Help:Pronunciation respelling key
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
This is an English pronunciation respelling key that may be used in Wikipedia articles. It has no special symbols or diacritics except the schwa. It merges a few variants found in some dialects, such as four vs. for in Scottish English and bad vs. lad in Australian English.
But note that the pronunciation of English words in Wikipedia is most often given in the International Phonetic Alphabet or IPA.
Contents |
[edit] Stress
Stress is indicated by writing the syllable in capital letters, preferably SMALL CAPS.
| Respelling symbol | IPA symbol | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| "Pronunciation": prə-NUN-see-AY-shən |
/prəˌnʌnsiːˈeɪʃən/ | "Primary" and "secondary" stress are not distinguished, as the difference is predictable. |
[edit] Consonants
Consonants are straightforward, with the following exceptions:
| Respelling symbol | IPA symbol | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| th as in then | /ð/ | |
| th as in thin | /θ/ | |
| s as in hiss | /s/ | never as in toys (/z/), which is z |
| g as in guy | /ɡ/ | never as in gem (/dʒ/), which is j |
| zh as in fusion | /ʒ/ | |
| ng as in singer | /ŋ/ | ngg is the sound of finger (/ŋɡ/) |
| c | — | c is not used, except for ch as in church (/tʃ/). |
[edit] Vowels
| Respelling symbol | IPA symbol | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|
| a as in cat | /æ/ | Australian /æ/ or /æː/ | Scottish /a/ |
| aa or ah as in father | /ɑː/ | ||
| air as in air | /ɛər/ | ||
| ar as in car | /ɑr/ | Scottish /ar/ | |
| arr as in marry | /ær/ | ||
| aw as in raw | /ɔː/ | American /ɔ/ or /ɑ/ | |
| ay as in day | /eɪ/ | ||
| ə as in sofa | /ə/ or /ɨ/ | unstressed neutral vowel. sometimes i may be used for /ɨ/ |
|
| ər as in her (stressed) | /ɜr/ or /ɝː/ | Scottish /ʌr, ɛr, ɪr/ (ur, er, ir) |
|
| ər as in after | /ər/ or /ɚ/ | unstressed neutral rhotic vowel | |
| e as in pet | /ɛ/ | ||
| ee as in feet | /iː/ | ||
| eer as in peer | /ɪər/ | ||
| er as in fern (generally replaced by /ər/) |
/ɜr/ or /ɝː/ | Scottish /ɛr/ | |
| err as in merry | /ɛr/ | ||
| ew as in ewe, dew | /juː/ | American /u/ or /ju/ | |
| eye | /aɪ/ | spelled -ye after a consonant | |
| i as in bit | /ɪ/ | ||
| ir as in fir (generally replaced by /ə/r) |
/ɜr/ or /ɝː/ | Scottish /ɪr/ | |
| irr as in mirror | /ɪr/ | ||
| o as in pot | /ɒ/ | ||
| oe or oh as in toe | /oʊ/ | ||
| oo as in foot | /ʊ/ | Scottish /ʉ/ | |
| oo as in food | /uː/ | ||
| ohr as in four or wore | /ɔər/ | Australian /oː(ɹ)/ | |
| or as in for or war | /ɔr/ | Scottish /ɔr/ | |
| orr as in orange | /ɒr/ | ||
| ow as in cow | /aʊ/ | ||
| oy as in boy | /ɔɪ/ | ||
| u as in bus | /ʌ/ | ||
| ur as in fur (generally replaced by ər) |
/ɜr/ or /ɝː/ | American /ɹ/ | Scottish /ʌr/ |
| urr as in hurry | /ʌr/ | ||
| -ye as in bye | /aɪ/ | after a consonant, otherwise eye. American /aɪ/ or /ɐɪ/ |
|
[edit] Notes
1. ^ See bad-lad split for details of this distinction.
2. ^ This assumes the absence of the cot-caught merger. In accents with this merger, aw represents the same sound as o.
3, 4, 6, 7. ^ See Fern-fir-fur merger for details of this distinction.
5. ^ Dependent on accent, the /j/ is pronounced after some consonants, coalescesses with other consonants or is dropped entirely.
8. ^ Value depends on voicing of following consonant; phonemic for very few words.
