recursal/Fanatic-Fandom huggingface dataset:
IPA phoneme \m\

In English, both in Received Pronunciation and in General American, the IPA phonetic symbol **/m/** corresponds to the initial consonant sound in words like "make" and "meet" and the final one in "team" and "arm".

The phoneme /m/ is spelled very reliably with the letter **M**, lowercase **m** (pronounced /em/). M is silent in the word "mnemonic".

## Common words

Initial pronunciation of **/m/**:

* make, man, many, market, may, me, mean, meet, money, more, most, move, much, must

Medial pronunciation of **/m/**:

* almost, company, example, family, important, information, number, small, something, woman

Final pronunciation of **/m/**:

* arm, column, come, from, him, home, name, problem, same, some, system, team, them, time

## Assimilation

Before /f/ or /v/, /m/ and /n/ may be neutralized and pronounced [ɱ], a labiodental nasal. This explains common misspellings such as \*circunference and \*imfamous.

## /m.m/

Normally double "m" is pronounced as a single /m/ (as in "summer" or "common"). In the following examples two /m/'s are pronounced.

* roommate, teammate

Other examples of /m.m/

* homemade, homemaker

The prefix "in" becomes "im" before "m" and only one /m/ is pronounced.

* immature, immediate, immigrant, immoral, immune

## See also

* Decoding the letter M
* IPA phonetic symbol [m̩] (syllabic /m/)
* IPA phoneme /n/ § Assimilation

## References

1. ↑ SLTinfo, Labialization
2. ↑ *Dictionary.com Unabridged*, Random House, Inc. im-

## External links

* British Library, Received Pronunciation consonant sounds
Decoding the letter D

**IPA consonants**

The letter **D**, lowercase **d** (pronounced /diː/) normally represents IPA phoneme /d/. For examples see IPA phoneme /d/.

## As /t/

*Main article:* Past tense pronunciation

In the regular past tense of verbs ending in unvoiced consonants excluding /t/, the suffix "-ed" sounds /t/.

Examples:

* /f/: laughed /lɑːft/*BrE* /læft/*AmE*
* /k/: worked /wɜːrkt/
* /p/: helped /helpt/
* /s/: placed /pleɪst/
* /ʃ/: wished /wɪʃt/
* /tʃ/: reached /riːtʃt/
* /θ/: frothed /frɒθt/*BrE* /frɔːθt/*AmE*.

In some consonant clusters the previous consonant may be elided.

* asked /ɑːskt/*BrE* or /ɑːst/*BrE* - /æskt/*AmE* or /æst/*AmE*
* jumped /dʒʌmpt/ or /dʒʌmt/

## As /dʒ/

*See also* IPA phoneme /dʒ/

* "di" as /dʒə/: soldier
* "dg" as /dʒ/: bridge - budget - edge - judge - knowledge
* "dj" as /dʒ/: adjacent - adjective - adjust
* "du" as /dʒuː/ or /dʒʊ/: education - gradual - graduate - individual - schedule /ˈskedʒuːl/*AmE* /ˈʃedjuːl/*BrE*
* "du" as /dʒə/: procedure

## Silent d

* handkerchief /ˈhæŋkərtʃɪf, ˈhæŋkərtʃiːf/ - handsome - sandwich /ˈsænwɪtʃ, ˈsænwɪdʒ, ˈsændwɪtʃ, ˈsændwɪdʒ/ - thousandth - We**d**nesday - Windsor
* grandfather - grandmother - gran**d**daughter - grandson
Decoding the letter V

The letter **V**, lowercase **v** (pronounced /viː/) very reliably represents IPA phoneme /v/. For examples see IPA phoneme /v/.

Most words ending in /v/ end in "ve".

* believe - give - have - improve - leave - love - move - receive - serve

Very few words end in "v"

* mazel tov (congratulations), improv (improvisation), perv (pervert)

Very few words have "vv"

* savvy (knowledgeable)

## /v/ devoicing

/v/ can be changed to /f/ in the modal verb “have to” *(meaning “must”)* pronounced /ˈhæv tə/ or /ˈhæf tə/.
Decoding exercises: "ew"

The sequence "ew" very reliably represents IPA phonetic sequence /juː/ or IPA phoneme /uː/, depending on the previous consonant. When "e" and "w" are in different syllables normally "e" is silent and "w" sounds /w/, as in "somewhere".

## After /d, n, s, t, θ, z/ "ew" sounds /juː/*BrE* or /uː/*AmE*

* dew - knew - mildew - new - stew
* Always /juː/: Matthew

## After /dʒ, l, r, ʃ, tʃ, ʒ/ "ew" sounds /uː/

* Andrew - chew - crew - drew - flew - grew - Jew - jewel - screw

## Different syllables

* Silent "e": elsewhere - framework - gateway - housewife - needlework - somewhat - somewhere - typewriter
* /ɪw/: beware - reward
Pronunciation exercises: \mf\ vs \nf\

Note: this article could be called **Spelling exercises: "mf" or "mph" vs "nf"** or **Spelling the sequence [ɱf]**.

Before /f/, /m/ and /n/ may be neutralized and pronounced [ɱ], a labiodental nasal. There are no minimal pairs that contrast /mf/ and /nf/.

If the spelling has "ph" normally the letter before it can't be "n", only "m". Exceptions exist in compound words such as "nonphysical".

Most dictionaries take /mf/ and /nf/ as different sequences. The following examples may be pronounced the same (as [ɱf]), but the spelling is as shown.

* /mf/ as "mph": amphibious, amphora, emphasis, emphasise,*BrE* emphasize, emphatic, Memphis, triumph, symphony
* /mf/ as "mf": circumference, comfort, comfortable, harmful
* /nf/ as "nf": confidence, confirm, conflict, infant, influence, information, unfortunately

## See also

* Decoding the letter M § Assimilation
* IPA phoneme /n/ § Assimilation
So-called “short e”

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

* Examples: *dress*, *envy*, or *century*

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

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

## Examples

accept, bell, bend, best, bet, correct, desk, egg, end, **e**ngine, **e**ngineer, exp**e**ct, forget, get, hell, help, hotel, jet, leg, lend, let, met, neck, next, pen, protect, rent, requ**e**st, sell, send, set, spend, suggest, tell, theft, well, went, wet, when, yell, yes

## “Short e” in combinations

When a combination of *e* and another letter has the sound /e/ it is confusing to say that it has the “short *e*” sound. It is better to say it has the vowel of DRESS.

* "ea": 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

## See also

* Decoding the letter E
* So-called “short” and “long” vowels
IPA phonetic symbol 〚w〛

The IPA phonetic symbol [w] represents a voiced labio-velar approximant, a semivowel present in most accents of English in words such as *week* or *queen* and corresponding to IPA phoneme /w/.

This sound is also present at the end of IPA phoneme /uː/, particularly before a vowel, i.e. /uː/ as [ʉw] or [uw]. For example *continuous* /kənˈtɪnjuːəs/ pronunced as [kənˈtɪnjuwəs].

Some accents also have IPA phoneme /əʊ/ pronounced as [əw] or [ow], for example *rower* /ˈrəʊər/ as [ˈrowɚ].

IPA phoneme /aʊ/ can be pronounced [aw] as in *shower* /ˈʃaʊər/ as [ˈʃawɚ].

## Notes and references

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Geoff Lindsey, The British English vowel system, 8 March 2012.
2. ↑ Merriam-Webster's Learner's Dictionary, continuous.
3. ↑ Merriam-Webster's Learner's Dictionary, rower.
4. ↑ Merriam-Webster's Learner's Dictionary, shower.

## See also

* IPA phoneme /w/
* Decoding the letter W
* IPA phonetic symbol [j]
English is not Spanish

When we speak a language we always use the phonemes of that language, even if we are saying loanwords. For example, "adobe" in English is /əˈdəʊbɪ/ and not [aˈdoβe]. We say the Spanish word with an English accent.

Similarly *líder* (Spanish for "leader") is pronounced [ˈliðeɾ] and not [ˈliːdəɹ] or [ˈliːdə]. Spanish speakers say the English word with a Spanish accent.

This is more obvious in words that are not direct loanwords from Spanish to English (e.g. they are loanwords from Latin or another language). For example *triangular* is [traɪˈæŋɡjələɹ] in English and [tɾjaŋguˈlaɾ] in Spanish, and practically nobody uses the Spanish pronunciation when speaking in English or the other way around.

If you speak Spanish you should remember that **English is not Spanish**, particularly in names of cities, movies, and concepts that don't exist in English (such as *piñata* or *paella)*. This works also when using English names or concepts in Spanish, like when you say *fui a Washington* [ˈwatʃinton] or *tomé un milk shake* [milˈtʃejk]).

## Best shot

Ideally a word should have the best possible adaptation, but not better. For example, good adaptations of the last name "Chávez" are /ˈtʃæbɪs/, /ˈtʃɑːbəs/ and /ˈtʃɑːbɛs/. The correct Spanish pronunciation [ˈtʃaβes] sounds artificial and should not be used in an English conversation.

## With reduced vowels

The best shot for *piñata* is /piːˈnjɑːtɑː/. However the real pronunciation doesn't sound so foreign: /pɪnˈjɑːtə/. Anglicised words have /ə/ or /ɪ/ in unstressed syllables.

## Distorted words

Sometimes words are distorted, either because their pronunciation is difficult or because they are pronounced according to different rules (e.g., spelling pronunciation). For example, in British English the word "junta" (Spanish [ˈxunta]) is pronounced /ˈdʒʌntə/, which is very different because of the spelling pronunciation. In American English a good adaptation with a reduced vowel is used /ˈhʊntə/. The best shot would be /ˈhuːntɑː/

## Accepted pronunciation and less common words or proper names

If a word is common it will have an accepted pronunciation. For example, Columbus's ship *Santa María* has the accepted pronunciation /ˈsæntə məˈriːə/. Pronouncing /ˈsɑːntɑː mɑːˈriːɑː/ (best shot) or [ˌsanta maˈɾia] (native pronunciation) would sound pretentious. Less common names or words (for example, your own name, or the name of a typical dish) can be pronounced with a best shot. If you are a native speaker of Spanish the native accent will not sound pretentious, but you might not be understood.

## Examples

From Spanish to English

From English to Spanish

From Spanish to English and back

 chili con carne*AmE* | [ˌtʃiːliː kɔːn ˈkɑːɹniː]*AmE* | [ˌtʃɪliː kɑːn ˈkɑːɹniː]*AmE* | Almost best shot

## See also

* English is not French
* English is not German
* English is not Italian
Past tense spelling

**Past tense spelling** refers to the spelling of regular verbs in the past or past participle form - that is, verb forms that end in "ed".

* Most regular verbs add -**ed** to the infinitive form. See *Default* below.
* Regular verbs ending in -**e** just add -**d**: like**d**; receive**d**;
* Regular verbs ending in one stressed vowel + one consonant (except **w, x** or **y**) double the consonant and add -**ed**: plan**ned**; stop**ped**; refer**red**; control**led**
* In British English regular verbs ending in a single unstressed vowel + **l** add -**led**: level**led***BrE* - leveled*AmE*; travel**led***BrE* - traveled*AmE*
* Regular verbs ending in consonant + **y** change the **y** to **i** and add -**ed**: carr**ied**; stud**ied**; tr**ied**;
* Regular verbs ending in -**c** add **ked**: picnic**ked**; traffic**ked**;

* Default. All other regular verbs add -**ed**.

* Ending in one or more vowels (except final e): moo**ed**; ski**ed**;
* Ending in two or more consonants: depend**ed**; push**ed**; start**ed**;
* Ending in unstressed syllable and one consonant: market**ed**; number**ed**; question**ed**;

* See exceptions above (verbs ending in "l") and below (Irregular spelling)

* Ending in two or more vowels + one consonant: explain**ed**; rain**ed**;
* Ending in vowel+**y**: enjoy**ed**; play**ed**;
* Ending in **w** or **x**: show**ed**; tax**ed**;

## Irregular spelling

The following regular verbs have an irregular spelling in their past tense

* benefit - benefited *(regular) or* benefitted
* format - formatted
* lay - laid
* outfit - outfitted
* pay - paid
* program - programmed *or* programed *(regular)*
* retrofit - retrofitted

## See also

* Double consonants
* Spelling the -ing form
* Past tense pronunciation of regular verbs
Decoding exercises: "irr"

The letter I in the sequence "irr" normally sounds /ɪ/ in Received Pronunciation (as in m**i**rror), and in derived words it sounds /ɜː/ (as in st**i**rring).

In General American /ɪər/*BrE* often sounds /ɪr/*AmE*. See IPA phoneme /ɪə/.

## Common words

* As /ɪ/: mirror
* As /ɪ/*BrE* /ɜː/:*AmE* squirrel

## Less common words

* As /ɪ/: cirrus, irradiate, irrational, irrefutable, irregular, irrelevant, irresistible, irreverent, irrigate, irritate, irrupt
* As /ɜ/: stirred, stirring
* As /ə/: cirrhosis

## See also

* Decoding the letter I
* Decoding the letter R
* Decoding exercises: "ir"
* Decoding exercises: "irV", "yrV", "irrV" and "yrrV"
Decoding exercises: "ou"

Together with the article on decoding difficulties, this page sets out some words than can be used to become more aware of how you can sound out more correctly the different sounds corresponding to words containing "ou".

The sequence "ou" is sounded out as /aʊ/ in many words. Normally the phrase “the 'ou' [pronounced /əʊˈjuː/] sound” refers to /aʊ/. However there are many exceptions.

**IPA consonants**

## /aʊ/

* /aʊ/: about, account, amount, announce, around, background, blouse, bound, boundary, cloud, compound, council, counsel, count, county, discount, doubt, encounter, flounder, foul, found, founder, ground, house, loud, mount, mountain, mouse, mouth, noun, out, outcome, output, pound, profound, proud, round, scout, shout, sound, south, surround, thousand, trout, wound *(verb wind),*
* /aʊə/: flour, hour, our *(unstressed* /ɑːr/), sour. See also Triphthong.

## /uː/

* cantaloupe*BrE* - coupon - group - rouge - route - soup - toucan - through - wound (injure, *v. & n.)* - you - youth

## /ʌ/

* country - couple - cousin - double - southern - touch - trouble - young
* with "ough": enough - rough - tough

## /ʌ/ or /ɜː/

The following words are pronounced with /ʌr/ in British English and /ɜːr/ in American English. See also IPA phoneme /ɜː/ § /ɜː/ and /ʌ/.

* courage - nourish

## /əʊ/

* although - boulder - cantaloupe*AmE* - dough - shoulder - soul - thorough*AmE* - though

## /ɔː/

* bought - brought - course - court - fought - four - ought - pour - sought - source - thought - your
* tour: Although the dictionary pronunciation of this word is /tʊər/ many native speakers actually say /tɔ:r/. Likewise, *dour* can be pronounced /dʊər/ or /ˈdaʊər/.

## /ə/

* Plymouth, thorough,*BrE* thoroughly
* With "ous": anxious - continuous - curious - dangerous - enormous - famous - nervous - numerous - obvious - previous - religious - serious - various
* With "our",*BrE* "or"*AmE*: behaviour - colour - favour - favourite - harbour - honour - humour *(but* humorist) - labour - neighbour

## /ɒ/

* cough /kɒf,*BrE* kɔːf*AmE*/
* Gloucester /ˈɡlɒstər, ˈɡlɔːstər*AmE*/

## Two different syllables

* /əʊ ə/: Antinous (favorite of Roman emperor Hadrian)

## Variant pronunciations

* /ə,*BrE* əʊ*AmE*/: borough - thorough
* /uː,*BrE*, əʊ*AmE*/: cantaloupe
* route /ruːt/, also /raʊt/*AmE*

## Homophones

* /aʊ/: aloud - allowed; council - counsel;
* /aʊə/: flour - flower; our - hour;
* /uː/: route - root;
* /ʊ/: would - wood;
* our /ɑːr, ˈaʊər/ - are /ər, ɑːr/

Non-rhotic accents only

* /ɔː/court - caught; source - sauce

## Minimal pairs

* bought - boat; dough - though; foul - full; mouse - moose/mousse; noun - nun/none

## Heteronyms

* wound: *injury* /wuːnd/ - *past tense of* wind /waʊnd/

## References

1. ↑ YouTube, ou words
2. ↑ tour *Collins Dictionaries*. Retrieved 21st January 2013.
3. ↑ dour *Collins Dictionaries*. Retrieved 21st January 2013.

## See also

* Decoding exercises: "ow"
* Decoding and spelling exercises: /əʊ/ vs /aʊ/
* Spelling exercises: "ou" vs "ow"
* Spelling exercises: "or" vs "our"
Monophthong

A **monophthong** (/ˈmɒnəfθɒŋg/) is a "pure" vowel sound, that stays the same for all of its length.

Contrast diphthong and triphthong.

## Monophthongs in English

Short monophthongs
* /æ/ as in "trap", so-called “short a”
* /e/ as in "let", so-called “short e”
* /ɪ/ as in "kit", so-called “short i”
* /ɒ/ as in "hot", so-called “short o”
* /ʌ/ as in "but", so-called “short u”
* /ʊ/ as in "book", so-called “short oo”
* /ə/ as in "comm**a**", the schwa

Long monophthongs
* /ɔː/ as in "law"
* /ɑː/ as in "bra"
* /ɜː/ as in "nurse"

Rhotic monophthongs
The rhotic monophthongs are the same as the long monophthongs

* /ɔː/ as in "north"
* /ɑː/ as in "car"
* /ɜː/ as in "nurse"

Other
Most linguists agree that /iː/ as in "feet" or /uː/ as in "cool" are actually diphthongs, because they do not end with the exactly same vowel as they begin. In the notation of Geoff Lindsey for Southern British English they are [ɪj] and [ʉw].

## References

1. ↑ Geoff Lindsey, The British English vowel system, 8 March 2012.
IPA phonetic symbol 〚j〛

The **IPA phonetic symbol [j]** represents a voiced palatal approximant, a semivowel present in most accents of English in words such as *yes* or *cute* [kjuːt] and corresponding to IPA phoneme /j/. This sound is called **yod**.

This sound is also present at the end of IPA phoneme /iː/, in British English as [ɪj] and in American English (particularly before a vowel) as [ij]. For example *previous* /ˈpriːviːəs/ pronounced as [ˈpriːvijəs].

Some accents also have IPA phoneme /eɪ/ pronounced as [ej] or [ɛj], for example *player* /ˈpleɪər/ as [ˈplejɚ].

IPA phoneme /aɪ/ can be pronounced [aj] or [ɑj] as in *fire* /ˈfaɪər/ as [ˈfajɚ].

IPA phoneme /ɔɪ/ can be pronounced [ɔj] or [oj] as in *royal* /ˈrɔɪəl/ as [ˈrojəl].

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Geoff Lindsey, The British English vowel system, 8 March 2012.
2. ↑ Merriam-Webster's Learner's Dictionary, previous.
3. ↑ Merriam-Webster's Learner's Dictionary, player.
4. ↑ Merriam-Webster's Learner's Dictionary, fire.
5. ↑ Merriam-Webster's Learner's Dictionary, royal.

## See also

* Decoding the letter Y
* IPA phoneme /j/
* IPA phonetic sequence /juː/
* IPA phonetic symbol [w]
Pronunciation exercises: \ɪə\ vs \ɪ\

In Received Pronunciation *mirror* and *nearer* have a different first vowel, i.e. these two words don't rhyme.

In General American there is no phoneme /ɪə/, because the difference between [ɪə] and [ɪ] is predictable: between vowels the sound is normally [ɪ], as in *nearer* [ˈnɪrər], in all other cases it's [ɪə] as in *near* [nɪər]. This means that *mirror* and *nearer* rhyme. In the United States people who distinguish these phonemes leave in the Northeast or South.

## /ɪə/

* With "er": Algeria - criterion - era - experience - interior - material - Nigeria - period - series - serious - we're

* Ending in "ering": adhering, persevering

* with "ear": appearance

* ending in "earing": appearing - clearing - fearing - hearing

* with "ee": cheerio,*BrE* eerie

* ending in "eering": engineering, volunteering

* BrE /ɪə/, AmE /ɪə/ or /iːə/: theory
* BrE /ɪə/, AmE /ɪə/ or /iː/: hero, zero

## /ɪ/

* With "ir": conspiracy, delirious, miracle, mirage, satiric, spirit
* With "yr": lyric, pyramid, syringe, tyranny
* With "irr": irradiate, irrational, irregular, mirror

## References

1. ↑ Wikipedia, English-language vowel changes before historic /r/ § *Mirror–nearer* merger.

## See also

* Decoding exercises: "erV" and "errV" for /ɪə/
* Decoding exercises: "irV", "yrV", "irrV" and "yrrV" for /ɪ/
Spelling exercises: \ks\

The sequence /ks/ can be spelled in several ways.

* Plurals: acrostics, almanacs, antibiotics, crocs, fanatics, italics, maniacs, plastics

### As "ks"

* Plurals: books, risks, thanks, weeks
* Third person of verbs: looks, talks, thinks, works

### As "kes"

* Plurals: bikes, jokes, lakes, mistakes, strikes
* Third person of verbs: likes, makes, shakes, smokes, takes

### As "cks"

* Plurals: blocks, clocks, rocks, sticks, stocks
* Third person of verbs: attacks, checks, locks, picks

### As "chs"

* Plurals: epochs, matriarchs, monarchs, patriarchs, stomachs

### As "ques"

* Plurals: cliques, cheques,*BrE* mosques, techniques

## Between vowels

### As "x"

* boxer, complexity, mixing, perplexity, taxes

Note that "x" can sound /gz/ as in "example". See Decoding the letter X.

### As "cc"

* accept, access, accident, succeed, success

### As "cz"

* eczema: /ˈeksɪmə, ˈegzəmə,*AmE* ɪɡˈziːmə*AmE*/

### As "xx"

Very few words have this combination.

* anti-vaxxer, un-vaxxed

## Before a consonant sound

### As "x"

* exchange, exclude, expect, experience, explain, express, next
* Past tense of verbs: fixed, mixed, relaxed, taxed

### As "kes"

* jokester, spokesman, spokesperson, spokeswoman

## /ks/ in compound words

* As "ks": bookseller, bookstore
* As "kes": lakeside, smokescreen
* As "cs": facsimile
* As "cks"

* Between vowels: backseat, quicksand, quicksilver, rucksack,*BrE* tracksuit
* Before a consonant: backspace, backstage, backstreet, backstroke, trickster

* As "chs": dachshund
Oxford Advanced American Dictionary

**Oxford Advanced American Dictionary** (OAAD) is a free on-line dictionary provided by Oxford University Press in its website Oxford Learner's Dictionaries.

To consult OAAD you must select "American English" in the drop-down menu of the Oxford Learner's Dictionaries website. The same site also has Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary, for British English and American English.

## IPA pronunciation key

We highlight in grey when Merry Harry and OAAD differ only in triangular colon. Yellow are details and red means OAAD is non IPA.

The official key of OAAD can be found at http://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/about/pronunciation\_american\_english.

## External links

* Oxford Learner's Dictionaries
* Oxford Advanced American Dictionary. This is a simple description page. To consult this dictionary you must select "American English" in the drop-down menu.
Pronunciation exercises: \d\ vs \ð\

/d/ is an alveolar consonant. /ð/ is a dental consonant. This means that the tongue is between the teeth for /ð/ and not for /d/.

/d/ is a stop consonant. /ð/ is a fricative consonant. This means /ð/ may be much longer than /d/.

## Minimal pairs

* breed - breathe; dare - there, their, they're; day - they; den - then; dough, doe - though; doze - those; header - heather; ladder - lather; load - loathe; sued - soothe; udder - other; wordy - worthy;
* disarray - this array; disband - this band; discard - this card; dismay - this May; dispatch - this patch; display - this play
Digraph

**IPA consonants**

A **digraph** (/ˈdaɪgræf,*AmE* ˈdaɪɡrɑːf*BrE*/) is a combination of two letters used to represent one speech sound, that is a vowel or consonant. It can be considered as a two-letter phonogram.

## Examples

### Vowels

* "ai" /eɪ/: afraid - aid - brain - chain - contain - detail - explain - fail - gain - mail - main - pain - rain - train - wait
* "ay" /eɪ/: always - away - day - delay - display - maybe - okay - pay - pray - play - say - stay - today - way
* "au" /ɔː/: audience - author - autumn - caught - cause - daughter - fault - laundry - naughty - pause - taught
* "aw" /ɔː/: awful - draw - drawer - law - lawyer - raw - withdraw
* "ee" /iː/: agree - between - feel - free - keep - meet - need - see - seem - week
* "ow" /aʊ/: allow - brown - cow - crown - down - flower - how - now - power *(also* /əʊ/ grow - know - low)
* "oo" /uː/: boot - choose - cool - fool - loose - moon - pool - root - school - soon - tool *(also* /ʊ/ book - good - foot)

#### Magic e

Magic e can be thought of as part of a discontinuous digraph: aCe, eCe, iCe, oCe and uCe, where C is a consonant.

* c**a**k**e** - compl**e**t**e** - l**i**k**e** - h**o**m**e** - c**u**t**e** - incl**u**d**e**

### Consonants

* "ch" / tʃ/ as in *much, child* and also /k/ as in *chemistry, psychology*, and /ʃ/ as in *chef*, *charade*, *machine*, and *nonchalant*
* "ng" /ŋ/ as in *song*, *thing*
* "ph" /f/ as in *phase, graph*
* "sh" /ʃ/ as in *fish*, *ship*
* "ss" /s/ as in *class, essay, princess*
* "th" /θ/ as in *think, path* and also /ð/ as in *then, breathe*
* "zh" is sometimes used as in *Dr. Zhivago*. See IPA phoneme /ʒ/.

## IPA

An IPA digraph is a combination of two IPA phonetic symbols that is regarded as a single phoneme.

The following are the IPA digraphs for English phonemes

* dʒ tʃ aɪ aʊ eə eɪ ɪə ɔɪ əʊ ʊə

If the IPA long-vowel symbol is counted, we can add the following digraphs

* ɑː iː ɔː uː ɜː

IPA phonetic sequence /juː/ is not regarded as a trigraph, but it is analized as /j/ and /uː/.

## See also

* Diphthong
* Homophone
* IPA phoneme /tʃ/ /(ch)
* IPA phoneme /ʃ/ /(sh)
* IPA phoneme /θ/ /(th)
* IPA phoneme /ð/ /(th)
* Minimal pair
* Monophthong
* Phonogram
* Triphthong
Pitmanita

**Pitmanita** is a font used for Initial Teaching Alphabet characters (i.t.a. symbols).

To see this page correctly you must have installed the Pitmanita font. If the font is installed á looks File:Half-hook a.png.

## Comma gets a cúr

Well, hér’ž a story for yô: Sara Perry wož a veterinary nuûs hô had bén wuûkiñ dæly at an œld zô in a dižeûted district ov ðe territory, sœ ši wož very happy tõ stàrt a nú job at a súpeûb prívit practis in Norþ Skwær nér ðe Dúk Strét Tóeû. Ðat æria wož muç néreû for heû and mor tõ heû líkiñ. Éven sœ, on heû fiûst morniñ, ši felt stresst. Ši ate a bœl ov porridý, çeckt heûself in ðe mirror and wošt heû fæs in a hurry. Ðen ši põt on a plæn yelœ dress and a flés jackit, pickt up heû kit and heded for wuûk.

Ùen ši got ðær, ðær wož a wõman wið a gôs wætiñ for heû. Ðe wõman gæv Sara an offišal letteû from ðe vet. Ðe letteû implíd ðat ði animal cõd bi suffeûiñ from a rær form ov fõt and móþ dižéž, ùiç wož suûprížiñ, bicož normally yô wõd œnly icspect tõ sé it in a dog or a gœt. Sara wož sentimental, sœ ðis mæd heû fél sorry for ðe bútiful biûd.

Befor loñ, ðat itçy gôs began tõ strut arónd ði offis lík a lúnatic, ùiç mæd an unsanitary mess. Ðe gôs’ž œneû, Mæry Harison, kept câliñ, “Comma, Comma”, ùiç Sara þât wož an odd çòs for a næm. Comma wož stroñ and húj, sœ it wõd tæk sum fors tõ trap heû, but Sara had a different ídéa. Fiûst ši tríd jently strœkiñ ðe gôs’ž lœeû back wið heû pàm, ðen siñiñ a tún tõ heû. Fínally, ši administeûd éþeû. Heû efforts weû not fútile. In nœ tím, ðe gôs began tõ tír, sœ Sara wož æbl tõ hœld ontõ Comma and giv heû a relacsiñ báþ.

Wuns Sara had manijd tõ bæð ðe gôs, ši wípt heû off wið a cloþ and læd heû on heû rít síd. Ðen Sara confiûmd ðe vet’s díagnœsis. Âlmœst immédiatly, ši rimembeûd an iffectiv trétment ðat rikwírd heû tõ meýuû ót a lot ov medisin. Sara wornd ðat ðis cors ov trétment mít bi icspensiv-éðeû fív or sics tímž ðe cost ov penisilin. Í cán’t imajin pæiñ sœ muç, but Mrs. Harison-a millyonær lâyeû-þât it wož a fær prís for a cúr.

*Comma gets a cúr* and dirivativ wuûks mæ bi úžd frély for eny purpos wiðót spešal peûmišon províded ðe prežent sentens and ðe follœiñ copirít nœtificæšon acompany ðe passij in print, if reprodúst in print, and in âdiœ format in ðe cæs ov a sónd ricordiñ: Copyright 2000 Douglas N. Honorof, Jill McCullough & Barbara Somerville. Âl ríts rižeûvd.

## References

1. ↑ Lars Törnqvist, PItman's Initial Teaching Alphabet, select "Pitmanita font package".
Decoding and spelling exercises: \e\ vs \ɪ\

**IPA consonants**

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

## Spelling

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

There are many words which have "e" in the first syllable. In many cases if you know the stress you can predict the pronunciation and viceversa

## Common words

### Stressed /e/ and /ɪ/

#### "e" as /e/

* Stressed "e" in the first syllable as /e/: center, ever, level, member, present *(n)*, question, recognize, record *(n)*, second, whether
* Stressed "e" in the second syllable as /e/: asset, dev**e**lop, eff**e**ct, tog**e**ther,

#### "e" as /ɪ/

* Stressed "e" in the first syllable as /ɪ/: England, English, pretty

### Unstressed /e/ and /ɪ/

/e/ can't be unstressed; in practice it will have a secondary stress.

#### "e" as /e/

* Unstressed "e" in the first syllable as /e/:

* ending in "tion": c**e**lebration, definition, education, emigration, explanation, g**e**neration, pr**e**sentation, regulation,
* other: **e**nergetic, pr**e**sidential, technology

* Unstressed "e" in the second syllable as /e/: project *(n.)*

#### "e" as /ɪ/

* Unstressed "e" in the first syllable as /ɪ/: because, become, before, begin, believe, between, description, **e**ffect, enough, **e**specially, **e**xpect, result, return
* Unstressed "e" in the second syllable as /ɪ/: ben**e**fit, knowledge

#### "a" as /ɪ/

* Unstressed "a" in the second syllable as /ɪ/:

* ending in "age": advantage, average, image, manage, message, language
* other: orange, pal**a**ce, spinach, surface

#### "i" as /ɪ/

* Unstressed "i" in the first syllable as /ɪ/:

* two-syllable words: discuss, d**i**vide, himself, improve, include, increase, instead, involve, itself, without
* other: discover, discussion, historical, important, information, investment, significant, situation

## Homonyms

* /ɪ/: elicit - illicit; ensure *(make sure)* - insure *(buy insurance)*

## Variant spellings

* enquire*BrE* - inquire*AmE* *BrE*; enquiry*BrE* - inquiry*AmE* *BrE*;
* make sure: ensure*BrE* *AmE* - insure*AmE*

## References

1. ↑ Collins English Dictionary, embarrass
2. ↑ Collins English Dictionary, employ
3. ↑ Collins English Dictionary, employee
4. ↑ Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary, employee
5. ↑ Collins English Dictionary, empower
6. ↑ Collins English Dictionary, encourage
7. ↑ Collins English Dictionary, engage
8. ↑ Collins English Dictionary, enquire
9. ↑ Collins English Dictionary, environment
10. ↑ Collins English Dictionary, experience
11. ↑ Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary, experience
12. ↑ Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary, object
13. ↑ Collins English Dictionary, project
14. ↑ Collins English Dictionary, television

## See also

* Decoding the letter E
* Decoding and spelling exercises: /e/ vs /iː/
Decoding exercises: "er"

The letter combination **"er"** has several different pronunciations, mainly /ɜːr/ when stressed and /ər/ when unstressed. This article sets out some words that can be used to become more aware of the differences.

For "err" see Decoding exercises: "err".

## Stressed

* /ɜːr/: certain - concern - determine - her - perfect - person - service - term - version - were
* /ɪə/: experience - material - period - series - serious

* with magic e: here - mere - severe

* /er/: American - austerity - ceremony - experiment - heroism - merit - peril - sheriff - therapy - very
* /ɑː/: sergeant, clerk, derby, Berkeley.

### Spelling anomalies

* /eər/: there - where
* /ɜːr/ with misleading silent e: were

## Unstressed

* /ər/: after - another - consider - letter - modern - never - number - offer - order - other - over - pattern - under - whether
* /ər/ or /r/. See Varisyllabic words.

average - different - every - general - interest - several
* /ɪr/: derive - derogatory - **er**aser - prerogative

Secondary stress
* /iːr/: prerequisite

## See also

* Decoding written words
* Decoding the letter E
* Decoding the letter R
* Decoding exercises: "erV" and "errV"
IPA phonetic symbol 〚n̩〛

**IPA consonants**

The IPA phonetic symbol [n̩] (lowercase "n" with a small vertical line below) represents syllabic /n/, a syllable with no vowel (syllabic consonant), as in "even" [ˈiːvn̩], "present" [ˈprezn̩t] or "person" [ˈpɜːsn̩]. In a broad notation [n̩] is /ən/: /ˈiːvən, ˈprezənt, ˈpɜrsən/. Some dictionaries write a small schwa as in /ˈiːvən, ˈprezənt, ˈpɜrsən/. Others write no vowel, and the reader has to deduct that /n/ is in a syllable with no vowels: /ˈiːvn, ˈpreznt, ˈpɜrsn/.

## Common words

* action - button - certain - common - even - fashion - happen - human - information - listen - mountain - often - open - person - position - question - reason - situation - television - urban - version - weapon

## [n̩] vs [ən]

Below we can see the pronunciation of /ən/ depending on the previous consonant according to the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary (OALD), Collins Dictionary for British English (CD-BE), and Merriam-Webster's Learner's Dictionary (MWLD) for American English.
Note that OALD uses [n] instead of [n̩] or [ən].

## Unicode and HTML

Unicode: U+0329 Combining vertical line below

HTML:

Hexadecimal: n&#x329;
Decimal: n&#809;
## Notes and references

1. ↑ Oxford Learner's Dictionaries
2. ↑ Collins English Dictionary
3. ↑ Merriam-Webster's Learner's Dictionary

## See also

* IPA phonetic symbol [l̩]
* IPA phonetic symbol [m̩]
* IPA phonetic symbol [ɹ̩]
* IPA phoneme /ə/
* Varisyllabic words
IPA phoneme \ŋ\

In both Received Pronunciation and General American, the IPA phonetic symbol **/ŋ/** corresponds to the final consonant sound in words like "sang", "sing", "song" and "sung" and, of course -ing forms. Not all words with "ng" have that **/ŋ/**: cf. *angle* and *angel*. On the other hand, it should be pointed out that /ŋ/ is often, but not always, followed by **/g/** cf. *singer* vs *single* or *long vs* longer*.*

/ŋ/ is spelled "n" when followed by a /k/ sound: ankle, function, inquest.

## /ŋ/

**IPA consonants**

/ŋ/ at the end of the word or followed by a vowel is always spelled "ng".

* with /æ/: bang, gang, hang, hanger, hanging, rang, sang, slang
* with /ɪ/: bring, evening, king, morning, ring, sing, singer, spring, sting, string, swing, thing, wing, wring
* with /ɒ/*BrE* or with /ɔː/*AmE*: along, belong, long, song, strong, wrong
* with /ʌ/: among, lung, sung, tongue, young

## /ŋg/

The spelling "ng" is sometimes pronounced /ŋg/.

* with /æ/: anger, angle, angry, language, languid
* with /ɪ/: English (also /ˈɪŋlɪʃ/), finger, linger, single
* with /ɒ/: Congo
* with /ʌ/: Hungary, hunger, hungry

## /ŋ/ - /ŋg/ alternation

In most words the root word and its derivatives sound similar: sing /sɪŋ/, singer /sɪŋər/.

Some particular words have "ng" pronounced /ŋ/ in the root and /ŋg/ in their derivatives: young /jʌŋ/, younger /jʌŋgər/.

* long - longer, longest
* strong - stronger, strongest
* young - younger, youngest

* diphthong - diphthongal
* prolong - prolongation

## /ŋk/

See also IPA phoneme /n/ § Assimilation.

"nk"
* with /æ/: ankle, bank, blanket, drank, handkerchief /ˈhæŋkərtʃɪf/, rank, sank, stank, tank, thank;
* with /ɪ/: blink, drink, ink, link, pink, sink, sprinkler, stink, think, twinkle, rink, wink, wrinkle;
* with /ɒ/: donkey
* with /ʌ/: bunk, bunker, dunk, monkey, trunk

"nch"
* anchor, synchronisation,*BrE* synchronization

"nc"
* concrete, distinction, function, junction, sanction, uncle;

"nx"
* anxious, lynx, pharinx

"nq"
* conquest, relinquish, tranquilizer,*AmE* tranquilliser,*BrE* tranquillizer*BrE*

"ng"
* length /leŋkθ, leŋθ/, strength /streŋkθ, streŋθ/

## Homophones

*See main article Homophone.*

* ring, wring

## Anticipated pronunciation difficulties depending on L1

### Spanish

In Spanish there is [ŋ] but only before [x], [k], [g] or [w]. Many Spanish speakers cannot pronounce /ŋ/ between vowels, and they say *singer* as \*/ˈsɪŋgər/ and *singing* as \*/ˈsɪŋgɪŋ/ or \*/ˈsɪŋgɪŋg/.

## See also

* Decoding exercises: "ng"
* IPA phoneme /n/ § Assimilation
* Pronunciation exercises: /ŋ/ vs /ŋk/

## External links

* British Library, Received Pronunciation consonant sounds
So-called “long a”

*This article is about the vowel sound of FACE. For the vowel sound of BATH see Phoneme \ɑː\ in Received Pronunciation.*

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

When studying magic e two vowel phonemes are called “long a”:

* As in *face*, *nation*, *waste*, or *major:* IPA phoneme \eɪ\
* As in *square*, *share*, or *compare:* IPA phoneme \eə\

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

In the case of *a* as /eɪ/ it is said that the letter “says its name”. In the case of *face* or *tape* it is said that the magic *e* “makes the letter say its name”

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

The term “long a” is not recommended because /eɪ/ and /eə/ are two different phonemes, and not one; because both sounds are diphthongs rather than single vowels; and because the opposition between /eɪ/ and /æ/ (“short *a*”) is not only a difference in length, but mainly a difference in quality.

## “Long *a*” in combinations

When children learn to read they are sometimes told a supposed rule (that holds true only 40% of the time) which says "when two vowels go walking, the first one does the talking". For this or for other reasons, when *a* is found in combinations sounding /eɪ/ (or sometimes /eə/), the term “long *a*” is used as well.

* "ai": Adelaide, afraid, aid, aim, available, brain, campaign, chain, claim, complain, contain, daily, detail, entertain, explain, fail, faith, gain, hail, Haiti, jail, mail, main, Maine, maintain, paid, pain, paint, rail, rain, raise, remain, retail, snail, Spain, stain, straight, train, trait, wait

/eə/: chair, pair
* "ay": day, pay, play, May, say, stay, tray
* "ae": sundae

/eə/: aerobics
## See also

* Decoding the letter A
* Decoding and spelling exercises: /æ/ vs /eɪ/
* So-called “short” and “long” vowels
Decoding exercises: "io"

The sequence "io" normally is part of two syllables (as in "sociology") or the "i" modifies the sound of the previous letter as in "action". This page sets out some that can be used to become more aware of how you can sound out more correctly the different sounds corresponding to words containing "io".

## Modified "c", "s", "t" + "io"

*See also:* Decoding exercises: "sion", Decoding exercises: "tion"
The letters "c", "s" and "t" often change their sound when followed by an "i".

* "cio" as /ʃə/: suspicion
* "cio" as /ʃə/ or /ʒə/*AmE*: coercion
* "sio"

* as /ʒə/: conclusion, confusion, decision, division, explosion, occasion, occasional, precision, provision, television, vision, visionary
* as /ʃə/: compulsion, extension, pension, propulsion, revulsion, tension, torsion

* "ssio" as /ʃə/: admission, aggression, compassion, compassionate, confession, depression, discussion, mission, missionary, profession
* "tio"

* as /ʃə/: action, addition, additional, condition, education, function, functional, information, nation, organization, position, relation, situation, tradition, traditional
* as /ʃə/ or /ʃ/: national
* as /tʃə/: question, suggestion
* as /ʃə/ or /tʃə/: attention, intention, mention
* as /ʒə/: equation
* as /ʃiːəʊ/: ratio

## Unmodified "c", "s", "t" + "io"

* "cio" as /siːəʊ/: nuncio, sociocultural
* "cio" as /siːɒ/: sociology
* "cio" as /siːə/: sociological
* "sio" as /ziːəʊ/: physiotherapy
* "sio" as /ziːɒ/: anaesthesiology,*BrE* anesthesiology,*AmE* physiology
* "tio" as /tiːə/: bastion

## Two syllables

* /aɪɒ/: biology
* /aɪɒ,*BrE* aɪɔː*AmE*/: priority
* /aɪəʊ/: Ohio
* /aɪə/: Iowa, lion, prior, violence
* /iːəʊ/: cardio, cardiovascular, Ethiopia, studio
* /iːɒ/: cardiology
* /iːə/: champion, criterion, interior, period, radio, senior, union

## One syllable

* /jə/: behavior,*AmE* behaviour,*BrE* billion, onion, opinion
* /ə/: region, religion, fashion

## "ious"

* "ious" as /iːəs/: curious, obvious, previous, serious, various
* "ious" as /əs/: anxious, religious
* "cious" as /ʃəs/: atrocious, audacious, auspicious, conscious, delicious, malicious, precious, suspicious

## See also

* Decoding the letter I
* Decoding the letter O
Pronunciation exercises: \ʌ\ vs \æ\

**/ʌ/** and **/æ/** may be easily confused by students.

## /ʌ/

* with "u": but - fun - just - much - must - number - public - result - run - study - such - sun - Sunday - under - up - us
* with "o": another - brother - come - company - cover - done - love - Monday - money - mother - other

Homophones: nun - none; won - one; sum - some; sun - son

## /æ/

* back - bad - black - can - fact - family - hand - happen - land - man - matter - plan - sand - stand - thank - understand - value

## /ʌ/ vs /æ/

* bug - bag; bun - ban; but - bat; cup - cap; crush - crash; cut - cat; done - Dan; drug - drag; flash - flush; fun - fan; hang - hung; hut - hat; luck - lack; mud - mad; run - ran; some - Sam; suck - sack; stuck - stack; stuff - staff; swum - swam; tonne/ton - tan; truck - track; uncle - ankle;
* hundred - hand; under - and;

Not safe for classroom
* fucked - fact;

## Anticipated pronunciation difficulties depending on L1

### Spanish

Spanish speakers can be divided into those who pronounce *"cantri clab"* and those who pronounce *"contri clob"* (for "country club"). In Spain, Chile and Argentina /ʌ/ is heard as [a], whereas in Mexico, Central America and Venezuela it is heard as [o].

Since most translations into Latin American Spanish are made in Mexico, Psyduck (a Pokémon) is pronounced [ˈsaidok] even in Chile and Argentina. "Bubble Guppies" is translated in Argentina, and presumably Mexican children say [ˈbabḷ ˈgapis]. See Bubble Guppies Español Latino ¿Quien va a ser el malvado lobo feroz?

#### /ʌ/ as [a]

For those in the first group the "problem" is that, although **/ʌ/** is very similar to the Spanish vowel **"a"**, it is in fact "much" shorter, while **/æ/** doesn't exist as such. Many of them have difficulty distinguishing between "hungry" and "angry". Others may think than "son" and "sun" are not homophones.

Another difficulty is remembering that there are many common words with the letter "**o**" pronounced **/ʌ/**.

#### /ʌ/ as [o]

Those in the second group normally don't even know that **/ʌ/**, the stressed vowel of "brother" is different form **/ɒ/**, the one of "bother".

#### /æ/

To help students pronounce **/æ/** there are three schools of thought:

* Practising the Spanish **"a"** followed rapidly by the **"e"** (however this would result in a diphthong like the one in "eye").
* A better method would be trying to produce a sound in between Spanish **"a"** [a] and Spanish **"e"** [e] at the same time, or opening the mouth to say [a] and trying to pronounce [e].
* The third alternative is to believe the *Concise Oxford Dictionary* (1966) that thinks /æ/ currently sounds [a] in Received Pronunciation. For a discussion see . This would result in sounding /æ/ as Spanish "a" and practising /ʌ/ as a different vowel, midway between Spanish "o" and Spanish "a". This could be dubbed *the Mexican approach*, as they are the biggest group who says *"contri clob"*.

## References

1. ↑ IPA vowel symbols for British English in dictionaries, Section 6. /a/ versus /ӕ/.

## See also

* Homophones
* Pronunciation exercises: /ʌ/ vs /ɒ/
Pronunciation exercises: \ɪ\ vs \ə\

In many dialects unstressed non-final /ɪ/ is pronounced /ə/. In Received pronunciation these phonemes are contrasted. When these vowels are not contrasted we talk of the "Lenin-Lennon merge" or the "weak vowel merger".

## Examples of /ɪ/ merged with /ə/

In the following examples some dictionaries use /ɪ/ and others use /ə/.

* **e**xcept, rabb**i**t, sc**e**nario

## Weak forms

In some accents a word with /ɪ/ may have a weak form with /ə/. In others the weak form simple has unstressed /ɪ/. The first IPA transcription is the strong form.

* it /ɪt, ət/

## Contrasted /ɪ/ and /ə/

In some accents that have the merger, the -ing form retains the /ɪ/.

## The merger in Received Pronunciation

Some words are merged in Received Pronunciation. The following words may appear with /ə/ in some British dictionaries.

* pal**a**ce, sen**a**te

## References

1. ↑ Wikipedia, Phonological history of English close front vowels § Weak vowel merger

## See also

* IPA phoneme /ɪ/ § Unstressed /ɪ/
* Pronunciation exercises: /ɪ/ vs /iː/ § Unstressed syllable
IPA phoneme \l\

In English, both in Received Pronunciation and in General American, the IPA phonetic symbol **/l/** (lowercase L) corresponds to the initial consonant sound in words like "look" and "last" and the final one in "school" and "girl".

In Estuary English /l/ in final position is a vowel. For example *milk* is pronounced [mɪok] and *middle* is [ˈmɪdo].

## Common words

Initial pronunciation of **/l/**:

* large, last, late, leave, let, life, like, little, live, long, look, lot, love

Medial pronunciation of **/l/**:

* As "l": also, child, clear, help, include, old, only, place, problem, world
* As "ll": actually, allow, challenge, college, dollar, follow, really, village

Final pronunciation of **/l/**:

* As "l": control, deal, feel, level, school, several, social, total, travel, until
* As "ll": all, call, cell, fall, full, kill, sell, skill, small, still, tell, wall, well, will
* With magic e: file, mile, module, role, rule, sale, smile, style, while, whole
* With silent e: able, available, couple, example, little, people, possible, table

See also Spelling exercises: final "l" vs "ll".

## See also

* IPA phonetic symbol [l̩] (syllabic /l/)
* Decoding the letter L
* Pronunciation exercises: /l/ vs /r/

## External links

* British Library, Received Pronunciation consonant sounds
Decoding exercises: "al"

The letter combination **"al"** has several different pronunciations. This article sets out some words that can help students become more aware of the differences.

## "all"

* /ɔːl/: all - ball - call - fall - hall - install - small - tall - wall
* /əl/: allergic - allow - parallel

Ending in "ally": actually - finally - normally
* /l/: basically - practically - specifically - technically - typically
* /æl/: allergy - alligator - ballet - challenge - Halloween - metallic - shall - shallow - valley
* /ɒl/: swallow - wallet

## "alk"

* Always /ɔː/: chalk - stalk - talk - walk

## At the beginning of the word

* /ɔːl/: almost - already - also - alternative - although - always
* /əl/: alarm - Alaska - alert - alive - alone - along
* /æl/: Alabama - album - alcohol - Algeria - alphabet
* /ɑː/: almond

## At the end of the word

* Magic e, /eɪl/: female, male, sale, scale
* /əl/: animal, capital, final, general, hospital, national, local, personal, political, several, total
* /æ/: chaparral, decal, gal

### Followed by consonants

* /æ/*AmE*, /ɑː/*BrE*: calf, half
* /ɑː/: calm, palm
* /ɔːl/: bald, salt, waltz
* /əl/: Donald, emerald, Ronald

## In the middle of the word

* /æl/: analysis - balance - calculate - personality - salary - talent - valuable - value
* /æ/: salmon
* /eɪl/: Australia
* /ɒl/: qualify
* /ɑːl/: Guatemala
* /ɔːl/: false, walnut, walrus, Walter
* /əl/: analyse*BrE* - analyze*AmE* - equally - equivalent - Italy - journalist - penalty

## See also

* Decoding written words
* Decoding the letter A
* Decoding the letter L
Decoding exercises: "sion"

This page sets out some words that can help students more aware of how they can sound out more correctly the different sounds corresponding to words ending in "sion", basically /ʒən/ and /ʃən/.

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

## /ʒ/

Words ending in Vsion, where V is any vowel, end in /ʒən/.

* collision - conclusion - confusion - decision - division - exclusion - explosion - fusion - illusion - inclusion - invasion - lesion - occasion - persuasion - precision - provision - revision - television - vision

## /ʃ/

Words ending in "nsion", "lsion" or "ssion" end in /ʃən/.

* ending in "lsion": compulsion - emulsion - propulsion - revulsion
* ending in "nsion": extension - mansion - pension - suspension - tension
* ending in "rsion": torsion
* ending in "ssion": admission - aggression - compassion - confession - depression - discussion - mission - profession

## Either /ʒ/ or /ʃ/

Most words ending in "rsion" are pronounced either with /ʒ/ or with /ʃ/. In most cases the difference is regional, with General American preferring /ʒ/ and Received Pronunciation preferring /ʃ/. Note that "torsion" is in the previous section.

* aversion - conversion - dispersion - excursion - immersion - inversion - perversion - version

## See also

* IPA phoneme /ʃ/
* IPA phoneme /ʒ/