admit it

HAVE /həv, əv, v / /hæv/ I’ve had lunch already, have you?

HE /hi, i, hɪ, ɪ / /hi:/ She knows he is away. But where is he?

HE’D /hid/ /hiːd/ Sam said he´d like to buy that house.

HE’LL /hil/ /hiːl/ Tom insists that he´ll do it.

HE’S /hiz/ /hiːz/ The boy admits he´s done it

/hə(r) /hɜː(r)/ Her daughter is quite young. They like her but
(beginning), not other girls.
HER ə(r)/

/hɪm/ I hadn´t seen him for ages. I brought this gift to

HIM /ɪm/ him, not to his wife.

HIS /ɪz/ /hɪz/ That’s his last chance. / This message is his.

IS /s, z/ /ɪz/ Who´s ready? / Claire is.

JUST /ʤəst/ /ʤʌst/ I´ve just sent it.

ME /mɪ/ /mi:/ John called me last night. / It was me.

/məs(+C), /mʌst/ We really must take an umbrella. / You must.

MUST məst(+V)/

/ɒv/, (AmE: That’s part of the problem. / What are you afraid
OF /əv/ /a:v/) of?

/ˈaʊə/ She dropped her coffee on our rug. / On whose

OUR /ɑː/ rug? / On our rug.

SHALL /ʃəl, ʃl/ /ʃæl/ Shall we go out for dinner?

/ʃi:/ We know she is away. But where exactly is

SHE /ʃi, ʃɪ/ she?

SHE’D /ʃid, ʃɪd/ /ʃiːd/ Betty said she´d like to leave.

SHE’LL /ʃil, ʃɪl/ /ʃiːl/ Rachel insists that she´ll do it.

SHE’S /ʃiz, ʃɪz/ /ʃiːz/ I think she’s gone to the library.

/ʃʊd/ Should I really get a haircut? / I think you

SHOULD /ʃəd, ʃd/ should.

/sʌm/ She bought some bread this morning. I already

SOME /səm, sm/ have some.

/ðæn/ This part of London is much busier than where I

THAN /ðən, ðn/ live.

THAT /ðət/ /ðæt/ I think that that is Paul´s car.

/ðiː/ Where are the car keys? What about the

/ ðə (+C), ðɪ apartment keys? / This is not just a man, it´s the
THE (+V) / man.

THEIR /ðə(r)/ /ðeə(r)/ That´s their problem. I insist it is their problem.

THEIRS /ðəz/ /ðeəz/ They say it´s theirs, that it is not ours but theirs.

/ðəm, ðm, /ðem/ She dropped them off at the airport. / You or
THEM əm, m/ them?

/ðeə(r)/ There are many restaurants here. My favorite

THERE /ðə(r)/ one is over there.

/ tə (+C), tʊ, /tu:/ Do you go to London much? Yes, I travel to and

TO tu (+V) / from London a lot.

/ʌs/ Lucy gave us one of her kittens. / Did she give it

US /əs/ to us?

WAS /wəz, wz/ /wɒz/ Was it a beautiful day? / Yes, it was.

/wi:/ I wonder when we should leave. / Where are

WE /wi, wɪ/ we?

WE’LL /wil/ /wiːl/ They are convinced that we´ll do it

WERE /wə(r)/ /wɜː(r)/ Were you late again? / Yes, we were. Very late.

/huː/ Do you know who that girl is? You didn´t say
WHO /hʊ/ who.

WILL /wəl/ /wɪl/ John will come later. I know he will.

WOULD /wəd, d/ /wʊd/ If I were you, I would study more. I honestly

 would.

YOU /jə, jʊ/ /ju:/ Do you like chocolate? I’m asking you.

YOU’D /jəd, jʊd/ /juːd/ Did I hear that you´d like to leave?

YOU’LL /jəl, jʊl/ /juːl/ Are you saying that you´ll do it?

/jɔː(r), jʊ(ə)(r)/ I know your bike is white, but is this really your
YOUR /jə(r)/ bike?

YOURS /jəz/ /jɔːz/ People say it´s yours, but is it really yours?
TRANSCRIPTION OF COMMON WORDS AND PHRASES: WEAK (1st) & STRONG FORMS
(2nd)

A /ə/ or /eɪ/

ABOARD /əˈbɔːd/ ALSO /ˈɔːlsəʊ/

ABOUT /əˈbaʊt/ ALTHOUGH /ɔːlˈðəʊ/

ABOVE /əˈbʌv/ ALWAYS /ˈɔːlweɪz/

ABROAD /əˈbrɔːd/ AM /(ə)m/ or /æm/

ACCORDING TO /əˈkɔːdɪŋ/ /tʊ/ AMONG /əˈmʌŋ/

ACROSS /əˈkrɒs/ AN /ən/ or /æn/

AFRAID /əˈfreɪd/ /ənd, ən, nd, n, m, ŋ/

AND or /ænd/
AFTER /ˈɑːftə/
ANOTHER /əˈnʌðə/
AFTERWARDS /ˈɑːftəwədz/
ANY /ˈeni/
AGAIN /əˈgen/
ANYBODY /ˈenɪˌbɒdi/
AGAINST /əˈgenst/
ANYONE /ˈenɪwʌn/
AGE /eɪʤ/
ANYTHING /ˈenɪθɪŋ/
AGO /əˈgəʊ/
ANYWAY /ˈenɪweɪ/
AGREE /əˈgriː/
ANYWHERE /ˈenɪweə/
AHEAD /əˈhed/
APART /əˈpɑːt/
ALIVE /əˈlaɪv/
ARE / əː(r)/ or /ɑː(r)/
ALL /ɔːl/
AREN’T /ɑːnt/
ALL RIGHT /ɔːl/ /raɪt/
AROUND /əˈraʊnd/
ALMOST /ˈɔːlməʊst/
AS / əz / or /æz/
ALONE /əˈləʊn/
AT / ət / or /æt/
ALONG /əˈlɒŋ/
AWAY /əˈweɪ/
ALOUD /əˈlaʊd/
BACK /bæk/
ALREADY /ɔːlˈredi/
BACKWARDS /ˈbækwədz/ DID /dɪd/

BE /bɪ/ or /biː/ DIDN’T /dɪdnt/

BECAUSE /bɪˈkɒz/ / də (+C), du, dʊ

DO (+V) / or /du:/
BEEN /bɪn/ or /biːn/
DOES /dəz/ or /dʌz/
BEFORE /bɪˈfɔː/
DOESN’T /dʌznt/
BEHIND /bɪˈhaɪnd/
DONE /dʌn/
BEING /ˈbiːɪŋ/
DON’T /dəʊnt/
BELOW /bɪˈləʊ/
DOWN /daʊn/
BENEATH /bɪˈniːθ/
DOWNSTAIRS /ˌdaʊnˈsteəz/
BESIDE /bɪˈsaɪd/
DURING /ˈdjʊərɪŋ/
BESIDES /bɪˈsaɪdz/
EACH /iːʧ/
BEST /best/
EASILY /ˈiːzɪli/
BETTER /ˈbetə/
EITHER /ˈɪðə/ or /ˈaɪðə/
BETWEEN /bɪˈtwiːn/
ELSE /els/
BOTH /bəʊθ/
ELSEWHERE /ˈelsˈweə/
BUT /bət/ or /bʌt/
ENOUGH /əˈnʌf/ or / ɪˈnʌf/
BY / bye/ buy /baɪ/
ENTIRELY /ɪnˈtaɪəli/
/kən, kn, kŋ/ or
CAN /kæn/ EVEN /ˈiːvən/

CAN’T /kɑːnt/ EVENTUALLY /ɪˈvenʧəli/

CERTAINLY /ˈsɜːtnli/ EVER /ˈevə/

CLEAR /klɪə/ EVERY /ˈevri/

CONCERNING /kənˈsɜːnɪŋ/ EVERYBODY /ˈevrɪbɒdi/

COULD /kəd/ or /kʊd/ EVERYDAY /ˈevrɪdeɪ/

COULDN’T /ˈkʊdnt/ EVERYONE /ˈevrɪwʌn/

EVERYTHING /ˈevrɪθɪŋ/

EVERYWHERE /ˈevrɪweə/ HAVEN’T /hævnt/

EXACTLY /ɪgˈzæktli/ HE /hi, i, hɪ, ɪ / or /hi:/

EXCEPTIONALLY /ɪkˈsepʃənli/ HE’D /hid/ or /hiːd/

FAIRLY /ˈfeəli/ HE’LL /hil/ or /hiːl/

FAR /fɑː/ HE’S /hiz/ or /hiːz/

FEW /fjuː/ HELLO /heˈləʊ/

FINALLY /ˈfaɪnəli/ /hə(r) (beginning),

HER ə(r)/ or /hɜː(r)/
FIRST /fɜːst/
HERE /hɪə/
FOR /fə(r)/ or /fɔː(r)/
HERS /hɜːz/
FOREVER /fəˈrevə/
HERSELF /hɜːˈself/
FORWARD /ˈfɔːwəd/
HIM /ɪm/ or /hɪm/
FORWARDS /ˈfɔːwədz/
HIS /ɪz/ or /hɪz/
FREQUENTLY /ˈfriːkwəntli/
HOW /haʊ/
/frəm, frm/ or /frɒm,
FROM (AmE) fra:m / HOWEVER /haʊˈevə/

GOOD /gʊd/ I /aɪ/

GRAND /grænd/ I’D /aɪd/

GREAT /greɪt/ I’LL /aɪl/

HAD /həd, əd, d/ or /hæd/ I’M /aɪm/

HADN’T /ˈhædnt/ I’VE /aɪv/

HARDLY /ˈhɑːdli/ IN /ɪn/

/həz, əz, z, s/ or INDEFINITELY /ɪnˈdefɪnɪtli/

HAS /hæz/
INSIDE /ɪnˈsaɪd/
HASN’T /ˈhæznt/
INSTEAD OF /ɪnˈsted/ /ɒv/
HAVE /həv, əv, v / or /hæv/
INTO /ˈɪntuː/ NEAR /nɪə/

IS /s, z/ or /ɪz/ NEARLY /ˈnɪəli/

ISN’T /ˈɪznt/ NEITHER /ˈnɪðə/ or /ˈnaɪðə/

IT /ɪt/ NEVER /ˈnevə/

IT’S /ɪts/ NEVERTHELESS /ˌnevəðəˈles/

JUST /ʤəst/ or /ʤʌst/ NO /nəʊ/

KINDLY /ˈkaɪndli/ NOBODY /ˈnəʊbədi/

LAST /lɑːst/ NONE /nʌn/

LATE /leɪt/ NOR /nɔː/

LESS /les/ NOT /nɒt/

LITTLE /ˈlɪtl/ NOTHING /ˈnʌθɪŋ/

LONG /lɒŋ/ NOW /naʊ/

MANY /ˈmeni/ NOWADAYS /ˈnaʊədeɪz/

MAYBE /ˈmeɪbiː/ NOWHERE /ˈnəʊweə/

ME /mɪ/ or /mi:/ /əv/ or /ɒv, (AmE)

OF a:v/
MERELY /ˈmɪəli/
OFF /ɒf/
MINE /maɪn/
OFTEN /ˈɒf(ə)n/ or /ˈɒft(ə)n/
MORE /mɔː/
OH /əʊ/
MOST /məʊst/
OK /ˈəʊˈkeɪ/
MUCH /mʌʧ/
ON /ɒn/
/məs(+C), məst(+V)/
MUST or /mʌst/ ONCE /wʌns/

MUSTN’T /ˈmʌsnt/ ONE /wʌn/

MY /maɪ/ ONLY /ˈəʊnli/

MYSELF /maɪˈself/ ONWARDS /ˈɒnwədz/

OPPOSITE /ˈɒpəzɪt/ SHE’D /ʃid, ʃɪd/ or /ʃiːd/

OR /ɔː/ SHE’LL /ʃil, ʃɪl/ or /ʃiːl/

OTHER /ˈʌðə/ SHE’S /ʃiz, ʃɪz/ or /ʃiːz/

OTHERWISE /ˈʌðəwaɪz/ SHOULD /ʃəd, ʃd/ or /ʃʊd/

OUR /ˈaʊə/ SHOULDN’T /ʃʊdnt/

OURSELVES /ˌaʊəˈselvz/ SCIENCE /ˈsaɪəns/

OUT /aʊt/ SINCE /sɪns/

OUTSIDE /ˌaʊtˈsaɪd/ SLOW /sləʊ/

OVER /ˈəʊvə/ SO /səʊ/

/pəˈhæps/ or SOME /səm, sm/ or /sʌm/

PERHAPS /præps/
SOMETIMES /ˈsʌmtaɪmz/
PLEASE /pliːz/
SORRY /ˈsɒri/
PROPERLY /ˈprɒpəli/
STILL /stɪl/
QUICKLY /ˈkwɪkli/
STRAIGHT /streɪt/
QUIET /ˈkwaɪət/
SUCH /sʌʧ/
QUITE /kwaɪt/
SURELY /ˈʃʊəli/
RATHER /ˈrɑːðə/
THAN /ðən, ðn/ or /ðæn/
READY /ˈredi/
THANKS /θæŋks/
REALLY /ˈrɪəli/
THAT /ðət/ or /ðæt/
RECENTLY /ˈriːsntli/
/ ðə (+C), ðɪ (+V) / or
RIGHT /raɪt/ THE /ðiː/

SEVERAL /ˈsevrəl/ THEIR /ðə(r)/ or /ðeə(r)/

SHALL /ʃəl, ʃl/ or /ʃæl/ THEIRS /ðəz/ or /ðeəz/

SHAN’T /ʃɑːnt/ /ðəm, ðm, əm, m/ or

THEM /ðem/
SHE /ʃi, ʃɪ/ or /ʃi:/
THEN /ðen/
THERE /ðə(r)/ or /ðeə(r)/ VERY /ˈveri/

THEREFORE /ˈðeəfɔː/ WAS /wəz, wz/ or /wɒz/

THESE /ðiːz/ WASN’T /wɒznt/

THEY /ðeɪ/ WE /wi, wɪ/ or /wi:/

THEY’D /ðeɪd/ WELL /wel/

THEY’LL /ðeɪl/ WE’LL /wil/ or /wiːl/

THEY’RE /ðeə(r)/ WERE /wə(r)/ or /wɜː(r)/

THIS /ðɪs/ WE’RE /wɪə(r)/

THOROUGHLY /ˈθʌrəli/ WEREN’T /wɜːnt/

THOSE /ðəʊz/ WHAT /wɒt/

THROUGH /θruː/ WHATEVER /wɒtˈevə/

THUS /ðʌs/ WHEN /wen/

/ tə (+C), tʊ, tu (+V) / WHENEVER /wenˈevə/

TO or /tu:/
WHERE /weə/
TOGETHER /təˈgeðə/
WHETHER /ˈweðə/
TOO /tuː/
WHICH /wɪʧ/
TOTALLY /ˈtəʊtli/
WHICHEVER /wɪʧˈevə/
/təˈwɔːdz/ or
TOWARDS (Am) /tɔːrdz/ WHILE /waɪl/

UNDER /ˈʌndə/ WHO /huː/

UNTIL /ənˈtɪl/ WHOLE /həʊl/

WHOSE /huːz/
UP /ʌp/ WHY /waɪ/
WILL /wɪl/
UPSIDE-DOWN /ˈʌpsaɪdˈdaʊn/ WITH /wɪð/
WITHIN /wɪˈðɪn/
UPSTAIRS /ˌʌpˈsteəz/ WITHOUT /wɪˈðaʊt/
WON’T /wəʊnt/
US /əs/ or /ʌs/ WORSE /wɜːs/
WORST /wɜːst/
WORTH /wɜːθ/
WOULD /wəd, d/ or /wʊd/
WOULDN’T /ˈwʊdnt/
WRONG /rɒŋ/
YET /jet/
YOU /jə, jʊ/ or /ju:/
YOU’D /jəd, jʊd/ or /juːd/
YOU’LL /jəd, jʊd/ or /juːl/
YOU’RE /jʊə(r)/
/jə(r)/ or /jɔː(r), jʊ(ə)
YOUR (r)/
YOURS /jəz/ or /jɔːz/