recursal/Fanatic-Fandom huggingface dataset:
Pronunciation exercises: \eə\ vs \e\

In Received Pronunciation *scary* and *cherry* have a different first vowel. This means that Mary /ˈmeəriː/ and merry /ˈmeriː/ are clearly distinguished.

In General American there is no phoneme /eə/, because the difference between [eə] and [e] is predictable: between vowels the sound is [e], as in *Mary* [ˈmeriː], in all other cases it's [eə] as in *square* [skweər]. This means that *Mary* and *merry* are homophones. In the United States and Canada approximately 34% of people distinguish between *Mary* and *merry*. See Mary-marry-merry merger.

## /eə/

* With "ar": apparently, area, hilarious, Mary, parent, scary, variable, variation, various, vary

* Ending in "aring": caring, comparing, daring, declaring, preparing, scaring, sharing, staring

* With "air": dairy, hairy, fairy

* Ending in "airing": pairing, repairing

* With "ear": unbearable

* Ending in "earing": bearing, swearing, tearing, wearing

* With "aer": aerobics - aeroplane*BrE*

## /e/

* With "er": American, austerity, ceremony, cherish, clerical, derelict, derivation, dexterity, experiment, herald, heresy, heritage, heroism, heron, hysterical, imperative, inherit, merit, numeric, peril, perilous, perish, posterity, prosperity, severity, sheriff, sincerity, sterile, therapy, verify, verification, very
* With "err": berry, cherry, errand, error, ferret, ferry, herring, interrogate, merry, sherry, terrible, terrorist
* Spelling anomaly: bury

## /eə/ vs /e/

fairy - ferry; Mary - merry; vary - very;

## See also

* Decoding exercises: "arV" and "arrV" for /eə/
* Decoding exercises: "erV" and "errV" for /e/
IPA phonetic symbol 〚ɲ〛

**IPA consonants**

The IPA phonetic symbol [ ɲ] represents a palatal nasal that does not occur in English, but is very similar to /nj/. In Spanish it is "ñ", in Portuguese it is "nh", and in French and Italian it is "gn".

Borrowings form other languages normally replace the [ ɲ] sound by /nj/.

## Loan words that originally had [ɲ]

* from French

champagne: /ʃæmˈpeɪn/
cognac: /ˈkɒnjæk/*BrE*, ˈkəʊnjæk*AmE*/
Cologne: /kəˈləʊn/
poignant /ˈpɔɪnjənt/
* from Italian

gnocchi: /ˈnjɒkɪ/
lasagne,*BrE* lasagna*AmE*: /ləˈzænjə/
* from Quechua (via Spanish)

vicuña: /vɪˈkuːnjə/
* from Spanish

canyon (Spanish *cañón):* /ˈkænjən/
El Niño current: /ˌel ˈniːnjəʊ/
jalapeño: /ˌhæləˈpeɪnjəʊ*BrE*, ˌhɑːləˈpeɪnjəʊ*AmE*/
piña colada: /ˌpiːnə kəˈlɑːdə, ˌpiːnjə kəʊˈlɑːdə/
piñata: /pɪnˈjɑːtə/
* from Tupi (via Portuguese)

piranha: /pɪˈrɑːnə*BrE*, pɪˈrɑːnjə*AmE*/
## References

1. ↑ John Wells's phonetic blog, ɲ, 31 May 2009.

## See also

* Decoding exercises: "ñ"
* Loanword
Pronunciation exercises: \əʊ\ vs \ɔː\

Together with the page possible pronunciation difficulties, this page sets out some common words that can be used to become more aware of how to improve the pronunciation of the vowel sounds **/əʊ/** and **/ɔː/**.

/ɔː/ is a monophthong and /əʊ/ is a diphthong. Both sounds are not very similar, but /əʊ/ in American English sounds [oʊ] and [o] is similar to [ɔː].

## /əʊ/

* with "oa": boat - coast - coat - foam - goal - toast
* with "ow": blow - bowl - flow - know - low - own - show - snow - throw
* with "o" and magic e: bone - choke - close - cone - gnome - hole - home - hope - phone - Rome - stone - tone - vote
* with "o": both - go - mobile - notable - only - open - over - program
* with "ol": cold - control - fold - gold - hold - old - poll - roll - sold - told
* with "os": ghost - host - most
* with "ou": although - shoulder - soul - though

homophones: hole - whole; loan - lone; poll - pole; roll - role; soul - sole;

## /ɔː/

Some common words containing **/ɔː/** include the following:

* with "oa": abroad - broad
* with "ough": ought - thought

past tense and past participle: bought - brought - fought - sought - thought
* with "a": water;
* with "al": almost - already - alter - always - chalk - false - salt (also /sɒlt/*BrE*) - talk - walk
* with "all": ball - call - fall - hall - mall - small - walk - wall
* with "aw": dawn - flaw - hawk - jaw - law - lawn - raw - saw - shawl - thaw - yawn
* with "au": auction - August - author - autumn - cause - clause - daughter - fault - launch

past tense and past participle: caught - taught
## /əʊ/ vs /ɔː/

* Minimal pairs: boat - bought; bold - bald; bowl - ball; coal - call; coat - caught; choke - chalk; close *(v.)* - clause; cold - called; flow - flaw; hole - hall; Joe - jaw; low - law; poll - Paul; row - raw; sew - saw; woke - walk;

* These words don't rhyme: road - broad

### Received Pronunciation

Since /r/ before a consonant is silent in Received Pronunciation, the following minimal pairs exist:

* bone - born; poke - pork;

### General American

In some cases /ɒ/*BrE* is /ɔː/.*AmE*

* coast - cost; own - on; won't - want;

## Spanish L1

See Pronunciation exercises: /əʊ/ vs /ɒ/ § Spanish L1.

## See also

* Homophones
* Pronunciation exercises: /əʊ/ vs /ɒ/
* Silent e
Decoding exercises: "ise"

The sequence **"ise"** can be pronounced in several ways, normally /aɪz/.

## As /ɪs/

* anise - practise*BrE* *(v.)* - premise - promise

## As /aɪz/

* Ending in "ise": advertise - advise - arise - chastise - comprise - compromise - demise - despise - devise - disguise - enterprise - excise - exercise - franchise - improvise - incise - otherwise - revise - rise - supervise - surprise - wise

### With alternate spelling "ize"

Many words that use the suffix -ise or that in Latin ended in "izare" in British English can end either in "ise" or in "ize". Those verbs in American English can end only in "ize".

* apologise*BrE* - apologize; characterise*BrE* - characterize; criticise*BrE* - criticize; emphasise*BrE* - emphasize; familiarise*BrE* - familiarize; generalize*BrE* - generalize; materialise*BrE* - materialize; realise*BrE* - realize; recognise*BrE* - recognize; specialise*BrE* - specialize; summarise*BrE* - summarize;

## Variant pronunciations

* As /aɪs/ or /aɪz/: merchandise *(n.)*
* As /ɪs/ or /ɪz/: treatise
* As /ɪs/ or /aɪz/: advertisement /ədˈvɜːrtɪsmənt,*BrE* ˌædvərˈtaɪzmənt*AmE*/

## Different syllables

* /aɪˈse/ bisexual
* /aɪ.siː/ crises *(plural of* crisis)
* /aɪ.zə/: miser
* /i:ˈse, əˈse/ antiseptic
* /ɪs.ɪ/: disembark
* /ɪz.ə/: arisen - chisel - commiserate - miserable - misery - risen
* /ɪˈziː/: disease

## See also

* Decoding and spelling exercises: /ɪ/ vs /aɪ/
* Pronunciation and decoding exercises: /s/ vs /z/
Merriam-Webster's Learner's Dictionary

**Merriam-Webster's Learner's Dictionary** https://www.learnersdictionary.com/ is a monolingual learner's dictionary with IPA pronunciations for American English. Currently that address redirects to https://www.britannica.com/dictionary and its name is **The Britannica Dictionary**.

## IPA pronunciation key

The pronunciation of Merriam-Webster's/Britannica is in a narrow notation, even if it is between slashes // (normally broad notation uses slahes and narrow notation uses square brackets [ ]).

The table below is a complement to Guide to IPA Symbols. Some combinations not shown in the guide are /aj/, /aw/, /ij/, /oj/, /ow/, and /uw/.

(\*) Merriam-Webster's/Britannica uses the same symbol /ɚ/ for stressed /ɜːr/ and for unstressed /ər/.

### Symbols not used in the dictionary

The following table shows symbols present in the Guide to IPA Symbols but not in the dictionary entries.

### Rhotic vowels

MWLD shows rhotic vowels differently according to the syllable they are in.
Spelling exercises: "er" vs "re"

Some words that are pronounced /ər/ are spelled with "re" in British English and with "er" in American English. Other words are spelled with "er" under both conventions.

## /ər/

* The following words are always spelled with "re" in British English and with "er" in American English.

centre, fibre, litre, metre *(unit of length)*, sepulchre, spectre *(ghost)*, theatre
* Always "re"

acre, hors d'ouvre, mediocre, ogre, Spectre *(James Bond film)*
* Always "er"

after, alter, brother, consider, daughter, differ, ever, father, meter *(device)*, never, number, offer, order, other, over, soccer, under, voter, water
September, October, November, December
Decoding exercises: "th"

The digraph "th" very reliably is pronounced either /θ/ or /ð/. See Pronunciation exercises: /θ/ vs /ð/.

This page shows the exceptions.

**IPA consonants**

## Silent "th"

* asthma /ˈæsmə,*BrE* ˈæzmə*AmE*/
* clothes /kləʊz, kləʊðz/

## Silent "h"

* "th" as /t/: Anthony*BrE* - Esther - Neanderthal /niˈændərtɑːl/ - Thailand /ˈtaɪlænd/ - Thames /temz/ - Theresa - Thomas - Thompson - thyme
* posthumous /ˈpɒstjʊməs,*BrE* ˈpɒstʃəməs*AmE*/

## /t.h/

/t/ and /h/ are sound separately in compound words

* anthill - lighthouse - masthead

## References

1. ↑ Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionaries, clothes.
Decoding exercises: "ao"

The letter combination **"ao"** has several different pronunciations; however the only common word is *extraordinary*. This article sets out some words teachers can use to help their students become more aware of the differences.

* /ɔː/: extraordinary
* /aʊ/: Bilbao - cacao - ciao /tʃaʊ/ - Maoism /ˈmaʊɪzəm/ - Maori /ˈmaʊriː/ - Sao Paulo /ˌsaʊ ˈpaʊləʊ/ - Taoism
* /aɪ/: gaol,*BrE* *now replaced by* jail
* /əʊ/: faraoh

## Two different syllables

* /eɪɒ/: chaos - chaotic - pharaonic
* /eɪɔː/: aorta
* /eɪəʊ/: baobab - Naomi /neɪˈoʊmiː, neɪˈoʊmaɪ, ˈneɪoʊˌmaɪ, ˈneɪoʊˌmiː/
* /iːəʊ/: karaoke /ˌkæriːˈəʊkiː/
IPA phonetic symbol 〚ɛ〛

The IPA phonetic symbol [ɛ] represents an open-mid front unrounded vowel, like the most common pronunciation of the English phoneme /e/ (as in *dress).* It is also the "ê" sound in French, as in *bête* (animal) or the "e" sound in German *Bett* (bed).

The English phonemes /e/ and /eə/ use "e" instead of "ɛ" only for simplicity, and several dictionaries prefer "ɛ" over "e". In any case there is no confusion with /eɪ/: if a broad notation has the symbol /e/ followed by anything different of /ɪ/, then [ɛ] should be understood. In this way, /feɪs/ is [feɪs], /dres/ is [drɛs] and /skweər/ is [skwɛər].

See also IPA phonetic symbol [e].

## Unicode and HTML

Unicode: U+025B Latin small letter open E

HTML: &#x25b; &#603;

Can be confused with U+03B5 Greek small letter epsilon: &#x3b5; ε

## References

1. ↑ Collins English Dictionary, square
2. ↑ John Kenyon and Thomas Knott, *A Pronouncing Dictionary of American English*, 1949.
3. ↑ English Speech Services, The British English vowel system, March 8, 2012.
4. ↑ Wikipedia, Australian English phonology, accessed on 8 july 2014, permanent link
Decoding exercises: "ar"

The letter combination **"ar"** has several different pronunciations, mainly /ɑːr/ and /eər/. This article sets out some words teachers can use to help their students become more aware of the differences.

## Monosyllables

* /ɑːr/: arm - art - bar - car - card - charge - dark - far - farm - guard - hard - large - mark - park - part - sharp - star - start - yard

Misleading silent e: are
* Magic e /eər/: care - rare - scare - share - square - stare
* /ɔːr/: quart - war - warm - warn

## At the beginning or in the middle of the word

* /ɑːr/: Argentina, argue, argument, Arkansas, army, article, artist, department, market, participant, party
* /eər/: aquarium, area, Bulgaria, canary, careful, hilarious, invariable, malaria, parent, scarce, scary, variable, various, vary

ending in "arian": authoritarian, Bulgarian, humanitarian, Hungarian, librarian, vegetarian
* /ær/: apparel, apparent, Arizona, asparagus, characteristic, paragraph, transparent
* /ər/: arise, around, barista, cigarette, Hungary, parenthesis, separate, particular, variety

## At the end of the word

* Magic e /eər/: aware - compare - declare - hardware - prepare - software
* /ɑːr/: avatar - cigar - guitar
* /ər/: burglar - calendar - caterpillar - cellular - circular - dollar - grammar - Madagascar - particular - popular - rectangular - regular - similar - solar - sugar

### Followed by consonants

* /ɑːr/: apart - Denmark - regard - standard
* /ɔːr/: award - reward
* /ər/: awkward - Edward - forward - leopard - lizard - Richard - Spaniard - standard

## Variant pronunciations

* /ər/*BrE* /er/:*AmE* library, necessary, primary, temporary
* /r/*BrE* (silent "a"), /er/:*AmE* military, secretary
* /eər/*BrE* *AmE* /ær/*AmE*: parent
* towards /təˈwɔːrdz,*BrE* tɔːrdz*AmE*/

### Mary-marry-merry merger

In North America 74% of speakers merge "Mary" and "marry" (see Mary-marry-merry merger). This means that all words marked /eər/ or /ær/ are pronounced alike (either [eər] or [er]).

This particular merger is sometimes called the "hairy-Harry merger".

## See also

* Decoding written words
* Decoding the letter A
* Decoding the letter R
* Decoding exercises: "arV" and "arrV"
TH-fronting

**TH-fronting** refers to the pronunciation of "th" as /f/ or /v/. **/θ/** becomes /f/ (so *think* sounds like *fink*) and **/ð/** becomes /v/ (so *mother* sounds /'mʌvər/). It is a characteristic feature of London speech, particularly cockney, i.e. what could be considered working-class speech, but also extends into much of South East England and, due to the influence of TV, as far afield as Glasgow.

The term *fronting* does not refer to the beginning (front) of the word, but to the front of the mouth. Fronting a /θ/ means that the teeth will be much forward (to the front) than normal. Examples of fronting at the end of words are when *bath* rhymes with *laugh* and when *lithe* rhymes with *hive*.

## Minimal pairs

### /θ/ - /f/

death - deaf; thirst - first; thought - fought; three - free;

### /ð/ - /v/

further - fervour; leather - lever; loathes - loaves;

## References

1. ↑ Stuart-Smith, Jane "Investigating the role of TV in accent change - TH-fronting in Glaswegian"

## See also

* Pronunciation exercises: /d/ vs /ð/
* Pronunciation exercises: /θ/ vs /ð/

## External links

* Hackney (Contemporary Dialect) British Library
Decoding the letter B

The letter **B**, lowercase **b** (pronounced /biː/) very reliably represents IPA phoneme /b/. For examples see IPA phoneme /b/.

Exceptionally "b" can be silent.

* bomb - climb /klaɪm/ - comb /kəʊm/ - crumb - debt - debtor - doubt - dumb - lamb - limb - numb - plumber - subpoena /səˈpiːnə/ - subtle - thumb - tomb /tuːm/ - womb /wuːm/

Homophones
In General American: bomb - balm
Heteronyms
number: /ˈnʌmbər/ (quantity) /ˈnʌmər/ (more numb)
Decoding exercises: "orV" and "orrV"

**IPA consonants**

The letter O in the sequences "orV" and "orrV" where V is any vowel, normally sounds /ɒ/ in Received Pronunciation (as in **o**range) but in some cases it sounds /ɔː/ (as in st**o**ry) or /ə/ when unstressed (as in categ**o**ry). It also can be silent as in hist**o**ry.

In General American /ɒr/*BrE* sounds /ɑːr/ in only 5 words and it sounds /ɔːr/ in the rest.

In regional Atlantic American English /ɒr/*BrE* sounds /ɑːr/, as in *orange* pronounced /ˈɑːrɪndʒ/.

## Common words

* As /ɒ/,*BrE* /ɔː/*AmE*: correspond - foreign - forest - historical - majority - moral - orange - origin - priority
* As /ɒ/,*BrE* /ɑː/*AmE*: borrow - sorry - tomorrow
* As /ɔː/: boring - explorer - moreover - story
* As /ə/: contemporary /kənˈtemprəriː,*BrE* kənˈtemp**ər**əriː/ - corp**or**ate - corp**or**ation - correct - exploration - factory - /ˈfækt**ər**iː, fæktriː/ - history /ˈhɪst**ər**iː, ˈhɪstriː/ - ignorant - memory - original - temporary /ˈtemp**ər**əriː, ˈtemprəriː/- terrorist - theory - victory
* As /ʌ/ or /ɜː/: thorough /ˈθʌrə,*BrE* ˈθɜːroʊ*AmE*/ - worry /ˈwʌriː,*BrE* ˈwɜːriː*AmE*/

## Less common words

* As /ɒ/,*BrE* /ɔː/*AmE*: categorical - coral - historic - horrible - horror - lab**or**atory /ləˈb**ɒr**ətriː,*BrE* ˈlæbrətɔːriː*AmE*/ - minority - seniority
* As /ɒ/,*BrE* /ɑː/*AmE*: morrow (shortening of "tomorrow") - sorrow
* As /ɔː/: chlorine - choral - glory - historian - laborat**or**y /ləˈbɒrətriː,*BrE* ˈlæbrət**ɔː**ri*AmE*/ - memorial - notorious - storage
* As /ə/*BrE* or /ɔː/*AmE*: category - mandatory - territory /ˈterɪtəriː,*BrE* ˈterɪtriː,*BrE* ˈterətɔːriː*AmE*/
* As /ə/: compulsory - forever - herbivorous

## Proper nouns

* As /ɒ/,*BrE* /ɔː/*AmE*: Boris, Dorothy, Florence, Forida, Oregon
* As /ɔː/: Dora
* As /ə/: Colorado, Deborah /ˈdebərə, ˈdebrə/, Korea, Morocco

## Spelling rule

The sequence "orr" is pronounced /ɔː/ in Received Pronunciation only in verbs ending in "or". There is only one such a verb that appears in normal dictionaries:

* from abhor: abhorred, abhorring

Note that "abhorrent" /əbˈhɒrənt/ is an adjective, not a verb.

## Table "or" and "orr"

 /ɔːr/ | adorable, auditorium, boring, chlorine, choral, chorus, Dora, deplorable, Ecuadorian, editorial, euphoria, explorer, forum, glory, historian, laborat**or**y,*AmE* laborious, memorial, moreover, moron, notorious, oral, oriental, porous, sanatorium, storage, story

## These words don't rhyme

* sorry - worry
* They are homophonous in General American but not in Received Pronunciation: coral - choral

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Wikipedia, English-language vowel changes before historic /r/ § Mergers of /ɒr-/ and /ɔːr-/. Retreived 13 December 2016.

## See also

* Decoding the letter O
* Decoding the letter R
* Decoding exercises: "or"
* Decoding exercises: "orr"
* IPA phoneme /ɔː/
* Phoneme /ɔː/ in General American
* Phoneme /ɒ/ in Received Pronunciation
* Pronunciation exercises: /ɒrV/ vs /ɔːrV/
* FORCE lexical set
Decoding exercises: "tion"

Together with the article on possible pronunciation difficulties, this page sets out some words that can be used to become more aware of how you can sound out more correctly the different sounds corresponding to words ending in "tion", basically /ʃən/ and /tʃən/.

These words follow very few easy patterns with almost no exceptions.

## /ʃən/

* action, addition, condition, education, function, information, nation, option, position, section, situation

## /tʃən/

* ending in "stion": question, suggestion

## /ʃən/ or /tʃən/

* ending in "ntion": attention, intention, mention

## References

1. ↑ Most dictionaries use /ʃən/. For /tʃən/ see Merriam Webster Spanish Central, attention

## See also

* IPA phoneme /ʃ/
* IPA phoneme /tʃ/
* Decoding exercises: "sion"
When two vowels go walking, the first one does the talking/table

## Normal case

Here we consider phonograms that either are at the end of the word, or are followed by a consonant different from 'r'.

Summary of useful phonograms
This table includes "w" and "y" as the second element of a phonogram

## Before r

Before r the vowels never actually say their name (except in the case of /aɪə/); however there are useful phonograms
American spelling vs. British spelling

American spelling has some simplifications compared with British spelling.

The differences in spelling have no relation to the differences in pronunciation. For example, in a British newspaper an American pronouncing /ˈɑːnər/*AmE* will be spelled "honour".*BrE* Conversely, in an American newspaper a Briton pronouncing /ˈɒnə/*BrE* will be spelled "honor".*AmE* For words that are both pronounced differently and spelled differently (such as "aluminum" and "aluminium") see American vocabulary vs. British vocabulary § Variant words.

### General

#### Double L

* Some double L's are simplified in American English if the stem doesn't have a double L.

From cancel: cancelling, cancelled, cancellation*BrE* - canceling, canceled, cancelation*AmE*
From counsel: counselling, counselled, counsellor*BrE* - counseling, counseled, counselor*AmE*
From travel: travelling, travelled, traveller*BrE* - traveling, traveled, traveller*AmE*
* If the verb ends in two vowels and then L, this rule does not apply.

From reveal: revealing, revealed
* If the verb ends in a stressed syllable two L's are used both in British and American spelling. See Past tense spelling.

From annul: annulling, annulled
* If the suffix begins with a consonant only one L is used both in British and American spelling.

From annul: annulment
* Some verbs have a double L in American spelling and a single L in British spelling. Due to the double L rule, some derivatives are spelled identically.

From enrol*BrE*/enroll:*AmE* enrolling, enrolled, enrolment*BrE* - enrolling, enrolled, enrollment*AmE*
From fulfil*BrE*/fulfill:*AmE* fulfilling, fulfilled, fulfilment*BrE* - fulfilling, fulfilled, fulfillment*AmE*
* The verb "install":

install,*BrE* instal*BrE* - install*AmE*
installing, installed, installation: identical
instalment*BrE*, installment*AmE*
#### Graeco-Latin words

Graeco-Latin words spelled with **ae** or **oe** have different forms *(encyclopedia**AmE* ↔ *encyclopedia* or *encyclopaedia* or *encyclopædia)**BrE*. There are no hard and fast rules, so if in doubt, check in a dictionary. In the past the ligatures **æ** and **œ** were often used, but now they are almost never used. In uppercase the ligatures are Æ and Œ.

 gynecologist | gynaecologist

See also
* Decoding exercises: "ae"
* Decoding exercises: "oe"

Other

See also
* Spelling exercises: "er" vs "re"
* Spelling exercises: "or" vs "our"
* Decoding exercises: "ise"

## See also

* American pronunciation vs. British pronunciation
* American vocabulary vs. British vocabulary

* General American
* Received Pronunciation
SAMPA

**SAMPA (Speech Assessment Methods Phonetic Alphabet)** is a computer-readable phonetic script using ASCII characters, based on the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA). These characters are found in almost every keyboard in the world.

Originally SAMPA was used when no IPA characters were available for computers. For example IPA transcription systems for English uses SAMPA, even though currently IPA symbols can be typed on webpages. Currently SAMPA may be used in chats or forums, when typing IPA characters would be too lengthy.

All IPA symbols that coincide with lower-case letters of the Latin alphabet remain the same. The rest are shown here (only for English).

## References

1. ↑ Computer-coding the IPA: a proposed extension of SAMPA - Consonants (pulmonic)

## External links

* SAMPA - computer readable phonetic alphabet
So-called “long oo”

The so-called **“long oo” sound** is an informal term that means **the long sound of the digraph oo** which is **IPA phoneme /uː/**.

* Examples: goose, school, zoo

The term “long oo” is not recommended because it's confusing to say "*soup* is pronounced with a long *oo* sound". If this sentence had to be spoken it would be better to say "*soup* is pronounced with the GOOSE vowel". Alternatively it could be said "*soup'* is pronounced like the long sound of the digraph oo".

Another reason why the terms “long oo” and “short oo” are not recommended is because the opposition between /uː/ and /ʊ/ (“short oo”) is not only a difference in length, but also a difference in quality.

## Examples

* boot, choose, cool, food, fool, loop, loose, moon, noon, pool, school, soon, tool, tooth, zoom

## See also

* So-called “short oo”
* Decoding exercises: "oo"

## External links

Spellzone, Spelling list: The long /oo/ sound
IPA phonetic symbol 〚ɹ̩〛

**IPA consonants**

The IPA phonetic symbol [ɹ̩] (lowercase upside-down "r" with a small vertical line below) represents syllabic /r/, a syllable with no vowel, as in "nurse" [nɹ̩s] or "letter" [ˈlɛtɹ̩]. In a broad notation [ɹ̩] is /ɜːr/ when stressed or /ər/ when unstressed. Most dictionaries prefer this notation: /nɜːrs, ˈletər/.

## Unicode and HTML

Unicode:

U+0279 Latin small letter turned r
U+0329 Combining vertical line below
HTML:

Hexadecimal: &#x279;&#x329;
Decimal: &#633;&#809;
## See also

* IPA phoneme /ɜː/
* IPA phoneme /ə/
* IPA phonetic sequence /ər/
* IPA phonetic symbol [l̩]
* IPA phonetic symbol [m̩]
* IPA phonetic symbol [n̩]
* Varisyllabic words

## References

1. ↑ Tomasz P. Szynalski, Things you should know about phonetic transcription.
IPA phonetic symbol 〚ɹ〛

The IPA phonetic symbol [ɹ] represents an alveolar approximant, like the most common pronunciation of the English phoneme /r/ (as in *red).*

The symbol /r/ is used instead of /ɹ/ because it is more familiar. However when using a narrow notation it must be noted that [r] is the initial sound of *Roma* pronounced in Italian or Spanish.

## Unicode and HTML

Unicode: U+0279 Latin small letter turned r

HTML: &#633; &#x279; &#x0279;
Pronunciation exercises: \b\ vs \p\

/b/ is a bilabial voiced phoneme. /p/ is a bilabial unvoiced phoneme.

## Minimal pairs

Initial position

* back - pack; ball - Paul; ban - pan; bath - path; bay - pay; beach - peach; bear - pair, pear; beer - peer; bet - pet; big - pig; bill - pill; bound - pound; bowl - pole; bride - pride; bull - pull; bush - push; buy, by - pie;

Middle of the word

* symbol - simple;

End of the word

* cab - cap
Decoding the letter T

**IPA consonants**

The letter **T**, lowercase **t** (pronounced /tiː/) normally represents IPA phoneme /t/. For examples see IPA phoneme /t/.

## Silent T

* Exceptionally "t" can be silent.

* castle, Christmas, fasten, listen, mus**t**n't, mortgage, often, whistle

* In many words of French origin final "t" is silent

* ballet - buffet - cabaret - gourmet - valet
* fillet, filet*AmE* /ˈfɪlɪt,*BrE* fɪˈleɪ*AmE*/ - Chick-fil-A /ˌtʃɪk fɪˈleɪ/

* "tth" as /θ/: Matthew (the spelling "Mathew" also exists)

* Variant pronunciations

* postpone /pəʊstˈpəʊn, pəʊsˈpəʊn, pəsˈpəʊn*BrE*/

## T in combinations

* "tch" as /tʃ/: catch, kitchen, match, pitch, stretch, switch, watch
* "te" as /tʃ/: righteous /ˈraɪtʃəs/
* "th": see Decoding exercises: "th"
* "ti" followed by a vowel

* in many cases it sounds /ʃ/

* as "tio": action - condition - definition - depression - education - function - generation - information - location - mention - nation - option - question - rational - station - tradition - variation
* as "tia": essential - initial - initiative - partial - potential - substantial
* as "tie": patience - patient - quotient

* "ti" as /tʃ/: Christian - combustion - congestion - digestion - question - suggestion
* "ti" as /ʒ/: equation
* of course there is "ti" as /tɪ/ or /tiː/: activities - cities - parties - tiara

* "tie" as /tɪə/: frontier

* "tu"

* "tu" as /tʃuː/: actual - situation
* "tu" as /tʃə/: century - cultural - eventually - natural
* "tu" as /dʒuː/ or /dʒə/: congratulate /kənˈgrætʃəˌleɪt/ *or sometimes* /kənˈgrædʒəˌleɪt/*AmE*
* "tu" as /tjuː/ or /tuː/*AmE* *(exception to the exception):* constitution - costume - gratitude - gratuitous - institution - intuition - magnitude - multitude - Neptune - obtuse
* "ture"

* as /tʃər/: adventure - capture - culture - feature - future - nature - furniture - future - literature - manufacture - picture - structure - temperature
* as /tʃʊər/: mature

* "tz" as /ts/

pretzel, Pulitzer, quartz, Switzerland, waltz /wɔːls, wɔːlts/
Received Pronunciation

**Received Pronunciation** is the standard accent of English as spoken in the south of England by upper-class speakers. This accent can be heard all over the United Kingdom and is used in most dictionaries for the British pronunciation.

## Vowels

The vowel phonemes of Received Pronunciation

(\*) Words ending in unstressed /iː/ or /ɪ/ can sound either [iː] or [ɪ]. In MerryHarry we use /iː/ because this sound is more common.

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Jack Windsor Lewis, IPA vowel symbols for British English in dictionaries, Journal of the International Phonetic Association, Volume 33 Number 2, December 2003
2. ↑ Pétur Knútsson, ENS101G Phonetics I, Autumn 2008, English Centring Diphthongs - newer pronunciations
3. ↑ Pétur Knútsson, ENS101G Phonetics I, Autumn 2008, English Diphthongs

## See also

* General American
* International Phonetic Alphabet
So-called “short oo”

The so-called **“short oo” sound** is an informal term that means **the short sound of the digraph oo** which is **IPA phoneme /ʊ/**.

* Examples: *foot*, *good*, *wood*

The term “short oo” is not recommended because it's confusing to say "*full* is pronounced with short *oo*". If this sentence had to be spoken it would be better to say "*full* is pronounced with the FOOT vowel". Alternatively it could be said "*full'* is pronounced like the short sound of the digraph oo".

Another reason why the terms “long oo” and “short oo” are not recommended is because the opposition between /ʊ/ and /uː/ (“long oo”) is not only a difference in length, but also a difference in quality.

## Examples

* book, cook, foot, good, took, wood, wool

## See also

* So-called “long oo”
* Decoding exercises: "oo"

## External links

Spellzone, Spelling list: The short /oo/ sound
Decoding exercises: "ue"

The sequence "ue" normally sounds /(j)uː/ or it may be part of two syllables (as in "influence"). This page sets out some words that can be used to become more aware of how you can sound out more correctly the different sounds corresponding to words containing "ue".

## "ue" at the end of the word

* as /uː/: blue, clue, glue, issue, tissue, true
* as /(j)uː/: due, pursue, revenue
* as /juː/: argue, barbecue, continue, cue, hue, rescue, value
* silent "ue": catalogue, colleague, dialogue, fatigue, league, meringue, tongue

## "ue" in the middle of the word

* silent "u":

* /e/: guess, guest
* /ə/: guerrilla

* as /jʊə/: puerile
* as /(j)uː/: Tuesday
* as /weɪ/: Venezuela
* as /weə/: Puerto Rico
* as /uːə/: cruel, influence
* as /juːə/: fuel

## "que"

* as /kwe/: request, question
* as /kwə/: consequent, frequent, sequence
* as /kə/: conquer
* as /kə/ or /ke/: etiquette
* silent "ue": cheque,*BrE* Mozambique, technique, unique
* queue: /kjuː/

## See also

* Decoding the letter U
* Decoding the letter E
Decoding exercises: "eo"

The letter combination **"eo"** has several different pronunciations. This article sets out some words that can be used to become more aware of the differences.

## "eo" as one syllable

* /iː/: people
* /ɔː/ George - Georgia
* /e/: Geoffrey - jeopardy - Leonard - leopard
* /ə/: dungeon - luncheon - surgeon
* "eou" as /ə/: advantageous - courageous - gorgeous - outrageous - righteous

## "eo" in two different syllables

* /iːəʊ/: deodorant - Leo - Romeo - stereo - video
* /iːɒ/: neon

disciplines: archeology - choreography - geography - geology - geometry - theology
* /iːə/: Leonardo - leotard
* "eou" as /iːə/: courteous - erroneous - hideous - homogeneous - instantaneous - miscellaneous - simultaneous - spontaneous

Two words written together
* moreover - someone

## Variant pronunciations

* chameleon /kəˈmiːliːən, kəˈmiːljən/
* meteor /ˈmiːtiːər, ˈmiːtiːˌɔːr/
* nauseous /ˈnɔːziːəs, ˈnɔːsiːəs,*BrE* ˈnɔːʃəs*AmE*/
* /ɪə,*BrE* iːə*AmE*/: theorem - theoretical - theory
* /ɪ, ə/: pigeon

## Respellings

* Def Leppard
* "Lenny" is a nickname for "Leonard"
American vocabulary vs. British vocabulary

Svartvik and Leech suggested that some 4000 words differ in British English and General American.

## Variant words

This table shows similar words with different spelling and pronunciation. Related words that have a shared spelling are shown in green.

## References

1. ↑ Svartvik, Jan and Leech, Geoffrey. 2006. *English. One tongue, many voices*. Palgrave Macmillan

## See also

* American pronunciation vs. British pronunciation
* American spelling vs. British spelling

## External links

* Oxford Dictionaries, "British and American terms"
* Lynne Murphy (Lynneguist), Separated by a common language
Decoding and spelling exercises: "o" adjacent to "m", "n", "v" or "w"

The letter O has three main pronunciations when it is adjacent to M, N, V or W, as in *over,* as in *poverty* and as in *cover*.

## As /ɒ/

**IPA consonants**

*See main article IPA phoneme /ɒ/.*

* O adjacent to **"m"**: bomb, comedy, compact *(adj., n.),* ec**o**nomy, model, modern, promise, prompt
* O adjacent to **"m"** and **"n"**: econ**o**mic
* O adjacent to **"m"** and **"v"**: vomit
* O adjacent to **"m"** and **"w"**: wombat
* O adjacent to **"n"**: beyond, bond, contact, contract *(n.),* on, response, technology, upon
* O adjacent to **"n"** and **"v"**: novel
* O adjacent to **"n"** and **"w"**: wonton
* O adjacent to **"v"**: involve, poverty, volcano, volume, volunteer

As /ɒ/*BrE* or /ɔː/*AmE*

* along, gone, long

## As /ʌ/

*See main article IPA phoneme /ʌ/.*

* O adjacent to **"m"**: accomplish*BrE* - Col**o**mbia - come - comfort - comfortable /ˈkʌmftəbəl, ˈkʌmfərtəbəl/ - company - compass - mother - some - stomach
* O adjacent to **"m"** and **"n"**: among - Monday - money - mongrel - monk - monkey - month
* O adjacent to **"n"**: another - confr**o**ntation - done - front - honey - L**o**ndon - none - nothing - one /wʌn/ - once /wʌns/ - onion /ˈʌnjən/ - son - sponge - ton - tongue - tonne
* O adjacent to **"n"** and **"w"**: won - wonder - wonderful
* O adjacent to **"v"**: above - Coventry /ˈkʌvəntriː, ˈkɒvəntriː/ - cover - discover - dove *(bird)* - glove - government - love - lover - oven - shovel - slovenly

## As /əʊ/

*See main article IPA phoneme /əʊ/.*

* O adjacent to **"m"**: emotion, mobile, moment, most, motivate, prom**o**te, prom**o**tion, smoke
* O adjacent to **"n"**: alone, bone, don't, no, noble, notable, notion, phone, stone, won't, zone
* O adjacent to **"v"**: dove *(past tense of dive),* vote
* O adjacent to **"w"**: awoke, wove, woven

## "Cor"

In this section we will see words spelled with "Cor", where C is "m", "n", "v" or "w".

### As /ɔː/

* O adjacent to **"m"**: more, morning
* O adjacent to **"n"**: ignore, normal, north
* O adjacent to **"v"**: divorce
* O adjacent to **"w"**: swore, sworn, wore, worn

### As /ɜː/

* word, work, worm, worse, worship, worst, worth

## Variant pronunciations

* accomplish: /əˈkʌmplɪʃ*BrE*, əˈkɒmplɪʃ*AmE*/
* Coventry /ˈkʌvəntriː, ˈkɒvəntriː/
* from /frəm, frɒm, frʌm*AmE*/
* hover: /ˈhɒvər,*BrE* ˈhʌvər*AmE*/
* monetary: /ˈmɒnɪteriː,*AmE* ˈmʌnɪtriː*BrE*/

## See also

* Decoding the letter O
* Decoding exercises: "ov"
* Pronunciation exercises: /ʌ/ vs /ɒ/
So-called “long i”

The so-called **“long i” sound** is an informal term that means **the long sound of the letter i** which is **IPA phoneme \aɪ\**.

Examples: night, kind, sign

When studying magic e two different sequences of sounds are called “long i”:

* As in *five*, *kite*, or *price:* IPA phoneme \aɪ\
* As in *fire* or *wire:* Triphthong /aɪə/ or two phonemes /aɪ.ə/

For /aɪə/ instead of *“long i* sound” it's better to say *“long i* spelling”.

In the case of *i* as /aɪ/ it is said that the letter “says its name”. In the case of *five* or *kite* it is said that the magic *e* “makes the letter say its name”

The term “long i” should only be used when the spelling is actually “i”. It's confusing to say "*fly* is pronounced with long *i*". If this sentence had to be spoken it would be better to say "*fly* is pronounced with the PRICE vowel". Alternatively it could be said "*fly* is pronounced with the long sound of the letter i".

The term “long i” is not recommended because /aɪ/ and /aɪə/ are not identical; and because the opposition between /aɪ/ (or /aɪə/) and /ɪ/ (“short i”) is not only a difference in length, but mainly a difference in quality.

## “Long i” in combinations

When a combination of *i* and another letter has the sound /aɪ/ it is said that it has the “long *i*” sound.

* "ie": die, pie

## See also

* Decoding the letter I
* Decoding and spelling exercises: /ɪ/ vs /aɪ/
* So-called “short” and “long” vowels
Decoding exercises: "ua"

The letter combination "ua" has several different pronunciations. Normally "u" is /w/, /uː/ or /juː/.

## Silent "u"

* "uar" as /ær/: guarantee
* "uar" as /ɑːr/: guard

## Two different syllables

* as /uːə/: actual, actually, eventually, individual, intellectual, Joshua, sexual, valuable, virtually
* as /juːə/: annual
* as /uːˈeɪ/: situation
* as /juːˈeɪ/: evaluate

## Heteronyms

* graduate (v.) /ˈɡrædʒuːeɪt/ (n.) /ˈɡrædʒuːət/

## Variant pronunciations

* aquatic /əˈkwætɪk, əˈkwɑːtɪk/
* usual, usually /juːʒuːəliː, ˈjuʒwəliː, ˈjuːʒəliː/
Decoding and spelling exercises: \e\ vs \iː\

**IPA consonants**

Since the spelling of **/e/** and **/iː/** is often the same, many students confuse these two sounds, even if they are able to pronounce them. For example, the word "obesity" is often pronounced as \* /əʊˈbesɪtiː/ instead of /əʊˈbiːsɪtiː/.

## Spelling

/e/ is always followed by one or more consonants. In derived words a single consonant is usually doubled (let, letting; red, reddish).

## Common words

### "e" as /e/

* before single consonant: center, dev**e**lop, ever, level, present *(n)*, recognize, record *(n)*, second
* before two consonants: eff**e**ct, member, question, together, whether

### "e" as /iː/

* before single consonant: detail, Egypt, even, region, species, Sweden

### "ea" as /e/

* ahead - already - bread - breakfast - breast - breath - cleanse - dead - deaf - dealt - death - dread - dreadful - feather - head - header - health - heather - heavy - instead - jealous - lead *(metal)* - leapt - leather - meadow - meant - measure - pheasant - pleasant - pleasure - read *(past tense and past participle)* - ready - spread - steady - sweat - thread - threat - threaten - treachery - tread - treadmill - treasure - wealth - weapon - weather

### "ea" as /iː/

* beach - bead - beat - bleach - breathe - cheat - clean - cream - creature - deal - dream - each - easy - eat - feature - heal - heat - increase - jeans - lead *(verb)* - leader - leaf - lean - leave - meal - mean - meat - pea - peach - peak - please - reach - read - repeat - reason - reveal - scream - sea - seal - seat - steal - steam - stream - teach - team - treat - weak - weasel

## Minimal pairs

* bet - beat; cell, sell - seal; check - cheek; fell - feel; less - lease; men - mean; met - meet, meat; net - neat; said - seed; set - seat; step - steep; sweat - sweet; well - wheel;

## Heteronyms

* lead /liːd/ *(guide)* - /led/ *(metal)*
* read /riːd/ *(present)* - /red/ *(past)*

## See also

* Decoding the letter E
* Decoding and spelling exercises: /e/ vs /ɪ/
Pronunciation exercises: \ɒrV\ vs \ɔːrV\

This page sets out some common words that help to become more aware of how you can improve your pronunciation of the sequences **/ɒr/** and **/ɔːr/** when they are followed by a vowel.

In General American /ɒr/*BrE* sounds /ɑːr/ in only 5 words (labeled with \*) and it sounds /ɔːr/ or /ər/ in the rest. In this page we are not concerned with /ər/.

In regional Atlantic American English /ɒr/*BrE* sounds /ɑːr/, as in *orange* pronounced /ˈɑːrɪndʒ/.

## Common words

* /ɒr/:

* as "or": foreign - forest - historical - majority - moral - orange - origin - priority
* as "orr": borrow\* - correspond - sorry\* - tomorrow\*

* /ɔːr/:

* as "or": boring - explorer - moreover - story

* /ɔːr/*AmE* or /ər/*BrE*: category

## Less common words

* /ɒr/:

* as "or": coral - historic - lab**or**atory /ləˈb**ɒr**ətriː,*BrE* ˈlæbrətɔːriː*AmE*/ - minority - seniority
* as "orr": abhorrent - horrible - morrow\* (shortening of "tomorrow") - sorrow\*
* as "arr": quarrel - warrant - warranty - warrior
* as "ar": quarantine

* /ɔːr/:

* as "or": chlorine - choral - chorus - glory - historian - laborat**or**y /ləˈbɒrətriː,*BrE* ˈlæbrət**ɔː**ri*AmE*/ - memorial - notorious - storage
* as "aur": laurel - thesaurus
* as "orr": abhorring

* /ɔːr/*AmE* or /ə/*BrE*:

* as "or": mandatory - territory /ˈterɪtəriː,*BrE* ˈterɪtriː,*BrE* ˈterətɔːriː*AmE*/

## Proper nouns

* /ɒ/: Dorothy, Florence, Forida, Oregon
* /ɔː/: Boris, Dora, Laura

## Spelling rule

The sequence "orr" is pronounced /ɔː/ in Received Pronunciation only in verbs ending in "or". There is only one such a verb that appears in normal dictionaries:

* from abhor: abhorred, abhorring

Note that "abhorrent" /əbˈhɒrənt/ is an adjective, not a verb.

## Variant pronunciations /ɒr/ vs /ɔːr/

In addition to the distinctions by dialect there are some specific words.

* oral: most dictionaries have /ɔːr/ but Collins Dictionary gives the additional variant /ɒr/ for British English.

### Difference between "oral" and "aural"

 Variant pronunciation of "oral" | /ˈɒrəl/ | /ˈɔːrəl/

In a few regions of the United States "horse" and "hoarse" are pronounced differently /hɔːrs, hoərs/. These accents are said to have "horse" and "hoarse" unmerged. See FORCE lexical set.

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Wikipedia, English-language vowel changes before historic /r/ § Mergers of /ɒr-/ and /ɔːr-/. Retreived 13 December 2016.
2. ↑ Collins English Dictionary, oral, section "oral in British".

## See also

* Decoding the letter O
* Decoding the letter R
* Decoding exercises: "orV" and "orrV"
* Pronunciation exercises: /ɒ/ vs /ɔː/
Pronunciation exercises: \θ\ vs \s\

**/θ/** is a dental consonant: the tongue is pressed against the upper teeth.

**/s/** is a an alveolar consonant: the tongue touches the part of the mouth behind the upper teeth.

## /θ/

Initial pronunciation of /θ/:

* thanks, thing, think - thought

Final pronunciation of /θ/:

* both, growth, health, month

Middle pronunciation of /θ/:

* anything, everything, nothing, something
* author, ethnic, healthy, mathematics

In English /sr/ can't be in the same syllable. People whose language lacks /θ/ may find it particularly difficult to pronounce /θr/

* anthropology, arthritis, thread, threat, three, thriller, throat, throne, through, throw - threw

/θ/ and /r/ in different syllables

* bathroom

## /s/

Initial pronunciation of /s/:

* same, say - said, school, see - saw, some, start

Final pronunciation of /s/:

* course, house, less, place, this, yes,

Middle pronunciation of /s/:

* also, lesson, next, person, receive

## /θ/ vs /s/

Initial pronunciation

* thank - sank *(past tense of*  sink); thin - sin; thing - sing; think - sink; thumb - sum;

Final pronunciation

* bath /bæθ,*AmE* bɑːθ*BrE*/ - bass *(fish)* /bæs/; north - Norse; path - pass;

## Variant pronunciations

The Spanish city of Zaragoza has the English name Saragossa /ˌsærəˈgɒsə/. Recently the Spanish name is used in English with the pronunciations /ˌzærəˈɡəʊzə, ˌsærəˈɡəʊsə/ or /ˌθærəˈɡəʊθə/.

## Anticipated pronunciation difficulties

People with a lisp can't pronounce the sound /s/ and pronounce /θ/ instead.

## References

1. ↑ Wikipedia, Zaragoza. Retrieved 5 April 2017.

## See also

* Pronunciation and decoding exercises: /s/ vs /z/
FORCE lexical set

The **FORCE lexical set** is a sound that historically was /oʊ/ before /r/ (/oʊr/), then it became /or/ and then it merged with the NORTH lexical set and the THOUGHT lexical set (/ɔːr/, see IPA phoneme /ɔː/). This is called the "FORCE-NORTH merger" or the "horse-hoarse merger". In most of the United States the surviving sound is /o/, however most dictionaries use /ɔː/ or /ɔ/.

/o/ was a rhotic phoneme, and it has so-called “long o” spelling.

## Comparison of dictionaries

Random House Unabridged Dictionary and the American English dictionary of Collins Dictionaries (taken form Webster’s New World College Dictionary) are two of the few dictionaries that show the FORCE lexical set. Merriam-Webster's Learner's Dictionary shows NORTH-FORCE different from THOUGHT.

Collins Dictionaries for American English shows only /ɔ/ for VrV words (such as "glory"). In addition, many other words are shown only with /ɔ/, e.g. divorce, explore.

## Examples

All the examples are taken from the Random House Unabridged Dictionary.

### “Long o” spelling

In most cases “long o” spelling and pronunciation as /ɔː/ mean that the unmerged pronunciation is /o/.

* with "ore": adore, afore, before, bore, core, crore, deplore, explore, fore, galore, gore, ignore, implore, lore, more, ore, pore, restore, score, shore, snore, sore, spore, store, swore, tore, vore, whore, wore, yore
* with "orV": adoring, boring, Boris, chorus, deploring, Dora, explorer, glory, historian, ignoring, imploring, laborious, notorious, oral, porous, restoring, scoring, storage, story, victorious

* /o/, /ɔː/*AmE* or /ə/*BrE*: category
* /o/, /ɔː/*AmE* or nothing*BrE*: derogatory /dɪˈrɒgəˌtoriː, dɪˈrɒgəˌtɔːriː,*AmE* dɪˈrɒgətriː*BrE*/, lavatory /ˈlævəˌtoriː, ˈlævəˌtɔːriː,*AmE* ˈlævətriː*BrE*/

* with "oar": boar, board, boart, coarse, hoard, hoarse, oar, roar, soar
* with "our": course, court, four, pour, source
* with "or\_e": borne, divorce, force, forge, horde

### Other spellings

* with "orC": afford, corps, deport, export, import, porch, pork, port, report, sport, support, sword, worn
* with "oor": door, floor

## Minimal pairs

First /or/, then /ɔr/. Note that currently these are homophones in most dialects.

* boarder - border; cored - chord, cord; fore, four - for; hoarse - horse; mourning - morning; oral - aural; torus - Taurus; wore - war; worn -warn;

First /or/, then /ɒr,*BrE* ɔːr*AmE*/.

* choral - coral;

## Homophones

All these words are pronounced with /o/ instead of /ɔː/ by those who don't have the merger.

* boar - bore; board - bored; coarse - course; forth - fourth; hoard - horde; oar - ore; soared - sword;

## See also

* Decoding exercises: "orV" and "orrV"
* Pronunciation exercises: /ɒrV/ vs /ɔːrV/
IPA phoneme \ʃ\

**IPA consonants**

In Received Pronunciation and in General American, the IPA phonetic symbol **/ʃ/** corresponds to the initial consonant sound in words like "shoe", and "she" and the final one in "push" and "fish".

/ʃ/ is an unvoiced consonant; its voiced counterpart is IPA phoneme /ʒ/.

/ʃ/ is a fricative; its affricate counterpart is IPA phoneme /tʃ/.

## Common words

* with "sh": cash - crash - dish - establish - fashion - finish - fish - flash - fresh - push - relationship - shake - shall - shape - share - she - shift - shine - ship - shock - shoe - shoot - shop - short - should - shoulder - show - wash - wish
* with "ss":

with "ssi": commission - depression - discussion - expression - impression - mission - professional - Russia - session
with "ssu": assure - issue - pressure - tissue
* with "ti":

with "tio": action - assumption - condition - definition - education - function - generation - information - location - mention - nation - option - rational - station - tradition - variation
with "tia": essential - initial - initiative - partial - potential - substantial
with "tie": patience - patient
* with "ci": efficient - musician - racial - special
* with "ce": ocean
* with "s": Asia /ˈeɪʃə/ *or* /ˈeɪʒə/ - sugar - sure
* "x" as /kʃ/: anxious
* with "ch": machine

## Less common words

* with "sh": bush
* with "si": controversial
* with "ssi": aggression, obsession
* with "sc": conscience, conscious, fascism

* "sci" as /ʃiː/: conscientious

* "ti" as /ʃiː/: confidentiality, ini**ti**ation
* "x" as /kʃ/: crucifixion, flexion

In words of French origin /ʃ/ can be spelled "ch".

* brochure, cache, champagne, chauffeur, chauvinism, chef, Chicago, cliché, Michigan, moustache,*BrE* mustache,*AmE* parachute, quiche

## Anticipated pronunciation difficulties depending on L1

### Spanish

While Spanish does have **/tʃ/**, it doesn't have **/ʃ/**, so there'll be a tendency to pronounce "shoes" as "choose", "shop" as "chop" and "sheet" as "cheat" (this latter example having another, notorious pronunciation difficulty...). Likewise, practice is needed with /ʒ/ vs /ʃ/, as in pleasure, leisure, etc.

It is very difficult for Spanish speakers to pronounce the combination /ʃr/ as in "shrimp". In Spain the movie *Shrek* is pronounced [eʃ.ɾek] or even [etʃ.ɾek], and in Latin America it is pronounced [ʃ.ɾek], [tʃ.ɾek] or [ʃe.ɾek].

## See also

* Decoding exercises: "sh"
* Decoding exercises: "sion"
* Decoding exercises: "ss"
* Decoding and spelling exercises: /ʃən/
* Pronunciation exercises: /ʃ/ vs /tʃ/
* IPA phoneme /s/
* IPA phoneme /ʒ/

## External links

* British Library, Received Pronunciation consonant sounds