Pronunciation Guide

Some expressions in the dictionary are followed by a phonetic transcription in International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) symbols. These expressions include words whose pronunciations are not predictable from their spellings, difficult or unfamiliar words, and words where the stress placement is contrastive or unique. The style of pronunciation reflected here is informal and tends to fit the register in which the expression would normally be used. A [d] is used for the alveolar flap typical in American pronunciations such as [wad#] water and [@naI@led@d] annihilated. The transcriptions distinguish between [a] and [O] and between [w] and [W] even though not all Americans do so. In strict IPA fashion, [j] rather than the [y] substitute is used for the initial sound in yellow. The most prominent syllable in a multisyllabic word is preceded by a []. The use of and or or in a phonetic transcription echoes the use of and or or in the preceding entry phrase. The use of ... in a transcription indicates that easy-to-pronounce words have been omitted. Parentheses used in a transcription either correspond to parentheses in the preceding entry phrase or indicate optional elements in the transcription. For instance, in [artsi krAf(t)si] artsy-craftsy, the t may or may not be pronounced. The following chart shows the American English values for each of the IPA symbols used in the phonetic transcriptions. To use the chart, first find the large phonetic symbol whose value you want to deter-

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Pronunciation Guide

mine. The two English words to the right of the symbol contain examples of the sound for which the phonetic symbol stands. The letters in boldface type indicate where the sound in question is found in the English word.
[a]

[A]

[au]

[aI]

[b]

[d]

[D]

[dZ]

[e]

[ E]

[ @]

sto p to p sa t tra ck co w no w bi te my b eet b ubb le d ead bod y th at th ose j ail j udg e

[#]

[f]

[g]

[h]

[i]

[I]

[j]

[k]

da te sai l ge t se t bu t nu t

[l]

[ l]

[m]

bir d tur tle f eel if g et frog h at wh o fee t lea k bi t hi ss y ellow y ou c an k eep l awn yell ow bottle puddle fam ily slam

[n]

[n]

[N]

[o]

[oI]

[ O]

[p]

[r]

[s]

[S]

[t]

n ew funn y button kitten bring thing coa t wro te spoi l boy cau ght yaw n tip p at r at berr y s un fas t fish s ure t op pot

[tS]

[T]

[u]

[U]

[v]

[w]

[W]

[z]

[Z]

[]

ch eese pitch er th in faith foo d blue pu t loo k sav e v an w ell w ind wh eel wh ile fuzz y z oo pleas ure treas ure water hotel

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