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British English Pronounciation Notes

The followings are notes from BBC - The sounds of British English. I listed all the example words so that we can reference it quickly if we have a doubt about the pronouciation.

Short Vowel

ɒ

lot, odd, wash

ɪ

kit, bid, hymn, minute.

ʊ

foot, put, good.

ʌ

strut, mud, love, blood
ʌ, æ: undle, ankle; bunk, bank; but, bat; cup, cap; swum, swam

ɛ or e

dress, head, bed, many ɛ, ɪ: bed, bid; medal, middle, dead, did, fell, fill, pen, pin ɛ, eɪ: bed, bay

æ or a

trap, stamp, back, lap, dad

ə - schwa

a, the, of, that

Long Vowel

fleece, sea, machine i, ɪ: litre, litter; cheap, chip, feet, fit; he's, his; peach, pitch; sheep, ship

goose, two, blue, group

ɑː

father, start, hard

ɔː

thought, law, north, war

ʊː

ɛ

əː or ɜː

nurse, stir, learn, refer

Diphthongs, Doubled Vowel

ɪə

ear, hear, near: uk:nɪər, us:nɪr, weary.

ʊə

tour, pure, cure

aɪ, æɪ

eye, price, high, try

ɔɪ

boy, choice, noise

əʊ

boat, show, know əʊ, ɔː coat, caught; dough, door; sew, saw; flow, floor

mouth, now, fowl aʊ, əʊ: couch, coach; clown, clone; loud, load; found, phoned

ɛː or eə

square, fair, pair, air ɛː, æ: dared, dad; glared, glad; Mary, marry

face, day, break. eɪ, iː: ate, eat; faced, feast; great greet; mate, meet

Voiceless Consonants

ŋ

rung, anger, thanks ŋ, n: rung, run; tongue, ton; wing, win; robbing, robin; singer, sinner

n

nice, funny, son, none n, ŋ(much further back in the mounth): son, sung; pin, ping; ran, rang; thin, thing; wind, winged

m

more, hammer, sum, mine m, n, ŋ: sum, son, sung; rum, run, rung

j

yet, use, yellow, useful ju: bueaty, few, cute, accuse

p

pack, pan, copy, happen, hop, pop p, b: pack, back, punch, bunch

t

tin, button, get, tight t, d: tin, din; to, do; town, down; eight, aid; bet, bed

ʃ

ship, sure, nation, fish, shush,

choke, teacher, match, church tʃ, dʒ: choke, joke; chunk, junk; rich, ridge; lunch, lunge;

k

came, lucky, sick, clock k, g: came, game; back, bag; cage, gauge; calories, galleries.

f

fat, coffee, rough, fluff f, v: fan, van; leaf, leave; off, of; rifle, rival;

s

soon, mister, hiss, cease s, z: hiss, his; course, cause; place, plays; gross, grows

θ

thin, throw, thumb, author, healthy, birth , path.

Voiced Consonants

b

back, bag, hobby, habit, job, bob b, p: back, pack; bare, pair; cab, cap; symbol, simple;

d

dame, ladder, odd, did d, t: dame, tame; doom, tomb, medal, metal; heard, hurt

ʒ

leisure, pleasure, vision, beige

joke, lodger, bridge, judge dʒ, tʃ: joke, choke, junk, chunk, lunge, lunch; surge, search search

g

glue, struggle, bag, gig g, k: glue, clue; ghost, coast;log, lock; pig, pick;

v

very, heavy, move, verve v, f: vault, fault; believe, belief; live, life; v, b; very, berry; vet, bet; vote, boat; vowel, bowel;

ð

then, this, there, that, other, smooth,

z

zero, music, buzz, roses z, s: buzz, bus; rise, rice; zip, sip; lazy, lacy;

h

hear, hot, hello, ahead, height, hedge, how

l

light, valley, bell, level l, r: light, right; led, red; clash, crash; climb, crime; lice, rice; lock, rock;

r

right, wrong, sorry, arranges r, l: wrong, long; roayl, loyal; misread, misled; pirate; pilot; pray, play; r linking

w

wet, one, when, beware, quick, queen w, v: worse, verse; while, vile; west, vast; wary, vary;

Distinguish ʒ(yogh) from dʒ

Reference

English

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