English Proficiency → Oral Communication: Training in Speech Sounds

Oral Communication: Training in Speech Sounds

Why English Needs IPA Symbols for Correct Pronunciation

English pronunciation can vary significantly depending on accents, dialects, and individual speakers. The International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) provides a consistent, universal system for representing speech sounds. This helps learners:

Achieve Accurate Pronunciation: IPA symbols precisely represent how words should be pronounced, regardless of spelling variations.
Overcome Ambiguities: English spelling can be irregular (e.g., “through” vs. “though”). IPA eliminates confusion by using distinct symbols for each sound.
Facilitate Language Learning: Understanding IPA helps learners accurately produce and recognize sounds in English and other languages.

IPA Chart of English

Here’s a tabular representation of the IPA chart for English sounds:

Consonants
Bilabial	p	b	m
Labiodental	f	v
Dental	θ	ð
Alveolar	t	d	n	s	z	l
Postalveolar	ʃ	ʒ
Retroflex	r
Palatal	j
Velar	k	g	ŋ
Glottal	h

Vowels
Front	iː	ɪ	e	æ
Central	ə	ɜː	ʌ
Back	uː	ʊ	ɔː	ɒ	ɑː
Diphthongs	eɪ	aɪ	ɔɪ	aʊ	əʊ	ɪə	eə	ʊə

Phonemic Transcription

Phonemic transcription is the process of writing down the sounds of speech using the IPA symbols. It represents how words are pronounced rather than how they are spelled.

For example:

Word: “cat”
- Phonemic Transcription: /kæt/
Word: “phone”
- Phonemic Transcription: /fəʊn/

Easy-to-Understand Examples

Here are a few more examples of words with their IPA transcriptions:

Word	IPA Transcription	Explanation
bat	/bæt/	“b” as in “bat,” “a” as in “cat,” “t” as in “top”
seat	/siːt/	“s” as in “sit,” “ee” as in “see,” “t” as in “top”
bread	/brɛd/	“b” as in “bat,” “r” as in “red,” “ea” as in “bed”
thought	/θɔːt/	“th” as in “think,” “ough” as in “ought”
blue	/bluː/	“b” as in “bat,” “l” as in “lip,” “ue” as in “blue”

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Vowels