Questions tagged [ipa]

International Phonetic Alphabet(IPA)

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Why does Oxford American English dictionary use "y" symbol instead of "j"

Oxford American English dictionary uses "y" symbol instead of "j" in their pronunciation guide. Most other dictionaries use j. So are there any differences between the 2 symbols or ...
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10 votes
4 answers
414 views

Do any speakers have contrastive vowel qualities for the NURSE and lettER sets?

John Wells’ lexical sets are usually useful classifications for determining differences in the realizations of vowels across English accents. Two of the sets are the NURSE set, referring to a stressed ...
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1 answer
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L-epenthesis in “both” and other words

I’m a younger speaker from Chicago with some version of a General American accent. I’ve noticed that a small number of words seem to have a nonstandard pronunciation with an inserted lateral sound, ...
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1 vote
1 answer
41 views

Rounding of the START and PALM vowels

I’m a younger speaker from Chicago with a relatively standard General American accent. I have noticed that the vowels in the words “start” and “palm” sound like they have some lip rounding in my ...
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5 votes
1 answer
166 views

Possibility of a near-cure or peer-pure vowel merger in American English

I am a young speaker from Chicago with, I think, a relatively nonspecific General American accent. I’ve noticed something interesting with the vowels in the NEAR and CURE sets. These vowels can be ...
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2 votes
1 answer
124 views

Do British and American English speakers pronounce /ɪ/ differently?

I'm not a native speaker of English, but I'm pretty fluent in Received Pronunciation. I've recently noticed that the way Americans make the sound /ɪ/ is different from the way I, and RP speakers in ...
12 votes
3 answers
1k views

Is /ʌ/ really a stressed schwa, appearing only in stressed syllables?

If /ʌ/ occurs only in stressed syllables, why does punctilious /pʌŋkˈtɪliəs/ have it in an unstressed syllable? Same with upbraid /ʌpˈbreɪd/.
0 votes
0 answers
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When is it OK to pronounced a voiced th like a /d/ instead of a /ð/?

As I learned in Do native speakers really always pronounce the voiced th as a /ð/? native speakers sometimes pronounce the voiced th as a /d/ instead of a /ð/ like in the words "the", &...
3 votes
0 answers
99 views

Do native speakers really always pronounce the voiced th as a /ð/? [closed]

In Can we pronounce the 'th' sound as a d? one answer explained that native speakers often don't pronounce the voiced th excactly like how it ideally should sound. What I have noticed over ...
0 votes
0 answers
188 views

Phonetic symbol - superscript h in Which [duplicate]

Q1) What is the meaning of the small h (superscript h) in the phonetic symbols of which shown in Collins? ʰwɪ̠tʃ the small h means 'complete silence' (= just ignore h) the small h means 'pronounce ...
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2 votes
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General American: very as / ˈvɛɹi / or / ˈveɹi /, more as / ˈmɔɹ / or / ˈmoɹ /, and chair as / t͡ʃɛəɹ / or / t͡ʃeəɹ / [duplicate]

I read this comment on Youtube. is it possible that the sound / ɹ / tends to close the vowels that precede it? For example, at least to me, [very] / ˈvɛɹi / sounds more like / ˈveɹi /, [more] / ˈmɔɹ /...
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1 vote
1 answer
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I pronounce initial R's with my upper teeth on the very bottom of my inside lower lip. Not rhotic. What's the IPA for this?

The Wikipedia page (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pronunciation_of_English_/r/) doesn't mention an option for pronouncing R where the upper teeth are really, really at the bottom of the inside lower ...
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0 answers
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pronunciation of the 'ous' in dangerous

When I look up the word dangerous, the IPA spellings almost always show up as /ˈdānj(ə)rəs/ Maybe it's regional (Southern Ontario), but I don't encounter that pronunciation lot. And I probably use it ...
0 votes
0 answers
61 views

Psilocybin in the IPA format?

I am trying to put the word "psilocybin" into the IPA so I can create a custom dictionary for a transcription project. Google gives the IPA format as: ˌsʌɪlə(ʊ)ˈsʌɪbɪn However that sounds ...
4 votes
1 answer
429 views

Is the underlying form of "n" /n/ or /ŋ/ in words ending in -nk?

There are lots of words ending in -nk in Modern English. In (almost) all those words, the -nk is pronounced [-ŋk]. My understanding is that the "n" in spelling represented [n] originally but ...
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2 votes
1 answer
139 views

What is the technical description of the pronunciation of the "t" in "countdown"?

I've looked up the pronunciation of "countdown" in a few different dictionaries and they all give it as some variation of /ˈkaʊntˌdaʊn/. However, the "t" is clearly not pronounced ...
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0 votes
1 answer
174 views

Primary and secondary stress in IPA transcriptions on Cambridge Dictionary when two words are involved

I am trying to understand IPA transcriptions in https://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/ when two words are involved. In particular, their rationale for changing some stresses, compared to the stresses in ...
0 votes
1 answer
211 views

What does a bracketed sound mean in the IPA transcription of a word?

I noticed that some words have a bracketed sound in their transcriptions in some dictionaries, for example, see the following from Lexico: locate - /lə(ʊ)ˈkeɪt/ open - /ˈəʊp(ə)n/ (I assume here the ...
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0 votes
2 answers
451 views

Is the short-e pronounced as [e] or [ɛ] in standard English? [duplicate]

In many English dictionaries, I saw the phonetic symbol of short-e is /e/ such as in bed (/bed/). However, I'm taught that the pronunciation of that is /ɛ/. Which one is right in standard English? ...
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1 vote
1 answer
514 views

Are English diphthongs nasalized before nasals?

I learned that vowels are often nasalized before nasals (Nasalization). It means that the velum is lowered when the vowel is produced in the mouth and most of the air comes out through nose. For ...
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1 vote
1 answer
1k views

What's the difference between /t̬/ and /ɾ/ in American English?

I have learned that the t between vowels in American English is usually an alveolar flap, represented by /ɾ/, which is the voiced counterpart of the usual /t/. Cambridge Online Dictionary gives /ˈbet̬....
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1 vote
1 answer
2k views

What is the difference between [ɐ] and [ʌ]?

In a similar question which asks the difference between /ə/ and /ʌ/, I learned that /ʌ/ occurs in stressed syllables. Now there is another similar vowel sound: /ɐ/ which also occurs in stressed ...
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19 votes
3 answers
4k views

What is the difference between /ʌɪ/ and /aɪ/ in English?

Is there any difference between the two diphthongs in English IPA transcriptions? If I search a word in the Cambridge dictionary, it gives /aɪ/ for both UK English and US English. For example, the ...
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1 vote
4 answers
168 views

"Floh-ree-dah" rather than "Flor-duh"

I am writing an effigy poem homaging Ponce De Leon, "discoverer" of La Florida in 1513 and though it is being written in English (Early modern English), I am very adamant on having "...
2 votes
3 answers
749 views

How to pronounce IPA "/rɑːp/"? (Old English)

I'm making a video which includes some information about the ancient Saxon and Norman political organization of the English county of Sussex. One thing I am stuck on is the Old English pronunciation ...
2 votes
1 answer
193 views

Does /ɛ/ have more than one sound?

As a non-native speaker, I hear /ɛ/ as two different sounds depending on the word. The first sound seems to occur in words such as bet and get and is closer to an /æ/ sound, while the second one ...
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5 votes
1 answer
200 views

How would you transcribe and/or describe this vowel?

I'm analyzing the /æ/ vowel sound (also known as 'short A') found in words like cat, dad, or man. I am particularly interested in how that sound is realized in different dialects of American English ...
4 votes
5 answers
4k views

What is the difference between /a/ and /æ/?

I don't quite understand the difference between /a/ and /æ/. Google gives the transcription for 'add' as /ad/, while Wiktionary returns /æd/. Are these sounds actually distinct or is this just two ...
5 votes
1 answer
3k views

What is the difference between /ʊ/ and /ʌ/ in British English?

/ʌ/ cut, hut, bun, nothing, love, enough, flood, does /ʊ/ put, soot, foot, good, look, cook To me the ʌ is a more short, low front (unrounded?) vowel, but the vowel /ʊ/ which sounds like "uh" is a ...
0 votes
0 answers
60 views

Why don't you [tʃʊ]

What phonological processes take place in the pronunciation of Why don't you as as just [tʃʊ]?
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3 votes
1 answer
569 views

Why is [ɚ] used instead of [əɹ] in IPA phonetic transcriptions of English words?

Is there any pronunciation difference between both? Shouldn't IPA use one symbol per phonem/allophone? Curiously, this happens with the schwa, but not with "true" vowels, eg the A in car [kɑɹ].
1 vote
0 answers
83 views

I am looking for a reverse API tool

I'm looking for a tool for write the sound of the word (phonetic) and have all the words that have that sound. It's very usefull when people don't use the good sounds or to know what a native speaker ...
1 vote
1 answer
166 views

Is the word "I'm" pronounced like /əm/, instead of /aɪm/, when it is unstressed? [closed]

Is the word "I'm" pronounced like /ʌm/ or /əm/, instead of /aɪm/, when it is unstressed?
1 vote
2 answers
351 views

Transcription and pronunciation of the 'un-' prefix in General American English

What's the correct transcription and pronunciation of the 'un-' prefix in General American English? Cambridge Online dictionary provides the following transcription: /ʌn/ It's the same in words with ...
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2 votes
2 answers
3k views

How do you pronounce the word Shaman?

I found 2 American pronunciation samples on Forvo, and they said /ˈʃæmən/ (audio), I wonder if British people say /ˈʃeɪmən/ (audio), or not? Could you please tell me something about that?
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2 votes
0 answers
84 views

IPA confusion for 'Aegis'

Merriam-Webster says: \ˈē-jəs \ or \ˈā-jəs\ Cambridge says: /ˈiː.dʒɪs/ for US Oxfor says: /ˈiːdʒɪs/ https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/aegis https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/...
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1 vote
1 answer
333 views

Reason behind Oxford Dictionaries's IPA transcription?

For some reason or another, I was looking at the Oxford Dictionaries definition for ailurophile (cat-lover). Then I noticed that, underneath its Pronunciation header, it gives the IPA transcript as ...
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1 vote
0 answers
129 views

Connected speech resources

I am very interested in British pronunciation, so I am looking for resources about connected speech and IPA in general. The ideal would be a book with the transcription of dialogues or just ...
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14 votes
1 answer
1k views

Difference between /əʳ/ and /ɚ/

Consider the word 'future.' Cambridge Dictionary shows the transcriptions /ˈfjuːtʃəʳ/ and /ˈfjuːtʃɚ/. Are they different?
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1 vote
0 answers
105 views

The inconsistent long i sound in English [duplicate]

As a phonics teacher, I have long had a problem with finding the right explanation to my students about an inconsistent sound. Hope someone has the explanation to it here. The long i sound in ...
2 votes
2 answers
2k views

What's the difference between the AA (ɑ) and AO (ɔ) sound?

I'm working with the CMU pronunciation dictionary and I can't comfortably say I can understand what difference in sound they're trying to indicate by splitting AA and AO into different phonemes. ...
0 votes
1 answer
431 views

How to pronounce "urethra"?

I'm confused how to pronounce "urethra". I looked up in the dictionary, it's | jʊˈriːθrə |. Shouldn't it be pronounced "yu-ri-ther"? Many YouTube videos pronounced it "yu-ri-thra".
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0 votes
1 answer
741 views

IPA syllable breaks

When using IPA, I am aware that <.> (full stop) represents a syllable break. However, I have also read that a <-> (hyphen) can also be used? Is this correct? If so, is it simply a matter of ...
1 vote
0 answers
208 views

Different pronunciations of "-ead"/"-ed"/"-aid" words

I find that American/British English dialects tend to pronounce words like "bed", "red", "dead", "bred", "said", etc. with the exact same vowel sound: the IPA ɛ vowel (- and so this question may seem ...
5 votes
1 answer
3k views

Why is "thank you" pronounced as /θaŋ kjuː/ ("thang-Q")?

I would like to know how native speakers say “thank you”. Do they pronounce it /θaŋk juː/ or /θaŋ kjuː/? I am Asian and I was taught in school to say /θaŋ kjuː/ but teachers didn't explain the ...
2 votes
4 answers
1k views

Why are "fun" and "hulk" phonetically transcribed with the same vowel but pronounced differently?

I see many words in English have the same phonetics but I don't know why they sound different. It means if we read the phonetics and pronounce, it will be wrong. Here are the examples. fun : /fʌn/ ...
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-2 votes
1 answer
2k views

Can someone help me with the transcription of the word ´mother´? (IPA)

I am really not sure whether the word ´mother´ should be transcribed like this: ´mʌðə´ or like this ´mɒðə´. In my opinion, the second one sounds better. The word mother is similarly pronounced as for ...
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3 votes
1 answer
933 views

What's the lowered "single quote" lookalike marking in phonetic symbols

I understand that the normal "single quote" marking indicates stress, but what about the lowered one?
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2 votes
2 answers
739 views

Where can i find the IPA sounds with example words and their pronunciation?

I want to learn the IPA but all the websites i found are incomplete. For example: it has the sounds chart but doesn't have example words (with pronunciation), and sometimes it doesn't even have the ...
3 votes
4 answers
1k views

Can the schwa sound predict spelling?

More specifically, I was wondering whether the schwa sound can predict which vowel to use in spelling? For instance, does the schwa sound predict "a" spelling more than "e" spelling? I noticed that ...
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