Pronunciation respelling for English
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Dictionaries and other language reference works usually provide a pronunciation guide for the words that they list. Most current British dictionaries <ref>Such as ''The Oxford BBC Guide to Pronunciation'' [http://www.spectator.co.uk/the-magazine/the-week/334926/mind-your-language.thtml Mind your language], by Dot Wordsworth, in The Spectator, [[November 7]] [[2007]].</ref> use the [[International Phonetic Alphabet]] (IPA) for this purpose. The pronunciation which these dictionaries refer to is the so-called [[Received Pronunciation]], which is based upon educated speech in southern England. But most American dictionaries, and some British ones, use a '''respelling system''' that is more intuitive than the IPA.
The IPA system is not a respelling system because it uses symbols such as ''ð'' and ''θ'' which are not used in English spelling.
Respelling systems were designed for native speakers of English, and they copy standard English spelling as closely as possible. This makes it unnecessary for the dictionary
user to learn the IPA.
==Traditional respelling systems==
The following chart matches the IPA symbols used to represent the sounds of the [[English language]] with the phonetic symbols used in several dictionaries, a majority of which transcribe [[American English]].
The works referenced above adhere (for the most part) to the one-symbol-per-sound principle. Other works not included here, such as ''Webster's New Twentieth Century Dictionary of the English Language'' (unabridged, 2nd ed.), do not, and thus have several different symbols for the same sound (partly to allow for different [[Phonemic differentiation|phonemic mergers and splits]]).
''The full titles of abbreviated column headings in the following table are viewable in interactive media (as opposed to [[hard copy]]). Hover over the abbreviations to see the full titles.''
{| class="IPA wikitable" frame=void style="vertical-align:top; text-align:center; white-space:nowrap;"
! colspan="18" | '''[[Consonant]]s'''{{ref|all|1|}}
|- style="font-size: 80%"
! title="International Phonetic Alphabet" | [[Help:Pronunciation|IPA]]
! title="A Pronouncing Dictionary of American English" | K&K
! title="Shorter Oxford English Dictionary" | SOED
! title="Americanist Phonetic Notation" | A
! title="New Oxford American Dictionary" | NOAD
! title="American Heritage Dictionary" | AHD
! title="Random House Dictionary of the English Language" | RHD
! title="World Book Online" | WBO
! title="Microsoft Encarta College Dictionary" | MECD
! title="Dictionary of Pronunciation (Lass)" | DPL
! title="Dictionary of Pronunciation (Noory)" | DPN
! title="NBC Handbook of Pronunciation" | NBC
! title="Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary" | MWCD
! title="Merriam-Webster Online" | MWO
! title="Concise Oxford Dictionary (7th edition and earlier. In later editions, IPA is used.)" | COD{{ref|cod|5|}}
! title="The Chambers Dictionary" | Cham
! title="Arpabet" | AB
! style="text-align:left;" | Examples
|-
| {{IPA|tʃ}} || {{IPA|tʃ}} || {{IPA|tʃ}} || č || <small>CH</small> || ch || {{Unicode|c͡h}} || ch || ch || ch || ch || ch || ch || ch || ch || ch || ch || style="text-align: left;" | '''ch'''ur'''ch'''
|-
| {{IPA|h}} || h || h || h || h || h || h || h || h || h || h || h || h || h || h || h || hh || style="text-align: left;" | '''h'''at
|-
| {{IPA|ʍ}} || hw || (h)w || hw || (h)w || hw || hw || hw || hw || || || || hw || hw || || (h)w || – || style="text-align: left;" | '''wh'''ich
|-
| {{IPA|dʒ}} || {{IPA|dʒ}} || {{IPA|dʒ}} || {{Unicode|ǯ}} || j || j || j || j || j || j || j || j || j || j || j || j || jh || style="text-align: left;" | '''j'''u'''dge'''
|-
| {{IPA|x}} || x || x || x || <small>KH</small> || <small>KH</small> || {{Unicode|<small>K</small>͡<small>H</small>}} || kh || - || - || - || - || <u>k</u> || [<u>k</u>] || (χ) || hh || - || style="text-align: left;" | lo'''ch''' <small>(Scottish)</small>, Bu'''ch''' <small>(German)</small>
|-
| {{IPA|ɬ}} || {{IPA|ɬ}} || – || ł || - || - || - || - || - || - || - || - || - || - || - || hl || - || style="text-align: left;" | '''ll'''an <small>(Welsh)</small>
|-
| {{IPA|ŋ}} || ŋ || ŋ || ŋ || <small>NG</small> || ng || {{Unicode|n͡g}} || ng || ng || ŋ || ng || ng || ŋ || [ng] || ng || ng || ng || style="text-align: left;" | thi'''ng'''
|-
| {{IPA|r}}{{ref|r|2|}} || r || r || r || r || r || r || r || r || r || r || r || r || r || r || r || r || style="text-align: left;" | '''r'''oa'''r'''
|-
| {{IPA|ʃ}} || {{IPA|ʃ}} || {{IPA|ʃ}} || š || <small>SH</small> || sh || {{Unicode|s͡h}} || sh || sh || sh || sh || sh || sh || sh || sh || sh || sh || style="text-align: left;" | '''sh'''ip, di'''sh''', ra'''ti'''on
|-
| {{IPA|θ}} || θ || θ || θ || <small>TH</small> || th || {{Unicode|t͡h}} || th || th || th || th || th || th || th || th || th || th || style="text-align: left;" | '''th'''in, '''th'''igh, benea'''th'''
|-
| {{IPA|ð}} || ð || ð || ð ||<small><u>TH</u></small> || ''th'' || {{Unicode|th̸}} || th || <u>th</u> || ''th'' || {{Unicode|t̷h}} || th: || <u>th</u> || [<u>th</u>] || dh || dh || dh || style="text-align: left;" | '''th'''is, '''th'''y
|-
| {{IPA|j}} || j || j || y || y || y || y || y || y || y || y || y || y || y || y || y || y || style="text-align: left;" | '''y'''es
|-
| {{IPA|ʒ}} || {{IPA|ʒ}} || {{IPA|ʒ}} || ž || <small>ZH</small> || zh || {{Unicode|z͡h}} || zh || <u>zh</u> || zh || zh || zh || zh || zh || zh || zh || zh || style="text-align: left;" | vi'''s'''ion, plea'''s'''ure
|-
! colspan="18" | '''[[Vowel]]s'''
|- style="font-size: 80%"
! title="International Phonetic Alphabet" | [[Help:Pronunciation|IPA]]
! title="A Pronouncing Dictionary of American English" | K&K
! title="Shorter Oxford English Dictionary" | SOED
! title="Americanist Phonetic Notation" | A
! title="New Oxford American Dictionary (US English diacritical)" | NOAD
! title="American Heritage Dictionary" | AHD
! title="Random House Dictionary of the English Language" | RHD
! title="World Book Online" | WBO
! title="Microsoft Encarta College Dictionary" | MECD
! title="Dictionary of Pronunciation (Lass)" | DPL
! title="Dictionary of Pronunciation (Noory)" | DPN
! title="NBC Handbook of Pronunciation" | NBC
! title="Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary" | MWCD
! title="Merriam-Webster Online" | MWO
! title="Concise Oxford Dictionary (7th edition and earlier - in newer editions IPA is used)" | COD{{ref|all|5|}}
! title="The Chambers Dictionary" | Cham
! title="ARPABet" | AB
! style="text-align:left;" | Examples
|-
| {{IPA|æ}} || æ || a || æ || a || ă || a || a || a || a || a || a || a || a || ă || a || ae || style="text-align: left;" | p'''a'''t, l'''a'''d, c'''a'''t, r'''a'''n
|-
| {{IPA|eɪ}} || e || {{IPA|eɪ}} || e(y) || ā || ā || ā || ay || ay || ā || ay || ay || ā || A || ā || ā || ey || style="text-align: left;" | p'''ay''', d'''ay'''
|-
| {{IPA|ɛər}} || {{IPA|ɛr}} || {{IPA|ɛ:}} || εr || {{Unicode|e(ə)r}} || âr || âr || air || air || || || air || ar || ar || ār || ār || eh r || style="text-align: left;" | c'''are''', h'''air''', th'''ere'''
|-
| {{IPA|ɑ}} || {{IPA|ɑ}} || {{IPA|ɑ}} || a || ä || ä || ä || ah || aa || ä || aw, o || ah || ä, {{Unicode|ȧ}} || ä, [a'] || ah || ä || aa || style="text-align: left;" | f'''a'''ther, p'''a'''lm
|-
| {{IPA|ɑr}} || {{IPA|ɑ:}} || {{IPA|ɑr}} || ar || är || är || är || ahr || aar || är || || ahr || är || är || {{Unicode|a͡r}} || är || aa r || style="text-align: left;" | '''ar'''m
|-
| {{IPA|ɛ}} || {{IPA|ɛ}} || {{IPA|ɛ}} || ε || e || ĕ || e || eh || e || e || {{Unicode|ɛ}} || e || e || e || ě || e || eh || style="text-align: left;" | l'''e'''t, h'''ea'''d
|-
| {{IPA|iː}} || i || i || i(y) || ē || ē || ē || ee || ee || ē || ē || ee || ē || E || ē || ē || iy || style="text-align: left;" | b'''ee''', s'''ee'''
|-
| {{IPA|ɪ}} || {{IPA|ɪ}} || {{IPA|ɪ}} || {{IPA|ι}} || i || ĭ || i || ih || i || i || i || i || i || i || {{Unicode|ǐ}} || i || ih || style="text-align: left;" | p'''i'''t, c'''i'''ty
|-
| {{IPA|aɪ}} || {{IPA|aɪ}} || {{IPA|ʌɪ}} || ay || ī || ī || ī || y || ī || ī || y || igh || ī || I || ī || ī || ay || style="text-align: left;" | p'''ie''', b'''y''', m'''y'''
|-
| {{IPA|ɪər}} || {{IPA|ɪr}} || {{IPA|ɪə}} || ιr || {{Unicode|i(ə)r}} || îr || ēr || ihr || eer || || || || ir || ir || {{Unicode|ēr}} || īr || ih r || style="text-align: left;" | p'''ier''', n'''ear''', h'''ere'''
|-
| {{IPA|ɒ}} || {{IPA|ɑ}} || {{IPA|ɑ}} || a || ä || ŏ || o || o || o || ä || o || ah || ä || ä || {{Unicode|ǒ}} || o || aa || style="text-align: left;" | p'''o'''t, n'''o'''t, w'''a'''sp
|-
| {{IPA|oʊ}} || o || {{IPA|əʊ}} || o(w) || ō || ō || ō || oh || ō || ō || ō || oh || ō || O || ō || ō || ow || style="text-align: left;" | t'''oe''', n'''o'''
|-
| {{IPA|ɔː}} || {{IPA|ɔ}} || {{IPA|ɔ:}} || {{Unicode|ɔ}} || ô || ô || ô || aw || aw || ô || aw, o || aw || {{Unicode|ȯ}} || o || aw || ö || ao || style="text-align: left;" | c'''augh'''t, p'''aw''', w'''a'''r
|-
| {{IPA|ɔɪ}} || {{IPA|ɔɪ}} || {{IPA|ɔɪ}} || {{Unicode|ɔy}} || oi || oi || oi || oy || oy || oi || oy || oi || {{Unicode|ȯi}} || oi || oi || oi || oy || style="text-align: left;" | n'''oi'''se, b'''oy'''
|-
| {{IPA|ʊ}} || {{Unicode|ᴜ}} || {{IPA|ʊə}} || {{Unicode|ᴜ}} || {{Unicode|o͝o}} || {{Unicode|o͝o}} || {{Unicode|o͝o}} || u || {{Unicode|o͝o}}|| oo || u || oo || {{Unicode|u̇}} || u || {{Unicode|ǒǒ}} || ŭ{{ref|iu|3|}} || uh || style="text-align: left;" | t'''oo'''k, p'''u'''t
|-
| {{IPA|ʊər}} || {{Unicode|ᴜr}} || {{IPA|ʊ(ə)r}} || {{Unicode|ᴜr}} || {{Unicode|o͝or}} || {{Unicode|o͝or}} || {{Unicode|o͝or}} || ur || oor || || || || {{Unicode|u̇r}} || ur || oor || oor || uh r || style="text-align: left;" | t'''our'''
|-
| {{IPA|uː}} || u || u: || u(w) || {{Unicode|o͞o}} || {{Unicode|o͞o}} || {{Unicode|o͞o}} || oo || oo || {{Unicode|o͞o}} || ū || oo: || ü || ü || ōō || oo{{ref|oo|3|}} || uw || style="text-align: left;" | b'''oo'''t, s'''oo'''n, thr'''ough'''
|-
| {{IPA|aʊ}} || {{Unicode|aᴜ}} || {{IPA|aʊ}} || aw || ou || ou || ou || ow || ow || ou || ow || ow || {{Unicode|au̇}} || au || ow || ow || aw || style="text-align: left;" | '''ou'''t, n'''ow'''
|-
| {{IPA|ʌ}} || {{IPA|ʌ}} ||{{IPA|ʌ}} || {{Unicode|ʌ}} || {{Unicode|ə}} || ŭ || u || uh || u || u || {{Unicode|ʋ}} || UH || {{Unicode|ə}} || & || {{Unicode|ǔ}} || u || ah || style="text-align: left;" | c'''u'''t, r'''u'''n, en'''ou'''gh
|-
| {{IPA|ɝː}} || {{IPA|ɝ}} || {{Unicode|ə:}} || {{Unicode|ər}} || {{Unicode|ər}} || ûr || ûr || ur || ur || {{Unicode|ʉr}} || er || ER || {{Unicode|ər}} || &r || {{Unicode|e͡r}} || {{Unicode|ûr}} || er || style="text-align: left;" | '''ur'''ge, t'''er'''m, f'''ir'''m, w'''or'''d, h'''ear'''d, b'''ir'''d
|-
| {{Unicode|ə}} || {{Unicode|ə}} || {{Unicode|ə}} || {{Unicode|ə}} || {{Unicode|ə}} || {{Unicode|ə}} || {{Unicode|ə}} || uh || {{Unicode|ə}} || {{Unicode|ə}} || e || uh || {{Unicode|ə}} || &, <sup>&</sup> || ''a, e, i, o, u'' || {{Unicode|ə}} || ah || style="text-align: left;" | '''a'''bout, it'''e'''m, ed'''i'''ble, gall'''o'''p, circ'''u'''s
|-
| {{IPA|ɚ}} || {{IPA|ɚ}} || {{Unicode|ə:}} || {{Unicode|ər}} || {{Unicode|ər}} || <sup>{{Unicode|ə}}</sup>r || {{Unicode|ər}} || uhr || {{Unicode|ər}} || {{Unicode|ər}} || er || er || {{Unicode|ər}} || &r || er || {{Unicode|ər}} || er || style="text-align: left;" | butt'''er''', winn'''er'''
|-
| {{IPA|juː}} || ju || ju: || yu || {{Unicode|yo͞o}} || {{Unicode|yo͞o}} || {{Unicode|yo͞o}} || yoo || yoo || {{Unicode|yo͞o}} || yū || yoo: || yü || yü || ū || ū || y uw || style="text-align: left;" | p'''u'''pil
|-
| {{IPA|ø, œ}} || œ || œ || ɔ̈ || œ || œ || <small>Œ</small> || || || || || || || || || || – || style="text-align: left;" | f'''eu''', '''oeu'''f <small>(French)</small>, sch'''ö'''n, zw'''ö'''lf <small>(German)</small>
|-
| {{IPA|y}} || y || y: || ü || <small>Y</small> || ü || <small>Y</small> || || || || || || || || || || – || style="text-align: left;" | t'''u''' <small>(French)</small>, '''ü'''ber <small>(German)</small>
|-
| {{IPA|ɔ̃}} || õ || ɔ̃ || ɔ̨ || <small>N</small> || ô<small>N</small> || ô<small>N</small> || || || || || || || || || || – || style="text-align: left;" | b'''on''' <small>(French)</small>{{ref|n|4|}}
|- style="font-size: 80%"
! title="International Phonetic Alphabet" | [[Help:Pronunciation|IPA]]
! title="A Pronouncing Dictionary of American English" | K&K
! title="Shorter Oxford English Dictionary" | SOED
! title="Americanist Phonetic Notation" | A
! title="New Oxford American Dictionary (US English diacritical)" | NOAD
! title="American Heritage Dictionary" | AHD
! title="Random House Dictionary of the English Language" | RHD
! title="World Book Online" | WBO
! title="Microsoft Encarta College Dictionary" | MECD
! title="Dictionary of Pronunciation (Lass)" | DPL
! title="Dictionary of Pronunciation (Noory)" | DPN
! title="NBC Handbook of Pronunciation" | NBC
! title="Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary" | MWCD
! title="Merriam-Webster Online" | MWO
! title="Concise Oxford Dictionary (7th edition and earlier - in newer editions IPA is used)" | COD{{ref|all|5|}}
! title="The Chambers Dictionary" | Cham
! title="ARPABet" | AB
! style="text-align:left;" | Examples
|}
===Title abbreviations===
* '''IPA''' — International Phonetic Alphabet (for [[General American]]).
* '''K&K''' — [[John Samuel Kenyon|Kenyon, John S.]], Thomas A. Knott (1944/1953). ''[[A Pronouncing Dictionary of American English]]''. Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster. ISBN 978-0-87779-047-1.
* '''SOED''' — ''[[Shorter Oxford English Dictionary]]''. New York: Oxford University Press, 2007.
* '''A''' — [[Americanist phonetic notation|Americanist phonetic notation (APA)]], used primarily in linguistics literature in the U.S.A.
* '''NOAD''' — [[New Oxford American Dictionary]]. New York: Oxford University Press, 2001, 2005.
* '''AHD''' — ''[[American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language]]'' (2000). Boston: Houghton-Mifflin.
* '''RHD''' — [[Random House Dictionary of the English Language]] (1966).
* '''WBO''' — [[World Book]] Online (1998).
* '''MECD''' — Microsoft Encarta College Dictionary.
* '''DPL''' — Dictionary of Pronunciation (authors: Abraham Lass and Betty Lass).
* '''DPN''' — Dictionary of Pronunciation (author: Samuel Noory).
* '''NBC''' — NBC Handbook of Pronunciation.
* '''MWCD''' — [[Webster's Dictionary#The Collegiate Dictionary|Merriam Webster's Collegiate Dictionary]].
* '''MWO''' — Merriam-Webster Online <small>http://www.m-w.com/</small>
* '''COD''' — E. McIntosh, ed. (1964 [1974]),''[[The Concise Oxford Dictionary]]'', 5th edition. Oxford. (This notation was used up to the 7th edition—newer editions use the IPA.)
* '''Cham''' — [[Chambers Dictionary|The Chambers Dictionary]] (2003).
* '''AB''' — [[Arpabet]], a commonly used computerized encoding of English pronunciation. It is used by the [[CMU Pronouncing Dictionary]].
===Notes===
* {{note|all|1}} The following symbols have their IPA values in all the systems listed: b, d, f, g, k, l, m, n, p, s, t, v, w, z.
* {{note|r|2}} The more precise IPA symbol {{IPA|[ɹ]}} is sometimes used for English {{IPA|/r/}}.
* {{note|oo|3}} Older editions of ''The Chambers Dictionary'' used {{Unicode|o͞o}} for ŭ and {{Unicode|o͞o}} for oo.
* {{note|n|4}} Nasalized vowel, as in the French phrase ''un bon vin blanc'' (IPA: {{IPA |[œ̃ bɔ̃ vɛ̃ blɑ̃]}}).
* {{note|cod|5}} Older editions of the Concise Oxford Dictionary used a mix of two systems: the "phonetic scheme" shown in the table above and a system "without respelling". The latter added diacritics to conventional spellings and accepted the following orthographic conventions:
{| class="wikitable" style="margin-left: 4em"
! COD variant || IPA
|-
| ph || {{IPA|/f/}}
|-
| kn (initial) || {{IPA|/n]}}
|-
| wr (initial) || {{IPA|/r/}}
|-
| g, dg || {{IPA|/dʒ/}} (before e, i, y) <br /> {{IPA|/ɡ/}} otherwise
|-
| c || {{IPA|/s/}} (before e, i, y) <br /> {{IPA|/k/}} otherwise
|-
| ai, ay || {{IPA|/eɪ/}}
|-
| air || {{IPA|/ɛər/}}
|-
| ae, ea, ee, ie || {{IPA|/iː/}}
|-
| ė, ie (final), ey || {{IPA|/ɪ/}}
|-
| ear, eer, ier || {{IPA|/ɪər/}}
|-
| aw || {{IPA|/ɔː/}}
|-
| oy || {{IPA|/ɔɪ/}}
|-
| ou || {{IPA|/aʊ/}}
|-
| {{Unicode|i͡r}}, {{Unicode|u͡r}} || {{IPA|/ɝː/}}
|-
| eu, ew || {{IPA|/juː/}}
|}
== International Phonetic Alphabet ==
The [[International Phonetic Alphabet]] is a standardized method of [[phonetic transcription]] developed by a group of English and French language teachers in 1888. In the beginning, only specialized pronunciation dictionaries for linguists used it, for example, the ''English Pronouncing Dictionary'' edited by Daniel Jones (EPD, 1917). The IPA was used by English teachers as well, and started to appear in popular dictionaries for learners of English as a foreign language, such as the ''[[Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary]]'' (1948), and ''Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English'' (1978).
IPA is very flexible, allowing for a wide variety of transcriptions between broad [[phonemic]] transcriptions which describe the significant units of meaning in language, and [[phonetic]] transcriptions which indicate every nuance sound in detail.
The IPA pronunciation scheme used in the first twelve editions of the EPD was relatively simple, using a ''quantitative'' system indicating vowel length using a colon, and requiring the reader to infer other vowel qualities. Many phoneticians preferred a ''qualitative'' system, which used different symbols to indicate vowel timbre and colour. [[A.C. Gimson]] introduced a ''quantitative-qualitative'' IPA notation system when he took over editorship of the EPD (13th edition, 1967), and by the 1990s, the Gimson system had become a de facto standard for phonetic notation of British [[Received Pronunciation]] (RP).
{| cellspacing="5" style="margin-left:1.5em;"
|+ Comparison of short and long vowels in various IPA schemes for RP
! style="text-align:left; width:25%;" | word
! style="text-align:left; width:25%;" | quant.
! style="text-align:left; width:25%;" | qual.
! style="text-align:left;" | Gimson
|-
| ''rid'' || {{IPA|rid}} || {{IPA|rɪd}} || {{IPA|rɪd}}
|-
| ''reed'' || {{IPA|ri:d}} || {{IPA|rid}} || {{IPA|ri:d}}
|-
| ''cod'' || {{IPA|kɔd}} || {{IPA|kɒd}} || {{IPA|kɒd}}
|-
| ''cord'' || {{IPA|kɔ:d}} || {{IPA|kɔd}} || {{IPA|kɔ:d}}
|}
The first native (not learner's) English dictionary using IPA may have been the ''Collins English Dictionary'' (1979), and others followed suit. The ''[[Oxford English Dictionary]]'', 2nd edition (OED2, 1989) used IPA, transcribed letter-for-letter from entries in the first edition, which had been noted in a scheme by the original editor, [[James Murray (lexicographer)|James Murray]].
While IPA has not been adopted by popular dictionaries in the United States, there is a demand for learner's dictionaries which provide both British and American English pronunciation. Some dictionaries, such as the ''Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary'' and the ''Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English'' provide a separate transcription for each.
British and American English dialects have a similar set of [[phoneme]]s, but some are pronounced differently; in technical parlance, they consist of different [[phone]]s. Although developed for RP, the Gimson system being phonemic, it is not far from much of [[General American]] pronunciation as well. A number of recent dictionaries, such as the ''Collins COBUILD Advanced Learner's English Dictionary'', add a few non-phonemic symbols /{{IPA|<sup>r</sup> i u <sup>ə</sup>l <sup>ə</sup>n}}/ to represent both RP and General American pronunciation in a single IPA transcription.
{| cellspacing="5" style="vertical-align:top;" style="margin-left:1.5em;"
|+ Adaptations of the Gimson system for American English
|- style="vertical-align:top;"
| style="width:4em;" | /{{IPA|ɒ}}/
| Pronounced [{{IPA|ɑ:}}] in General American.
|- style="vertical-align:top;"
| /{{IPA|e}}/
| In American English falls between [{{IPA|e}}] and [{{IPA|æ}}] (sometimes transcribed /{{IPA|ɛ}}/)
|- style="vertical-align:top;"
| /{{IPA|əu}}/
| This traditional transcription is probably more accurately replaced by /ou/ in American English.
|- style="vertical-align:top;"
| /{{IPA|r}}/
| Regular r is always pronounced
|- style="vertical-align:top;"
| /{{IPA|<sup>r</sup>}}/
| Superscript r is only pronounced in rhotic dialects, such as General American, or when followed by a vowel (for example adding a suffix to change ''dear'' into ''dearest'')
|- style="vertical-align:top;"
| /{{IPA|i}}/
| ''Medium i'' can be pronounced [{{IPA|ɪ}}] or [{{IPA|i:}}], depending on the dialect
|- style="vertical-align:top;"
| /{{IPA|ɔ:}}/
| Many Americans pronounce /{{IPA|ɔ}}:/ the same as /{{IPA|ɒ}}/ ([{{IPA|ɑ:}}])
|- style="vertical-align:top;"
| /{{IPA|<sup>ə</sup>l}}/
| [[Syllabic consonant|Syllabic]] l, sometimes transcribed /{{IPA|l}}/ or /{{IPA|əl}}/
|- style="vertical-align:top;"
| /{{IPA|<sup>ə</sup>n}}/
| Syllabic n, sometimes transcribed /{{IPA|n}}/ or /{{IPA|ən}}/
|}
[[Clive Upton]] updated the Gimson scheme, changing the symbols used for five vowels. He served as pronunciation consultant for the influential ''[[Concise Oxford English Dictionary]]'', which adopted this scheme in its ninth edition (1995). Upton's reform is controversial: it reflects changing pronunciation, but critics say it represents a narrower regional accent, and abandons parallelism with American and Australian English.
{| cellspacing="5" style="margin-left:1.5em;"
|+ Upton's reform
! style="text-align:left; width:33%;" | word
! style="text-align:left; width:33%;" | Gimson
! style="text-align:left;" | Upton
|-
| ''bet'' || {{IPA|bet}} || {{IPA|bɛt}}
|-
| ''bat'' || {{IPA|bæt}} || {{IPA|bat}}
|-
| ''nurse'' || {{IPA|nɜ:s}} || {{IPA|nə:s}}
|-
| ''square'' || {{IPA|skweə}} || {{IPA|skwɛ:}}
|-
| ''price'' || {{IPA|praɪs}} || {{IPA|prʌɪs}}
|}
The in-progress 3rd edition of the [[Oxford English Dictionary]] uses Upton's scheme for representing British pronunciations. For American pronunciations it uses an IPA-based scheme devised by Prof. William Kretzschmar of the [[University of Georgia]].
==See also==
* [[Wikipedia:Manual of Style (pronunciation)]]
* [[IPA chart for English]]
* [[International Phonetic Alphabet for English]]
* [[International Phonetic Alphabet]]
* [[General American#Phonology|General American phonology]]
* [[Pronunciation respelling key|A Wikipedia pronunciation respelling key]]
* [[English pronunciation of Greek letters]]
* [[Roman Phonetic Alphabet for English]]
==References==
{{Reflist}}
*{{Citation
|last=Emsley
|first=Bert
|title=Progress in Pronouncing Dictionaries
|journal=American Speech
|volume=15
|issue=1
|year=1940
|month=February
|pages=55–59
|doi=10.2307/452729
|id={{JSTOR stable URL|0003-1283(194002)15%3A1%3C55%3APIPD%3E2.0.CO%3B2-E}}
}}
* [[John C. Wells|Wells, John]] (2001). "[http://www.phon.ucl.ac.uk/home/wells/ipa-english-uni.htm IPA transcription systems for English]", at ''University College London Department of Phonetics and Linguistics'' site. Retrieved [[2006]]-[[08-16]].
* {{cite journal |url=http://www.yek.me.uk/ipadicts.html |title=IPA vowel symbols for British English in dictionaries |journal=Journal of the International Phonetic Association |volume=33 |issue=2 |date=December 2003 |first=Jack |last=Windsor Lewis |accessdate=2007-11-29}}
* Antimoon.com. "[http://www.antimoon.com/how/pronunc-trans.htm Introduction to phonetic transcription]", at ''Antimoon.com''. Retrieved [[2006]]-[[08-16]].
* Oxford English Dictionary. "[http://www.oed.com/about/oed3-preface/pronunciation.html Pronunciation]", from the Preface to the Third Edition. Retrieved [[2006]]-[[09-10]].
* Oxford English Dictionary. "[http://www.oed.com/help/pronunciation-2e.html Key for Second Edition Entries]", from the OED website. Retrieved [[2006]]-[[09-10]].
* Oxford English Dictionary. "[http://www.oed.com/help/pronunciation-3e.html Key to New Edition Entries]", from the OED website. Retrieved [[2006]]-[[09-10]].
==External links==
*[http://www.merriam-webster.com/help/pronguide_intro.htm Merriam-Webster Pronunciation Overview]
* [http://unicode.org/notes/tn29/UTN29-DictionarySymbols.pdf The use of Phonetic and other Symbols in Dictionaries: A brief survey]
*[http://www.thefreedictionary.com/_/pk.htm List of pronunciation key]
[[Category:Phonetic alphabets]]
[[Category:English phonology]]
[[Category:American English]]
[[tr:İngilizce yazım telaffuzu]]