English IPA Chart - Pronunciation Studio

The Pronunciation Studio English IPA Chart (with audio) . Learn the 44 sounds of English and common variations. SkiptocontentEnglishIPAChartJosephHudson2021-11-02T19:10:50+00:00EnglishIPAChartBelowistheupdated PronunciationStudioIPAChart(2021).Clickortaponthesoundstohearthem,scrolldownformoreinformationaboutthechart. 44SoundsBritishEnglishusedindictionarieshasastandardsetof44sounds,thesearecalledphonemes.OnthePronunciationStudiochart,wehavetwoadditionalsounds(45and46)whicharealternativeversionsofphonemesandareknownasallophones(moreonthesebelow).ForadetailedintroductiontotheIPAchart’ssounds,mouthpositions,phoneticalphabetandvoicing,downloadthePronunciationStudiostarterpack(pdf).IPAChartVariationsYouhaveprobablynoticedthatdifferentdictionariessometimeshavedifferenttranscriptionsforthesameword.ThisisbecausethereisnouniversallyagreedsetofsymbolsforEnglishIPA.Forexample,thewordSAIDmightbe/sɛd/inonedictionaryand/sed/inanother,sothevowelsoundhasadifferentsymbolineachtranscription.Itisimportanttorememberthatthesoundisthesame,itissimplyadifferentchoiceofsymbolforthatphonemebythepublisherofthedictionary. Thiscanbeconfusingforlearners,butfortunately,mostphonemesareidenticalacrossalldictionaries.Thevariationsmainlyoccuron5vowelsounds.Toillustratethevariations,wewillusetheOED(OxfordEnglishDictionary)andtheCambridgeDictionaryIPAcharts,asnomajorpublisherwillvaryfromthese:Asyoucansee,thePronunciationStudioIPAchartfollowstheOEDmodel.Thereisnoclearadvantagetousingoneortheother,butitisusefulforlearnerstobeawareofthedifferentversions.Allophones–Sounds45&46AstandardBritishEnglishcharthas44sounds,butwe’veseenthatthePronunciationStudiocharthas2extrasounds:45[ʔ]and46[ɫ].Thesearenotphonemes,theyareallophonesmeaningavariationofasound:45.[ʔ]IfyouhearanativeEnglishspeakersayWITNESS,theyprobablywillnotpronounceastandard/t/,itwillbe[ʔ]instead.Althoughthissoundisassociatedwithregionalaccentssuchascockney,itiswidelyusedinstandardpronunciation(includingtheQueen’sEnglish).46.[ɫ]Thesound[ɫ],commonlyknownas‘darkl’isoftenmadeinsteadofa‘clearl’whenitappearsattheendofawordlikeFALL.TherearemanyallophonesinEnglish,allsoundshavevariations,sowhyhaveweincludedtheseonthechartandnotalltheothers?SimplybecausethesearethetwoallophonesthatlearnersencountermostoftenastheylearnEnglish pronunciation.Soonourpronunciationcoursesandinourcoursebook,wegivethese2soundsthesameamountoffocusaseachofthe44phonemes.Weusecookiesforusageandpreferences-tofindoutmorepleaseseeourprivacypolicyAcceptPrivacy&CookiesPolicyClosePrivacyOverviewThiswebsiteusescookiestoimproveyourexperiencewhileyounavigatethroughthewebsite.Outofthese,thecookiesthatarecategorizedasnecessaryarestoredonyourbrowserastheyareessentialfortheworkingofbasicfunctionalitiesofthewebsite.Wealsousethird-partycookiesthathelpusanalyzeandunderstandhowyouusethiswebsite.Thesecookieswillbestoredinyourbrowseronlywithyourconsent.Youalsohavetheoptiontoopt-outofthesecookies.Butoptingoutofsomeofthesecookiesmayaffectyourbrowsingexperience.NecessaryNecessaryAlwaysEnabledNecessarycookiesareabsolutelyessentialforthewebsitetofunctionproperly.Thiscategoryonlyincludescookiesthatensuresbasicfunctionalitiesandsecurityfeaturesofthewebsite.Thesecookiesdonotstoreanypersonalinformation.Non-necessaryNon-necessaryAnycookiesthatmaynotbeparticularlynecessaryforthewebsitetofunctionandisusedspecificallytocollectuserpersonaldataviaanalytics,ads,otherembeddedcontentsaretermedasnon-necessarycookies.Itismandatorytoprocureuserconsentpriortorunningthesecookiesonyourwebsite.SAVE&ACCEPTPinItonPinterestGotoTop