English phonemes

The sounds and their spellings

A phoneme is a distinct unit of sound; spellings are ways of writing these sounds. English phonemes have different spellings depending on a word's provenance and history.

Here, the áccents on bold example words indicate stressed vowels and their pronunciation. An equals sign shows homophones, with words in italics suggesting meaning: sêen saw = scêne scenic, drama, crime. The bullet (●) represents any consonant. AmE = American English, BrE = British English.

Vowels and diphthongs

IPA /i:/ ê êa êe ê●e êi ìê aê oê ì ỳ êỳ êo

ê: bê mê récipê catástrophê Penélopê Lêthê hypërbolê mêthane sêrum dêvious mêdia rêtail dêmon Êly mêtre BrE distance, poem

êa: sêa water lêave hêat sêat bêat hit nêat êasy mêal drêam têam hêath

êe: sêe vision frêe trêe fêel whêel grêed fêed spêed bêet sugar êel rêel

ê●e: Pêter scêne êven fêver mêter all AmE, BrE machine only complête compête

êi: after c: percêive recêive recêipt (-êit) concêit concêive cêiling; after w: wêird wêir (but: wìêld); sêize Shêila Nêil Nêill O´Nêill

ìê: before v: belìêve relìêve grìêve

aê: stressed, from Greek (BrE): Aêschylus encyclopaêdia; unstressed in Latin plurals: nébulae nôvae fŏrmulae

oê: BrE (AmE has ê alone) from Greek: Oêdipus amoêba foêtus oêstrogen oenólogy subpoêna

ì: from French: machìne Christìne magazìne nìche elìte

ỳ: normally unstressed: fúnny sílly crâzy lâzy êasy wítty dextérity Yvétte Yvónne; stressed: Lỳón Lỳse Mervỳna

êỳ: unstressed: nôsey pôsey láckey jóckey balôney álley Hàrvey

êo: pêople

IPA /ɪ/ í ý u o e ’ eí íe

í: sít fít sítter fítter fítting bít líd híd bíd stíll bíll Wílliam Bíll fíll línt tínt wríst pín tílt míddle ínch fíg bíg

ý: týpical sýnthesis sýnagogue sýmptom cýst mýstic mýth trýst Dýlan

u: business busy

o: women

e: unstressed: Jôneses Bíggses Báxes táxes cópses fléxes

’: unstressed: Jônes’s Bíggs’s Báx’s

eí: unstressed -feít: còunterfeít fŏrfeít sürfeít

íe: unstressed: pàrtíes fámilíes lórríes cárríes cárríed márríed pólicíes

IPA /e/ é éa ai u

é: béd Néd wét sét pén hén méss dréss pép séven eléven Dévon Édward Téd bréd breed cléver éver évery néver tén ténth dén crést

éa: déath bréath bréast déad héad bréad food héaven thréat thréaten

ai: said

u: bury

IPA /æ/ á

fát cát sát mát Ánthony ánt bág dágger fán pán áttic spásm cáttle brásh ásh

redundant i in: pláit

redundant e in Gáelic Scotland (= Gállic France); cf. Gâelic Ireland

This sound is never final.

American English uses a long version of á instead of BrE à except in fàther Coloràdo Chicàgo pajàmas (BrE pyjàmas) càlm quàlm bàlm àlms or when an r follows.

IPA /ɑ/ à àr àl ó

Words pronounced with à in both British and American English are:

à: fàther Chicàgo Coloràdo AmE pajàmas BrE pyjàmas

al: (silent l) càlm bàlm quàlm àlms

and whenever an r (always heard in AmE, silent final or before a consonant in BrE) follows:

àr: màr bàr càr vàrnish pàrk màrvel stàr scàr bizàrre hàrm àrm fàr càrt fàrmer scàr pàrt màrk stàrch pàrch màrch hàrd gàrden làrge

The following are pronounced à in BrE, a long á in AmE:

ā: Irān Irāq cān’t grānt āfter crāft lāugh grāph āunt dānce

before s: pāst fāst cāstle māster clāss ghāstly nāsty grāss lāst plāster cāst pāss tāsk blāst āsk

before th: rāther pāth bāth rāther lāther

āl: with silent l: hālf cālf hālve

ó in AmE is pronounced à as follows:

IPA /ɒ/ ó à

BrE only: AmE replaces this sound with à.

ó: hót gót spót bóther dóg dóll nót stóp lóst óften slób slóppy cróss nód ódd shóne óff tóffee

ough as -óff: cóugh tróugh

a:

after ẁ: ẁant ẁas ẁash ẁasp ẁarren ẁander ẁarrant

after ẁh: ẁhat

after sẁ: sẁap sẁan sẁab sẁamp

after qù: qùantity qùantum qùad qùash sqùash sqùad sqùabble

IPA /ɔ/ å åw åu åugh ŏr ŏre ŏrps ŏor ŏa ŏur ŏugh

r is silent in BrE, heard in AmE.

å: wåter ålso

before lk: chålk tålk stålk wålk bålk

before ll: åll fåll tåll båll

before lt: ålter fålter Wålter hålt althôugh

åw: såw see, tool åwful bråwl cråwl fåwn colour, deer, grovel bråwn clåw påw animal swårm wårm wårn wård jåw Shåw måw

åu: cåuse påuse fåult exhåust fåun god

åugh: cåught tåught åught nåughty Wåugh

ŏr: ŏr either fŏr nŏr cóndŏr fŏrt pŏrt sŏrt shŏrt whŏrl

ŏre: ŏre metal cŏre centre gŏre pŏre skin scŏre sŏre pain bŏre tedium, hole ignŏre deplŏre restŏre whŏre (h-) mŏre extra

ŏrps: cŏrps army

ŏor: dŏor pŏor broke, unfortunate flŏor bŏor rude mŏor land

ŏa: brŏad abrŏad

ŏar: ŏar boat bŏar animal sŏar fly

ŏur: fŏur pŏur mŏurn tŏurnament

ŏugh: fŏught bŏught sŏught brŏught

IPA /ʊ/ ù oò oùl où o

ù: pùt fùll pùsh bùsh bùll pùll cùshion

oò: goòd woòd soòt foòt woòl

oùl: shoùld coùld woùld

où: poùffe

o: woman wolf

IPA /u:/ û ûe û●e ûi oû oûgh oô eŵ ŵ o

û: gnû Stû flû ill gùrû êmû pûny Mûnich jûry Trûdi dûbious rûling mûtiny nûtrient

ûe: flûe chimney trûe blûe colour glûe cûe drama, billiards queûe wait (*kyû)

û•e: Jûne jûte flûte tûne dûpe Drûse trûth Rûth fûneral

ûi: frûit jûice slûice crûise

oû: groûp soûp coûp hit

oûgh: throûgh

oô: shoô soôn foôd broôd foôl schoôl toôl moôn troôp loôp droôp loôse choôse groôvy loôt toô also, much coô bird

eŵ: neŵ neŵs vieŵ cheŵ revieŵ Jeŵ bleŵ blow

ŵ: unstressed in Rŵánda

ŵo: tŵo 2

o: do who (*hû) shoe lose move prove to particle

IPA /ʌ/ ú oú ò òo

ú: nút cúp slút túck spún fún dúst rúst búst sún múck súck dúck

oú: doúble troúble soúthern; (-úff) toúgh enoúgh roúgh

ò after w: wòrry wònder wòn win

before n: frònt dòne nòne òne 1 (invisible w-: = wòn)

before -ve: lòve shòve glòve dòve

before -ther: òther anòther mòther bròther smòther

òo: before d: flòod blòod

IPA /ɜ/ ër ëar ïr ür ÿr ör öur

Schwa lengthened, always with -r (silent in BrE)

ër: wëre përson vërve vërdant sërvant jërk fërn hërd tërn bird

ëar: hëard lëarn yëarn hëarse rehëarse ëarl pëarl dëarth

ïr: fïrst bïrd dïrt gïrl quïrk ïrk stïr whïrr dïrt shïrt skïrt flïrt cïrcus cïrcle cïrcuit bïrth gïrth fïrm fïr

ür: bürn türn round absürd chürch Türk fürtive blürt spürt hürt nürse

ÿr: mÿrtle mÿrrh Bÿrd

ör: only after w: wörk wörse wörst wörm wörd

öur: in -jöurn- and cöurt-: jöurney jöurnal adjöurn cöurteous cöurtesy

IPA /ə/, the schwa sound

Schwa (*shwà) is the name linguists use for the neutral grunt which is heard twice in the espression uhuh. A short version of //, never stressed, it can be spelt a, e, o or, less often, u, with or without a following r (which is silent in BrE if not followed by another vowel). It also appears as y in Béryl, Síbyl and síbyllîne - and it can be invisible before r and l.

First syllable: agô ahéad abòut again (-é-) abòve upón and in names beginning Mac- such as MacNêill - or McNêill (invisible version)

Second syllable: ígnorance pébble doùble Chîna sêater víctor bürsar quérulous lêmur fêmur vísion nâtion (-sion and -tion are always schwa) Cânaan dógs’re (informal use of apostrophe)

Third syllable: ígnorance decîder Éxeter Pámela precürsor exémplar ridículous (*ridíkyalus) invâsion

Fourth syllable: América Tanzanìa exécutor cálculator álligator unbelìêver abnegâtion

Fifth syllable: preváricator prevaricâtion extërminator

Invisible before liquid sounds r and l: cãre (which rhymes with prâyer) lãir (which is a one-syllable version of lâyer) ŏil (which rhymes with lŏyal) whîle (*wîyəl) fâil (*fâyəl) sêal (*sêeyəl) knêel down = Nêil, Nêill names (*nêeyəl)