English Grammar, Third edition (2011)
Reference Section
Pronunciation guide
R1 Here is a list of the phonetic symbols for English:
British English vowel sounds
heart, start, calm.
æ act, mass, lap.
aI dive, cry, mine.
aIə fire, tyre, buyer.
a out, down, loud.
aə flour, tower, sour.
e met, lend, pen.
eI say, main, weight.
eə fair, care, wear.
I fit, win, list.
i feed, me, beat.
Iə near, beard, clear.
ɒ lot, lost, spot.
ə note, phone, coat.
ɔ more, cord, claw.
ɔI boy, coin, joint.
could, stood, hood.
u you, use, choose.
ə sure, pure, cure.
turn, third, word.
but, fund, must.
ə (the weak vowel in) butter, about, forgotten.
American English vowel sounds
calm, drop, fall.
draw, saw.
æ act, mass, lap.
aI drive, cry, lie.
aiər fire, tire, buyer.
au out, down, loud.
auər flour, tower, sour.
e met, lend, pen.
ei say, main, weight.
eər fair, care, wear.
I fit, win, list.
i feed, me, beat.
Iər cheer, hear, clear.
ou note, phone, coat.
ɔ more, cord, sort.
ɔi boy, coin, joint.
could, stood, hood.
u you, use, choose.
jər sure, pure, cure.
r turn, third, word.
but, fund, must.
ə (the weak vowel in) about, account, cancel.
consonant sounds
b bed
d done
f fit
g good
h hat
j yellow
k king
l lip
m mat
n nine
p pay
r run
s soon
t talk
v van
w win
x loch
z zoo
ʃ ship
ʒ measure
ŋ sing
tʃ cheap
θ thin
ð then
dʒ joy
Here is a list of the vowel letters:
a e i o u
Here is a list of the consonant letters:
b c d f g h j k l m n p q r s t v w x y z
The consonant y, when it falls in the middle or at the end of a syllable, has the status of a vowel and has a range of pronunciations similar to i.