Phonetic system
Details on the phonetic system used by the Pronunciation API
Our Pronunciation API uses the English IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) format to represent the set of sounds (phonemes) that make up words.
Variations in English IPA systems
While the IPA system is a recognized international standard, it is a system with many possible interpretations and variations. This is why IPA pronunciations and notations may vary between institutions or dictionaries.
The Oxford English IPA system
Our API uses the Oxford English IPA system. You can learn more about the details of Oxford's IPA model here
Our API uses the Oxford IPA system for both the US and UK accents, variations in pronunciations for words between the accents is reflected in their IPA phoneme breakdown.
For example "apple" in US English IPA is /ˈæp(ə)l/ , and in US English IPA is /ˈapl/
Phoneme symbols
This is the list of phonemes used by our API
Consonants
| Symbol | Example |
|---|---|
| b | buy |
| ʧ | China |
| d | die |
| ð | thy |
| f | fight |
| g | guy |
| h | high |
| ʤ | jive |
| k | kite |
| l | lie |
| m | my |
| n | nigh |
| ŋ | sing |
| p | pie |
| r | rye |
| s | sigh |
| ʃ | shy |
| t | tie |
| θ | thigh |
| v | vie |
| w | wise |
| j | yacht |
| z | zoo |
| ʒ | pleasure |
Vowels
| Symbol | Example |
|---|---|
| ɛ | dress |
| ə | cup |
| ɪ | sit |
| i | cosy |
| ʊ | put |
| ɑ | father |
| ɔ | hawk |
| æ | trap (US) |
| u | goose |
| a | trap (UK) |
| ɒ | hot |
| ʌ | cup |
| ɑː | father |
| ɛː | square |
| əː | nurse |
| iː | fleece |
| ɔː | hawk |
| uː | goose |
Diphthongs
| Symbol | Example |
|---|---|
| aʊ | mouth |
| eɪ | face |
| ɔɪ | choice |
| aɪ | price (US) |
| oʊ | goat (US) |
| ʌɪ | price (UK) |
| əʊ | goat (UK) |
| ɪə | here |
| ʊə | cure |