Phonetic reference
The following is a table with all the phonetic symbols used in Antimoon PerfectPronunciation software. (Look at the ASCII column.) Below it, you will also find explanations of certain phonetic issues.
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Key
- The ASCII column gives the symbol in the Antimoon ASCII Phonetic Alphabet used in PerfectPronunciation.
- The IPA column gives the symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet (used in most English dictionaries).
The apostrophe (word stress)
When a word has many syllables, one of them is always pronounced more strongly. This is called word stress, and we say that the syllable is stressed. For example, in the word become, the stressed syllable is come. If the stressed syllable was be, become would be pronounced like this.
The transcriptions in PerfectPronunciation tell you which syllable is stressed by putting
an apostrophe
(')
before it.
For example, the transcription for
become
is [bi 'k^m].
If a word has only one syllable (for example: pen, house), the syllable is always stressed.
Therefore, we don’t need to write an apostrophe before it. So we don’t write
['pen] — we simply write [pen].
Optional r
The (r) symbol is not a sound —
it is a short way of saying that an r should be
pronounced only in American English. No r is heard in British English.
For example, if you write that the
pronunciation of bar is [ba:(r)],
you mean that it is [ba:r] in American English, and
[ba:] in British English.
However, in British English, r will be pronounced if
the (r) is immediately followed by a vowel. For example,
far gone
is pronounced ['fa: 'gon] in British English,
but far out
is pronounced ['fa: 'raut].
Medium i
The symbol i(:) means that you can pronounce
i: or i
or something in between — a sound that is short like i
but sounds like i:.
The medium i(:) is used in words like
very
['ve ri(:)],
create
['kri(:) 'eit],
previous
['pri: vi(:) ..s],
or ability
[.. 'bi li ti(:)].
Syllabic l and n
The symbols .l and
.n show that the consonant l
or n is pronounced as a separate syllable.
You can hear the syllabic l in words like
little
['li t.l] and
uncle
['^N k.l].
The syllabic n can be heard in
written
['ri t.n] and
listen
['li s.n].
Reduced i and u
In unstressed syllables, the vowels i and u
are often “reduced”. This means that they are often pronounced like an ..
sound. This change into .. makes the word easier to pronounce.
When i or u can be reduced into an
.., we use the symbols (i) and
(u).
The reduced i appears in words like
possible
['po s(i) b.l]
and private
['prai v(i)t]. The reduced u
is used e.g. in
education
[e dZ(u) 'kei S.n].
Flap t
In American English, a t is often pronounced as a “flap t”. The flap t
sounds more like d than like t.
Usually, it is used in the following cases (except in very careful speech):
| position | with flap t | with normal t |
|---|---|---|
| between a vowel and an unstressed vowel | letter, get in | letter, get in |
| between a vowel and a syllabic l | beetle | beetle |
| between n and an unstressed vowel | wanted | wanted |
The flap t is not used:
- at the beginning of a word: today
- at the end of a phrase: fit, Is it?
- before a stressed vowel: atone
- before the syllabic n: button
(More information about the flap t)
The recordings in PerfectPronunciation all contain the flap t where it is normally used by American speakers. Flap t was not used in words like wanted and center (in which the t follows an n), because flap t is not as frequent in those words as in the other types of words shown in the table above.
Whenever an exercise in PerfectPronunciation contains a word which is pronounced with a flap t in American English, there is a special note at the bottom of the page.
Silent (unreleased) t and p
In American English, when t is at the end of a phrase, for example in
set,
minute
and What is it?,
it is usually not pronounced fully.
Normally, when you pronounce t (not a flap t),
you stop the flow of air suddenly, and
then you release some air from behind your tongue.
With the silent (unreleased) t, you just stop the flow of air suddenly; there is
no release afterwards.
This happens most frequently when the t at the end of a phrase comes after a vowel. In such cases, PerfectPronunciation contains two recordings. The first recording has a normal t. The second recording contains the silent kind.
The silent t is sometimes used in words which end in -nt or -lt, for example want, moment, result. For such words, PerfectPronunciation does not give two recordings, but there is a note saying that the final t may be silent.
The unreleased t is occasionally heard in words ending in -st, -kt, or -pt, such as just, act, accept.
The consonant p is also sometimes unreleased at the end of a phrase, as in up and help. In PerfectPronunciation, this is indicated with a note.
Differences between American and British English
The vowel o is pronounced in very different ways in American English
and British English. Because this difference is not shown by the phonetic symbol,
there is a note next to all the words in PerfectPronunciation which have the o
sound. The note says that the recording has the American version of the o
sound and that the British version is different.
The same is true of the o: sound when it is not followed by
(r).