Phonemic Chart
Learn all of the vowel and consonant sounds in British English (received pronunciation) with this free, interactive phonemic chart.
Click on any sound or word to hear my pronunciation.
What is an IPA chart and how will it help my speech?
The IPA chart, also known as the international phonetic alphabet chart, was formulated by the international phonetic association in the 19th century. It was based on the Latin alphabet.
It is popular with linguists and contains symbols. These symbols represent sounds in spoken English, not other languages. The international phonetic alphabet chart is based on the received pronunciation accent, which is widely regarded as the standard accent in the UK and abroad. This is central to know when studying the language.
In total, the international phonetic alphabet chart has 44 sounds which are known as ‘phonemes’.
The ‘phonemes’ are written as symbols and each helps with perfecting speech. As English has a lot more pronunciation exceptions than other languages, it is central to know the chart as a spelling of a word does not always tell us how we hear it.
Take the word bought for example (which is the past of the verb buy). Its spelling makes the reader think it should sound like how it is written. In reality, it sounds more like this: bort.
This should make the English language easier.
Let’s take a look deeper below.
Monophthongs in the IPA chart
Take a look at the monophthongs section.
Of course, there are plenty more words that can be included in each of the sections. Take a look at this table.
i:
Me, see, need, be, leave.
ɜ:
Earn, learn, turn, yearn, churn.
I
Pit, sit, with, this, wink.
ɔ:
Oar, or, floor, bore, chore.
ʊ
Foot, cook, look, book, hook..
æ
Map, cat. bad, pack, sand.
u:
To, new, you, shoe, cool.
ʌ
Mud, bus, shut, but, up.
e
When, men, said, leg, hen, head.
ɑ:
Palm, calm, cart, smart, start.
ə
Letter, power, flower, tower, shower.
ɒ
Lot, cot, dot, pot, on.
Diphthongs in the IPA chart
Like monophthongs, take a look at the diphthongs section and the table below for more examples.
ɪə
Ear, cheer, year, deer, fear.
əʊ
Go, bow, sew, so, flow.
eɪ
Say, pray, day, way, stray.
eə
Air, chair, rare, bare, there.
ʊə
Tour, sure, cure.
aɪ
I, eye, pie, fight, fright.
ɔɪ
Oil, coin, boy, voice, boil.
aʊ
Owl, out, count, bow, cowl.
Take 5: listen to these sounds again. Then repeat them. Continue until you feel confident.
Have you revised these ipa symbols? If yes, let’s move onto the consonant section.
Consonants in the IPA chart
Consonants are the biggest section as they have 24 symbols. Remember, they are not divided into sections like vowels. Hear them below.
As with the vowel section, take a look below for more examples.
p
Pay, happy, pet.
ʧ
Choke, watch, catch.
b
Best, trouble, tub.
f
Fine, offer, off.
s
Miss, face, snake.
v
Vine, of, save.
t
Mat, tile, flat.
ʃ
Show, push, rush.
d/
Dip, sad, mad.
θ
Thin, both, method.
k
Cat, back, talk.
ð
With, then, other.
ʤ
Joke, June, large.
g
Game, bag, big.
n
Nail, fun, nine.
z
Crazy, lazy, phase.
h
He, heal, hill.
ŋ
Sing, fling, wing.
ʒ
Measured, treasure, pleasure.
m
Some, mail, mum.
r
Real, courage, umbrella.
l
Love, like, follow.
w
We show, wheel.
j
You, beyond, yacht.
Take 5: take time to listen and repeat the ipa symbols.
Once you have done that, see if you can think of any more examples to put into each section and write them in a document. This is important to improve your speech.
On your toes?
Idiom for being alert and engaged.
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