English phonemes

A phoneme of a language or dialect is an abstraction of a speech sound or of a group of different sounds which are all perceived to have the same function by speakers of that particular language or dialect. For example, the English word through consists of three phonemes: the initial "th" sound, the "r" sound, and a vowel sound. The phonemes in this and many other English words do not always correspond directly to the letters used to spell them (English orthography is not as strongly phonemic as that of many other languages).

The number and distribution of phonemes in English vary from dialect to dialect, and also depend on the interpretation of the individual researcher. The number of consonant phonemes is generally put at 24 (or slightly more). The number of vowels is subject to greater variation; in the system presented on this page there are 20 vowel phonemes in Received Pronunciation, 14–16 in General American and 20–21 in Australian English[citation needed]. The pronunciation keys used in dictionaries generally contain a slightly greater number of symbols than this, to take account of certain sounds used in foreign words and certain noticeable distinctions that may not be—strictly speaking—phonemic.

Consonants

The following table shows the 24 consonant phonemes found in most dialects of English, in addition to /x/, whose distribution is more limited. Fortis consonants are always voiceless, aspirated in syllable onset (except in clusters beginning with /s/), and sometimes also glottalized to an extent in syllable coda (most likely to occur with /t/, see T-glottalization), while lenis consonants are always unaspirated and un-glottalized, and generally partially or fully voiced. The alveolars are usually apical, i.e. pronounced with the tip of the tongue touching or approaching the roof of the mouth, though some speakers produce them laminally, i.e. with the blade of the tongue.

		Labial		Dental	Alveolar	Post- alveolar	Palatal		Velar		Glottal
		plain	dental				plain	labial	plain	labial
Nasal	fortis	m̥			n̥		ɲ̊		ŋ̊
	lenis	m1	ɱ		n1		ɲ		ŋ
Plosive/ affricate	fortis	p			t	tʃ~tɕ	c		k		ʔ
	lenis	b			d	dʒ~dʑ	ɟ		ɡ
Fricative	fortis	ɸ	f	θ2	s	ʃ~ɕ	ç		x3		h
	lenis	β	v	ð2	z	ʒ~ʑ	ʝ		ɣ		ɦ
Approximant	fortis		ʋ̥		ɹ̥	ɹ̠̊	j̊	ɥ̊	ɰ̊	ʍ
	lenis		ʋ		ɹ	ɹ̠4	j5	ɥ	ɰ	w6	ʔ̞
	lateral				l1		ʎ		ʟ
Trill	fortis	ʙ̥			r̥
	lenis	ʙ			r

Vowels

Received Pronunciation

		Front		Central		Back
		short	long	short	long	short	long
Close	unrounded	ɪ	iː			ɯ̞	ɯ̞ː
	rounded	ʏ	yː			ʊ	uː
Close-mid	unrounded	e		ɘ	ɘː	ɤ	ɤː
	rounded	ø		ɵ	ɵː	o	oː
Open-mid	unrounded	ɛ		ə	ɜː	ʌ	ʌː
	rounded	œ		ɞ	ɞː	ɔ	ɔː
Open	unrounded	æ		ɐ1		ɑ	ɑː
	rounded			ɒ̈		ɒ	ɒː
Diphthongs		eɪ   aɪ   ɔɪ   aʊ   əʊ ɪə   eə   ʊə
Triphthongs		(eɪə   aɪə   ɔɪə   aʊə   əʊə)

General American

		Front		Central	Back
		lax	tense		lax	tense
Close	unrounded	ɪ	i		ɯ̞	ɯ
	rounded	ʏ	y		ʊ	u
Close-mid	unrounded		eɪ3	ə
	unrounded		øʏ3			oʊ3
Open-mid	unrounded	ɛ		ɜ	ʌ2
	rounded	œ		ɞ		(ɔ)4
Open	unrounded	æ	a	ä		ɑ
	rounded		ɶ	ɒ̈		ɒ
Diphthongs		aɪ   ɔɪ   aʊ

General Australian

		Front		Central		Back
		short	long	short	long	short	long
Close	unrounded	ɪ	iː		ɨː		ɤː
	rounded	ʏ	yː		ʉː	ʊ	oː
Mid	unrounded	e	eː	ə	ɜː	ʌ
	rounded	ø	øː	ɵ	ɞː	ɔ
Open	unrounded	æ		ɐ	ɐː	ɑ	ɑː
	rounded	ɶ				ɒ	ɒː
Diphthongs		æɪ   ɑɪ   oɪ   æɔ   əʉ ɪə   (ʊə)

External links

• English phonology