International Phonetic Alphabet: Difference between revisions
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The '''International Phonetic Alphabet''' (IPA) is the alphabet used by linguists throughout the world to show pronunciation. | The '''International Phonetic Alphabet''' (IPA) is the alphabet used by linguists throughout the world to show pronunciation. It is an expanded [[English alphabet]], with the [[Greek alphabet|Greek]] letter theta (θ) representing the unvoiced 'th' sound of 'thin', and the Anglo-Saxon letter eð (ð) representing the voiced 'th' sound of 'then'. It also makes use of Anglo-Saxon ash (æ) and existing letters placed in reverse or upside-down: ɔ and ə. | ||
==Key to IPA representation of English sounds== | ==Key to IPA representation of English sounds== | ||
A guide to the sounds of [[English language|English]], in a sort of alphabetical order: | A guide to the sounds of [[English language|English]], in a sort of alphabetical order: | ||
===Vowels=== | |||
====Tense vowels==== | |||
'Tense' vowels are often longer than other vowels, and have a wider distribution in English (e.g. they can form single-syllable words). | |||
*'''ɑ''' is pronounced as is the 'a' in 'father', or in [[British English]] 'fast', or 'o' in [[American English]] 'not' | *'''ɑ''' is pronounced as is the 'a' in 'father', or in [[British English]] 'fast', or 'o' in [[American English]] 'not' | ||
*'''ɜ''' as the vowel sound in 'her', 'fir', 'fur' and 'work' | |||
*'''i''' as in 'machine', or 'ee' in 'see' | |||
*'''ɔ''' as 'o' in 'or', or 'aw' in 'awful' | |||
*'''u''' as in 'true', or 'oo' in 'food' | |||
*'''ː''' lengthens a preceding vowel | |||
====Lax vowels==== | |||
English 'lax' vowels appear in more restricted contexts than their tense counterparts; for example, most cannot occur at the end of a word. | |||
*'''æ''' is pronounced as the 'a' in 'cat', or [[American English|AmE]] 'fast' | *'''æ''' is pronounced as the 'a' in 'cat', or [[American English|AmE]] 'fast' | ||
*'''ɒ''' as in [[British English|BrE]] 'not' | |||
*'''ʌ''' as 'u' in 'up' | |||
*'''ə''' as 'a' in 'about', or 'e' in 'open' | |||
*'''ɛ''' as 'e' in 'get' (often written [e], to simplify) | |||
*'''ɪ''' as in 'it' | |||
*'''ʊ''' as 'u' in 'put' or 'oo' in 'foot' | |||
====Diphthongs==== | |||
Diphthongs are produced as a 'glide' from the position of one vowel towards another, forming a continuous articulation in a single syllable; they do ''not'' consist of two vowels articulated one after the other, and the positions of the two components of the diphthong often vary in comparison with the single vowels which share the same symbols. | |||
*'''aɪ''' as 'i' in 'time' | *'''aɪ''' as 'i' in 'time' | ||
*'''aʊ''' as 'ow' in 'now' | *'''aʊ''' as 'ow' in 'now' | ||
*''' | *'''eə''' as the diphthong in 'hair' | ||
*''' | *'''eɪ''' as 'ei' in 'vein' or 'ai' in 'vain' | ||
*'''əʊ''' as 'o' in 'go' | |||
*'''ɪə''' as the diphthong in 'fear' | |||
*'''ɔɪ''' as 'oi' in 'coin' | |||
*'''ʊə''' as the diphthong in 'pure' | |||
===Consonants=== | |||
*'''b''' as in 'be' | *'''b''' as in 'be' | ||
*'''d''' as in 'do' | *'''d''' as in 'do' | ||
*'''dʒ''' as 'j' in 'just', or 'g' in 'gene' | *'''dʒ''' as 'j' in 'just', or 'g' in 'gene' | ||
*'''ð''' as 'th' in 'this' | *'''ð''' as 'th' in 'this' | ||
*'''f''' as in 'for' | *'''f''' as in 'for' | ||
*'''g''' as in 'go' | *'''g''' as in 'go' | ||
*'''h''' as in 'he' | *'''h''' as in 'he' | ||
*'''j''' as 'y' in 'you' | *'''j''' as 'y' in 'you' | ||
*'''k''' as in 'kiss', or 'c' in 'cat' | *'''k''' as in 'kiss', or 'c' in 'cat' | ||
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*'''m''' as in 'me' | *'''m''' as in 'me' | ||
*'''n''' as in 'no' | *'''n''' as in 'no' | ||
*'''p''' as in 'pip' | *'''p''' as in 'pip' | ||
*''' | *'''ɹ''' as in 'right' (often written [r], for simplicity) | ||
*'''s''' as in 'sit', or 'c' in 'nice' | *'''s''' as in 'sit', or 'c' in 'nice' | ||
*'''ʃ''' as 'sh' in 'she', or 'ti' in 'edition' | *'''ʃ''' as 'sh' in 'she', or 'ti' in 'edition' | ||
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*'''tʃ''' as 'ch' in 'choose' | *'''tʃ''' as 'ch' in 'choose' | ||
*'''θ''' as in 'think' | *'''θ''' as in 'think' | ||
*'''v''' as in 'very' | *'''v''' as in 'very' | ||
*'''w''' as in 'we' | *'''w''' as in 'we' | ||
*'''z''' as in 'zoo' or 's' in 'these' | *'''z''' as in 'zoo' or 's' in 'these' | ||
*'''ʒ''' as 'si' in 'vision' | *'''ʒ''' as 'si' in 'vision' | ||
==In other languages== | ==In other languages== | ||
*'''a''' is the basic letter ''a'' sound in many languages. It lies between '''ɑ''' and '''ʌ''' | *'''a''' is the basic letter ''a'' sound in many languages. It lies between '''ɑ''' and '''ʌ'''; this vowel replaces [æ] in the north of [[England]]. | ||
*'''ʁ''' is the sound of the throaty ''r'' in French and German | *'''ʁ''' is the sound of the throaty ''r'' in [[French language|French]] and [[German language|German]]. | ||
*'''y''' is the sound of ''u'' (as opposed to ''ou'') in | *'''y''' is the sound of ''u'' (as opposed to ''ou'') in French and ''ü'' in German. In [[Finnish language|Finnish]] it is written ''y''. It can be made by rounding the lips as if to say '''u''' while trying to say '''i''' | ||
Revision as of 02:17, 3 April 2008
The International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) is the alphabet used by linguists throughout the world to show pronunciation. It is an expanded English alphabet, with the Greek letter theta (θ) representing the unvoiced 'th' sound of 'thin', and the Anglo-Saxon letter eð (ð) representing the voiced 'th' sound of 'then'. It also makes use of Anglo-Saxon ash (æ) and existing letters placed in reverse or upside-down: ɔ and ə.
Key to IPA representation of English sounds
A guide to the sounds of English, in a sort of alphabetical order:
Vowels
Tense vowels
'Tense' vowels are often longer than other vowels, and have a wider distribution in English (e.g. they can form single-syllable words).
- ɑ is pronounced as is the 'a' in 'father', or in British English 'fast', or 'o' in American English 'not'
- ɜ as the vowel sound in 'her', 'fir', 'fur' and 'work'
- i as in 'machine', or 'ee' in 'see'
- ɔ as 'o' in 'or', or 'aw' in 'awful'
- u as in 'true', or 'oo' in 'food'
- ː lengthens a preceding vowel
Lax vowels
English 'lax' vowels appear in more restricted contexts than their tense counterparts; for example, most cannot occur at the end of a word.
- æ is pronounced as the 'a' in 'cat', or AmE 'fast'
- ɒ as in BrE 'not'
- ʌ as 'u' in 'up'
- ə as 'a' in 'about', or 'e' in 'open'
- ɛ as 'e' in 'get' (often written [e], to simplify)
- ɪ as in 'it'
- ʊ as 'u' in 'put' or 'oo' in 'foot'
Diphthongs
Diphthongs are produced as a 'glide' from the position of one vowel towards another, forming a continuous articulation in a single syllable; they do not consist of two vowels articulated one after the other, and the positions of the two components of the diphthong often vary in comparison with the single vowels which share the same symbols.
- aɪ as 'i' in 'time'
- aʊ as 'ow' in 'now'
- eə as the diphthong in 'hair'
- eɪ as 'ei' in 'vein' or 'ai' in 'vain'
- əʊ as 'o' in 'go'
- ɪə as the diphthong in 'fear'
- ɔɪ as 'oi' in 'coin'
- ʊə as the diphthong in 'pure'
Consonants
- b as in 'be'
- d as in 'do'
- dʒ as 'j' in 'just', or 'g' in 'gene'
- ð as 'th' in 'this'
- f as in 'for'
- g as in 'go'
- h as in 'he'
- j as 'y' in 'you'
- k as in 'kiss', or 'c' in 'cat'
- l as in 'like'
- m as in 'me'
- n as in 'no'
- p as in 'pip'
- ɹ as in 'right' (often written [r], for simplicity)
- s as in 'sit', or 'c' in 'nice'
- ʃ as 'sh' in 'she', or 'ti' in 'edition'
- t as in 'tell'
- tʃ as 'ch' in 'choose'
- θ as in 'think'
- v as in 'very'
- w as in 'we'
- z as in 'zoo' or 's' in 'these'
- ʒ as 'si' in 'vision'
In other languages
- a is the basic letter a sound in many languages. It lies between ɑ and ʌ; this vowel replaces [æ] in the north of England.
- ʁ is the sound of the throaty r in French and German.
- y is the sound of u (as opposed to ou) in French and ü in German. In Finnish it is written y. It can be made by rounding the lips as if to say u while trying to say i