The International Phonetic Alphabet IPA

Why we need it

The International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) provides a phonetic representation of the sounds of English. English spelling, being non-phonetic, tends to be unreliable since many words have the same or similar spelling yet are pronounced differently.

As native English speakers, we tend to guess the pronounciation words and names based on patterns we recognise.  

The International Phonetic Alphabet is useful tool for non-native English speakers who wish to master the sounds of English. It helps avoid confusion and provides clarity. It can also be useful for actors and narrators, etc who wish to learn different accents.

Examples

Unfamiliar Names

Consider London underground stations like Holborn or Southwark; without local familiarity, pronunciation might elude non-locals.

We can use the International Phonetic Alphabet to represent the phonetic sounds as follows:

/ˈhəʊbən/

/ˈsʌðək/

Comparing British & American Pronunciation

We can use the IPA to compare the phonetics readings of RP and Gen American. Let’s take the word ‘brother’ as an example.

RP:  /ˈbrʌðə/

Gen American: /ˈbrʌðər/

RP does not include the rhotic /r/ sound at the end. 

The 20 Vowel Sounds

The twenty vowel sounds of British English pronunciation can be categorised according to the following:

  • monophthong vowels or diphthong vowels
  • short vowels or long vowels
  • by the position of the tip of the tongue
  • the shape of the mouth

The seven short vowel sounds: /æ/, /ɪ/, /ʊ/, /e/, /ɒ/, /ʌ/, /ə/
The five long vowel sounds: /iː/, /ɜː/, /ɔː/, /uː/, /ɑː/
The eight diphthong vowel sounds: /eɪ/, /ɔɪ/, /aɪ/, /ɪə/, /ʊə/, /eə/, /əʊ/, /aʊ/

The 24 Consonant Sounds

The 24 consonant soundsof British English pronunciation can be categorised as follows.

  • The plosives sounds: /p/, /b/, /t/, /d/, /k/, /g/
  • The fricative sounds: /f/, /v/, /θ/, /ð/, /s/, /z/, /ʃ/, /ʒ/, /h/
  • The affricate sounds: /ʈʃ/, /dʒ/
  • The nasal sounds: /m/, /n/, /ŋ/
  • The lateral & approximant sounds: /r/, /l/, /w/, /j/

Voiced & Voiceless

Consonant sounds can also be classified as either voiced or voiceless. Voiced consonants are produced with vibrating vocal cords, while voiceless consonants are not.

Voiced consonants:

  • The plosives sounds: /b/, /d/, /g/
  • The fricative sounds: /v/, /ð/,  /z/,  /ʒ/
  • The affricate sounds: /dʒ/
  • The nasal sounds: /m/, /n/, /ŋ/
  • The lateral & approximant sounds: /r/, /l/, /w/, /j/

Voiceless consonants:

  • The plosives sounds: /p/, /t/, /k/
  • The fricative sounds: /f/, /θ/, /s/, /ʃ/, /h/
  • The affricate sounds: /ʈʃ/

Definitions

  • Phoneme: the smallest speech unit.
  • Monophthong: a single vowel sound.
  • Diphthong: a combination of two monophthongs, represented by two symbols.
  • Short vowels: brief in nature.
  • Long vowels: lengthened, represented by two triangles to the right of the symbol.

Click here for the RP vowel sound chart.