A PHONEMIC TRANSCRIPTION KEY
FOREWORD
This page is intended to complement my other pages in two ways: for
British non-linguists it's a rough guide to the scheme of
transcription I'm using, while for non-British linguists it's an
introduction to my accent. If you are already familiar with both
Kirshenbaum ASCII IPA and modern RP you're unlikely to find it
very useful; and on the other hand if you don't know what I mean
either by "<O> as in <bother>" or by
"/A./ as in /'bA.D@/" then there's no
convenient way I'm going to be able to get the leverage to explain
either - or at any rate, not without a set of explanatory sound
files tailored to your own particular native dialect, whatever that
is (and web-browsing environment, likewise). It is fairly
technical, but that can't be helped: attempts to explain details
like this purely in terms of "hard TH" and "long A
sounds" just spread confusion.
TERMINOLOGY
Throughout this essay, example spellings and so forth are as usual
marked out as follows...
| Orthodox spellings: |
angle-bracketed |
<like this> |
| Phonemic transcriptions: |
ASCII IPA in slant-brackets |
/lAIk DIs/ |
| Phonetic details: |
ASCII IPA in square-brackets |
[lAIk DIs] |
And before I get started I'll need to explain some of the labels
I'm sticking on things:
- Phonetic
- Of or pertaining to the precise articulatory and acoustic
properties of speech sounds, irrespective of the way they're used
in particular languages; for instance, the <K> in
<key> is usually a palatalised and aspirated
[k;<h>], phonetically quite different from the
<K> in <ask>.
- Phonemic
- (Here I go again trying to define "phoneme" in a
nutshell... compare the attempts on my
Espe-Ranto,
Spelling Reform and
Futurese pages)
- Of or pertaining to phonemes, the sounds treated as basic
units in a given lingo. What the <K>s in <key,
ask> have in common is that both are forms of one English
phoneme, /k/: the phonetic space between them is never
used for telling English words apart (so English-speakers learn to
disregard it). The difference between <cod> and
<god>, on the other hand, is that the first begins with
/k/ and the second with a voiced /g/ - a
subtle phonetic distinction that English does recognise as
phonemically significant.
- IPA
- The alphabet of the International Phonetic Association,
providing a standard notation of symbols and diacritics for
representing the sounds of human languages, either on a phonemic
level or in phonetic close-up. Not to be confused with
radiotelephony codes such as the so-called "NATO Phonetic
Alphabet".
- ASCII
- The American Standard Code for Information Interchange is the
basic 7-bit set of alphanumerics and punctuation symbols used as a
lowest common denominator for text on the net. Its 128
characters don't stretch to <ç> or <õ>,
let alone the weirder squiggles of IPA - hence such
makeshifts as...
- KIRSHENBAUM ASCII IPA
- Evan Kirshenbaum's widely accepted standard for encoding IPA
into ASCII - here's
his own
introduction (for linguists), and
a
less technical one (for the a.u.e newsgroup).
- REAL IPA
- I ought to mention that here in the UK, what "I.P.A."
most commonly stands for is "India Pale Ale", a style of
beer (not to be confused with "IsoPropyl
Alcohol"). Real Ale versions are common, and come to
that there's also such a thing as a "rye IPA"... so
referring to the full-strength, typewriter-unfriendly version of
the phonetic symbolset as "Real IPA" is something of a
fossilised pun.
- RP
- "Received Pronunciation", an accent better known
perhaps as "BBC English". Like "General
American" it is socially dominant as a standard
"educated" accent; but unlike GA, RP is strongly
associated with a particular region and social class, that of the
southern English (upper-)middle class.
- JBR RP
- My father being a retired Church of England vicar, I myself
am definitively middle-class; I went to a primary school in
rural Norfolk, then a public (i.e. private) secondary school in
Norwich before coming to Edinburgh. As a result my accent
is fairly "posh", though by no means up to Hollywood
Villain standards. It has a few traceably East Anglian
traits, and lacks several features becoming common in more southern
areas; see the pronunciations of <insolvencies, Norwich,
quarter> listed below.
- Standard English
- ... Has nothing to do with this. I'm not talking about
"correct" grammar, or vocabulary, and certainly not
spelling; I'm talking about accent, meaning how things are
pronounced - you can quote Bob Marley or PG Wodehouse in any
accent!
- Voiced/voiceless
- Standard labels for consonants, classifying them in terms of
whether they are accompanied by vocal-cord buzzing. If you
don't recognise this idea, clutch your throat and go
"SSS-ZZZ-SSS-ZZZ"!
- Bilabial/dental/velar/etc
- Standard labels for consonants, classifying them in terms of the
part of the mouth involved (teeth-ridge, soft palate, or
whatever). These you probably can just pick up from the
examples.
- Stop/fricative/approximant
- Standard labels for consonants, classifying them in terms of
how thoroughly airflow is blocked. During a stop like
"T", no air can escape the mouth (until it's abruptly
released); it scrapes through turbulently in fricatives like
"F"; and approximants like "W" hardly impede
the airflow at all.
- Nasal/affricate/lateral
- Three kinds of special exception to the above. Nasal stops
involve air escaping through the nose ("MMM"); affricates
turn from stop to fricative ("TCH"); and laterals involve
airflow around the sides of a central blockage
("LLL").
- Front/central/back
- Standard labels for vowels, classifying them in terms of where
in the mouth they are articulated; that is, whether the front or
back of the tongue is held closer to the palate. Again, you
may never have noticed this; but say "EEE-OOO-EEE-OOO"
and pay attention to what your tongue's doing.
- Close/half-close/half-open/open
- Standard labels for vowels, classifying them in terms of the gap
between tongue and palate at its narrowest point - smallest in
"close" vowels like "OOO" and greatest in
"open" vowels like "AAH".
- Rounded/unrounded
- Standard labels for vowels produced with or without
lip-rounding. This distinction is obvious in vowels like
"OOO-EEE", but trickier in the middle - Americans
are likely to have trouble following my "AW sounds".
INVENTORY
JBR RP features the following supply of consonants and vowels,
here listed in an order which is more or less "systematic"
rather than quasi-alphabetic. The "Real IPA"
equivalents are a new addition, for the convenience of the
increasing proportion of visitors I can expect to be using
Unicode-capable browsers.
- /b/ as in <EBB>,
<BIB> (Real IPA /b/)
- characteristically a voiced bilabial stop
- /d/ as in <ADD>,
<DID> (Real IPA /d/)
- characteristically a voiced alveolar stop
- /dZ/ as in <EDGE>,
<JUDGE> (Real IPA /ʤ/)
- characteristically a voiced palato-alveolar affricated
stop - counted as one item
- /g/ as in <EGG>,
<GAG> (Real IPA /ɡ/)
- characteristically a voiced velar stop
-
- /p/ as in <UP>,
<PIP> (Real IPA /p/)
- characteristically a voiceless bilabial stop
- /t/ as in <IT>,
<TOT> (Real IPA /t/)
- characteristically a voiceless alveolar stop
- /tS/ as in <ETCH>,
<CHURCH> (Real IPA /ʧ/)
- characteristically a voiceless palato-alveolar affricated
stop - counted as one item
- /k/ as in <OAK>,
<KICK> (Real IPA /k/)
- characteristically a voiceless velar stop
-
- /v/ as in <OF>,
<VERVE> (Real IPA /v/)
- characteristically a voiced labiodental fricative
- /D/ as in <EITHER>,
<THE> (Real IPA /ð/)
- characteristically a voiced dental fricative -
n.b. distinct from /T/
- /z/ as in <IS>,
<ZOOS> (Real IPA /z/)
- characteristically a voiced alveolar fricative
- /Z/ as in <SEIZURE>,
<VISION> (Real IPA /ʒ/)
- characteristically a voiced palato-alveolar fricative
-
- /f/ as in <IF>,
<FIFE> (Real IPA /f/)
- characteristically an unvoiced labiodental fricative
- /T/ as in <ETHER>,
<THIRTIETH> (Real IPA
/θ/)
- characteristically an unvoiced dental fricative - n.b.
distinct from /D/
- /s/ as in <ASS>,
<SAUCE> (Real IPA /s/)
- characteristically an unvoiced alveolar fricative
- /S/ as in <ASH>,
<SURE> (Real IPA /ʃ/)
- characteristically an unvoiced palato-alveolar fricative
-
- /m/ as in <AM>,
<MUM> (Real IPA /m/)
- characteristically a voiced bilabial nasal stop
- /n/ as in <AN>,
<NUN> (Real IPA /n/)
- characteristically a voiced alveolar nasal stop
- /N/ as in <INK>,
<HANGING> (Real IPA /ŋ/)
- characteristically a voiced velar nasal stop
- /l/ as in <ILL>,
<LULL> (Real IPA /l/)
- characteristically a voiced alveolar lateral approximant
-
- /r/ as in <FRY>,
<RAH-RAH> (Real IPA /ɹ/)
- characteristically a voiced alveolar approximant
- (not the US retroflex or the Scots rolled R)
- /w/ as in <QUIT>,
<WAH-WAH> (Real IPA /w/)
- characteristically a voiced labiovelar approximant
- /j/ as in <VIEW>,
<YOYO> (Real IPA /j/ - n.b.
not /y/)
- characteristically a voiced palatal approximant
- /h/ as in <HUE>,
<HA-HA> (Real IPA /h/)
- characteristically an unvoiced glottal approximant
-
- /I/ as in <ITCH>,
<BID> (Real IPA /ɪ/)
- characteristically a short close front unrounded vowel
- /E/ as in <ETCH>, <BED>
(Real IPA /ɛ/)
- characteristically a short half-open front unrounded vowel
- /@/ as in <UP>,
<BUD> (Real IPA schwa, /ə/)
- characteristically a short open central unrounded vowel
- /&/ as in <AT>,
<BAD> (Real IPA /æ/)
- characteristically a short open front unrounded vowel
- /U/ as in <HOOD>,
<BULL> (Real IPA /ʊ/)
- characteristically a short close back rounded vowel
- /A./ as in <ON>, <BOD> (Real
IPA /ɒ/)
- characteristically a short open back rounded vowel - the
/./ means "rounded"
-
- /I@/ as in <HERE>,
<BEARD> (Real IPA /ɪə/)
- characteristically a glide from [I] towards
[@]
- /E@/ as in <HAIR>,
<BARED> (Real IPA /ɛə/)
- characteristically a glide from [E] towards
[@], or long hybrid vowel
- /V":/ as in <HER>,
<BIRD> (Real IPA /ɜː/)
- characteristically a long half-open central unrounded
vowel - the /"/ means
"centralised"
- /A:/ as in <ARCH>,
<BARD> (Real IPA /ɑː/)
- characteristically a long open back unrounded vowel
- /U@/ as in <MOOR>, <CURED>
(Real IPA /ʊə/) - uncommon, often
replaced by /O:/
- characteristically a glide from [U] towards
[@], or long hybrid vowel
- /O:/ as in <HAWK>,
<BOARD> (Real IPA /ɔː/)
- characteristically a long half-open back rounded vowel
-
- /i:/ as in <HEAT>,
<BE> (Real IPA /iː/)
- characteristically a long close front unrounded vowel
- /EI/ as in <HATE>,
<BAY> (Real IPA /ɛɪ/)
- characteristically a glide from [E] towards
[I]
- /AI/ as in <HEIGHT>,
<BY> (Real IPA /ɑɪ/)
- characteristically a glide from [A] towards
[I]
- /OI/ as in <HOIST>,
<BOY> (Real IPA /ɔɪ/)
- characteristically a glide from [O] towards
[I]
-
- /&U/ as in <HOUSE>,
<BOUGH> (Real IPA /æʊ/)
- characteristically a glide from [&] towards
[U]
- /u:/ as in <HOOT>,
<BOO> (Real IPA /uː/)
- characteristically a long close back rounded vowel
- /@U/ as in <HOSE>,
<BEAU> (Real IPA /əʊ/)
- characteristically a glide from [@] towards
[U]
For the benefit of visitors who still see some of those
Real IPA symbols as "unrecognised character" signs, here's
a chart of them in graphical form:
COMPLICATIONS
- "Characteristically"
- My use of this weasel-word signals that I'm ignoring some
phonetic subtleties; for example while everyone more or less agrees
on the prototypical phonetic realisation of /t/, there is
some disagreement in specific contexts such as
<glottal>. Many US accents prescribe a
"flapped D" there, and many UK accents a "glottal
stop"; JBR RP has a clearcut "T" in that particular
context, but allows a glottalised /t/ in a more limited
family of words.
- Phonetically Long
- When I say something is stressed or long, that doesn't
necessarily mean what you think. Stressed vowels are loud and
rather high-pitched; long vowels are characterised by prolonged
duration; but the difference between, say, <fur> and
<fury> isn't one of stress or vowel length - the two are
simply different (/'fV":/, /'fjU@ri:/).
- Phonemically Long
- That said, the length-marker /:/ that forms part of the
symbol for (e.g.) the phoneme /O:/ does not mean
that it always takes longer to say than (e.g.) the phoneme
/E/; only that length is one of its distinguishing
features. All other things being equal - as in the pair
<bought/bet> - I take more time over the former; but
other things very rarely are equal.
- Complex And Compound Sounds
- English has several other kinds of genuinely "long"
sounds, including affricated stops like <j> (=/dZ/)
and diphthongs like <oy> (=/OI/). A case could
be made for splitting each of these into subcomponents, but at least
for my own accent I find such analyses unnatural.
- Conspicuously Absent
- The typical pronunciations of the letters <X> and
<Q> do not correspond to single phonemes (the sounds are
transcribed as the sequences /ks/, /kw/).
Likewise, the sound of <U> as in <unit> is just
"YOO" - /j/ followed by /u:/ -
and needs no separate sign of its own.
- Stress-marking
- The difference between the adjective <ABstract> and
the verb <abSTRACT> is shown in my transcriptions by
/'/ marks before stressed syllables:
/'&bstr&kt/, /&b'str&kt/.
Secondary stress (not as emphatic as the word's main stress, but
stronger than neighbouring syllables) receives a preceding
/,/ mark - thus <CHAracteRIStically> is
/,k&r@kt@'rIstIkli:/.
- Schwa
- The symbol /@/ stands for three distinct sounds, each
of which occurs in <abundance>, /@'b@nd@ns/.
In phonetic terms, that's [@bVndn-s]; and for many accents
it makes sense to consider the three forms as separate
entities. However, they don't seem to be used contrastively
as phonemes in my own speech: the pronunciation of /@/ is
always predictable from the surrounding context. Accordingly,
I am treating them as one phoneme, and standardising my phonemic
notation here on the symbol for the neutral vowel known as the
"schwa".
EXAMPLES
Please remember that this is an attempt at a representative
selection of accurately reported spoken forms, not a prescriptive
guide to how English should be spoken. These may be what I
normally say, but I'm not denying the existence of alternatives
(even in BBC English).
| <accomplished> = |
/@'k@mplISt/ |
- UM, not OM |
| <advertisement> = |
/@d'vV":tIsm@nt/ |
- n.b. stress |
| <all> = |
/O:l/ |
|
| <almond> = |
/'A:m@nd/ |
- no L |
| <ant> = |
/&nt/ |
|
| <anxious> = |
/'&NkS@s/ |
|
| <aren't> = |
/A:nt/ |
|
| <ASCII-IPA> = |
/'&ski:'AIpi:,EI/ |
|
| <associated> = |
/@'s@USi:,EItId/ |
- with a SH |
| <association> = |
/@,s@Usi:'EIS@n/ |
- n.b. only one SH |
| <aunt> = |
/A:nt/ |
- cf. <aren't> |
| <bachelor> = |
/'b&tS@l@/ |
- three syllables |
| <bald> = |
/bO:ld/ |
|
| <balm> = |
/bA:m/ |
- cf. <bomb> |
| <band> = |
/b&nd/ |
|
| <bath> = |
/bA:T/ |
|
| <beauty> = |
/'bju:ti:/ |
|
| <bomb> = |
/bA.m/ |
|
| <broom> = |
/brUm/ |
|
| <buckling> = |
/'b@klIN/ |
- a young buck |
| <buckling> = |
/'b@k@lIN/ |
- starting to buckle |
| <buoy> = |
/bOI/ |
- same as <boy> |
| <burglar> = |
/'bV":gl@/ |
- no R |
| <burial> = |
/'bEri:@l/ |
|
| <businessman> = |
/'bIznIsm@n/ |
|
| <buddhist> = |
/'bUdIst/ |
- not /'bu:dIst/ |
| <butcher> = |
/'bUtS@/ |
|
| <candidate> = |
/'k&ndI,dEIt/ |
- or /'k&ndId@t/ |
| <casualty> = |
/'k&ZUlti:/ |
|
| <caught> = |
/kO:t/ |
|
| <centenary> = |
/sEn'ti:n@ri:/ |
|
| <cheese> = |
/tSi:z/ |
|
| <children> = |
/'tSUldr@n/ |
- or /'tSIldr@n/ |
| <choice> = |
/tSOIs/ |
|
| <choral> = |
/'kO:r@l/ |
|
| <chrysanthemum> = |
/krIs'&nT@m@m/ |
|
| <clanger> = |
/'kl&N@/ |
|
| <clangour> = |
/'kl&Ng@/ |
|
| <clerk> = |
/klA:k/ |
- AH not UR |
| <cloth> = |
/klA.T/ |
|
| <colonel> = |
/'kV":n@l/ |
|
| <colour> = |
/'k@l@/ |
|
| <comfortable> = |
/'k@mft@b@l/ |
- no OR |
| <comma> = |
/'kA.m@/ |
|
| <conjuror> = |
/'k@ndZ@r@/ |
|
| <controversy> = |
/k@n'trA.v@si:/ |
- n.b. stress |
| <cooed> = |
/ku:d/ |
- cf. <could> |
| <coral> = |
/'kA.r@l/ |
- cf. <choral> |
| <cot> = |
/kA.t/ |
- cf. <caught> |
| <could> = |
/kUd/ |
|
| <coupon> = |
/'ku:pA.n/ |
|
| <courgette> = |
/kU@'ZEt/ |
- or /kO:'ZEt/ |
| <court> = |
/kO:t/ |
- same as <caught> |
| <crass> = |
/kr&s/ |
- cf. <grass> |
| <crayon> = |
/'krEIA.n/ |
- cf. <mayonnaise> |
| <cud> = |
/k@d/ |
- cf. <could> |
| <cure> = |
/kjU@/ |
- or /kjO:/ |
| <curry> = |
/'k@ri:/ |
|
| <data> = |
/'dEIt@/ |
|
| <dearly> = |
/'dI@li:/ |
- cf. <really> |
| <deity> = |
/'dEI@ti:/ |
- like <gaiety> |
| <diamond> = |
/'dAI@m@nd/ |
- three syllables |
| <do> = |
/du:/ |
- cf. <due> |
| <docile> = |
/'d@UsAIl/ |
|
| <doll> = |
/dA.l/ |
- not like <dole> |
| <dress> = |
/drEs/ |
|
| <dully> = |
/'d@lli:/ |
- cf. <fully> |
| <due> = |
/dju:/ |
|
| <during> = |
/'djU@rIN/ |
- or /dZO:rIN/ |
| <dynasty> = |
/'dIn@sti:/ |
|
| <Edinburgh> = |
/'EdInb@r@/ |
- or /'Ed@mbr@/ |
| <eighth> = |
/EItT/ |
|
| <either> = |
/'i:D@/ |
- or /'AID@/ |
| <English> = |
/'INglIS/ |
|
| <entire> = |
/En'tAI@/ |
|
| <ether> = |
/'i:T@/ |
- cf. <either> |
| <extraordinary> = |
/Ek'strO:dIn,Eri:/ |
|
| <face> = |
/fEIs/ |
|
| <finger> = |
/'fINg@/ |
- cf. <ginger> |
| <fleece> = |
/fli:s/ |
|
| <flourish> = |
/'fl@rIS/ |
|
| <foot> = |
/fUt/ |
|
| <force> = |
/fO:s/ |
|
| <fully> = |
/'fUli:/ |
|
| <garage> = |
/'g&rIdZ/ |
- or /'g&rA:dZ/ |
| <ginger> = |
/'dZIndZ@/ |
- cf. <singer> |
| <goat> = |
/g@Ut/ |
|
| <goose> = |
/gu:s/ |
|
| <grass> = |
/grA:s/ |
- cf. <crass> |
| <grocery> = |
/'gr@Us@ri:/ |
|
| <half-mirrored> = |
/'hA:f,mIr@d/ |
|
| <hanging> = |
/'h&NIN/ |
- no G |
| <happy> = |
/'h&pi:/ |
|
| <happiness> = |
/'h&pInEs/ |
- cf. <merriness> |
| <herb> = |
/hV":b/ |
|
| <hovercraft> = |
/'hA.v@,krA:ft/ |
|
| <huge> = |
/hju:dZ/ |
|
| <insolvencies> = |
/In'sA.lv@n,si:z/ |
|
| <ion> = |
/'AIA.n/ |
|
| <iron> = |
/'AI@n/ |
|
| <jaguar> = |
/'dZ&gju:@/ |
- not Spanish |
| <Kirshenbaum> = |
/'kV":S@n,bO:m/ |
- not German |
| <kit> = |
/kIt/ |
|
| <laboratory> = |
/l@'bA.r@tri:/ |
|
| <language> = |
/'l&NgwIdZ/ |
|
| <lather> = |
/'lA:D@/ |
|
| <laugh> = |
/lA:f/ |
|
| <lawyer> = |
/'lOI@/ |
- or (oddly) /'lOIj@/ |
| <leisure> = |
/'lEZ@/ |
|
| <length> = |
/lENkT/ |
- or /lENT/ |
| <letter> = |
/'lEt@/ |
|
| <lever> = |
/'li:v@/ |
|
| <library> = |
/'lAIbri:/ |
- two syllables |
| <lieutenant> = |
/lEf'tEn@nt/ |
- army only! |
| <Linux> = |
/'lIn@ks/ |
|
| <loch> = |
/lA.h/ |
- on loan from Scots |
| <lorry> = |
/'lA.ri:/ |
|
| <lot> = |
/lA.t/ |
|
| <luxury yacht> = |
/'l@kS@ri:,jA.t/ |
|
| <machismo> = |
/m@'tSIzm@U/ |
|
| <marry> = |
/'m&ri:/ |
|
| <Mary> = |
/'mE@ri:/ |
|
| <mayonnaise> = |
/,mEI@'nEIz/ |
- cf. <crayon> |
| <merry> = |
/'mEri:/ |
|
| <merriness> = |
/'mEri:nEs/ |
- cf. <happiness> |
| <miscible> = |
/'mIsIb@l/ |
- cf. below |
| <missable> = |
/'mIs@b@l/ |
- cf. above |
| <missile> = |
/'mIsAIl/ |
|
| <mouth> = |
/m&UD/ |
- verb |
| <mouth> = |
/m&UT/ |
- noun |
| <mum> = |
/m@m/ |
|
| <near> = |
/nI@/ |
|
| <nephew> = |
/'nEfju:/ |
- never /'nEvju:/ |
| <Newcastle> = |
/'nju:kA:s@l/ |
|
| <newspaper> = |
/'nju:spEIp@/ |
|
| <nodule> = |
/'nA.dju:l/ |
|
| <nonadministrative> = |
/,nA.n@d'mInIstr@tIv/ |
|
| <north> = |
/nO:T/ |
|
| <Norwich> = |
/'nA.rIdZ/ |
|
| <nubile> = |
/'nju:bAIl/ |
|
| <nuclear> = |
/'nju:kli:@/ |
|
| <nurse> = |
/nV":s/ |
|
| <often> = |
/'A.f@n/ |
|
| <one> = |
/w@n/ |
- same as <won> |
| <ongoing> = |
/'A.ng@UIN/ |
- jocularly /'A.N,OIN/ |
| <palm> = |
/pA:m/ |
|
| <pasta> = |
/'p&st@/ |
|
| <patriot> = |
/'pEItri:@t/ |
|
| <pen> = |
/pEn/ |
|
| <pidgin> = |
/'pIdZIn/ |
|
| <pin> = |
/pIn/ |
|
| <poor> = |
/pO:/ |
- not usually /pU@/ |
| <pore> = |
/pO:/ |
- same as <paw> |
| <potato> = |
/p@'tEIt@U/ |
|
| <pour> = |
/pO:/ |
- like the rest! |
| <preferably> = |
/'prEfr@bli:/ |
|
| <pretty> = |
/'prIti:/ |
|
| <primarily> = |
/prAI'mErIli:/ |
- n.b. stress |
| <price> = |
/prAIs/ |
|
| <process> = |
/'pr@UsEs/ |
|
| <put> = |
/pUt/ |
|
| <putt> = |
/p@t/ |
|
| <quarter> = |
/'kO:t@/ |
- no /w/ |
| <question> = |
/'kwEstS@n/ |
|
| <queue> = |
/kju:/ |
|
| <raspberry> = |
/'rA:zbri:/ |
|
| <really> = |
/'ri:@li:/ |
- cf. <steely> |
| <rhythm> = |
/'rID@m/ |
|
| <route> = |
/ru:t/ |
- <root> not <rout> |
| <sausage> = |
/'sA.sIdZ/ |
|
| <scarce> = |
/skE@s/ |
|
| <schedule> = |
/'SEdju:l/ |
|
| <sentient> = |
/'sEnSi:@nt/ |
- or /'sEnS@nt/ |
| <shared> = |
/SE@d/ |
- very like <shed> |
| <singer> = |
/'sIN@/ |
- cf. <finger> |
| <sixths> = |
/sIksTs/ |
|
| <solder> = |
/'s@Uld@/ |
|
| <soldier> = |
/'s@UldZ@/ |
- cf. above |
| <species> = |
/'spi:Si:z/ |
|
| <square> = |
/skwE@/ |
|
| <start> = |
/stA:t/ |
|
| <status> = |
/'stEit@s/ |
|
| <steely> = |
/'sti:li:/ |
|
| <story> = |
/'stO:ri:/ |
|
| <strut> = |
/str@t/ |
|
| <succinct> = |
/s@k'sINkt/ |
|
| <suet> = |
/'su:It/ |
|
| <suggest> = |
/s@'dZEst/ |
- no /g/ |
| <suit> = |
/su:t/ |
|
| <sully> = |
/'s@li:/ |
- cf. <fully> |
| <taunt> = |
/tO:nt/ |
- cf. <aunt> |
| <taxes> = |
/'t&ksIz/ |
|
| <taxis> = |
/'t&ksi:z/ |
|
| <there> = |
/DE@/ |
|
| <thither> = |
/'DID@/ |
- double /D/ |
| <thorough> = |
/'T@r@/ |
|
| <thought> = |
/TO:t/ |
|
| <tomato> = |
/t@'mA:t@U/ |
|
| <tongue> = |
/t@N/ |
|
| <tortoise> = |
/'tO:t@s/ |
- likewise <porpoise> |
| <toward> = |
/t@'wO:d/ |
|
| <trap> = |
/tr&p/ |
|
| <truer> = |
/'tru:@/ |
|
| <valid> = |
/'v&lId/ |
|
| <valleyed> = |
/'v&li:d/ |
|
| <vase> = |
/vA:z/ |
|
| <vehicle> = |
/'vi:Ik@l/ |
- no H |
| <version> = |
/'vV":S@n/ |
|
| <virgin> = |
/'vV":dZIn/ |
|
| <vitamin> = |
/'vIt@mIn/ |
|
| <voltage> = |
/'v@UltIdZ/ |
|
| <walk> = |
/wO:k/ |
|
| <warrior> = |
/'wA.ri:@/ |
- cf. <worrier> |
| <Wednesday> = |
/'wEnzdEI/ |
|
| <whine> = |
/wAIn/ |
- same as <wine> |
| <worrier> = |
/'w@ri:@/ |
- cf. <warrior> |
| <your> = |
/jO:/ |
- same as <yaw> |
| <you're> = |
/jO:/ |
- or /jU@/ |
| <zebra> = |
/'zi:br@/ |
- less often /'zEbr@/ |
| <zoology> = |
/zu:'A.l@dZi:/ |
|
SENTENCES
Some full-length case-studies - they may not be phrases that
come up frequently in conversation, but all of them have been used
before, and "The North Wind and the Sun" is often seen as
a sample text in comparative studies. In each case, I am
speaking with normal levels of emphasis at ordinary conversational
speeds.
<With tenure, Suzie'd have all the more leisure
for yachting, but her publications are no good.>
/wID 'tEnj@ 'su:z,i:d h&v O:l D mO:
'lEZ@ f@ 'jA.tIN b@t hV": 'p@blI,kEIS@nz @ n@U
gUd/
For certain US accents and phonological analyses, that's a
"quick brown fox" sentence, providing a full inventory of
phonemes; for me, even if we ignore the somewhat marginal
/U@/, it would require the addition of <air thigh rear
chow joy>. 2004 addendum: at last I've found a
perfect JBR-RP pangram, with exactly one use of each phoneme in my
inventory:
<Are those shy Eurasian footwear, cowboy chaps,
or jolly earthmoving headgear?>
/A: D @U z S AI
j U@ 'r EI Z @ n
'f U t w E@
'k &U b OI
tS & p s O:
'dZ A. l i:
'V": T ,m u: v I N
'h E d g I@/
Yes, I know there are far too many <R>s in that for it to
work for all you rhotic types! Honestly, for me there's only
one - I've increased the spaces between segments to make it
easier if you want to double-check. Now for some less
elaborately contrived example sentences:
<Bother, father caught hot coffee in the
carpark>
/'bA.D@ 'fA:D@ kO:t hA.t 'kA.fi: In D@
'kA:,pA:k/
<I teach Ferdinand the calm cat to fetch cold
cups of coffee. Who knows more about tasting things?
He's used the book.>
/AI ti:tS 'fV":dI,n&nd D@ kA:m
k&t t@ fEtS k@Uld k@ps @v 'kA.fi: hu: n@Uz
mO:r @b&Ut 'tEIstIN TINz hi:z ju:zd
D@ bUk/
<The North Wind and the Sun were disputing
which was the stronger, when a traveller came along wrapped
in a warm cloak. They agreed that the one who first succeeded
in making the traveller take his cloak off should be considered
stronger than the other.
Then the North Wind blew as hard as he could, but the more he blew
the more closely did the traveller fold his cloak around him, and at
last the North Wind gave up the attempt; then the Sun shone out
warmly, and immediately the traveller took off his cloak.
And so the North Wind was obliged to confess that the Sun was the
stronger of the two.>
/D@ nO:T wInd @n D@ s@n w@ dIs'pju:tIN wItS
w@z D@ 'strA.Ng@ wEn @ 'tr&vl@ kEIm @'lA.N r&pt In @
wO:m kl@Uk DEI @'gri:d D@t D@ w@n hu:
f@:s s@k'si:dId In 'mEIkIN D@ 'tr&vl@ tEIk Iz kl@Uk
A.f SUb bi: k@n'sId@d 'strA.Ng@ D@n Di: '@D@
DEn D@ nO:T wInd blu: @z hA:d z i: kUd b@t D@
mO:r i: blu: D@ mO: 'kl@Usli: dId D@ 'tr&vl@ f@Uld hIz
kl@Uk @'r&Und hIm @n @t lA:s D@ nOT wInd gEIv
@p Dj @'tEmp DEn D@ s@n SA.n &Ut 'wO:mli: @n
I'mi:dZ@tli: D@ 'tr&vl@ tUk A.f Iz kl@Uk
@n s@U D@ nO:T wInd w@z @'blAIdZ t@ k@n'fEs D@t D@ s@n w@z D@
'strA.Ngr @v D@ tu:/
[If you can read this, your
browser is likely not to support Unicode - you might as well
go home early]
2005 addendum: here's a token sample
of what JBR RP looks like (recycling the "pangram"
example sentence) when it's transcribed in the Real IPA characters
and displayed via Unicode:
/ɑː ðəʊz
ʃɑɪ
jʊəˈɹɛɪʒən
ˈfʊtwɛə ˈkæʊbɔɪ
ʧæps ɔː ˈʤɒliː
ˈɜːθˌmuːvɪŋ
ˈhɛdɡɪə/
With luck that should look a lot better than the
ASCII version, but it's hard to be sure - I've got no basis for
assuming you have any particular font installed that handles IPA
well, so I'm having to leave it as a default serif typeface.
You should be able to find a more appropriate one by modifying your
browser configuration... just don't start mailing me your MS-IE
tech-support questions, okay?