KEY TO THE SOUNDS
The system of signs used in this Dictionary as a guide to the sounds of the
words is a simpler form of that used by Professor Daniel Jones in his An English
Pronouncing Dictionary.
There is no one right way of saying the sounds of the English language, but a
number of different ways, all equally good. That given here is based on the way
of talking common in the south of England among persons of good education.
If you go to the north, or to Wales, or to America, you will come across other
sorts of English. However, if you say the sounds as they are printed in this
Dictionary, you will be clear everywhere.
In the south, r is only sounded when an open sound comes after it, as in run
and bright. In words like burn, star, and certain, no r is said in the south, though
it is in other parts of Britain. In our simple system, only the r's sounded by
everyone are put in, but all the r's seen in a word as normally printed may be
sounded if desired.
SIMPLE OPEN SOUNDS
| a | rat [rat] | i: | week [wi:k] | u: | rule [ru:l] | |||
| a: | part [pa:t] | ɔ | pot [pɔt] | ə | a'gain [ə'gein], | |||
| e | bell [bel] | ɔ: | sort [sɔ:t] | older [ouldə] | ||||
| i | will [wil] | ʌ | nut [nʌt] | ə: | earth [ə:θ] | |||
| u | pull [pul] |
COMPLEX OPEN SOUNDS
| ai | tight [tait] | ei | say [sei] | ou | no [nou] | |||
| au | fowl [faul] | iə | fear [fiə] | uə | poor [puə] | |||
| eə | hair [heə] | ɔi | boy [bɔi] |
STOPPED SOUNDS
| b | body [bɔdi] | l | late [leit] | t | take [teik] | |||
| tʃ | cheese [tʃi:z] | m | male [meil] | θ | thought [θɔ:t] | |||
| d | do [du:] | n | now [nau] | ð | this [ðis] | |||
| f | fall [fɔ:l] | ŋ | thing [θiŋ] | v | vessel [vesl] | |||
| g | get [get] | p | pain [pein] | w | wind [wind] | |||
| h | have [hav] | r | rain [rein] | j | yellow [jelou] | |||
| dʒ | judge [dʒʌdʒ] | s | send [send] | z | was [wɔz] | |||
| k | keep [ki:p] | ʃ | ship [ʃip] | ʒ | pleasure [pleʒə] |
WEIGHT
A mark is put before the part of the word on which the weight comes (de'sign).
In complex words, and words formed from another by the addition of an ending, when
the weight is on the root word, the mark is put before the joining-sign ('-ed, under
a'bandon, '-clay, under pipe). When the weight is on the ending or the second word,
the mark is put after the joining-sign (-'arium, under herb, -'self, under one). When
the weight comes equally on the two parts of a complex word, no mark is used (j.-black,
under jet).
Though, when the weight on a word is changed, there is frequently some other change
in the sound, it is generally enough for only the change in weight to be noted, because
the change in sound will be made automatically. One point to keep in mind is the
tendency for open sounds to become "ə" when the weight is taken off them.