Pronunciation in the Second Edition
The pronunciations given are those in use in the educated speech of southern England (The so-called ‘Received Standard’), and the keywords given are to be understood as pronounced in such speech.
This key is to the pronunciations given in unrevised entries. For pronunciations in revised entries, see this key.
I. Consonants
b, d, f, k, l, m, n, p, t, v, z have their usual English values
| Symbol | Example | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| g | as in | go /gəʊ/ | |
| h | … | ho! /həʊ/ | |
| r | … | run /rʌn/, terrier /ˈtɛrɪə(r)/ | |
| (r) | … | her /hзː(r)/ | |
| s | … | see /siː/, success /səkˈsɛs/ | |
| w | … | wear /wɛə(r)/ | |
| hw | … | when /hwɛn/ | |
| j | … | yes /jɛs/ | |
| θ | … | thin /θɪn/, bath /bɑːθ/ | |
| ð | … | then /ðɛn/, bathe /beɪð/ | |
| ʃ | … | shop /ʃɒp/, dish /dɪʃ/ | |
| tʃ | … | chop /tʃɒp/, ditch /dɪtʃ/ | |
| ʒ | … | vision /ˈvɪʒən/, déjeuner /deʒœne/ | |
| dʒ | … | judge /dʒʌdʒ/ | |
| ŋ | … | singing /ˈsɪŋɪŋ/, think /θɪŋk/ | |
| ŋg | … | finger /ˈfɪŋgə(r)/ | |
FOREIGN AND NON-SOUTHERN |
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| ʎ | as in | Italian serraglio /serˈraʎo/ | |
| ɲ | … | French cognac /kɔɲak/ | |
| x | … | German ach /ax/, Scots loch /lɒx/, Spanish frijoles /friˈxoles/ | |
| ç | … | German ich /ɪç/, Scots nicht /nɪçt/ | |
| ɣ | … | North German sagen /ˈzaːɣən/ | |
| c | … | Afrikaans baardmannetjie /ˈbaːrtmanəci/ | |
| ɥ | … | French cuisine /kɥizin/ | |
II. Vowels and Diphthongs |
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SHORT |
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| ɪ | as in | pit /pɪt/, -ness /nɪs/ | |
| ɛ | … | pet /pɛt/, French sept /sɛt/ | |
| æ | … | pat /pæt/ | |
| ʌ | … | putt /pʌt/ | |
| ɒ | … | pot /pɒt/ | |
| ʊ | … | put /pʊt/ | |
| ə | … | another /əˈnʌðə(r)/ | |
| (ə) | … | beaten /ˈbiːt(ə)n/ | |
| i | … | French si /si/ | |
| e | … | French bébé /bebe/ | |
| a | … | French mari /mari/ | |
| ɑ | … | French bâtiment /bɑtimɑ̃/ | |
| ɔ | … | French homme /ɔm/ | |
| o | … | French eau /o/ | |
| ø | … | French peu /pø/ | |
| œ | … | French boeuf /bœf/, coeur /kœr/ | |
| u | … | French douce /dus/ | |
| ʏ | … | German Müller /ˈmʏlər/ | |
| y | … | French du /dy/ | |
LONG |
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| iː | as in | bean /biːn/ | |
| ɑː | … | barn /bɑːn/ | |
| ɔː | … | born /bɔːn/ | |
| uː | … | boon /buːn/ | |
| зː | … | burn /bзːn/ | |
| eː | … | German Schnee /ʃneː/ | |
| ɛː | … | German Fähre /ˈfɛːrə/ | |
| aː | … | German Tag /taːk/ | |
| oː | … | German Sohn /zoːn/ | |
| øː | … | German Goethe /ˈgøːtə/ | |
| yː | … | German grün /gryːn/ | |
NASAL |
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| ɛ̃, æ̃ | as in | French fin /fɛ̃, fæ̃/ | |
| ɑ̃ | … | French franc /frɑ̃/ | |
| ɔ̃ | … | French bon /bɔ̃/ | |
| œ̃ | … | French un /œ̃/ | |
DIPHTHONGS, etc. |
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| eɪ | as in | bay /beɪ/ | |
| aɪ | … | buy /baɪ/ | |
| ɔɪ | … | boy /bɔɪ/ | |
| əʊ | … | no /nəʊ/ | |
| aʊ | … | now /naʊ/ | |
| ɪə | … | peer /pɪə(r)/ | |
| ɛə | … | pair /pɛə(r)/ | |
| ʊə | … | tour /tʊə(r)/ | |
| ɔə | … | boar /bɔə(r)/ | |
| aɪə | … | fiery /ˈfaɪərɪ/ | |
| aʊə | … | sour /saʊə(r)/ | |
Symbols in parentheses are used to denote elements that may be omitted either by individual speakers or in particular phonetic contexts: e.g. bottle / ˈbɒt(ə)l/, Mercian /ˈmзːʃ(ɪ)ən/, suit /s(j)uːt/, impromptu /ɪmˈprɒm(p)tjuː/, father /ˈfɑːðə(r)/.
The incidence of main stress is shown by a superior stress mark (ˈ) preceding the stressed syllable, and a secondary stress by an inferior stress mark (ˌ), e.g. accentuation /ækˌsɛntjuːˈeɪʃən/.