Help:IPA conventions for English

The various English dictionaries use different and sometimes conflicting IPA transcriptions for English. For example, the transcription /i/ may be used for the vowel of sit, of seat, or at the end of city. A dictionary may not even be consistent between one edition and the next. This table correlates the more widely used dictionaries with the conventions of the WP:IPA for English key that is used on Wikipedia.

Most dictionaries transcribe a specific dialect or accent, such as the Received Pronunciation (RP) of the Oxford English Dictionary, or a narrow range of dialects. Wikipedia's WP:IPA for English key, on the other hand, is intended to cover RP, General American, Australian, and other national standards. As such, Wikipedia transcribes /r/ where it is found in rhotic dialects, but also the vowel distinctions found in non-rhotic dialects, without distinct UK and US transcriptions. Specific dialects may also be transcribed—local pronunciations of place names are often useful, for example—but they are normally written in addition to a more universal pronunciation.

When entering IPA in an article, please use the {{IPA}} template so that it is formatted properly on all web browsers. /Slashes/ and [brackets] should be included inside the IPA template, so that they display in the same font as the IPA itself. Also, please use proper stress ˈ and length ː marks (available at the bottom of your edit window) rather than the non-IPA shortcuts of apostrophe ' and colon :. Depending on the reader's font preferences, the latter can be ambiguous.

For a list of those languages other than English which have agreed-upon transcriptions in Wikipedia, see {{IPAkeys}}. For a comparison of the non-IPA transcriptions found in many US dictionaries, see Pronunciation respelling for English.

Alternative pronunciations

When dictionaries give alternative pronunciations, they may mean that people disagree. For example, some people pronounce bath /ˈbæθ/, with the vowel of bat, while others with the same accent pronounce it /ˈbɑːθ/, with the vowel of bra. This is the kind of difference celebrated in "You like to-MAY-toes; I like to-MAH-toes". On Wikipedia, we would normally need to transcribe both, unless only one is considered correct, as may be the case for personal and place names.

However, often variant transcriptions reflect distinctions between accents, and these we do not need to transcribe, since our IPA key already covers such distinctions. For example, dictionary.com transcribes horse as "/hɔrs/" and hoarse as "/hɔrs, hoʊrs/". The two transcriptions of hoarse are meant to show that some people pronounce it the same as horse; it does not mean that there are two pronunciations of hoarse among those who either do or do not make this distinction. (See horse-hoarse merger.) It would not be possible to have the song lyric "You say hoarse and I say horse", because only those people who say hoarse would be able to sing it. And indeed in the OED there is only one pronunciation for each word: horse (hɔːs) and hoarse (hɔəs). Therefore on Wikipedia we would only have one transcription for each: horse /ˈhɔrs/, hoarse /ˈhɔərs/. Since the IPA key defines the orthographic conventions of /ɔr/ and /ɔər/ according to basic English words, readers who do not make the horse-hoarse distinction will see /ɔr/ and /ɔər/ as being equivalent, much as the spelling pronunciations YOU-clid and EWE-clid for "Euclid" would be seen as equivalent.

Consonants

Consonants vary little between dictionaries. The ones which do are those in the words:

rich, char /r ~ ɹ ~ (r) ~ (ɹ) ~ zero/;

which, /ʍ ~ hw ~ (h)w ~ w/;

and new, /njuː ~ nuː/.

Wikipedia editors have decided to go with /ˈrɪtʃ/, /ˈtʃɑr/, /ˈhwɪtʃ/, /njuː/ for these words.

A few dictionaries, such as dictionary.com, use "/y/" for /j/, which is at odds with the official IPA usage, which defines /y/ as close front rounded vowel, and appears as such in transcriptions of French and German, as well as some dialects of English.

Vowels

The following tables compare the broad IPA pronunciation scheme of some dictionaries to the one used on Wikipedia. The overview is not exhaustive, but major pronouncing dictionaries have been included. Highlight colors:

Green highlights pronunciation symbols that are the same as on Wikipedia (disregarding a syllable divider when it does not mean a two-syllable pronunciation, but only that the /r/ belongs to the next syllable, and disregarding different symbolizations of the syllable divider or of /r/);
yellow highlights pronunciation symbols that differ only in the use of the length symbol ⟨ː⟩, in parentheses, in superscripts, in non-rhotic dropped /r/, or in inserting an optional sign;
red highlights pronunciation symbols that use different signs.

Other conventions:

A question mark (?) means that the sound has not been found in the respective dictionary.
A blank cell means that the dictionary has not been checked.
A slash (/) separates variant pronunciations signs. The order of the variant pronunciation symbols is the same as in the source.
Smaller text (like so) highlights variant pronunciations that are not preferred (only some dictionaries make such a distinction).
A comma (,) separates different pronunciation depending on the word or depending on the region. The differences are explained in a footnote or by broadly specifying the region.

Checked vowels

Checked vowels
WP		example word	Jones 1930	Jones 2003		Longman		OALD		OED2	dict		SOED	OED3		K&K		Mac	WL	CUBE
WP		example word	Jones 1930	(BE)	(AE)	(BE)	(AE)	(BE)	(AE)	OED2	(BE)	(AE)	SOED	(BE)	(AE)	(GA)	(ES)	Mac	WL	CUBE
æ		trap	æ	æ	æ	æ	æ	æ	æ	æ	æ	æ	a	a	æ	æ	æ	æ	æ	a
ær	_V	carry	ær	ær	er/ær	ær	ær	ær	ær	ær	ær	ær	ar	ar	ɛr	ær	ær	ær	ær	aɹ
ɛ		dress	e	e	e	e	e	e	e	ɛ	ɛ	ɛ	ɛ	ɛ	ɛ	ɛ	ɛ	ɛ	e	ɛ
ɛr	_V	merry	er	er	er	er	er	er	er	ɛr	ɛr	ɛr	ɛr	ɛr	ɛr	ɛr	ɛr	ɛr	er	ɛɹ
ɪ		kit	i	ɪ	ɪ	ɪ	ɪ	ɪ	ɪ	ɪ	ɪ	ɪ	ɪ	ɪ	ɪ	ɪ	ɪ	ɪ	ɪ	ɪ
ɪr	_V	mirror	ir	ɪr	ɪr	ɪr	ɪr	ɪr	ɪr	ɪr	ɪr	ɪr	ɪr	ɪr	ɪr	ɪr	ɪr	ɪr	ɪr	ɪɹ
ɒ		lot	ɔ	ɒ	ɑː	ɒ	ɑː	ɒ	ɒ	ɒ	ɒ	ɒ	ɒ	ɒ	ɑ	ɑ	ɑ	ɒ	o	ɔ
ɒr	_V	forage	ɔr	ɒr	ɔːr	ɒr	ɔːr/ɑː	ɒr	ɔːr/ɑːr	ɒr	ɒr	ɔr/ɒr	ɒr	ɒr	ɔr/ɑr	ɔr/ɑr/ɒr	ɔr/ɑr/ɒr	ɒr	or, AE: ɔr	ɔɹ
ʊ		foot	u	ʊ	ʊ	ʊ	ʊ	ʊ	ʊ	ʊ	ʊ	ʊ	ʊ	ʊ	ʊ	ᴜ	ᴜ	ʊ	ʊ	ɵ
ʊr	_V	courier	ur	ʊr	ʊr	ʊr/	ɝː/ʊr	ʊr	ʊr	ʊr/ʊər	ʊər	ɜr/ʊər	ʊr	ʊr/ʌr/ʊər	ʊr/ər	ᴜr/ɝ	ᴜr/ɜr/ʌr/ɝ	ʊr	ʊr, AE: ʊr/ɜ	ɵɹ
ʌ		strut	ʌ	ʌ	ʌ	ʌ	ʌ	ʌ	ʌ	ʌ	ʌ	ʌ	ʌ	ʌ	ə	ʌ	ʌ	ʌ	ʌ	ʌ
ʌr	_V	hurry	ʌr	ʌr	ɝ	ʌr	ɝː	ʌr	ɜːr	ʌr	ʌr	ɜr/ʌr	ʌr	ʌr	ər	ɝ	ɜr/ʌr/ɝ	ʌr	ʌr, AE: ɜ	ʌɹ
WP		example word	Jones 1930	Jones 2003		Longman		OALD		OED2	dict		SOED	OED3		K&K		Mac	WL	CUBE
WP		example word	Jones 1930	(BE)	(AE)	(BE)	(AE)	(BE)	(AE)	OED2	(BE)	(AE)	SOED	(BE)	(AE)	(GA)	(ES)	Mac	WL	CUBE

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Free vowels

Free vowels
WP		example word	Jones 1930	Jones 2003		Longman		OALD		OED2	dict		SOED	OED3		K&K		Mac	WL	CUBE
WP		example word	Jones 1930	(BE)	(AE)	(BE)	(AE)	(BE)	(AE)	OED2	(BE)	(AE)	SOED	(BE)	(AE)	(GA)	(ES)	Mac	WL	CUBE
ɑː		palm	ɑː	ɑː	ɑː	ɑː	ɑː	ɑː	ɑː	ɑː	ɑː	ɑ	ɑː	ɑː	ɑ	ɑ	ɑ	a	ɑ	ɑː
ɑːr	_∅	car	ɑː*	ɑː^r	ɑːr	ɑː	ɑːr	ɑː(r)	ɑːr	ɑː(r)	ɑː	ɑr	ɑː	ɑː	ɑr	ɑr	ɑː(r	a	ɑ(r)	ɑː
	_C	start	ɑː	ɑː	ɑːr	ɑː	ɑːr	ɑː	ɑːr	ɑː	ɑː	ɑr	ɑː	ɑː	ɑr	ɑr	ɑː	a	ɑ, AE: ɑr	ɑː
	_V	safari, starry	ɑːr	ɑː.r	ɑːr	ɑːr	ɑːr	ɑːr	ɑːr	ɑːr	ɑːr	ɑr	ɑːr	ɑːr	ɑr	ɑr	ɑr	ar	ɑr	ɑːɹ
aɪ		price	ai	aɪ	aɪ	aɪ	aɪ	aɪ	aɪ	aɪ	aɪ	aɪ	ʌɪ	ʌɪ	aɪ	aɪ	aɪ	aɪ	ɑɪ	ɑj
aɪər	_∅	fire	aiə*	aɪə^r	aɪɚ	aɪ‿ə	aɪ‿^ər	aɪə(r)	aɪər	aɪə(r)^{[lower-alpha 1]}	aɪə^{[lower-alpha 1]}	aɪər^{[lower-alpha 1]}	ʌɪə	ʌɪə	aɪ(ə)r	aɪr	aɪə(r	aɪə	ɑɪə(r)	ɑjə
	_C	fireman	aiə	aɪə	aɪɚ	aɪ‿ə	aɪ‿^ər	aɪə	aɪər	aɪə	aɪə	aɪər	ʌɪə	ʌɪə	aɪ(ə)r	aɪr	aɪə	aɪə	ɑɪə, AE: ɑɪər	ɑjə
	_V	irony, firing	aiər	aɪə.r, aɪə.r^{[lower-alpha 2]}	aɪ.r, aɪɚ^{[lower-alpha 3]}	aɪ^ər, aɪ‿ər^{[lower-alpha 4]}	aɪ^ər, aɪ‿^ər^{[lower-alpha 5]}	aɪr	aɪr	aɪər	aɪr	aɪ r	ʌɪr, ʌɪər^{[lower-alpha 6]}	ʌɪr, ʌɪər^{[lower-alpha 7]}	aɪr, aɪ(ə)r^{[lower-alpha 8]}	aɪr	aɪr	aɪər	ɑɪər	ɑjɹ
aɪ.ər	_∅	flyer, higher	aiə*	aɪ.ə^r	aɪ.ɚ	aɪ‿ə	aɪ‿^ər	aɪə(r)	aɪər	aɪə(r)	aɪə	aɪ ər	ʌɪə	ʌɪə	aɪər	aɪɚ	aɪ•ə(r	aɪə	ɑɪə(r)	ɑjə
aʊ		mouth	au	aʊ	aʊ	aʊ	aʊ	aʊ	aʊ	aʊ	aʊ	aʊ	aʊ	aʊ	aʊ	aᴜ	aᴜ	aʊ	ɑʊ	aw
aʊər	_∅	flour, hour	auə*	aʊə^r	aʊr, aʊr/aʊɚ^{[lower-alpha 9]}	aʊ‿ə	aʊ‿^ər	aʊə(r)	aʊər	aʊə(r)^{[lower-alpha 1]}	aʊə	aʊər/aʊ ər	aʊə	aʊə^{[lower-alpha 1]}	aʊ(ə)r^{[lower-alpha 1]}	aᴜr	aᴜə(r	aʊə	ɑʊə(r)	ɑwə
	_C	hourglass, hourly	auə	aʊə	aʊr/aʊɚ	aʊ‿ə	aʊ‿^ər	aʊə	aʊər	aʊə	aʊə	aʊər/aʊ ər	aʊə	aʊə	aʊər	aᴜr	aᴜə	aʊə		ɑwə
	_V	floury	auər	aʊə.r	aʊə.r	aʊ‿ər	aʊ‿^ər	aʊər	aʊər	aʊər	aʊər^{[lower-alpha 10]}	aʊər/aʊ ə r	aʊər	aʊər		aᴜr	aᴜər	aʊər		ɑwɹ
aʊ.ər	_∅	flower	auə*	aʊə^r	aʊɚ	aʊ‿ə	aʊ‿^ər	aʊə(r)	aʊər	aʊə(r)	aʊə	aʊ ər	aʊə	aʊə/aʊə^{[lower-alpha 1]}	aʊər	aᴜɚ/aᴜr	aᴜ•ə(r/aᴜə(r	aʊə	ɑʊə(r)	ɑwə
	_C	flowerbed	auə	aʊə	aʊɚ	aʊ‿ə	aʊ‿^ər	aʊə	aʊər	aʊə	aʊə^{[lower-alpha 11]}	aʊər	aʊə			aᴜr	aᴜə	aʊə	ɑʊə, AE: ɑʊər	ɑwə
	_V	flowery	auər	aʊə.r	aʊɚ	aʊ‿ər	aʊ‿^ər	aʊər	aʊər	aʊər	aʊər	aʊ ə r	aʊər	aʊər	aʊ(r)r	aᴜr	aᴜər	aʊər		ɑwəɹ
eɪ		face	ei	eɪ	eɪ	eɪ	eɪ	eɪ	eɪ	eɪ	eɪ	eɪ	eɪ	eɪ	eɪ	e	e	eɪ	eɪ	ɛj
ɛər	_∅	square	ɛə*	eə^r	er	eə	e^ǝr/æ^ər	eə(r)	er	ɛə(r)	ɛə	ɛər	ɛː	ɛː	ɛ(ə)r	ɛr/ær	æə(r, E: ɛə(r	ɛə	eə, AE: eər	ɛː
	_C	bairn	ɛə	eə	er	eə	e^ǝr	eə	er	ɛə	ɛə	ɛər	ɛː	ɛː	ɛr	ɛr/ær/er	æə/eə, E: ɛə	ɛə	eə, AE: eər	ɛː
	_V	fairy	ɛər	eə.r	er	eər		eər	er	ɛər	ɛər	ɛər	ɛːr	ɛːr	ɛr	ɛr/ɛːr/ær	ɛr/ɛːr/ær, S: ær/er	ɛər	eər	ɛːɹ
eɪ.ər	_∅	prayer^{[lower-alpha 12]}, layer	eiə*	eɪ.ə^r, eɪ.ə^r/eə^r^{[lower-alpha 13]}	eɪ.ɚ	eɪ ǝ	eɪ ^ǝr	eɪə(r)/eə(r)	er	eɪə(r)	eɪə	eɪ ər	eɪə	eɪə	eɪər/ɛ(ə)r	e•ɚ	e•ə(r	eɪə	eɪə(r)	ɛjə
iː		fleece	iː	iː	iː	iː	iː	iː	iː	iː	iː	i	iː	iː	i	i	i	i	i	ɪj
ɪər	_∅	near	iə*	ɪə^r	ɪr	ɪə	ɪ^ǝr	ɪə(r)	ɪr	ɪə(r)	ɪə	ɪər	ɪə	ɪə	ɪ(ə)r	ɪr	ɪə(r	ɪə	ɪə(r)	ɪː
	_C	beard	iə	ɪə	ɪr	ɪə	ɪ^ǝr	ɪə	ɪr	ɪə	ɪə	ɪər	ɪə	ɪə	ɪ(ə)r	ɪr	ɪə	ɪə	ɪə, AE: ɪər	ɪː
	_V	eerie	iər	ɪə.r	ɪr	ɪər	ɪr	ɪər	ɪr	iːr	ɪər	ɪər	ɪər	ɪər	ɪr	ɪr/ir	ɪr/ir	ɪər	ɪər	ɪːɹ
iː.ər	_∅	seer, freer	i(ː)ə*	iː.ə^r/ɪə^r, iː.ə^r^{[lower-alpha 14]}	iː.ɚ	iː‿ə	iː‿^ər	ɪə(r)	ɪr	ɪə(r)/iːə(r), iːə(r)^{[lower-alpha 15]}	iːə^{[lower-alpha 16]}	i ər	ɪə/iːə	iːə/ɪə	iər/ɪ(ə)r	iɚ	i•ə(r	ɪə	ɪə(r)	ɪjə
ɔː		thought	ɔː	ɔː	ɑː/ɔː	ɔː	ɑː	ɔː	ɔː	ɔː	ɔː	ɔ	ɔː	ɔː	ɔ	ɔ	ɔ	ɔ	ɔ	oː
ɔːr	_∅	war	ɔː/ɔə	ɔː^r	ɔːr	ɔː	ɔːr	ɔː(r)	ɔːr	ɔː(r)	ɔː	ɔr	ɔː	ɔː	ɔ(ə)r	ɔr	ɔə(r	ɔ	ɔ(r)	oː
	_C	north	ɔː	ɔː	ɔːr	ɔː	ɔːr	ɔː	ɔːr	ɔː	ɔː	ɔr	ɔː	ɔː	ɔ(ə)r	ɔr	ɔə	ɔ	ɔ, AE: ɔr	oː
	_V	aural	ɔːr	ɔː.r	ɔːr	ɔːr	ɔːr	ɔːr	ɔːr	ɔːr	ɔːr	ɔr	ɔːr	ɔːr	ɔr	ɔr	ɔr	ɔr	ɔr	oːɹ
ɔː.ər	_∅	drawer^{[lower-alpha 17]}, rawer	ɔːə*	ɔː.ə^r	ɑː.ɚ/ɔː.ɚ	ɔː^r ə	ɔː‿^ər/ɑː‿^ər	ɔːə(r)	ɔːər	ɔːə(r)	ɔːə	ɔ ər	ɔː(r)ə	ɔːə		ɔ•ɚ	ɔ•ə(r	ɔə	ɔə(r)
oʊ		goat	ou	əʊ	oʊ	əʊ	oʊ	əʊ	oʊ	əʊ	əʊ	oʊ	əʊ	əʊ	oʊ	o	o	oʊ	əʊ	əw
ɔər	_∅	ore	ɔː/ɔə	ɔː^r	ɔːr	ɔː	ɔːr/oʊr	ɔː(r)	ɔːr	ɔə(r)	ɔː	ɔr/oʊr		ɔː	ɔ(ə)r	or/ɔr	oə(r	ɔ	ɔ(r)	oː
	_C	force	ɔː	ɔː	ɔːr	ɔː	ɔːr/oʊr	ɔː	ɔːr	ɔə	ɔː	ɔr/oʊr	ɔː	ɔː	ɔ(ə)r	or/ɔr	oə	ɔ	ɔ, AE: ɔr	oː
	_V	oral	ɔːr	ɔː.r	ɔːr	ɔːr	ɔːr/oʊr	ɔːr	ɔːr	ɔər	ɔːr/ɒr	ɔr/oʊr	ɔːr	ɔːr	ɔr	or/ɔr	or/ɔr, S: or	ɒr	ɔr, AE: or	oːɹ
oʊ.ər	_∅	mower, lower^{[lower-alpha 18]}	ouə*	əʊ.ə^r	oʊ.ɚ	əʊ ə	oʊ ^ər	əʊə(r)	oʊər	əʊə(r)	əʊə	oʊ ər	əʊə	əʊə	oʊər	o•ə(r	o•ə(r	oʊə	əʊə, AE: əʊər	əwə
ɔɪ		choice	ɔi	ɔɪ	ɔɪ	ɔɪ	ɔɪ	ɔɪ	ɔɪ	ɔɪ	ɔɪ	ɔɪ	ɔɪ	ɔɪ	ɔɪ	ɔɪ	ɔɪ	ɔɪ	ɔɪ	oj
ɔɪər	_∅	coir	ɔiə*	ɔɪə^r	ɔɪr	ɔɪ ə	ɔɪ^ər	ɔɪə(r)	ɔɪər	ɔɪə(r)	ɔɪə^{[lower-alpha 1]}	ɔɪr	ɔɪə	ɔɪə		ɔɪr	ɔɪə(r	ɔɪə		ojə
ɔɪ.ər	_∅	employer	ɔiə*	ɔɪ.ə^r	ɔɪ.ɚ	ɔɪ ə	ɔɪ ^ər	ɔɪə(r)	ɔɪər	ɔɪə(r)	ɔɪə	ɔɪ ər	ɔɪə	ɔɪə	ɔɪ(j)ər/ɔjər	uə/ɔjɚ	ɔɪ•ə(r/ɔjə(r	ɔɪə		ojə
uː		goose	uː	uː	uː	uː	uː	uː	uː	uː	uː	u	uː	uː	u	u	u	u	u	ʉw
ʊər	_∅	cure	uə/oə/ɔə/ɔː	ʊə	ʊr	ʊə/ɔː	ʊ^ər	ʊə(r)	ʊr	ʊə(r)	ʊə	ʊər	ʊə	ʊə/ɔː	ʊ(ə)r	ᴜr	ᴜə(r	uə/ʊə	ʊə(r)	ɵː/oː^{[lower-alpha 19]}
	_C	procurement, poorness	uə/oə/ɔə/ɔː	ʊə/ɔː, ɔː/ʊə^{[lower-alpha 20]}	ʊr	ɔː/ʊə	ʊr/ɔːr	ʊə, ɔː/ʊə^{[lower-alpha 21]}	ʊr, ɔːr/ʊr^{[lower-alpha 22]}	ʊə	ʊə	ʊər	ʊə	ʊə/ɔː	ur/ʊr	ᴜr	ᴜə/oə/ɔə	ɔ	ʊə/ɔ, AE: ʊər	ɵː, oː^{[lower-alpha 23]}
	_V	fury	uər/oər/ɔər/ɔːr	ʊə.r	ʊr	ʊər/ɔːr	ʊr	ʊər	ʊr	ʊər	ʊər	ʊər	ʊər	ʊər/ɔːr	ur, ʊr^{[lower-alpha 24]}	ᴜr	ᴜr	ur	ʊər	ɵːɹ/oːɹ
uː.ər	_∅	fewer, sewer^{[lower-alpha 25]}	uə/oə	uː.ə^r, ʊə^r^{[lower-alpha 26]}	uː.ɚ	uː‿ə	uː‿^ər	uːə(r)	uːər	uːə(r)	uːə	u ər	uːə	uːə	uər/ʊər	u•ɚ	u•ə(r	uə	uə(r)	ʉwə
ɜːr	_∅	fur	əː*	ɜː^r	ɝː	ɜː	ɝː	ɜː(r)	ɜːr	ɜː(r)	ɜː	ɜr	əː	əː	ər	ɝ	ɜ(r/ɝ	ɜ	ɜ	əː
	_C	nurse	əː	ɜː	ɝː	ɜː	ɝː	ɜː	ɜːr	ɜː	ɜː	ɜr	əː	əː	ər	ɝ	ɜ/ɝ	ɜ	ɜ	əː
	_V	furry	əːr	ɜː.r	ɝː	ɜːr	ɝː	ɜːr	ɜːr	ɜːr	ɜːr	ɜr	əːr	əːr	ər	ɝ	ɜr/ɝ	ɜr	ɜr	əːɹ
WP		example word	Jones 1930	Jones 2003		Longman		OALD		OED2	dict		SOED	OED3		K&K		Mac	WL	CUBE
WP		example word	Jones 1930	(BE)	(AE)	(BE)	(AE)	(BE)	(AE)	OED2	(BE)	(AE)	SOED	(BE)	(AE)	(GA)	(ES)	Mac	WL	CUBE

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Reduced vowels

Reduced vowels
WP		example word	Jones 1930	Jones 2003		Longman		OALD		OED2	dict		SOED	OED3		K&K		Mac	WL	CUBE
WP		example word	Jones 1930	(BE)	(AE)	(BE)	(AE)	(BE)	(AE)	OED2	(BE)	(AE)	SOED	(BE)	(AE)	(GA)	(ES)	Mac	WL	CUBE
ə		comma, ago	ə	ə	ə	ə	ə	ə	ə	ə	ə	ə	ə	ə	ə	ə	ə	ə	ə	ə
ən		kitten	n	^ən	^ən	^ən	^ən	n	n	(ə)n	ən	n	(ə)n	n̩	ən	n̩	n̩	n	n	ən
əm		rhythm	m	^əm	^əm	əm	əm	əm	əm	(ə)m	əm	əm	əm	m̩	əm	əm/m̩	əm/m̩	əm	m	əm
əl		middle	l	l̩	l̩	^əl	^əl	l	l	(ə)l	əl	l	(ə)l	l̩/əl	(ə)l	l̩	l̩	l	l	əl
ər	_∅	letter	ə*	ə^r	ɚ	ə	^ər	ə(r)	ər	ə(r)	ə	ər	ə	ə	ər	ɚ	ə(r	ə	ə(r)	ə
	_C	bittersweet	ə	ə	ɚ	ə	^ər	ə	ər	ə	ə	ər	ə	ə	ər	ɚ	ɚ	ə		ə
	_V	murderer	ər	^ər	ɚ	‿ər	ər	ər	ər	ər	ər^{[lower-alpha 27]}	ər	(ə)r	(ə)r	ər	ər	ər	ər	ər	əɹ
i		happy	i	i	i	i	i	i	i	ɪ	ɪ	i	i	i	i	ɪ	ɪ	i	ɪ	ɪj
u		situation, actuate	u	u	u	u	u	u	u	uː	ʊ	u	ʊ	ʊ	əw	ᴜ/əw^{[lower-alpha 28]}	ᴜ/əw^{[lower-alpha 29]}	u	ʊ	ʉw
ᵻ		roses, enough, enounce, emission, mistress	i, i/ə, i/iː, i(ː)^{[lower-alpha 30]}	ɪ, ɪ/ə, ə/ɪ, ɪ/iː^{[lower-alpha 31]}	ɪ, ɪ/ə, ɪ/iː^{[lower-alpha 32]}	ɪ/ə, ɪ/ə/iː, ɪ/iː, ə/ɪ^{[lower-alpha 33]}	ə, ɪ/ə, ɪ/ə/iː, ɪ/iː, ə/ɪ^{[lower-alpha 34]}	ɪ, ə, i^{[lower-alpha 35]}	ɪ, ə, i^{[lower-alpha 36]}	ɪ	ɪ	ɪ	ɪ, iː/ɪ^{[lower-alpha 37]}	ɪ, ᵻ^{[lower-alpha 38]}	ɪ, ə^{[lower-alpha 39]}	ɪ, ə/ɪ, i^{[lower-alpha 40]}	ɪ, ə/ɪ, i^{[lower-alpha 41]}	ə, ə/i, i^{[lower-alpha 42]}	ɪ, ɪ/ə, ə/ɪ^{[lower-alpha 43]}	ɪ, ə^{[lower-alpha 44]}
ɵ		follow, cooperate, omission, kilogram	ou, ou, o/ou/ə, o/ə^{[lower-alpha 45]}	əʊ, əʊ^{[lower-alpha 46]}	oʊ, oʊ/ə^{[lower-alpha 47]}	əʊ, əʊ, ə^{[lower-alpha 48]}	oʊ, oʊ/ə, ə^{[lower-alpha 49]}	əʊ, ə^{[lower-alpha 50]}	oʊ, ə^{[lower-alpha 51]}	əʊ, ə^{[lower-alpha 52]}	əʊ	oʊ, ə^{[lower-alpha 53]}	əʊ, ə(ʊ), ə^{[lower-alpha 54]}	əʊ, ə(ʊ), ə^{[lower-alpha 55]}	oʊ, oʊ/ə, ə^{[lower-alpha 56]}	o/ə, o, ə^{[lower-alpha 57]}	o/ə, o, ə^{[lower-alpha 58]}	oʊ, oʊ/ə, ə^{[lower-alpha 59]}	əʊ, ə/əʊ, ə^{[lower-alpha 60]}	əw, ə^{[lower-alpha 61]}
ᵿ		beautiful, curriculum	u, u/ə^{[lower-alpha 62]}	^ə/ʊ, ə/ʊ^{[lower-alpha 63]}	^ə/ʊ, ə^{[lower-alpha 64]}	^ə/ʊ, ʊ/ə^{[lower-alpha 65]}	^ə/ʊ, ə^{[lower-alpha 66]}	–, ə^{[lower-alpha 67]}	–, ə^{[lower-alpha 68]}	ʊ	ʊ	ə	ʊ/(ə), ʊ^{[lower-alpha 69]}	(ᵿ), ᵿ^{[lower-alpha 70]}	ə	ə^{[lower-alpha 71]}	ə^{[lower-alpha 72]}	ʊ, ə^{[lower-alpha 73]}	–, ʊ^{[lower-alpha 74]}	ə
WP		example word	Jones 1930	Jones 2003		Longman		OALD		OED2	dict		SOED	OED3		K&K		Mac	WL	CUBE
WP		example word	Jones 1930	(BE)	(AE)	(BE)	(AE)	(BE)	(AE)	OED2	(BE)	(AE)	SOED	(BE)	(AE)	(GA)	(ES)	Mac	WL	CUBE

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Stress

One-syllable words may have stress. Most dictionaries leave it out, but that can be confusing when several such words are strung together. For example, in the name Zack de la Rocha, Zack and Rocha have stress, but de la does not: /ˈzæk dɛlə ˈroʊtʃə/. It would therefore convey an incorrect pronunciation to leave the stress mark off Zack.

OED2 does not indicate stress on monosyllables, but uses the stress mark to disambiguate disyllables: higher (ˈhaɪə(r)) vs. hire (haɪə(r)). On WP, the distinction is made with the aid of the syllabicity mark: /ˈhaɪ.ər/, /ˈhaɪr/.

Dictionaries also disagree on secondary stress. Generally, any stressed syllable prior to the last is marked as secondary (/ˌzæk dɛlə ˈroʊtʃə/), and that convention is followed here. However, several dictionaries also mark full (unreduced) vowels as having secondary stress when they come after the primary stress, even though they are not actually stressed: cerebrate, dict.com /ˈsɛrəˌbreɪt/, OED2 (ˈsɛrɪbreɪt). This practice is avoided on Wikipedia; if you have a word transcribed /ˈCVˌCV/, it should probably be /ˈCVCV/: /ˈsɛrɨbreɪt/.

References

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[lower-alpha 1]

[lower-alpha 2]

[lower-alpha 3]

[lower-alpha 4]

[lower-alpha 5]

[lower-alpha 6]

[lower-alpha 7]

[lower-alpha 8]

[lower-alpha 9]

[lower-alpha 10]

[lower-alpha 11]

[lower-alpha 12]

[lower-alpha 13]

[lower-alpha 14]

[lower-alpha 15]

[lower-alpha 16]

[lower-alpha 17]

[lower-alpha 18]

[lower-alpha 19]

[lower-alpha 20]

[lower-alpha 21]

[lower-alpha 22]

[lower-alpha 23]

[lower-alpha 24]

[lower-alpha 25]

[lower-alpha 26]

[lower-alpha 27]

[lower-alpha 28]

[lower-alpha 29]

[lower-alpha 30]

[lower-alpha 31]

[lower-alpha 32]

[lower-alpha 33]

[lower-alpha 34]

[lower-alpha 35]

[lower-alpha 36]

[lower-alpha 37]

[lower-alpha 38]

[lower-alpha 39]

[lower-alpha 40]

[lower-alpha 41]

[lower-alpha 42]

[lower-alpha 43]

[lower-alpha 44]

[lower-alpha 45]

[lower-alpha 46]

[lower-alpha 47]

[lower-alpha 48]

[lower-alpha 49]

[lower-alpha 50]

[lower-alpha 51]

[lower-alpha 52]

[lower-alpha 53]

[lower-alpha 54]

[lower-alpha 55]

[lower-alpha 56]

[lower-alpha 57]

[lower-alpha 58]

[lower-alpha 59]

[lower-alpha 60]

[lower-alpha 61]

[lower-alpha 62]

[lower-alpha 63]

[lower-alpha 64]

[lower-alpha 65]

[lower-alpha 66]

[lower-alpha 67]

[lower-alpha 68]

[lower-alpha 69]

[lower-alpha 70]

[lower-alpha 71]

[lower-alpha 72]

[lower-alpha 73]

[lower-alpha 74]

Help:IPA conventions for English

Contents

Alternative pronunciations

Consonants

Vowels

Checked vowels

Free vowels

Reduced vowels

Stress

References

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