IPA Vowel Symbols
Below is a list of all the vowel symbols of the International Phonetic Alphabet, with an explanation of where you can hear these sounds in different words, dialects and languages.
(For a quick guide to IPA Consonant symbols, go here. And for a more detailed tutorial of the International Phonetic Alphabet, go here.)
When you first start reading the IPA, I would recommend consulting this chart as much as possible, as well as looking at the standard IPA chart. It won’t take that long for this weird alphabet to be like second nature.
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Basic Vowel Symbols
I’ve going break these symbols up into two groups. The first group are “basic” vowel sounds–these are the sounds you most frequently hear in dialects of the English language.
The second group of vowels are “other” vowels. You will encounter these somewhat less commonly in English.
Symbol
English Equivalent
i
The “ee” in “Fleece” in most varieties of English.
ɪ
The “i” in “Kit” in American & most British dialects
e
The “e” in “Bet” in Australian English. Also, the first vowel in the dipthong “face” in American English.
ɛ
The “e” in “Dress” in most American and British dialects.
æ
The “a” in “Cat” in American English.
a
“a” in Scottish English “father” or “a” in Italian and Spanish. The first sound in the American English dipthong “kite”
ə
This is the lax, neutral sound in
American and British “comma” or “afraid.” It is called the Schwa.
ɑ
The “a” in “father” in most American and British accents. The “o” in “not” in American English
ɒ
The “o” in “lot” in most British dialects. The “ough” in “thought” in Standard American English
ɔ
The “ough” in “Thought” in Standard British and some American accents.
ʌ
The “u” in “Strut” in American English.
o
The “oa” in “Goat” in many Irish Accents. The “ough” in “thought” in many modern British accents. Also, the first vowel in the dipthong “goat” in American English.
ʊ
The vowel in “Foot” or “could” in American English and Standard British English.
u
The vowel in “goose” in American English.
Advanced Vowel Symbols
Then there are the less common, or less commonly-used symbols, which are as follows.
Symbol
English Equivalent
y
Like the “ee” in American English “fleece” except with the lips rounded. Can be heard in a few Scottish dialects in the word “goose.” This is also the “u” in French “tu.”
ʏ
Like the “i” in American English “kit”, except with the lips rounded. Some London and Scottish accents use this to pronounce “Goose.”
ø
Like the “eh” in “bet,” except with the lips rounded. Used in very few English dialects. The “ur” in “nurse” in strong New Zealand accents.
œ
Like the “eh” in “bet,” except with the lips rounded (like [2] above, only with the tongue a bit lower). Used in very few English dialects. Possibly the “ur” in “nurse” in very strong Cockney accents.
ɐ
The “u” in “Strut” in many modern British dialects. This sound is like /a/ described above, except with the tongue very slightly higher in the mouth.
ɜ
A bit like the “ur” in “nurse” in standard british English. The middle of the tongue is placed more or less in the middle of the mouth, and the lips are unrounded.
ɞ
Like /ɜ/ above, except the lips are rounded.
ɘ
Like /ə/ above, except with the tongue very slightly higher in the mouth.
ɵ
Like ɘ above, except with the lips rounded.
ʉ
This is a fairly common sound in English, but requires a bit of explanation. This is the “oo” sound in “goose” as it is pronounced in many London dialects, California English and many Scottish dialects. It is like the “oo” in Standard American “goose,” except with the tongue drawn further forward in the mouth.
ɨ
Like /ʉ/ above, except the lips are not rounded.
ɤ
Like /o/ above except the lips are NOT rounded. Extremely rare in English and most other languages for that matter. A bit like the “u” sound in Japanese.
ɯ
Like /u/ above, except the lips are NOT rounded. Like /ɤ/ above, this is very rare in English and other languages. Again, it’s a bit similar to the “u” in Japanese.
IPA takes a little while to get used to, but once you get it, it’s easy to understand!
Copright (c) 2011 by Ben Trawick-Smith. All rights reserved
