International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)
A system to transcribe the sounds of all world languages
The International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) was devised to describe and compare the sounds of all world languages. It has also become the standard in English dictionaries and educational materials for indicating word pronunciations. Dozens of awkward and confusing symbols
It is written with an odd mix of strangely familiar symbols. These symbols were created cheaply in the 19th century by removing elements and rotating letters when books were printed with metal type, as casting new pieces of metal was very expensive. For example, a 'capital A without a crossbar' is used for the strut vowel [ʌ], and an 'upside-down lowercase e' is used for the schwa [ə]. More confusingly, symbols are often used inaccurately. Dictionaries are filled with outdated symbols that reflect pronunciations from many decades ago, such as [æ] and [eə(r)]; wrongly chosen symbols, such as the so-called 'long i' [i:], which is actually a diphthong; and completely made-up symbols like [i]. The 'historical r' in rhotic accents and optional sounds can be written in round parentheses. Primary and secondary stress are indicated with a high vertical line [ˈ] and a low vertical line [ˌ] before the stressed syllable, respectively. Detailed accent comparisons for phoneticians
IPA is the most accurate system for phoneticians analysing different accents, as it describes even the most subtle differences using additional optional diacritics. However, it is often used broadly in a 'phonemic' rather than a phonetic way in dictionaries. Standard Southern British (SSB)
London's current accent
External Links: IPA models of Standard Southern British
♦ Standard Southern British G. Lindsey, 2015
♦ British English Vowel Chart [in Various Dictionaries] L. Nicholson, 2023
♦ British English Pronunciations Oxford English Dictionary, 2024