User talk:Hippietrail/IPA/English

Enlish dialect
Does this cover all the English dialects? Foxjwill 18:03, 9 August 2006 (UTC)
 * Nope. This covers what I've found in actual print dictionaries. I don't think I've come across a single one that includes pronunciations for all the English dialects. &mdash; Hippietrail 03:06, 10 August 2006 (UTC)
 * Ok. Thanks. So, should I assume then that it covers General Australian, General American, and General British (I think that's the main few)? Foxjwill 20:51, 10 August 2006 (UTC)
 * No you should assume nothing. I have included the names of the dictionaries. If you can see that a dictionary is British or Australian you might assume they have chosen IPA which they feel covers British English or Australian English. So far I have still not found any American English dictionary which uses IPA. I also include bilingual dictionaries. Of these, some use a single system and do not mark it as pertaining to either British or American but some analysis will usually show which is true. Others try to offer both British and American, with varying degrees of success. Some make an utter mess of it. Of those which offer American English pronunciations in IPA there appears to be quite a bit of consistency as to which symbols they choose.
 * When I get time I'll try to add more of my dictionaries and better coverage of the quirks leading to guesses about whether they are based on British or American pronunciation or a mix. &mdash; Hippietrail 02:28, 11 August 2006 (UTC)
 * Wikipedia has an article on all three: International Phonetic Alphabet for English. Foxjwill 23:36, 11 August 2006 (UTC)
 * On all three standard Englishes perhaps but not on how different dictionaries use IPA differently. &mdash; Hippietrail 15:53, 12 August 2006 (UTC)
 * Thanks, I didn't realize that. Foxjwill 22:17, 12 August 2006 (UTC)

Canadian Oxford Dictionary
Here it is, transcribed verbatim. They call it a "modified version" of the IPA, "based on thorough surveys of English-speaking Canadians from across the country." For foreign sounds, the notes imply that they are anglicized "to the degree to which the word has been naturalized by English-speaking Canadians."

Notes: they use /a/ for /æ/, /r/ for /ɹ/, possibly /oː/ for /oʊ/. —Michael Z. 19:36, 27 March 2008 (UTC)


 * Katherine Barber, editor (2004). The Canadian Oxford Dictionary, second edition. Toronto, Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-541816-6.


 * Vowels: a cat, ɑ arm, e bed, ɜr her, ɜː deux, ə ago, ɪ sit, i cosy, iː feed, ɒ hot, ɔ pore, oː no, ʌ run, ʊ put, uː mood, ai my, əi pipe, au brown, ʌu house, ei day, ɔi boy, ɑ̃ franglais, ã Canadien, ɔ̃ Brayon


 * Consonants: b but, d dog, f few, g get, h her, j yes, k cat, l leg, m man, n no, p pen, r red, s sit, t top, v voice, w we, z zoo, ʃ she, ʒ vision, θ thin, ð this, ŋ ring, x loch, tʃ chip, dʒ jar

The CanOD doen't show pronunciation for straightforward words, but I found the following. I can't think of any words with option rhotic r in Canadian English. The chart inside the back cover also says "(ə) signifies he indeterminate sound as in garden, carnal, and altruism.


 * loch /lɒk, lɒx/
 * bustle /ˈbʌsəl/
 * people /ˈpiːpəl/
 * prism /ˈprɪzəm/
 * midden /ˈmidən/
 * -phily /ˈfɪli/ (= -phillia)
 * quaternary /ˈkwɒtɜrˈneri, kwəˈtɜrnɜri/

Most words beginning with wh- are pronounced starting with /w-/, a few with /h-/, and only two with /hw-/.


 * whatchamacallit /ˈwʌtʃəməˌkɒlɪt, wɒt-/
 * whoop /wuːp, wʊp, huːp/
 * whore /hɔr, hʊr/
 * whew /hwjuː/
 * whisht /hwɪʃt/

—Michael Z. 23:09, 27 March 2008 (UTC)