English phonemes

The sounds and their spellings

The áccents on bold example words indicate stressed vowels and show their pronunciation. Words in italics suggest meaning in the case of homophones. The bullet (●) represents any consonant. AmE: American English; BrE: British English; other varieties may combine the two.

Vowels and diphthongs

1. 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

2. /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