This article contains phonetic transcriptions in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA). For an introductory guide on IPA symbols, see Help:IPA. For the distinction between , / / and ⟨ ⟩, see IPA § Brackets and transcription delimiters.
The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (abbreviated AHD) uses a phonetic notation based on the Latin alphabet to transcribe the pronunciation of spoken English. It and similar respelling systems, such as those used by the Merriam-Webster and Random House dictionaries, are familiar to US schoolchildren.
The following tables show the AHD representations of English phonemes, along with the IPA equivalents as used on Misplaced Pages.
Vowels
In general, long vowels are marked with a macron, and short vowels with a breve. A circumflex may also be used to indicate a pre-rhotic vowel. Usage of other symbols vary.
| AHD | IPA | Example |
|---|---|---|
| ă | æ | bat |
| ā | eɪ | bait |
| âr | ɛər | bear |
| ä | ɑː | father |
| ĕ | ɛ | bet |
| ē | iː | beat |
| ĭ | ɪ | bit |
| ī | aɪ | bite |
| îr | ɪər | beer |
| ŏ | ɒ | bot |
| ō | oʊ | boat |
| ô | ɔː | bought |
| ôr | ɔːr | north |
| oi | ɔɪ | boy |
| o͝o | ʊ | book |
| o͞o | uː | boot |
| ou | aʊ | bout |
| ŭ | ʌ | butt |
| ûr | ɜːr | bird |
| ə | ə | about |
| ər | ər | butter |
| Foreign | ||
| œ | ø | French feu, German schön |
| œ | French œuf, German zwölf | |
| ü | y | French tu, German über |
| ◌N | ◌̃ | French bon |
Consonants
| AHD | IPA | Example |
|---|---|---|
| b | b | buy |
| ch | tʃ | China |
| d | d | dye |
| f | f | fight |
| g | ɡ | guy |
| h | h | high |
| hw | hw | why |
| j | dʒ | jive |
| k | k | kite |
| l | l | lie |
| əl | bottle | |
| m | m | my |
| n | n | nigh |
| ən | button | |
| ng | ŋ | sing |
| p | p | pie |
| r | r | rye |
| s | s | sigh |
| sh | ʃ | shy |
| t | t | tie |
| th | θ | thigh |
| th | ð | thy |
| v | v | vie |
| w | w | wide |
| y | j | yacht |
| z | z | zoo |
| zh | ʒ | vision |
| əm | əm | rhythm |
| Foreign | ||
| KH | ç | German ich |
| x | German ach, Scottish loch | |
Suprasegmentals
Stress is indicated by a prime character following stressed syllables. The character is in boldface when it indicates primary stress.
| AHD | IPA | Description |
|---|---|---|
| ◌′ | ˈ◌ | Primary stress |
| ◌′ | ˌ◌ | Secondary stress |
| - | . | Syllable division (omitted after stressed syllables) |
See also
References
- Houghton Mifflin, American Heritage Dictionary pronunciation key (PDF), retrieved 2016-01-21.