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{{Short description|Phonology of the English language}}
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'''English phonology''' is the system of [[Phonology|speech sounds]] used in spoken [[English language|English]]. Like many other languages, English has wide variation in [[pronunciation]], both [[History of the English language|historically]] and from [[List of dialects of the English language|dialect to dialect]]. In general, however, the worldwide dialects of English share a largely similar (but not identical) [[phonological]] system. Among other things, most dialects have [[vowel reduction]] in [[unstressed]] [[syllable]]s and a complex set of [[phonological feature]]s that distinguish [[fortis and lenis]] [[consonant]]s ([[stop consonant|stops]], [[affricate]]s, and [[fricative]]s).

Phonological analysis of English often concentrates on [[prestige (sociolinguistics)|prestige]] or [[standard language|standard]] accents, such as [[Received Pronunciation]] for [[England]], [[General American]] for the [[United States]], and [[Australian English|General Australian]] for [[Australia]]. Nevertheless, many other dialects of English are spoken, which have developed differently from these standardized accents, particularly regional dialects. Descriptions of standardized reference accents provide only a limited guide to the phonology of other dialects of English.

==Phonemes==
A [[phoneme]] of a language or dialect is an [[abstraction]] of a [[speech sound]] or of a group of different sounds that 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 that and many other English words do not always correspond directly to the letters used to spell them ([[English orthography]] is not as strongly [[phonemic orthography|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 depending on the dialect). The number of vowels is subject to greater variation; in the system presented on this page there are 20–25 vowel phonemes in [[Received Pronunciation]], 14–16 in [[General American]] and 19–21 in [[Australian English]]. 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, plus {{IPA|/x/}}, whose distribution is more limited. [[Fortis and lenis|Fortis]] consonants are always [[voiceless]], [[Aspirated consonant|aspirated]] in [[syllable onset]] (except in clusters beginning with {{IPA|/s/}} or {{IPA|/ʃ/}}), and sometimes also [[glottalized]] to an extent in [[syllable coda]] (most likely to occur with {{IPA|/t/}}, see [[T-glottalization]]), while lenis consonants are always [[unaspirated consonant|unaspirated]] and un-glottalized, and generally partially or fully [[voiced]]. The alveolars are usually [[Apical consonant|apical]], i.e. pronounced with the tip of the tongue touching or approaching the roof of the mouth, though some speakers produce them [[Laminal consonant|laminally]], i.e. with the blade of the tongue.{{sfnp|Rogers|2000|p=20}}

{|class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;"
! colspan="2" |
! scope="col" | [[Labial consonant|Labial]]
! scope="col" | [[Dental consonant|Dental]]
! scope="col" | [[Alveolar consonant|Alveolar]]
! scope="col" | [[postalveolar consonant|Post-<br>alveolar]]
! scope="col" | [[palatal consonant|Palatal]]
! scope="col" | [[Velar consonant|Velar]]
! scope="col" | [[Glottal consonant|Glottal]]
|-
! colspan="2" scope="row" | [[Nasal consonant|Nasal]]
| {{IPA link|m}}{{efn|name=syllabic|Some varieties of English have [[syllabic consonant]]s in some words, principally {{IPA|[l̩, m̩, n̩]}}, for example at the end of ''bottle'', ''rhythm'' and ''button''. In such cases, no phonetic vowel is pronounced between the last two consonants, and the last consonant forms a [[syllable]] on its own. Syllabic consonants are generally transcribed with a vertical line under the consonant letter, so that phonetic transcription of ''bottle'' and ''button'' in {{abbr|GA|General American}} would be {{IPA|[ˈbɑɾl̩]}} and {{IPA|[ˈbʌʔn̩]}}. In theory, such consonants could be analyzed as individual phonemes. However, this would add several extra consonant phonemes to the inventory for English,{{sfnp|Roach|2009|pp=100–1}} and phonologists prefer to identify syllabic nasals and [[liquid consonant|liquids]] phonemically as {{IPA|/ə[[consonant|C]]/}}.{{sfnp|Kreidler|2004|p=84}}{{sfnp|Wells|1982|p=55}} Thus ''button'' is phonemically {{IPA|/ˈbʌtən/}} or {{IPA|/ˈbatən/}} and ''bottle'' is phonemically {{IPA|/ˈbɒtəl/}}, {{IPA|/ˈbɑtəl/}}, or {{IPA|/ˈbɔtəl/}}.}}
|
| {{IPA link|n}}{{efn|name=syllabic}}
|
|
| {{IPA link|ŋ}}
|
|-
! rowspan="2" scope="row" | [[Plosive]]
! scope="row" | {{small|[[Fortis and lenis|fortis]]}}
| {{IPA link|p}}
|
| {{IPA link|t}}
|{{IPA link|tʃ}}
|
| {{IPA link|k}}
|
|-
! scope="row" | {{small|[[lenis]]}}
| {{IPA link|b}}
|
| {{IPA link|d}}
|{{IPA link|dʒ}}
|
| {{IPA link|ɡ}}
|
|-
! rowspan="2" scope="row" | [[Fricative]]
! scope="row" | {{small|[[Fortis and lenis|fortis]]}}
|{{IPA link|f}}
| {{IPA link|θ}}{{efn|name=th|{{IPA|/θ, ð/}} are realized as stops in accents affected by [[th-stopping|''th''-stopping]], such as [[Hiberno-English]], the [[New York accent]], and [[South Asian English]]. They are merged with {{IPA|/f, v/}} in accents affected by [[th-fronting|''th''-fronting]], such as some varieties of [[Cockney]] and [[African American Vernacular English]]. See [[Pronunciation of English ⟨th⟩]].}}
| {{IPA link|s}}
| {{IPA link|ʃ}}
|
| ({{IPA link|x}}){{efn|The [[voiceless velar fricative]] {{IPA|/x/}} is mainly used in [[Hiberno-English]], [[Scottish English|Scottish]], [[South African English|South African]] and [[Welsh English]]; words with {{IPA|/x/}} in Scottish accents tend to be pronounced with {{IPA|/k/}} in other dialects. The velar fricative sometimes appears in recent [[loanword]]s such as ''chutzpah''. Under the influence of [[Welsh language|Welsh]] and [[Afrikaans]], the actual phonetic realization of {{IPA|/x/}} in Welsh English and White South African English is uvular {{IPAblink|χ}}, rather than velar {{IPAblink|x}}.{{sfnp|Wells|1982|pp=389, 619}}{{sfnp|Tench|1990|p=132}}{{sfnp|Bowerman|2004|p=939}} Dialects do not necessarily agree on the exact words in which {{IPA|/x/}} appears; for instance, in Welsh English it appears in loanwords from Welsh (such as ''[[Amlwch]]'' {{IPA|/ˈæmlʊx/}}), whereas in White South African English it appears only in loanwords from Afrikaans or [[Xhosa language|Xhosa]] (such as ''gogga'' {{IPA|/ˈxɒxə/}} 'insect').{{sfnp|Wells|1982|pp=389, 619}}{{sfnp|Bowerman|2004|p=939}}}}
| rowspan="2" scope="row" | {{IPA link|h}}{{efn|This sound may not be a phoneme in [[H-dropping]] dialects.}}
|-
! scope="row" | {{small|[[lenis]]}}
|{{IPA link|v}}
| {{IPA link|ð}}{{efn|name=th}}
| {{IPA link|z}}
| {{IPA link|ʒ}}
|
|
|-
! colspan="2" scope="row" | [[Approximant]]
|
|
|{{IPA link|l}}{{efn|name=syllabic}}
| {{IPA link|ɹ|r}}{{efn|This phoneme is conventionally transcribed with the basic Latin letter {{angbr|r}} (the IPA symbol for the [[alveolar trill]]), even though its pronunciation is usually a [[postalveolar approximant]] {{IPA|[ɹ̠]}}. The trill exists but is rare, found only in some [[Scottish English|Scottish]], [[Welsh English|Welsh]],{{sfnp|Garrett|Coupland|Williams|2003|p=73}} [[South African English phonology|South African]]{{sfnp|Bowerman|2004|p=940}} and [[Indian English|Indian]]{{sfnp|Spitzbardt|1976|p=31}} dialects. See [[Pronunciation of English /r/]].}}
| {{IPA link|j}}{{efn|The sound at the beginning of ''huge'' in most British accents{{sfnp|O'Connor|1973|p=151}} is a [[voiceless palatal fricative]] {{IPA|[ç]}}, but this is analysed phonemically as the consonant cluster {{IPA|/hj/}} so that ''huge'' is transcribed {{IPA|/hjuːdʒ/}}. As with {{IPA|/hw/}}, this does not mean that speakers pronounce {{IPA|[h]}} followed by {{IPA|[j]}}; the phonemic transcription {{IPA|/hj/}} is simply a convenient way of representing the single sound {{IPA|[ç]}}.{{sfnp|Roach|2009|p=43}} The [[yod-dropping]] found in the [[Norfolk dialect]] means that the traditional Norfolk pronunciation of ''huge'' is {{IPA|[hʊudʒ]}} and not {{IPA|[çuːdʒ]}}.}}
| {{IPA link|w}}{{efn|In some conservative accents in Scotland, Ireland, the southern United States, and New England, the digraph {{angbr|wh}} in words like ''which'' and ''whine'' represents a voiceless ''w'' sound {{IPA|[ʍ]}}, a [[voiceless labiovelar fricative]]{{sfnp|Gimson|2008|p=230}}{{sfnp|McMahon|2002|p=31}}{{sfnp|Giegerich|1992|p=36}} or [[voiceless labio-velar approximant|approximant]],{{sfnp|Ladefoged|2006|p=68}} which contrasts with the voiced ''w'' of ''witch'' and ''wine''. In most dialects, this sound is lost, and is pronounced as a voiced ''w'' (the [[Wine–whine merger|''wine''–''whine'' merger]]). Phonemically this sound may be analysed as a consonant cluster {{IPA|/hw/}}, rather than as a separate phoneme {{IPA|*/ʍ/}}, so ''which'' and ''whine'' are transcribed phonemically as {{IPA|/hwɪtʃ/}} and {{IPA|/hwaɪn/}}. This does not mean that such speakers actually pronounce {{IPA|[h]}} followed by {{IPA|[w]}}: this phonemic transcription {{IPA|/hw/}} is simply a convenient way of representing a single sound {{IPA|[ʍ]}} when such dialects are not analysed as having an extra phoneme.{{sfnp|Roach|2009|p=43}}}}
|
|}

{{Notelist}}

====Consonant examples====
The following table shows typical examples of the occurrence of the above consonant phonemes in words, using [[minimal pair]]s where possible.
{| class="wikitable"
! colspan="2" | [[Fortis and lenis|Fortis]]
! colspan="2" | [[Lenis]]
|-
| {{IPAslink|p}} || '''p'''it
| {{IPAslink|b}} || '''b'''it
|-
| {{IPAslink|t}} || '''t'''in
| {{IPAslink|d}} || '''d'''in
|-
| {{IPAslink|k}} || '''c'''ut
| {{IPAslink|ɡ}} || '''g'''ut
|-
| {{IPAslink|tʃ}} || '''ch'''eap
| {{IPAslink|dʒ}} || '''j'''eep
|-
| {{IPAslink|f}} || '''f'''at
| {{IPAslink|v}} || '''v'''at
|-
| {{IPAslink|θ}} || '''th'''igh
| {{IPAslink|ð}} || '''th'''y
|-
| {{IPAslink|s}} || '''s'''ap
| {{IPAslink|z}} || '''z'''ap
|-
| {{IPAslink|ʃ}} || dilu'''ti'''on 
| {{IPAslink|ʒ}} || delu'''si'''on
|-
| {{IPAslink|x}} || lo'''ch'''
| colspan="2" |
|-
| {{IPAslink|h}} || '''h'''am
| colspan="2" |
|-
| colspan="2" |
| {{IPAslink|m}} || hu'''m'''
|-
| colspan="2" |
| {{IPAslink|n}} || Hu'''n'''
|-
| colspan="2" |
| {{IPAslink|ŋ}} || hu'''ng'''
|-
| colspan="2" |
| {{IPAslink|j}} || '''y'''our
|-
| colspan="2" |
| {{IPAslink|w}} || '''w'''ore
|-
| colspan="2" |
| {{IPAslink|ɹ̠|r}} || '''r'''ump
|-
| colspan="2" |
| {{IPAslink|l}} || '''l'''ump
|}

====Sonorants====
* The pronunciation of {{IPA|/l/}} varies by dialect:
** Received Pronunciation has two main allophones of {{IPA|/l/}}: the clear, or plain, {{IPA|[l]}} (the "light L"), and the [[Voiced dental, alveolar and postalveolar lateral approximants#Velarized alveolar lateral approximant|dark]], or [[velarized]], {{IPA|[ɫ]}} (the "dark L"). The clear variant is used before vowels when they are in the same syllable, and the dark variant when the {{IPA|/l/}} precedes a consonant or is in syllable-final position before silence.
** In South Wales, Ireland, and the Caribbean, {{IPA|/l/}} is usually clear, and in North Wales, Scotland, Australia, and New Zealand it is usually dark.
** In General American and Canada, {{IPA|/l/}} is generally dark, but to varying degrees: before stressed vowels it is neutral or only slightly velarized.{{sfnp|Wells|1982|p=490}} In southern U.S. accents it is noticeably clear between vowels, and in some other positions.{{sfnp|Wells|1982|p=550}}
** In urban accents of Southern England, as well as New Zealand and some parts of the United States, {{IPA|/l/}} can be pronounced as an approximant or [[semivowel]] ({{IPA|[w], [o], [ʊ]}}) at the end of a syllable ([[l-vocalization|''l''-vocalization]]).
* Depending on dialect, {{IPA|/r/}} has at least the following allophones in varieties of English around the world (see [[Pronunciation of English /r/]]):
** [[postalveolar approximant]] {{IPA|[ɹ̠]}} (the most common realization of the {{IPA|/r/}} phoneme, occurring in most dialects, RP and General American included)
** [[retroflex approximant]] {{IPA|[ɻ]}} (occurs in most Irish dialects and some American dialects)
** [[labiodental approximant]] {{IPA|[ʋ]}} (occurs in south-east England and some London accents; known as [[R-labialization|''r''-labialization]])
** [[alveolar flap]] {{IPA|[ɾ]}} (occurs in most Scottish, Welsh,{{sfnp|Collins|Mees|1990|p=91}} [[Indian English|Indian]]{{sfnp|Spitzbardt|1976|p=31}} and some South African dialects, some conservative dialects in England and Ireland; not to be confused with [[flapping]] of {{IPA|/t/}} and {{IPA|/d/}})
** [[alveolar trill]] {{IPA|[r]}} (occurs in some very conservative Scottish dialects and some [[Indian English|Indian]], [[South African English phonology|South African]] and Welsh accents){{sfnp|Spitzbardt|1976|p=31}}{{sfnp|Bowerman|2004|p=940}}{{sfnp|Garrett|Coupland|Williams|2003|p=73}}
** [[voiced uvular fricative]] {{IPA|[ʁ]}} (occurs in northern Northumbria, largely disappeared; known as the [[Northumbrian burr]])
* In most dialects {{IPA|/r/}} is [[labialized]] {{IPA|[ɹ̠ʷ]}} in many positions, as in ''reed'' {{IPA|[ɹ̠ʷiːd]}} and ''tree'' {{IPA|[t̠ɹ̠̊ʷiː]}}; in the latter case, the {{IPA|/t/}} may be slightly labialized as well.{{sfnp|Ladefoged|2001|p=55}}
* In some [[Rhoticity in English|rhotic accents]], such as General American, {{IPA|/r/}} when not followed by a vowel is realized as an [[r-coloring]] of the preceding vowel or its coda: ''nurse'' {{IPA|[ˈnɚs]}}, ''butter'' {{IPA|[ˈbʌɾɚ]}}.
* The distinctions between the nasals are [[Phoneme#Neutralization|neutralized]] in some environments. For example, before a final {{IPA|/p/}}, {{IPA|/t/}} or {{IPA|/k/}} there is nearly always only one nasal sound that can appear in each case: {{IPA|[m]}}, {{IPA|[n]}} or {{IPA|[ŋ]}} respectively (as in the words ''limp'', ''lint'', ''link'' – note that the ''n'' of ''link'' is pronounced {{IPA|[ŋ]}}). This effect can even occur across syllable or word boundaries, particularly in stressed syllables: ''synchrony'' is pronounced {{IPA|[ˈsɪŋkɹəni]}} whereas ''synchronic'' may be pronounced with either {{IPA|[sɪŋ-]}} or {{IPA|[sɪn-]}}. For other possible syllable-final combinations, see {{slink||Coda}} in the Phonotactics section below.

====Obstruents====
In most dialects, the fortis stops and affricate {{IPA|/p, t, tʃ, k/}} have various different allophones, and are distinguished from the lenis stops and affricate {{IPA|/b, d, dʒ, ɡ/}} by several phonetic features.{{sfnp|Celce-Murcia|Brinton|Goodwin|1996|pp=62–67}}
* The allophones of the fortes {{IPA|/p, t, tʃ, k/}} include:
**[[Aspiration (phonetics)|aspirated]] {{IPA|[pʰ, tʰ, kʰ]}} when they occur in the onset of a [[lexical stress|stressed]] syllable, as in ''po'''t'''ato''. In clusters involving a following liquid, the aspiration typically manifests as the devoicing of this liquid. These sounds are unaspirated {{IPA|[p, t, k]}} after {{IPA|/s/}} within the same syllable, as in ''s'''t'''an, s'''p'''an, s'''c'''an'', and at the ends of syllables, as in ''mat'', ''map'', ''mac''.{{sfnp|Roach|2009|pp=26–28}} The voiceless fricatives are nearly always unaspirated, but a notable exception is English-speaking areas of Wales, where they are often aspirated.{{sfnp|Wells|1982|p=388}}
** In many accents of English, fortis stops {{IPA|/p, t, k, tʃ/}} are [[glottalized]] in some positions. That may be heard either as a glottal stop preceding the oral closure ("pre-glottalization" or "glottal reinforcement") or as a substitution of the glottal stop {{IPA|[ʔ]}} for the oral stop (glottal replacement). {{IPA|/tʃ/}} can be only pre-glottalized. Pre-glottalization normally occurs in British and American English when the fortis consonant phoneme is followed by another consonant or when the consonant is in final position. Thus ''football'' and ''catching'' are often pronounced {{IPA|[ˈfʊʔtbɔːl]}} and {{IPA|[ˈkæʔtʃɪŋ]}}, respectively. Even more frequently, glottal replacement happens in such cases involving {{IPA|/t/}}, so that ''football'' is pronounced {{IPA|[ˈfʊʔbɔːl]}}. In addition, however, glottal replacement is increasingly common in British English when {{IPA|/t/}} occurs between vowels if the preceding vowel is stressed; thus ''better'' is often pronounced by younger speakers as {{IPA|[ˈbeʔə]}}.{{sfnp|Gimson|2008|pp=179–180}} Such [[t-glottalization|''t''-glottalization]] also occurs in many British regional accents, including [[Cockney English|Cockney]], where it can also occur at the end of words, and where {{IPA|/p/}} and {{IPA|/k/}} are sometimes treated the same way.{{sfnp|Wells|1982|p=323}}
**For some RP-speakers, final voiceless stops, especially {{IPA|/k/}}, may become ejectives.<ref>{{Citation |title=EJECTIVE CONSONANTS in ENGLISH: Why do English speakers pronounce /k/ like that? | date=26 June 2020 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rP0-MfE4zbA |access-date=2023-05-04 |language=en}}</ref>
* Among stops, both fortes and lenes:
** May have [[no audible release]] {{IPA|[p̚, b̚, t̚, d̚, k̚, ɡ̚]}} in the word-final position.{{sfnp|Celce-Murcia|Brinton|Goodwin|1996|p=64}}{{sfnp|Cruttenden|2014|pp=173–182}} These allophones are more common in North America than Great Britain.{{sfnp|Celce-Murcia|Brinton|Goodwin|1996|p=64}}
** Almost always have a masked release before another plosive or affricate (as in ''{{not a typo|ru'''bb'''ed}}'' {{IPA|[ˈɹʌˑb̚d̥]}}), i.e. the release of the first stop is made after the closure of the second stop. This also applies when the following stop is [[homorganic]] (articulated in the same place), as in ''to'''p p'''layer''.{{sfnp|Cruttenden|2014|pp=170 and 173–182}} A notable exception is [[Welsh English]] in which stops are usually released in that environment.{{sfnp|Wells|1982|p=388}}
** The affricates {{IPA|/tʃ, dʒ/}} have a mandatory fricative release in all environments.{{sfnp|Cruttenden|2014|p=190}}
* Very often in the United States and Canada and less frequently in Australia<ref>{{Harvnb|Trudgill|Hannah|2002|p=18}}</ref> and New Zealand,<ref>{{Harvnb|Trudgill|Hannah|2002|p=25}}</ref> both {{IPA|/t/ and /d/}} can be [[flapping|pronounced as a voiced flap]] {{IPA|[ɾ]}} in certain positions: when they come between a preceding stressed vowel (possibly with intervening {{IPA|/r/}}) and precede an unstressed vowel or [[syllabic consonant|syllabic]] {{IPA|/l/}}. Examples include ''wa'''t'''er'', ''bo'''tt'''le'', ''pe'''t'''al'', ''{{not a typo|pe'''dd'''le}}'' (the last two words sound alike when flapped). The flap may even appear at word boundaries, as in ''pu'''t''' i'''t''' on''. When the combination {{IPA|/nt/}} appears in such positions, some American speakers pronounce it as a [[nasalized]] flap that may become indistinguishable from {{IPA|/n/}}, so ''winter'' {{IPA|[ˈwɪɾ̃ɚ]}} may be pronounced similarly or identically to ''winner'' {{IPA|[ˈwɪnɚ]}}.{{sfnp|Wells|1982|p=252}}
*[[Yod-coalescence]] is a process that [[Palatalization (sound change)|palatalizes]] the [[Consonant cluster|clusters]] {{IPA|/dj/}}, {{IPA|/tj/}}, {{IPA|/sj/}} and {{IPA|/zj/}} into {{IPA|[dʒ]}}, {{IPA|[tʃ]}}, {{IPA|[ʃ]}} and {{IPA|[ʒ]}} respectively, frequently occurring with clusters that would be considered to span a syllable boundary.<ref>{{harvp|Wyld|1936}}, cited in {{harvp|Wells|1982|p=262}}.</ref> 
**Yod-coalescence in stressed syllables, such as in ''tune'' and ''dune'', occurs in [[Australian English phonology|Australian]], [[Cockney#Cockney speech|Cockney]], [[Estuary English]], [[Hiberno-English]] (some speakers), [[Newfoundland English]], [[South African English]], and to a certain extent in [[New Zealand English]] and [[Scottish English]] (many speakers). This can lead to additional homophony; for instance, ''dew'' and ''due'' come to be pronounced the same as ''Jew''.{{sfnp|Bauer|Warren|2005|p=596}}
**In certain varieties such as [[Australian English]], South African English, and New Zealand English, {{IPA|/sj/}} and {{IPA|/zj/}} in stressed syllables can coalesce into {{IPA|[ʃ]}} and {{IPA|[ʒ]}}, respectively. In Australian English for example, ''assume'' is pronounced {{IPA|[əˈ'''ʃʉ'''ːm]}} by some speakers.{{sfnp|Wells|1982|p=207}} Furthermore, some British, Canadian, American, New Zealand and Australian speakers may change the {{IPA|/s/}} sound to {{IPA|/ʃ/}} before {{IPA|/tr/}};{{sfnp|Durian|2007}} for example, these speakers pronounce '''''str'''ewn'' as {{IPA|[ʃtruːn]}}.{{sfnp|Hay|2008|p=37}} 
* The [[postalveolar consonant]]s {{IPA|/tʃ, dʒ, ʃ, ʒ/}} are strongly [[labialized]]: {{IPA|[tʃʷ dʒʷ ʃʷ ʒʷ]}}.{{sfnp|Collins|Mees|2013|pp=86, 93}}
* In addition to {{IPA|/tʃ, dʒ/}}, the sequences {{IPA|/ts, dz, tr, dr, tθ, dð, pf, bv/}} also have affricate-like realizations in certain positions (as in ''cats, roads, tram, dram, eighth, behind them, cupful, obvious''; see also {{section link||Onset}}), but usually only {{IPA|/tʃ, dʒ/}} are considered to constitute the monophonemic affricates of English because (among other reasons) only they are found in all of morpheme-initial, -{{zwj}}internal, and -{{zwj}}final positions, and native speakers typically perceive them as single units.{{sfnp|Cruttenden|2014|pp=186–8}}{{sfnp|Wells|1982|pp=48–9}}{{sfnp|Collins|Mees|2013|pp=86–7}}


===Vowels===
English, much like other Germanic languages, has a particularly large number of vowel phonemes, and in addition the [[vowel]]s of English differ considerably between dialects. Consequently, corresponding vowels may be transcribed with various symbols depending on the dialect under consideration. When considering English as a whole, [[lexical set]]s are often used, each named by a word containing the vowel or vowels in question. For example, the {{sc2|LOT}} set consists of words which, like ''lot'', have {{IPA|/ɒ/}} in British [[Received Pronunciation]] (RP) and {{IPA|/ɑ/}} in [[General American]] (GA). The "{{sc2|LOT}} vowel" then refers to the vowel that appears in those words in whichever dialect is being considered, or (at a greater level of [[abstraction]]) to a [[diaphoneme]], which represents this interdialectal correspondence. A commonly used system of lexical sets, devised by [[John C. Wells]], is presented below; for each set, the corresponding phonemes are given for RP and General American, using the notation that will be used on this page.

<div style="display: inline-block; vertical-align: top; margin-right: 1em;">
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;"
|+ class="nowrap" | Full monophthongs
! {{abbr|LS|Wells standard lexical set}}
! {{abbr|RP|Received Pronunciation}}
! {{abbr|GA|General American}}
|-
| {{sc2|TR'''A'''P}}
| {{IPA link|a<!-- It is intentional that this links to a different symbol that the one displayed. The TRAP vowel is conventionally transcibed with the symbol /æ/, but pronounced closer to [a] in RP.-->|æ}}
| rowspan="2" |{{IPA link|æ}}
|-
| {{sc2|B'''A'''TH}}
| rowspan="2" | {{IPA link|ɑː}}
|-
| {{sc2|P'''A'''LM}}
| rowspan="2" | {{IPA link|ɑ}}
|-
| {{sc2|L'''O'''T}}
| rowspan="2" | {{IPA link|ɔ<!-- It is intentional that this links to a different symbol that the one displayed. The LOT vowel is conventionally transcibed with the symbol /ɒ/, but pronounced closer to [ɔ] in RP.-->|ɒ}}
|-
| {{sc2|CL'''O'''TH}}
| rowspan="2" | {{IPA link|ɔ}}, {{IPA link|ɑ}}
|-
| {{sc2|TH'''OUGH'''T}}
| {{IPA link|o<!-- It is intentional that this links to a different symbol that the one displayed. The THOUGHT vowel is conventionally transcibed with the symbol /ɔː/, but pronounced closer to [oː] in RP.-->|ɔː}}
|-
| {{sc2|K'''I'''T}}
| colspan="2" | {{IPA link|ɪ}}
|-
| {{sc2|DR'''E'''SS}}
| {{IPA link|ɛ<!-- It is intentional that this links to a different symbol that the one displayed. The DRESS vowel is conventionally transcibed with the symbol /E/, but pronounced closer to [ɛ] in RP.-->|e}}{{efn|name=rpdress|The modern RP vowel {{IPA|/e/}} is pronounced very similar to the corresponding GenAm phoneme {{IPA|/ɛ/}}. The difference between them is simply a matter of transcription convention (the way they are transcribed in RP reflects a more conservative pronunciation).}}
| {{IPA link|ɛ}}
|-
| {{sc2|STR'''U'''T}}
| colspan="2" | {{IPA link|ʌ}}
|-
| {{sc2|F'''OO'''T}}
| colspan="2" | {{IPA link|ɵ<!-- It is intentional that this links to a different symbol that the one displayed. The FOOT vowel is conventionally transcibed with the symbol /ʊ/, but pronounced closer to [ɵ] in RP.-->|ʊ}}
|}
</div>
<div style="display: inline-block; vertical-align: top; margin-right: 1em;">
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;"
|+ class="nowrap" | Diphthongs in <br /> many dialects{{sfnp|Wells|1982|pp=140, 147, 299}}
! {{abbr|LS|Wells standard lexical set}}
! {{abbr|RP|Received Pronunciation}}
! {{abbr|GA|General American}}
|-
| {{sc2|F'''A'''CE}}
| colspan="2" | {{IPA|eɪ}}
|-
| {{sc2|G'''OA'''T}}
| {{IPA|əʊ}}
| {{IPA|oʊ}}
|-
| {{sc2|FL'''EE'''CE}}
| {{IPA link|iː}}
| {{IPA link|i}}
|-
| {{sc2|G'''OO'''SE}}
| {{IPA link|ʉ<!-- It is intentional that this links to a different symbol that the one displayed. The GOOSE vowel is conventionally transcibed with the symbol /uː/, but pronounced closer to [ʉː] in RP.-->|uː}}
| {{IPA link|u}}
|}
</div>
<div style="display: inline-block; vertical-align: top; margin-right: 1em;">
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;"
|+ class="nowrap" | Full diphthongs
! {{abbr|LS|Wells standard lexical set}}
! {{abbr|RP|Received Pronunciation}}
! {{abbr|GA|General American}}
|-
| {{sc2|PR'''I'''CE}}
| colspan="2" | {{IPA|aɪ}}
|-
| {{sc2|CH'''OI'''CE}}
| colspan="2" | {{IPA|ɔɪ}}
|-
| {{sc2|M'''OU'''TH}}
| colspan="2" | {{IPA|aʊ}}
|}
</div>
<div style="display: inline-block; vertical-align: top; margin-right: 1em;">
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;"
|+ class="nowrap" | Vowels + historical {{IPA|/r/}}
! {{abbr|LS|Wells standard lexical set}}
! {{abbr|RP|Received Pronunciation}}
! {{abbr|GA|General American}}
|-
| {{sc2|N'''UR'''SE}}
| {{IPA link|ə<!-- It is intentional that this links to a different symbol that the one displayed. The NURSE vowel is conventionally transcibed with the symbol /ɜː/, but pronounced closer to [əː] in RP.-->|ɜː}}
| {{IPA|ɜr}}{{efn|name=ganurse|The sound scholars traditionally transcribe /ɜr/ in GA is in fact usually merged with /ər/.}}
|-
| {{sc2|ST'''AR'''T}}
| {{IPA link|ɑː}}
| {{IPA|ɑr}}
|-
| {{sc2|N'''OR'''TH}}
| rowspan="2" | {{IPA link|o<!-- It is intentional that this links to a different symbol that the one displayed. The NORTH-FORCE vowel is conventionally transcribed with the symbol /ɔː/, but pronounced closer to [oː] in RP.-->|ɔː}}
| rowspan="2" |{{IPA|ɔr}}
|-
| {{sc2|F'''OR'''CE}}
|-
| {{sc2|N'''EAR'''}}
| {{IPA|ɪə}}
| {{IPA|ɪr}}
|-
| {{sc2|SQU'''ARE'''}}
| {{IPA link|ɛ|ɛː}}
| {{IPA|ɛr}}
|-
| {{sc2|C'''URE'''}}
| {{IPA|ʊə}}, {{IPA link|o<!-- It is intentional that this links to a different symbol that the one displayed. This vowel is conventionally transcibed with the symbol /ɔː/, but pronounced closer to [oː] in RP.-->|ɔː}}
| {{IPA|ʊr}}
|}
</div>
<div style="display: inline-block; vertical-align: top;">
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;"
|+ class="nowrap" | Reduced vowels
! {{abbr|LS|Wells standard lexical set}}
! {{abbr|RP|Received Pronunciation}}
! {{abbr|GA|General American}}
|-
| {{sc2|COMM'''A'''}}
| rowspan="2" | {{IPA link|ə}}
| {{IPA link|ə}}
|-
| {{sc2|LETT'''ER'''}}
| {{IPA|ər}}
|-
| {{sc2|HAPP'''Y'''}}
| colspan="2" | {{IPA link|i}}
|}
</div>

For a table that shows the pronunciations of these vowels in a wider range of English accents, see [[Sound correspondences between English accents]].

The following tables show the vowel phonemes of three standard varieties of English. The notation system used here for Received Pronunciation (RP) is fairly standard; the others less so. The feature descriptions given here (back, open, etc.) are abstracted somewhat; the actual pronunciations of these vowels are somewhat more accurately conveyed by the [[International Phonetic Alphabet|IPA]] symbols used (see [[Vowel]] for a chart indicating the meanings of these symbols; though note also the points listed below the following tables). The symbols given in the table are traditional but redirect to their modern implementation.

<div style="display: inline-block; vertical-align: top; margin-right: 1em;">
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;"
|+ Received Pronunciation{{sfnp|Roach|2004|p=242}}{{sfnp|Cruttenden|2014}}
! rowspan="3" |
! rowspan="2" colspan="2" | [[Front vowel|Front]]
! rowspan="2" colspan="2" | [[Central vowel|Central]]
! colspan="4" | [[Back vowel|Back]]
|-
! colspan="2" | {{small|unrounded}}
! colspan="2" | {{small|rounded}}
|-
! {{small|short}}
! {{small|long}}
! {{small|short}}
! {{small|long}}
! {{small|short}}
! {{small|long}}
! {{small|short}}
! {{small|long}}
|-
! [[Close vowel|Close]]
| {{IPA link|ɪ}}
| {{IPA link|iː}}
| {{IPA link|ɵ<!-- It is intentional that this links to a different symbol that the one displayed. The FOOT vowel is conventionally transcibed with the symbol /ʊ/, but pronounced closer to [ɵ] in RP.-->|ʊ}}
| {{IPA link|ʉ<!-- It is intentional that this links to a different symbol that the one displayed. The GOOSE vowel is conventionally transcibed with the symbol /uː/, but pronounced closer to [ʉː] in RP.-->|uː}}{{efn|name=rpsymbols|The modern RP vowels {{IPA|/uː/}}, {{IPA|/ɔː/}} and {{IPA|/ɒ/}} are very similar to the corresponding Australian phonemes {{IPA|/ʉː/}}, {{IPA|/oː/}} and {{IPA|/ɔ/}}. The difference between them lies mostly in transcription (the way they are transcribed in RP is more conservative).}}
|
|
|
| {{IPA link|o<!-- It is intentional that this links to a different symbol that the one displayed. The THOUGHT-NORTH-FORCE vowel is conventionally transcibed with the symbol /ɔː/, but pronounced closer to [oː] in RP.-->|ɔː}}{{efn|name=rpsymbols}}
|-
! [[Mid vowel|Mid]]
| {{IPA link|ɛ<!-- It is intentional that this links to a different symbol that the one displayed. The DRESS vowel is conventionally transcibed with the symbol /E/, but pronounced closer to [ɛ] in RP.-->|e}}{{efn|name=rpdress}}
| {{IPA link|ɛ|ɛː}}
| {{IPA link|ə}}
| {{IPA link|ə<!-- It is intentional that this links to a different symbol that the one displayed. The NURSE vowel is conventionally transcibed with the symbol /ɜː/, but pronounced closer to [əː] in RP.-->|ɜː}}
| {{IPA link|ʌ}}
|
| {{IPA link|ɔ<!-- It is intentional that this links to a different symbol that the one displayed. The LOT vowel is conventionally transcibed with the symbol /ɒ/, but pronounced closer to [ɔ] in RP.-->|ɒ}}{{efn|name=rpsymbols}}
|
|-
! [[Open vowel|Open]]
| {{IPA link|a<!-- It is intentional that this links to a different symbol that the one displayed. The TRAP vowel is conventionally transcibed with the symbol /æ/, but pronounced closer to [a] in RP.-->|æ}}
|
|
|
|
| {{IPA link|ɑː}}
|
|
|-
! [[Diphthong]]s
| colspan="8" | {{IPA|eɪ &nbsp; aɪ &nbsp; ɔɪ &nbsp; aʊ &nbsp; əʊ &nbsp; ɪə &nbsp; ʊə}}
|-
! [[Triphthong]]s
| colspan="8" | ({{IPA|eɪə &nbsp; aɪə &nbsp; ɔɪə &nbsp; aʊə &nbsp; əʊə}})
|}
</div>
<div style="display: inline-block; vertical-align: top; margin-right: 1em;">
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;"
|+ General American
! rowspan="2" |
! colspan="2" | [[Front vowel|Front]]
! colspan="2" | [[Central vowel|Central]]
! colspan="2" | [[Back vowel|Back]]
|-
! {{small|lax}}
! {{small|tense}}
! {{small|lax}}
! {{small|tense}}
! {{small|lax}}
! {{small|tense}}
|-
! [[Close vowel|Close]]
| {{IPA link|ɪ}}
| {{IPA link|i}}
|
|
| {{IPA link|ʊ}}
| {{IPA link|u}}
|-
! [[Mid vowel|Mid]]
| {{IPA link|ɛ}}
| {{IPA link|e|eɪ}}{{efn|name=face-goat|Although the notation {{IPA|/eɪ oʊ/}} are used for the vowels of {{sc2|FACE}} and {{sc2|GOAT}} respectively in General American, they are analysed as phonemic monophthongs and frequently transcribed as {{IPA|/e o/}} in the literature.}}
| {{IPA link|ə}}
| ({{IPA link|ɝ|ɜ}}){{efn|name=schwa|General American does not have the opposition between {{IPA|/ɜr/}} and {{IPA|/ər/}}; therefore, the vowels in ''further'' {{IPA|/ˈfɜrðər/}} are typically realized with the same segmental quality as {{IPA|[ˈfɚðɚ]}}.{{sfnp|Wells|1982|p=121}} This also makes the words ''forward'' {{IPA|/ˈfɔrwərd/}} and ''foreword'' {{IPA|/ˈfɔrwɜrd/}} [[homophonous]] as {{IPA|[ˈfɔɹwɚd]}}.{{sfnp|Wells|1982|p=121}} Therefore, {{IPA|/ɜ/}} is not a true phoneme in General American but merely a different notation of {{IPA|/ə/}} preserved for when this phoneme precedes {{IPA|/r/}} and is stressed—a convention adopted in literature to facilitate comparisons with other accents.{{sfnp|Wells|1982|pp=480–1}} What is historically {{IPA|/ʌr/}}, as in ''hurry'', is also pronounced {{IPA|[ɚ]}} (see [[hurry–furry merger|''hurry–furry'' merger]]), so {{IPA|/ʌ/}}, {{IPA|/ɜ/}} and {{IPA|/ə/}} are all [[Phonemic merger|neutralized]] before {{IPA|/r/}}. Furthermore, some analyze /ʌ/ as an allophone of /ə/ that surfaces when stressed, so /ʌ/, /ɜ/ and /ə/ may be considered to be in complementary distribution and thus comprising one phoneme.{{sfnp|Wells|1982|pp=480–1}}}}
| ({{IPA link|ʌ}}){{efn|name=schwa}}
| {{IPA link|o̞|oʊ}}{{efn|name=face-goat}}
|-
! [[Open vowel|Open]]
| {{IPA link|æ}}
|
|
| {{IPA link|ɑ̈|ɑ}}
|
| ({{IPA link|ɒ|ɔ}}){{efn|Many North American speakers do not distinguish {{IPA|/ɔ/}} from {{IPA|/ɑ/}} and merge them into {{IPA|/ɑ/}}, except before {{IPA|/r/}} (see [[Cot–caught merger|''cot–caught'' merger]]).}}
|-
! [[Diphthong]]s
| colspan="6" | {{IPA|aɪ &nbsp; ɔɪ &nbsp; aʊ}}
|}
</div>
<div style="display: inline-block; vertical-align: top;">
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;"
|+ General Australian
! rowspan="2" |
! colspan="2" |[[Front vowel|Front]]
! colspan="2" |[[Central vowel|Central]]
! colspan="2" |[[Back vowel|Back]]
|-
! {{small|short}}
! {{small|long}}
! {{small|short}}
! {{small|long}}
! {{small|short}}
! {{small|long}}
|-
! [[Close vowel|Close]]
| {{IPA link|ɪ}}
| {{IPA link|iː}}
|
| {{IPA link|ʉː}}{{efn|name=rpsymbols}}
| {{IPA link|ʊ}}
| {{IPA link|oː}}{{efn|name=rpsymbols}}
|-
! [[Mid vowel|Mid]]
| {{IPA link|e}}
| {{IPA link|eː}}
| {{IPA link|ə}}
| {{IPA link|ɘ|ɜː}}
| {{IPA link|ɔ}}{{efn|name=rpsymbols}}
|
|-
! [[Open vowel|Open]]
| {{IPA link|æ}}
| ({{IPA link|æː}}){{efn|Australian has the [[bad–lad split|''bad''–''lad'' split]], with distinctive short and long variants in various words of the {{sc2|TRAP}} set: a long phoneme {{IPA|/æː/}} in words like ''bad'' contrasts with a short {{IPA|/æ/}} in words like ''lad''. (A similar split is found in the accents of some speakers in southern England.)}}
| {{IPA link|ä|a}}
| {{IPA link|ä|aː}}
|
|
|-
! [[Diphthong]]s
| colspan="6" | {{IPA|æɪ &nbsp; ɑɪ &nbsp; oɪ &nbsp; æɔ &nbsp; əʉ &nbsp; ɪə &nbsp; (ʊə)}}{{efn|The vowel {{IPA|/ʊə/}} is often omitted from descriptions of Australian, as for most speakers it has split into the long monophthong {{IPA|/oː/}} (e.g. ''poor'', ''sure'') or the sequence {{IPA|/ʉːə/}} (e.g. ''cure'', ''lure'').{{sfnp|Cox|Palethorpe|2007}}}}
|}
</div>

{{Notelist}}

The differences between these tables can be explained as follows:
* RP and General American divide words among the {{sc2|PALM}}, {{sc2|LOT}}, {{sc2|CLOTH}}, and {{sc2|THOUGHT}} sets separately from one another; RP has the phonemes {{IPA|/ɑː/}} ({{sc2|PALM}}), {{IPA|/ɒ/}} ({{sc2|LOT}} and {{sc2|CLOTH}}), and {{IPA|/ɔː/}} ({{sc2|THOUGHT}}); whereas General American has the phonemes {{IPA|/ɑ/}} ({{sc2|LOT}} and {{sc2|PALM}}) and {{IPA|/ɔ/}} ({{sc2|CLOTH}} and {{sc2|THOUGHT}}). In a few North American accents, namely in [[Eastern New England English|Eastern New England]] ([[Boston]]) {{sc2|LOT}} words do not have the vowel of {{sc2|PALM}} (the [[father–bother merger|''father''–''bother'' merger]] has not occurred) but instead merge with {{sc2|CLOTH/THOUGHT}}.{{sfnp|Wells|1982|pp=473–474}}{{sfnp|Labov|Ash|Boberg|2006|pp=13, 171–173}}{{sfnp|Woods|1993|pp=170–171}}{{sfnp|Kiefte|Kay-Raining Bird|2010|pp=63–64, 67}}
* Although the notation {{IPA|/ʌ/}} is used for the vowel of {{sc2|STRUT}} in RP and General American, the actual pronunciation in RP may be closer to a near-open central vowel {{IPAblink|ɐ}}, especially among older speakers. In modern RP, this vowel is increasingly realized as {{IPAblink|ʌ}} to avoid the clash with the lowered variety of {{IPA|/æ/}} in the {{IPAblink|a}} region (the [[trap–strut merger|''trap''–''strut'' merger]]). In General American, {{IPA|/ʌ/}} is realized as {{IPAblink|ʌ̟}}.{{sfnp|Wells|1982|p=132}}{{sfnp|Roca|Johnson|1999|p=135}}{{sfnp|Cruttenden|2014|p=122}}{{sfnp|Lindsey|2019|p=22}}
* RP transcriptions use {{angbr IPA|e}} rather than {{angbr IPA|ɛ}} largely for convenience and historical tradition; it does not necessarily represent a different sound from the General American phoneme, as the {{sc2|DRESS}} vowel is generally realized as {{IPA|[ɛ]}} in modern RP.<ref name="upton">{{cite book|title=A Handbook of Varieties of English Volume 1: Phonology|editor=Bernd Kortmann and Edgar W. Schneider |author=Clive Upton |publisher=De Gruyter|year=2004|pages=221–222}}</ref>
* The different notations used for the vowel of {{sc2|GOAT}} in RP and General American ({{IPA|/əʊ/}} and {{IPA|/oʊ/}}) reflect a difference in the most common phonetic realizations of that vowel.
* The triphthongs given in the RP table are usually regarded as sequences of two phonemes (a diphthong plus {{IPA|/ə/}}); however, in RP, these sequences frequently undergo [[smoothing (phonetics)|smoothing]] into single diphthongs or even monophthongs.
* The different notations used here for some of the Australian vowels reflect the phonetic realization of those vowels in Australian: a central {{IPAblink|ʉː}} rather than {{IPAblink|uː}} in {{sc2|GOOSE}}, a more closed {{IPAblink|e}} rather than {{IPAblink|ɛ}} in {{sc2|DRESS}}, a close-mid {{IPAblink|oː}} rather than traditional RP's {{IPAblink|ɔ̝|ɔː}} in {{sc2|THOUGHT}}, an open-mid {{IPAblink|ɔ}} rather than traditional RP's {{IPAblink|ɒ}} in {{sc2|LOT}}, an opener {{IPAblink|ä|a}} rather than somewhat closer {{IPAblink|ʌ}} in {{sc2|STRUT}}, a central {{IPAblink|ä|aː}} rather a back {{IPAblink|ɑː}} in {{sc2|CALM}} and {{sc2|START}}, and somewhat different pronunciations of most of the diphthongs. Note that central {{IPAblink|ʉː}} in {{sc2|GOOSE}}, close-mid {{IPAblink|oː}} in {{sc2|THOUGHT}} and open-mid {{IPAblink|ɔ}} in {{sc2|LOT}} are standard realizations in modern RP and the difference between modern RP and Australian English in these vowels lies almost only in transcription, rather than pronunciation.{{sfnp|Cruttenden|2014|pp=126, 133}}{{sfnp|Roach|2004|p=242}}{{sfnp|Cox|Fletcher|2017|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=ZBs3DwAAQBAJ&pg=PA65 65]}}
* Both Australian {{IPA|/eː/}} and RP {{IPA|/ɛː/}} are long monophthongs, the difference between them being in tongue height: Australian {{IPA|/eː/}} is close-mid {{IPAblink|eː}}, whereas the corresponding RP vowel is open-mid {{IPAblink|ɛː}}.{{sfnp|Cruttenden|2014|p=118}}{{sfnp|Cox|Fletcher|2017|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=ZBs3DwAAQBAJ&pg=PA65 65]}}

Other points to be noted are these:
* The vowel {{IPA|/æ/}} is generally pronounced more open, approaching {{IPA|[a]}}, by modern RP speakers.{{sfnp|Lindsey|2019|p=28}}{{sfnp|Cruttenden|2014|pp=119–120}}<ref name="upton"/> In American speech, however, there is a tendency for it to become more closed, tenser and even diphthongized (to something like {{IPA|[eə]}}), particularly in certain environments, such as before a [[nasal consonant]],{{sfnp|Wells|1982|p=129}} though younger speakers of some varieties are lowering {{IPA|/æ/}} like RP speakers (see [[Canadian shift]]). Some American accents, for example those of [[New York City]], [[Philadelphia]] and [[Baltimore]], make a marginal phonemic distinction between {{IPA|/æ/}} and {{IPA|/eə/}}, although the two occur largely in mutually exclusive environments. See [[:/æ/ raising]].
* A significant number of words (the {{sc2|BATH}} group) have {{IPA|/æ/}} in General American, but {{IPA|/ɑː/}} in RP. The pronunciation varies between {{IPA|/æ/}} and {{IPA|/aː/}} in Australia, with speakers from [[South Australia]] using {{IPA|/aː/}} more extensively than speakers from other regions.
* In General American and Canadian (which are [[Rhotic and non-rhotic accents|rhotic accents]], where {{IPA|/r/}} is pronounced in positions where it does not precede a vowel), many of the vowels can be [[r-colored]] by way of realization of a following {{IPA|/r/}}. This is often transcribed phonetically using a vowel symbol with an added retroflexion [[diacritic]] {{angbr IPA| ˞ }}; thus the symbol {{IPA|[ɚ]}} has been created for an r-colored [[schwa]] (sometimes called schwar) as in {{sc2|LETT'''ER'''}}, and the vowel of {{sc2|START}} can be modified to make {{IPA|[ɑ˞]}} so that the word ''start'' may be transcribed {{IPA|[stɑ˞t]}}. Alternatively, the {{sc2|START}} sequence might be written {{IPA|[stɑɚt]}} to indicate an r-colored offglide. The vowel of {{sc2|NURSE}} is generally always r-colored in these dialects, and this can be written {{IPA|[ɚ]}} (or as a syllabic {{IPA|[ɹ̩]}}).
* In modern RP and other dialects, many words from the {{sc2|CURE}} group are coming to be pronounced by an increasing number of speakers with the {{sc2|NORTH}} vowel (so ''sure'' is often pronounced like ''shore'').{{sfnp|Roach|2004|p=240}}
* The vowels of {{sc2|FLEECE}} and {{sc2|GOOSE}} are commonly pronounced as narrow diphthongs, approaching {{IPA|[ɪi]}} and {{IPA|[ʊu]}}, in RP. Near-RP speakers may have particularly marked diphthongization of the type {{IPA|[əi]}} and {{IPA|[əu ~ əʉ]}}, respectively. In General American, the pronunciation varies between a monophthong and a diphthong.{{sfnp|Wells|1982|pp=140, 147, 299}}

====Allophones of vowels====
Listed here are some of the significant cases of [[allophony]] of vowels found within standard English dialects.
*Vowels are shortened when followed in a syllable by a voiceless ([[fortis consonant|fortis]]) consonant.{{sfnp|Collins|Mees|2013|p=58}} This is known as [[Clipping (phonetics)|''pre-fortis clipping'']]. Thus in the following word pairs the first item has a shortened vowel while the second has a normal length vowel: 'right' {{IPA|/raɪt/}} – 'ride' {{IPA|/raɪd/}}; 'face' {{IPA|/feɪs/}} – 'phase' {{IPA|/feɪz/}}; 'advice' {{IPA|/ədvaɪs/}} – 'advise' {{IPA|/ədvaɪz/}}.
* In many accents of English, [[tenseness|tense]] vowels undergo [[vowel breaking|breaking]] before {{IPA|/l/}}, resulting in pronunciations like {{IPA|[pʰiəɫ]}} for ''peel'', {{IPA|[pʰuəɫ]}} for ''pool'', {{IPA|[pʰeəɫ]}} for ''pail'', and {{IPA|[pʰoəɫ]}} for ''pole''.{{citation needed|date=April 2018}}
* In RP, the vowel {{IPA|/əʊ/}} may be pronounced more back, as {{IPA|[ɒʊ~ɔʊ]}}, before syllable-final {{IPA|/l/}}, as in ''goal''. In standard Australian English the vowel {{IPA|/əʉ/}} is similarly backed to {{IPA|[ɔʊ]}} before {{IPA|/l/}}. A similar phenomenon occurs in [[Southern American English]].<ref>{{cite book|title=A Handbook of Varieties of English Volume 1: Phonology|isbn= 3-11-017532-0 |editor-first1=Bernd |editor-last1=Kortmann | editor-first2= Edgar W. | editor-last2= Schneider |last=Thomas| first=Erik R. |publisher=De Gruyter|year=2004|pages=304-305,311,316}}</ref>
* The vowel {{IPA|/ə/}} is often pronounced {{IPA|[ɐ]}} in open syllables.{{sfnp|Gimson|2008|p=132}}
* The {{sc2|PRICE}} and {{sc2|MOUTH}} diphthongs may be pronounced with a less open starting point when followed by a [[voiceless]] consonant;{{sfnp|Celce-Murcia|Brinton|Goodwin|1996|p=66}} this is chiefly a feature of Canadian speech ([[Canadian raising]]), but is also found in parts of the United States.{{sfnp|Wells|1982|p=149}} Thus ''writer'' may be distinguished from ''rider'' even when [[flapping]] causes the {{IPA|/t/}} and {{IPA|/d/}} to be pronounced identically.

====Unstressed syllables====
{{Further|Stress and vowel reduction in English}}

[[Unstressed syllable]]s in English may contain almost any vowel, but in practice vowels in stressed and unstressed syllables tend to use different inventories of phonemes. In particular, long vowels are used less often in unstressed syllables than stressed syllables. Additionally there are certain sounds—characterized by [[central vowel|central]] position and weakness—that are particularly often found as the nuclei of unstressed syllables. These include:
* [[schwa]], {{IPA|[ə]}}, as in {{sc2|COMM'''A'''}} and (in non-rhotic dialects) {{sc2|LETT'''ER'''}} ([[Rhoticity in English#Comma–letter merger|{{sc2|COMMA}}–{{sc2|LETTER}} merger]]); also in many other positions such as '''''a'''bout'', ''{{not a typo|phot'''o'''graph}}'', ''padd'''o'''ck'', etc. This sound is essentially restricted to unstressed syllables exclusively. In the approach presented here it is identified as a phoneme {{IPA|/ə/}}, although other analyses do not have a separate phoneme for schwa and regard it as a reduction or neutralization of other vowels in syllables with the lowest degree of stress.
* [[r-colored schwa]], {{IPA|[ɚ]}}, as in {{sc2|LETT'''ER'''}} in General American and some other rhotic dialects, which can be identified with the underlying sequence {{IPA|/ər/}}.
* [[syllabic consonant]]s: {{IPA|[l̩]}} as in ''bott'''le''''', {{IPA|[n̩]}} as in ''butt'''on''''', {{IPA|[m̩]}} as in ''rhyth'''m'''''. These may be phonemized either as a plain consonant or as a schwa followed by a consonant; for example ''button'' may be represented as {{IPA|/ˈbʌtn̩/}} or {{IPA|/ˈbʌtən/}} (see above under [[#Consonants|Consonants]]).
* {{IPA|[ɨ̞]}}, as in ''ros'''e'''s'' and ''mak'''i'''ng''. This can be identified with the phoneme {{IPA|/ɪ/}}, although in unstressed syllables it may be pronounced more centrally, and for some speakers (particularly in Australian and New Zealand and some American English) it is merged with {{IPA|/ə/}} in these syllables ([[weak vowel merger]]). Among speakers who retain the distinction there are many cases where [[free variation]] between {{IPA|/ɪ/}} and {{IPA|/ə/}} is found, as in the second syllable of ''typ'''i'''cal''. (The [[OED]] has recently adopted the symbol {{angbr|ᵻ}} to indicate such cases.)
* {{IPA|[ʉ̞]}}, as in ''{{not a typo|arg'''u'''ment}}'', ''t'''o'''day'', for which similar considerations apply as in the case of {{IPA|[ɨ̞]}}. (The symbol {{angbr|ᵿ}} is sometimes used in these cases, similarly to {{angbr|ᵻ}}.) Some speakers may also have a rounded schwa, {{IPA|[ɵ̞]}}, used in words like ''omission'' {{IPA|[ɵ̞ˈmɪʃən]}}.{{sfnp|Bolinger|1986|pp=347–360}}
* {{IPA|[i]}}, as in ''happ'''y''''', ''coff'''ee''''', in many dialects (others have {{IPA|[ɪ]}} in this position).{{sfnp|Windsor Lewis|1990}} The phonemic status of this {{IPA|[i]}} is not easy to establish. Some authors consider it to correspond phonemically with a close front vowel that is neither the vowel of {{sc2|KIT}} nor that of {{sc2|FLEECE}}; it occurs chiefly in contexts where the contrast between these vowels is neutralized,{{sfnp|Kreidler|2004|pp=82–3}}{{sfnp|McCully|2009|pp=123–4}}{{sfnp|Roach|2009|pp=66–8}} implying that it represents an [[archiphoneme]], which may be written {{IPA|/i/}}. Many speakers, however, do have a contrast in pairs of words like ''studied'' and ''studded'' or ''taxis'' and ''taxes''; the contrast may be {{IPA|[i]}} vs. {{IPA|[ɪ]}}, {{IPA|[ɪ]}} vs. {{IPA|[ə]}} or {{IPA|[i]}} vs. {{IPA|[ə]}}, and thus some authors consider that the ''happY''-vowel should be identified phonemically either with the vowel of {{sc2|KIT}} or that of {{sc2|FLEECE}}, depending on the speaker.{{sfnp|Wells|2014|p=53}} See also [[happy-tensing|''happy''-tensing]].
* {{IPA|[u]}}, as in ''{{not a typo|infl'''u'''ence}}'', ''t'''o''' each''. This is the back rounded counterpart to {{IPA|[i]}} described above; its phonemic status is treated in the same works as cited there.

[[Vowel reduction]] in unstressed syllables is a significant feature of English. Syllables of the types listed above often correspond to a syllable containing a different vowel ("full vowel") used in other forms of the same [[morpheme]] where that syllable is stressed. For example, the first ''o'' in ''photograph'', being stressed, is pronounced with the {{sc2|GOAT}} vowel, but in ''photography'', where it is unstressed, it is reduced to schwa. Also, certain common words (''a'', ''an'', ''of'', ''for'', etc.) are pronounced with a schwa when they are unstressed, although they have different vowels when they are in a stressed position (see [[Weak and strong forms in English]]).

Some unstressed syllables, however, retain full (unreduced) vowels, i.e. vowels other than those listed above. Examples are the {{IPA|/æ/}} in '''''a'''mbition'' and the {{IPA|/aɪ/}} in ''fin'''i'''te''. Some phonologists regard such syllables as not being fully unstressed (they may describe them as having ''tertiary stress''); some dictionaries have marked such syllables as having [[secondary stress]]. However linguists such as Ladefoged{{sfnp|Ladefoged|2006}} and {{Harvcoltxt|Bolinger|1986}} regard this as a difference purely of vowel quality and not of stress,{{sfnp|Bolinger|1986|p=351}} and thus argue that vowel reduction itself is phonemic in English. Examples of words where vowel reduction seems to be distinctive for some speakers{{sfnp|Bolinger|1986|p=348}} include ''chickar'''ee''''' vs. ''chicor'''y''''' (the latter has the reduced vowel of {{sc2|HAPP'''Y'''}}, whereas the former has the {{sc2|FLEECE}} vowel without reduction), and ''Phar'''aoh''''' vs. ''farr'''ow''''' (both have the {{sc2|GOAT}} vowel, but in the latter word it may reduce to {{IPA|[ɵ]}}).

==Lexical stress==
{{Main|Stress and vowel reduction in English}}
[[Stress (linguistics)|Lexical stress]] is phonemic in English. For example, the noun '''''in'''crease'' and the verb ''in'''crease''''' are distinguished by the positioning of the stress on the first syllable in the former, and on the second syllable in the latter. (See [[initial-stress-derived noun]].) Stressed syllables in English are louder than non-stressed syllables, as well as being longer and having a higher pitch.

In traditional approaches, in any English word consisting of more than one [[syllable]], each syllable is ascribed one of three degrees of stress: ''primary'', ''secondary'' or ''unstressed''. Ordinarily, in each such word there will be exactly one syllable with primary stress, possibly one syllable having secondary stress, and the remainder are unstressed (unusually-long words may have multiple syllables with secondary stress). For example, the word ''a'''ma'''zing'' has primary stress on the second syllable, while the first and third syllables are unstressed, whereas the word '''''or'''gani'''za'''tion'' has primary stress on the fourth syllable, secondary stress on the first, and the second, third, and fifth unstressed. This is often shown in pronunciation keys using the [[International Phonetic Alphabet|IPA]] symbols for primary and secondary stress (which are ˈ and ˌ respectively), placed before the syllables to which they apply. The two words just given may therefore be represented (in [[Received Pronunciation|RP]]) as {{IPA|/əˈmeɪzɪŋ/}} and {{IPA|/ˌɔːɡənaɪˈzeɪʃən/}}.

Some analysts identify an additional level of stress (''tertiary'' stress). This is generally ascribed to syllables that are pronounced with less force than those with secondary stress, but nonetheless contain a "full" or "unreduced" vowel (vowels that are considered to be reduced are listed under {{slink|English phonology|Unstressed syllables}} above). Hence the third syllable of ''organization'', if pronounced with {{IPA|/aɪ/}} as shown above (rather than being reduced to {{IPA|/ɪ/}} or {{IPA|/ə/}}), might be said to have tertiary stress. (The precise identification of secondary and tertiary stress differs between analyses; dictionaries do not generally show tertiary stress, although some have taken the approach of marking all syllables with unreduced vowels as having at least secondary stress.)

In some analyses, then, the concept of lexical stress may become conflated with that of vowel reduction. An approach that attempts to separate both is provided by [[Peter Ladefoged]], who states that it is possible to describe English with only one degree of stress, as long as [[unstressed vowel|unstressed syllables]] are phonemically distinguished for [[vowel reduction]].{{sfnp|Ladefoged|2006|loc=§5.4}}{{sfnp|Ladefoged|1980|p=83}} In this approach, the distinction between primary and secondary stress is regarded as a phonetic or prosodic detail rather than a phonemic feature – primary stress is seen as an example of the predictable "tonic" stress that falls on the ''final'' stressed syllable of a [[prosodic unit]]. For more details of this analysis, see [[Stress and vowel reduction in English]].

For stress as a prosodic feature (emphasis of particular words within utterances), see {{slink||Prosodic stress}} below.

==Phonotactics==
[[Phonotactics]] is the study of the sequences of phonemes that occur in languages and the sound structures that they form. In this study it is usual to represent consonants in general with the letter C and vowels with the letter V, so that a syllable such as 'be' is described as having CV structure. The [[International Phonetic Alphabet|IPA]] symbol used to show a division between syllables is the full stop {{angbr IPA|.}}. Syllabification is the process of dividing continuous speech into discrete syllables, a process in which the position of a syllable division is not always easy to decide upon.

Most languages of the world syllabify {{IPA|CVCV}} and {{IPA|CVCCV}} sequences as {{IPA|/CV.CV/}} and {{IPA|/CVC.CV/}} or {{IPA|/CV.CCV/}}, with consonants preferentially acting as the onset of a syllable containing the following vowel. According to one view, English is unusual in this regard, in that stressed syllables attract following consonants, so that {{IPA|ˈCVCV}} and {{IPA|ˈCVCCV}} syllabify as {{IPA|/ˈCVC.V/}} and {{IPA|/ˈCVCC.V/}}, as long as the consonant cluster {{IPA|CC}} is a possible syllable coda; in addition, {{IPA|/r/}} preferentially syllabifies with the preceding vowel even when both syllables are unstressed, so that {{IPA|CVrV}} occurs as {{IPA|/CVr.V/}}. This is the analysis used in the ''[[Longman Pronunciation Dictionary]]''.{{sfnp|Wells|1990|pp=76–86}} However, this view is not widely accepted, as explained in the following section.

===Syllable structure===

English allows clusters of up to three consonants in the syllable onset and up to four consonants in the syllable coda,{{sfnp|Hansen|2004|page=91}}{{sfnp|Jakielski|Gildersleeve-Neumann|2018|page=198}} giving a general syllable structure of (C)<sup>3</sup>V(C)<sup>4</sup>, a potential example <!--Can we get an example of a truly-maximal ((C)<sup>3</sup>V(C)<sup>4</sup>) English syllable here?--> being ''strengths'' {{IPA|/strɛŋkθs/}} (although this word has variant pronunciations with only 3 coda consonants, such as {{IPA|/strɛŋθs/}}). A five-consonant coda may occur in the word ''angsts'', but this is a highly exceptional case, as the word is both infrequent and not always pronounced with five final segments{{sfnp|Jakielski|Gildersleeve-Neumann|2018|page=198}} (it can be analyzed as a VC<sup>4</sup> syllable{{sfnp|Hansen|2004|page=91}} {{IPA|/æŋsts/}} rather than as VC<sup>5</sup> {{IPA|/æŋksts/}}). From the phonetic point of view, the analysis of syllable structures is a complex task: because of widespread occurrences of articulatory overlap, English speakers rarely produce an audible release of individual consonants in consonant clusters.{{sfnp|Zsiga|2003|p=404}} This coarticulation can lead to articulatory gestures that seem very much like deletions or complete assimilations. For example, ''hundred pounds'' may sound like {{IPA|[hʌndɹɪ'''b''' paʊndz]}} and ''jumped back'' (in slow speech, {{IPA|[dʒʌmptbæk]}}) may sound like {{IPA|[dʒʌmpbæk]}}, but X-ray{{sfnp|Browman|Goldstein|1990}} and [[electropalatographic]]{{sfnp|Barry|1991}}{{sfnp|Barry|1992}}{{sfnp|Nolan|1992}} studies demonstrate that inaudible and possibly weakened contacts or lingual gestures may still be made. Thus the second {{IPA|/d/}} in ''hundred pounds'' does not entirely assimilate to a labial place of articulation, rather the labial gesture co-occurs with the alveolar one; the "missing" {{IPA|[t]}} in ''jumped back'' may still be articulated, though not heard.

Division into syllables is a difficult area, and different theories have been proposed. A widely accepted approach is the maximal onset principle:{{sfnp|Selkirk|1982}} this states that, subject to certain constraints, any consonants in between vowels should be assigned to the following syllable. Thus the word ''leaving'' should be divided {{IPA|/ˈliː.vɪŋ/}} rather than *{{IPA|/ˈliːv.ɪŋ/}}, and ''hasty'' is {{IPA|/ˈheɪ.sti/}} rather than *{{IPA|/ˈheɪs.ti/}} or *{{IPA|/ˈheɪst.i/}}. However, when such a division results in an onset cluster that is not allowed in English, the division must respect this. Thus if the word ''extra'' were divided *{{IPA|/ˈɛ.kstrə/}} the resulting onset of the second syllable would be {{IPA|/kstr/}}, a cluster that does not occur initially in English. The division {{IPA|/ˈɛk.strə/}} is therefore preferred. If assigning a consonant or consonants to the following syllable would result in the preceding syllable ending in an unreduced short vowel, this is avoided. Thus the word ''lemma'' should be divided {{IPA|/ˈlɛm.ə/}} and not *{{IPA|/ˈlɛ.mə/}}, even though the latter division gives the maximal onset to the following syllable.

In some cases, no solution is completely satisfactory: for example, in British English (RP) the word ''hurry'' could be divided {{IPA|/ˈhʌ.ri/}} or {{IPA|/ˈhʌr.i/}}, but the former would result in an analysis with a syllable-final {{IPA|/ʌ/}} (which is held to be non-occurring) while the latter would result in a syllable-final {{IPA|/r/}} (which is said not to occur in this accent). Some phonologists have suggested a compromise analysis where the consonant in the middle belongs to both syllables, and is described as [[ambisyllabic]].{{sfnp|Giegerich|1992|p=172}}{{sfnp|Harris|1994|p=198}} In this way, it is possible to suggest an analysis of ''hurry'' that comprises the syllables {{IPA|/hʌr/}} and {{IPA|/ri/}}, the medial {{IPA|/r/}} being ambisyllabic. Where the division coincides with a word boundary, or the boundary between elements of a compound word, it is not usual in the case of dictionaries to insist on the maximal onset principle in a way that divides words in a counter-intuitive way; thus the word ''hardware'' would be divided {{IPA|/ˈhɑː.dweə/}} by the maximal onset principle, but dictionaries prefer the division {{IPA|/ˈhɑːd.weə/}}.{{sfnp|Gimson|2008|pp=258–9}}{{sfnp|Giegerich|1992|pp=167–70}}{{sfnp|Kreidler|2004|pp=76–8}}

In the approach used by the ''[[Longman Pronunciation Dictionary]]'', Wells{{sfnp|Wells|1990|pp=76–86}} claims that consonants syllabify with the preceding rather than following vowel when the preceding vowel is the nucleus of a more salient syllable, with stressed syllables being the most salient, reduced syllables the least, and full unstressed vowels ("secondary stress") intermediate. But there are lexical differences as well, frequently but not exclusively with compound words. For example, in ''dolphin'' and ''selfish,'' Wells argues that the stressed syllable ends in {{IPA|/lf/}}, but in ''shellfish,'' the {{IPA|/f/}} belongs with the following syllable: {{IPA|/ˈdɒlf.ɪn, ˈself.ɪʃ/}} → {{IPA|[ˈdɒlfɪ̈n, ˈselfɪ̈ʃ]}}, but {{IPA|/ˈʃel.fɪʃ/}} → {{IPA|[ˈʃelˑfɪʃ]}}, where the {{IPA|/l/}} is a little longer and the {{IPA|/ɪ/}} is not reduced. Similarly, in ''toe-strap'' Wells argues that the second {{IPA|/t/}} is a full plosive, as usual in syllable onset, whereas in ''toast-rack'' the second {{IPA|/t/}} is in many dialects reduced to the unreleased allophone it takes in syllable codas, or even elided: {{IPA|/ˈtoʊ.stræp/, /ˈtoʊst.ræk/}} → {{IPA|[ˈtoˑʊstɹæp, ˈtoʊs(t̚)ɹæk]}}; likewise ''nitrate'' {{IPA|/ˈnaɪtr.eɪt/}} → {{IPA|[ˈnaɪtɹ̥eɪt]}} with a voiceless {{IPA|/r/}} (and for some people an affricated ''tr'' as in ''tree''), vs ''night-rate'' {{IPA|/ˈnaɪt.reɪt/}} → {{IPA|[ˈnaɪt̚ɹeɪt]}} with a voiced {{IPA|/r/}}. Cues of syllable boundaries include aspiration of syllable onsets and (in the US) flapping of coda {{IPA|/t, d/}} ''(a tease'' {{IPA|/ə.ˈtiːz/}} → {{IPA|[əˈtʰiːz]}} vs. ''at ease'' {{IPA|/ət.ˈiːz/}} → {{IPA|[əɾˈiːz]}}), epenthetic stops like {{IPA|[t]}} in syllable codas (''fence'' {{IPA|/ˈfens/}} → {{IPA|[ˈfents]}} but ''inside'' {{IPA|/ɪn.ˈsaɪd/}} → {{IPA|[ɪnˈsaɪd]}}), and r-colored vowels when the {{IPA|/r/}} is in the coda vs. labialization when it is in the onset ''(key-ring'' {{IPA|/ˈkiː.rɪŋ/}} → {{IPA|[ˈkiːɹʷɪŋ]}} but ''fearing'' {{IPA|/ˈfiːr.ɪŋ/}} → {{IPA|[ˈfɪəɹɪŋ]}}).

====Onset====
The following can occur as the [[Syllable onset|onset]]:{{Citation needed|date=June 2025}}
{| class="wikitable"
|-
|All single-consonant phonemes except {{IPA|/ŋ/}}
|
|-
|Stop plus approximant other than {{IPA|/j/}}:
{{IPA|/pl/}}, {{IPA|/bl/}}, {{IPA|/kl/}}, {{IPA|/ɡl/}}, {{IPA|/pr/}}, {{IPA|/br/}}, {{IPA|/tr/}},{{efn|name=tr-dr|For certain speakers, {{IPA|/tr/}} and {{IPA|/dr/}} tend to affricate, so that ''tree'' resembles "chree", and ''dream'' resembles "jream".{{sfnp|Wells|1990|p=?}}{{sfnp|Read|1986|p=?}}{{sfnp|Bradley|2006}} This is sometimes transcribed as {{IPA|[tʃɹ]}} and {{IPA|[dʒɹ]}}, respectively, but the pronunciation varies, and may, for example, be closer to {{IPA|[tʂ]}} and {{IPA|[dʐ]}}{{sfnp|Baković|2006}} or with a fricative release similar in quality to the rhotic, i.e. {{IPA|[tɹ̝̊ɹ̥]}}, {{IPA|[dɹ̝ɹ]}}, or {{IPA|[tʂɻ]}}, {{IPA|[dʐɻ]}}.}} {{IPA|/dr/}},{{efn|name=tr-dr}} {{IPA|/kr/}}, {{IPA|/ɡr/}}, {{IPA|/tw/}}, {{IPA|/dw/}}, {{IPA|/ɡw/}}, {{IPA|/kw/}}, {{IPA|/pw/}}
| play, blood, clean, glove, prize, bring, tree,{{efn|name=tr-dr}} dream,{{efn|name=tr-dr}} crowd, green, twin, dwarf, Guam, quick, puissance
|-
|Voiceless fricative or {{IPA|/v/}} plus approximant other than {{IPA|/j/}}:{{efn|Some northern and insular Scottish dialects, particularly in [[Shetland]], preserve onsets such as {{IPA|/ɡn/}} (as in ''gnaw''), {{IPA|/kn/}} (as in ''knock''), and {{IPA|/wr/}} or {{IPA|/vr/}} (as in ''write'').{{sfnp|Blake|1992|p=67}}{{sfnp|McColl Millar|2007|pp=63–64}}}}
{{IPA|/fl/}}, {{IPA|/sl/}}, {{IPA|/θl/}},{{efn|name=latinized-greek|Words beginning in unusual consonant clusters that originated in Latinized Greek loanwords tend to drop the first phoneme, as in *{{IPA|/bd/}}, *{{IPA|/fθ/}}, *{{IPA|/ɡn/}}, *{{IPA|/hr/}}, *{{IPA|/kn/}}, *{{IPA|/ks/}}, *{{IPA|/kt/}}, *{{IPA|/kθ/}}, *{{IPA|/mn/}}, *{{IPA|/pn/}}, *{{IPA|/ps/}}, *{{IPA|/pt/}}, *{{IPA|/tm/}}, and *{{IPA|/θm/}}, which have become {{IPA|/d/}} (''bdellium''), {{IPA|/θ/}} (''phthisis''), {{IPA|/n/}} (''gnome''), {{IPA|/r/}} (''rhythm''), {{IPA|/n/}} (''cnidoblast''), {{IPA|/z/}} (''xylophone''), {{IPA|/t/}} (''ctenophore''), {{IPA|/θ/}} (''chthonic''), {{IPA|/n/}} (''mnemonic''), {{IPA|/n/}} (''pneumonia''), {{IPA|/s/}} (''psychology''), {{IPA|/t/}} (''pterodactyl''), {{IPA|/m/}} (''tmesis''), and {{IPA|/m/}} (''asthma''). In some other words with these or other similar consonant clusters, the leading consonant has split off into a separate syllable; for instance, *{{IPA|/kθ/}} becoming {{IPA|/kə.θ/}} (''Cthulhu'') or *{{IPA|/fθ/}} or *{{IPA|/pθ/}} becoming {{IPA|/pə.θ/}} (''phthalate''). However, the onsets {{IPA|/sf/}}, {{IPA|/sfr/}}, {{IPA|/skl/}}, {{IPA|/sθ/}}, and {{IPA|/θl/}} have remained intact.}} {{IPA|/ʃl/}}, {{IPA|/fr/}}, {{IPA|/θr/}}, {{IPA|/ʃr/}}, {{IPA|/hw/}},{{efn|name=wine-whine|The onset {{IPA|/hw/}} is simplified to {{IPA|/w/}} in the majority of dialects ([[wine–whine merger|''wine''–''whine'' merger]]).}} {{IPA|/sw/}}, {{IPA|/θw/}}, {{IPA|/vw/}}
| floor, sleep, thlipsis,{{efn|name=latinized-greek}} schlep, friend, three, shrimp, what,{{efn|name=wine-whine}} swoon, thwart, voilà
|-
|Consonant other than {{IPA|/r/}} or {{IPA|/w/}} plus {{IPA|/j/}} (before {{IPA|/uː/}} or its modified/reduced forms):{{efn|name=yod|Clusters ending {{IPA|/j/}} typically occur before {{IPA|/uː/}} and before the <small>CURE</small> vowel (General American {{IPA|/ʊr/}}, RP {{IPA|/ʊə/}}); they may also come before the reduced forms {{IPA|/ʊ/}} (as in ''ar'''gu'''ment'') or {{IPA|/ə/}} (as in some American pronunciations of '''''pu'''re'' and '''''cu'''re''), and can occur before other vowels in loanwords (for instance, before {{IPA|/oʊ/}} in ''jalape'''ño''''') or mimetic words (for instance, before, variably, {{IPA|/ɑ/}}, {{IPA|/æ/}}, or {{IPA|/ɛ/}} in '''''nyah'''-'''nyah'''''). There is an ongoing sound change ([[yod-dropping]]) by which {{IPA|/j/}} as the final consonant in a [[Consonant cluster|cluster]] is being lost. In RP, words with {{IPA|/sj/}} and {{IPA|/lj/}} can usually be pronounced with or without this sound, e.g. {{IPA|[suːt]}} or {{IPA|[sjuːt]}}. For some speakers of English, including some British speakers, the sound change is more advanced, and, so, for example, General American does not (except in loans or mimetic words) contain the onsets {{IPA|/tj/}}, {{IPA|/dj/}}, {{IPA|/nj/}}, {{IPA|/θj/}}, {{IPA|/sj/}}, {{IPA|/stj/}}, {{IPA|/zj/}}, or {{IPA|/lj/}}. Words that would otherwise begin in these onsets drop the {{IPA|/j/}}: e.g. ''tube'' ({{IPA|/tub/}}), ''during'' ({{IPA|/ˈdɜrɪŋ/}}), ''new'' ({{IPA|/nu/}}), ''Thule'' ({{IPA|/ˈθuli/}}), ''suit'' ({{IPA|/sut/}}), ''student'' ({{IPA|/ˈstudənt/}}), ''Zeus'' ({{IPA|/zus/}}), ''lurid'' ({{IPA|/ˈlʊrəd/}}). In word-medial position, these sequences can still be found in American English between a stressed and unstressed vowel (as in ''annual'' {{IPA|/ˈænjuəl/}}, ''failure'' {{IPA|/ˈfeɪljər/}}), but the consonants can be analyzed in this context as falling in separate syllables, and so not constituting a syllable onset. In some dialects, such [[Welsh English]], {{IPA|/j/}} may occur in more combinations; for example in {{IPA|/tʃj/}} (''chew''), {{IPA|/dʒj/}} (''Jew''), {{IPA|/ʃj/}} (''sure''), and {{IPA|/slj/}} (''slew'').}}
{{IPA|/pj/}}, {{IPA|/bj/}}, {{IPA|/tj/}},{{efn|name=yod}} {{IPA|/dj/}},{{efn|name=yod}} {{IPA|/kj/}}, {{IPA|/ɡj/}}, {{IPA|/mj/}}, {{IPA|/nj/}},{{efn|name=yod}} {{IPA|/fj/}}, {{IPA|/vj/}}, {{IPA|/θj/}},{{efn|name=yod}} {{IPA|/sj/}},{{efn|name=yod}} {{IPA|/zj/}},{{efn|name=yod}} {{IPA|/hj/}}, {{IPA|/lj/}}{{efn|name=yod}}
| pure, beautiful, tube,{{efn|name=yod}} during,{{efn|name=yod}} cute, argue, music, new,{{efn|name=yod}} few, view, thew,{{efn|name=yod}} suit,{{efn|name=yod}} Zeus,{{efn|name=yod}} huge, lurid{{efn|name=yod}}
|-
|{{IPA|/s/}} plus voiceless stop:{{efn|name=splosive|After onset {{IPA|/s/}}, the contrast between fortis {{IPA|/p t k/}} and lenis {{IPA|/b d g/}} is neutralized. Stops in this position are typically voiceless and unaspirated: it is occasionally argued that these unaspirated stops should be transcribed as the lenis phonemes {{IPA|/b d g/}}.<ref>{{cite web |last=Wells |first=John |date=5 April 2011 |title=st- or sd-? |url=http://phonetic-blog.blogspot.com/2011/04/in-ps-to-email-he-sent-me-jack-windsor.html |website=John Wells’s phonetic blog |access-date=23 July 2025}}</ref> The intuition that words such as ''spin, steam, score'' start with {{IPA|/sb sd sg/}} seems to be especially common for Welsh English speakers, possibly because of the importance of aspiration for distinguishing {{IPA|/p t k/}} from {{IPA|/b d ɡ/}} in [[Welsh phonology]], or because of the use of the spellings {{angbr|sb sg}} in [[Welsh orthography]].{{sfnp|Wells|1982|p=388}}}}{{efn|name=sh|Many clusters beginning with {{IPA|/ʃ/}} and paralleling native clusters beginning with {{IPA|/s/}} are found initially in German and Yiddish loanwords, such as {{IPA|/ʃl/}}, {{IPA|/ʃp/}}, {{IPA|/ʃt/}}, {{IPA|/ʃm/}}, {{IPA|/ʃn/}}, {{IPA|/ʃpr/}}, {{IPA|/ʃtr/}} (in words such as ''[[schlep (word)|schlep]], spiel, shtick, schmuck, [[schnapps]], Shprintzen's, strudel''). {{IPA|/ʃw/}} is found initially in the Hebrew loanword [[schwa]]. Before {{IPA|/r/}}, however, the native cluster is {{IPA|/ʃr/}}. The opposite cluster {{IPA|/sr/}} is found in loanwords such as ''Sri Lanka'', but this can be nativized by changing it to {{IPA|/ʃr/}}.}}
{{IPA|/sp/}}, {{IPA|/st/}}, {{IPA|/sk/}}
| speak, stop, skill
|-
|{{IPA|/s/}} plus nasal other than {{IPA|/ŋ/}}:{{efn|name=sh}}
{{IPA|/sm/}}, {{IPA|/sn/}}
| smile, snow
|-
|{{IPA|/s/}} plus voiceless non-sibilant fricative:{{efn|name=latinized-greek}}
{{IPA|/sf/}}, {{IPA|/sθ/}}
| sphere, sthenic
|-
|{{IPA|/s/}} plus voiceless stop plus approximant:{{efn|name=splosive}}{{efn|name=sh}}
{{IPA|/spl/}}, {{IPA|/skl/}},{{efn|name=latinized-greek}} {{IPA|/spr/}}, {{IPA|/str/}}, {{IPA|/skr/}}, {{IPA|/skw/}}, {{IPA|/spj/}}, {{IPA|/stj/}},{{efn|name=yod}} {{IPA|/skj/}}
| split, sclera, spring, street, scream, square, spew, student,{{efn|name=yod}} skewer
|-
|{{IPA|/s/}} plus nasal plus approximant:
{{IPA|/smj/}} {{IPA|/snj/}}
| smew, snew{{efn|name=snj|the dialectical past tense of to snow, or the band with the same name}}
|-
|{{IPA|/s/}} plus voiceless non-sibilant fricative plus approximant:{{efn|name=latinized-greek}}
{{IPA|/sfr/}}
| sphragistics
|}

'''Notes:'''

{{Notelist}}

=====Other onsets=====

Certain English onsets appear only in contractions: e.g. {{IPA|/zbl/}} (''<nowiki>'</nowiki>sblood''), and {{IPA|/zw/}} or {{IPA|/dzw/}} (''<nowiki>'</nowiki>swounds'' or ''<nowiki>'</nowiki>dswounds''). Some, such as {{IPA|/pʃ/}} (''pshaw''), {{IPA|/fw/}} (''fwoosh''), or {{IPA|/vr/}} (''vroom''), can occur in [[interjection]]s. An archaic voiceless fricative plus nasal exists, {{IPA|/fn/}} (''fnese''), as does an archaic {{IPA|/snj/}} (''snew'').

Several additional onsets occur in [[loan word]]s (with varying degrees of anglicization) such as {{IPA|/bw/}} (''bwana''), {{IPA|/mw/}} (''moiré''), {{IPA|/nw/}} (''noire''), {{IPA|/tsw/}} (''zwitterion''), {{IPA|/zw/}} (''zwieback''), {{IPA|/dv/}} (''Dvorak''), {{IPA|/kv/}} (''kvetch''), {{IPA|/ʃv/}} (''schvartze''), {{IPA|/tv/}} (''Tver''), {{IPA|/tsv/}} (''Zwickau''), <!--{{IPA|/kdʒ/}} (''Kjell''){{dubious|date=January 2021}},--> {{IPA|/kʃ/}} (''Kshatriya''), {{IPA|/tl/}} (''Tlaloc''), {{IPA|/vl/}} (''Vladimir''), {{IPA|/zl/}} (''zloty''), {{IPA|/tsk/}} (''Tskhinvali''), {{IPA|/hm/}} (''Hmong''), {{IPA|/km/}} (''Khmer''), and {{IPA|/ŋ/}} (''Nganasan'').

Some clusters of this type can be converted to regular English phonotactics by simplifying the cluster: e.g. {{IPA|/(d)z/}} (''dziggetai''), {{IPA|/(h)r/}} (''Hrolf''), {{IPA|/kr(w)/}} (''croissant''), {{IPA|/(ŋ)w/}} (''[[Nguyen#Pronunciation|Nguyen]]''), {{IPA|/(p)f/}} (''pfennig''), {{IPA|/(f)θ/}} (''phthalic''), {{IPA|/(t)s/}} (''tsunami''), {{IPA|/(ǃ)k/}} (''!kung''), and {{IPA|/k(ǁ)/}} (''Xhosa'').

Others can be replaced by native clusters differing only in [[Voice (phonetics)|voice]]: <!--{{IPA|/sv ~ sf/}} (''svelte''), -->{{IPA|/zb ~ sp/}} (''sbirro''), and {{IPA|/zɡr ~ skr/}} (''sgraffito'').

====Nucleus====
The following can occur as the [[Syllable nucleus|nucleus]]:
*All vowel sounds
*{{IPA|/m/}}, {{IPA|/n/}} and {{IPA|/l/}} in certain situations (see below under [[#Word-level patterns|word-level patterns]])
*{{IPA|/r/}} in [[Rhotic and non-rhotic accents|rhotic varieties]] of English (e.g. [[General American]]) in certain situations (see below under [[#Word-level patterns|word-level patterns]])

====Coda====



Most (in theory, all) of the following except those that end with {{IPA|/s/}}, {{IPA|/z/}}, {{IPA|/ʃ/}}, {{IPA|/ʒ/}}, {{IPA|/tʃ/}} or {{IPA|/dʒ/}} can be extended with {{IPA|/s/}} or {{IPA|/z/}} representing the [[morpheme]] -s/-z. Similarly, most (in theory, all) of the following except those that end with {{IPA|/t/}} or {{IPA|/d/}} can be extended with {{IPA|/t/}} or {{IPA|/d/}} representing the morpheme -t/-d.

{{Harvcoltxt|Wells|1990}} argues that a variety of syllable codas are possible in English, even {{IPA|/ntr, ndr/}} in words like ''entry'' {{IPA|/ˈɛntr.i/}} and ''sundry'' {{IPA|/ˈsʌndr.i/}}, with {{IPA|/tr, dr/}} being treated as affricates along the lines of {{IPA|/tʃ, dʒ/}}. He argues that the traditional assumption that pre-vocalic consonants form a syllable with the following vowel is due to the influence of languages like French and Latin, where syllable structure is CVC.CVC regardless of stress placement. Disregarding such contentious cases, which do not occur at the ends of words, the following sequences can occur as the [[Syllable coda|coda]]{{Citation needed|date=June 2025}}:
{| class="wikitable"
|-
|The single consonant phonemes except {{IPA|/h/}}, {{IPA|/w/}}, {{IPA|/j/}} and, in [[Rhotic and non-rhotic accents|non-rhotic varieties]], {{IPA|/r/}} || &nbsp;
|-
|Lateral approximant plus stop or affricate: {{IPA|/lp/}}, {{IPA|/lb/}}, {{IPA|/lt/}}, {{IPA|/ld/}}, {{IPA|/ltʃ/}}, {{IPA|/ldʒ/}}, {{IPA|/lk/}} || help, bulb, belt, hold, belch, indulge, milk
|-
|In rhotic varieties, {{IPA|/r/}} plus stop or affricate: {{IPA|/rp/}}, {{IPA|/rb/}}, {{IPA|/rt/}}, {{IPA|/rd/}}, {{IPA|/rtʃ/}}, {{IPA|/rdʒ/}}, {{IPA|/rk/}}, {{IPA|/rɡ/}} || harp, orb, fort, beard, arch, large, mark, morgue
|-
|Lateral approximant + fricative: {{IPA|/lf/}}, {{IPA|/lv/}}, {{IPA|/lθ/}}, {{IPA|/ls/}}, {{IPA|/lz/}}, {{IPA|/lʃ/}}, ({{IPA|/lð/}}) || golf, solve, wealth, else, bells, Welsh, (stealth (v.))
|-
|In rhotic varieties, {{IPA|/r/}} + fricative: {{IPA|/rf/}}, {{IPA|/rv/}}, {{IPA|/rθ/}}, {{IPA|/rð/}}, {{IPA|/rs/}}, {{IPA|/rz/}}, {{IPA|/rʃ/}} || dwarf, carve, north, birth (v.), force, Mars, marsh
|-
|Lateral approximant + nasal: {{IPA|/lm/}}, {{IPA|/ln/}} || film, kiln
|-
|In rhotic varieties, {{IPA|/r/}} + nasal or lateral: {{IPA|/rm/}}, {{IPA|/rn/}}, {{IPA|/rl/}} || arm, born, snarl
|-
|Nasal + [[homorganic]] stop or affricate: {{IPA|/mp/}}, {{IPA|/nt/}}, {{IPA|/nd/}}, {{IPA|/ntʃ/}}, {{IPA|/ndʒ/}}, {{IPA|/ŋk/}}; some varieties also allow {{IPA|/ŋg/}} || jump, tent, end, lunch, lounge, pink, sing
|-
|Nasal + fricative: {{IPA|/mf/}}, {{IPA|/mz/}}, {{IPA|/mθ/}}, ({{IPA|/nf/}}), {{IPA|/nθ/}}, ({{IPA|/ns/}}),<!--in some accents, generates a stop in between (e.g., to /nts/) or else voices to /nz/ - same reason why /ms/ doesn't occur as a syllable coda--> {{IPA|/nz/}}, {{IPA|/ŋz/}}; some varieties also allow {{IPA|/ŋθ/}} || triumph, Thames, [[wikt:gloomth|gloomth]], ([[wikt:saunf|saunf]]), month, (prince), bronze, songs, length, strength
|-
|Voiceless fricative plus voiceless stop: {{IPA|/ft/}}, {{IPA|/sp/}}, {{IPA|/st/}}, {{IPA|/sk/}}, {{IPA|/ʃt/}}, {{IPA|/θt/}} || left, crisp, lost, ask, smashed, smithed
|-
|Voiced fricative plus voiced stop: {{IPA|/zd/}}, {{IPA|/ðd/}} || blazed, writhed
|-
|Two or three voiceless fricatives: {{IPA|/fθ/}}, {{IPA|/fθs/}} || fifth, fifths
|-
|Two voiceless stops: {{IPA|/pt/}}, {{IPA|/kt/}} || opt, act
|-
|Two voiceless stops + fricative: {{IPA|/pts/}}, {{IPA|/kts/}} || opts, acts
|-
|Stop plus fricative: {{IPA|/pθ/}}, {{IPA|/ps/}}, {{IPA|/bz/}}, {{IPA|/tθ/}}, {{IPA|/ts/}}, {{IPA|/dθ/}}, {{IPA|/dz/}}, {{IPA|/ks/}}, {{IPA|/gz/}} || depth, lapse, ebbs, eighth, klutz, width, adze, box, eggs
|-
|Lateral approximant + two or three consonants: {{IPA|/lmd/}}, {{IPA|/lpt/}}, {{IPA|/lps/}}, {{IPA|/lfθ/}}, {{IPA|/lts/}}, {{IPA|/lst/}}, {{IPA|/lkt/}}, {{IPA|/lks/}} || filmed, sculpt, alps, twelfth,{{efn|The pronunciation of ''twelfth'' varies and can be {{IPA|/twɛlfθ/}} or {{IPA|/twɛlθ/}}.}} waltz, whilst, mulct,<!--obscure to the point of first 15 or so Ghits all being dictionaries, but it's good for symmetry--> calx
|-
|In rhotic varieties, {{IPA|/r/}} + two consonants: {{IPA|/rmd/}}, {{IPA|/rmθ/}}, {{IPA|/rpt/}}, {{IPA|/rps/}}, {{IPA|/rnd/}}, {{IPA|/rts/}}, {{IPA|/rst/}}, {{IPA|/rld/}}, {{IPA|/rkt/}}, {{IPA|/rks/}} || farmed, warmth, excerpt, corpse, mourned, quartz, horst, world, infarct, irks
|-
|Nasal + homorganic stop + stop or fricative: {{IPA|/mpt/}}, {{IPA|/mps/}}, {{IPA|/nts/}}, {{IPA|/ntθ/}}, {{IPA|/ŋkt/}}, {{IPA|/ŋks/}}, {{IPA|/ŋkθ/}} in some varieties || prompt, glimpse, chintz, thousandth, distinct, jinx, length
|-
|Nasal + homorganic stop + two fricatives: {{IPA|/ntθs/}} || thousandths
|-
|Nasal + non-homorganic stop: {{IPA|/mt/}}, {{IPA|/md/}}, {{IPA|/ŋd/}} || dreamt, hemmed, hanged
|-
|Three obstruents: {{IPA|/ksθ/}}, {{IPA|/kst/}} || sixth, next
|-
|Four obstruents: {{IPA|/ksθs/}}, {{IPA|/ksθt/}}, {{IPA|/ksts/}} || sixths, sixthed, texts
|}

*'''Notes:'''

{{notelist}}

For some speakers, a fricative before {{IPA|/θ/}} is elided so that these never appear phonetically: {{IPA|/fɪfθ/}} becomes {{IPA|[fɪθ]}}, {{IPA|/sɪksθ/}} becomes {{IPA|[sɪkθ]}}, {{IPA|/twɛlfθ/}} becomes {{IPA|[twɛlθ]}}.

===Syllable-level patterns===
*Syllables may consist of a single vowel, meaning that onset and coda are not mandatory.
*The consonant {{IPA|/ŋ/}} does not occur in syllable-initial position (most speakers do not maintain it even in loans like ''[[Ngorongoro]]'' and ''[[Nguyen]]'').
*The consonant {{IPA|/h/}} does not occur in syllable-final position.
*Onset clusters ending in {{IPA|/j/}} are followed by {{IPA|/uː/}} or its variants (see {{section link||Onset}} note e above).
*Long vowels and diphthongs are not found before {{IPA|/ŋ/}}, except for the mimetic words ''boing'' and ''oink'', unassimilated foreign words such as Burmese ''aung'' and proper names such as ''[[Taung]]'', and American-type pronunciations of words like ''strong'' (which have {{IPA|/ɔŋ/}} or {{IPA|/ɑŋ/}}). The short vowels {{IPA|/ɛ, ʊ/}} occur before {{IPA|/ŋ/}} only in assimilated non-native words such as ''[[ginseng]]'' and ''[[Song Dynasty|Song]]'' (name of a Chinese dynasty) or non-finally in some dialects in words like ''strength'' and ''length'' as well as in varieties without the [[Phonological history of English close back vowels#Foot–strut split|''foot''-''strut'' split]].
*{{IPA|/ʊ/}} is rare in syllable-initial position (although in the northern half of England, {{IPA|[ʊ]}} is used for {{IPA|/ʌ/}} and is common at the start of syllables).
* Stop + {{IPA|/w/}} before {{IPA|/uː, ʊ, ʌ, aʊ/}} (all presently or historically {{IPA|/u(ː)/}}) are excluded.{{sfnp|Clements|Keyser|1983|p=20}}
* Sequences of {{IPA|/s/}} + C<sub>1</sub> + V̆ + C<sub>1</sub>, where C<sub>1</sub> is a consonant other than {{IPA|/t/}} and V̆ is a short vowel,<!--there are lots of {{IPA|/stVt/}} words--> are virtually nonexistent.{{sfnp|Clements|Keyser|1983|p=21}}

===Word-level patterns===
*{{IPA|/ə/}} does not occur in stressed syllables, unless it is merged with another vowel as in some varieties.
*{{IPA|/ʒ/}} does not occur in word-initial position in native English words, although it can occur syllable-initially as in ''luxurious'' {{IPA|/lʌɡˈʒʊəriəs/}} in American English, and at the start of borrowed words such as ''genre''.
*{{IPA|/m/}}, {{IPA|/n/}}, {{IPA|/l/}} and, in [[Rhotic and non-rhotic accents|rhotic varieties]], {{IPA|/r/}} can be the syllable nucleus (i.e. a [[syllabic consonant]]) in an unstressed syllable following another consonant, especially {{IPA|/t/}}, {{IPA|/d/}}, {{IPA|/s/}} or {{IPA|/z/}}. Such syllables are often analyzed phonemically as having an underlying {{IPA|/ə/}} as the nucleus. See above under [[#Consonants|Consonants]].
*The short vowels are [[checked vowels]], in that they cannot occur without a coda in a word-final stressed syllable. (This does not apply to {{IPA|/ə/}}, which does not occur in stressed syllables as mentioned above.)

==Prosody==
The [[prosodic]] features of English – stress, rhythm, and intonation – can be described as follows.

===Prosodic stress===
'''Prosodic stress''' is extra stress given to words or syllables when they appear in certain positions in an utterance, or when they receive special emphasis.

According to Ladefoged's analysis (as referred to under {{slink||Lexical stress}} above), English normally has prosodic stress on the final stressed syllable in an [[intonation unit]]. This is said to be the origin of the distinction traditionally made at the lexical level between primary and secondary stress: when a word like ''admiration'' (traditionally transcribed as something like {{IPA|/ˌædmɪˈreɪʃən/}}) is spoken in isolation, or at the end of a sentence, the syllable ''ra'' (the final stressed syllable) is pronounced with greater force than the syllable ''ad'', although when the word is not pronounced with this final intonation there may be no difference between the levels of stress of these two syllables.

Prosodic stress can shift for various [[pragmatics|pragmatic]] functions, such as focus or contrast. For instance, in the dialogue ''Is it brunch tomorrow? No, it's '''dinner''' tomorrow'', the extra stress shifts from the last stressed syllable of the sentence, ''to'''mor'''row'', to the last stressed syllable of the emphasized word, '''''din'''ner.''

Grammatical [[function word]]s are usually prosodically unstressed, although they can acquire stress when emphasized (as in ''Did you find the cat? Well, I found '''a''' cat''). Many English function words have distinct strong and weak pronunciations; for example, the word ''a'' in the last example is pronounced {{IPA|/eɪ/}}, while the more common unstressed ''a'' is pronounced {{IPA|/ə/}}. See [[Weak and strong forms in English]].

===Rhythm===
English is claimed to be a ''[[Timing (linguistics)|stress-timed]]'' language. That is, stressed syllables tend to appear with a more or less regular rhythm, while non-stressed syllables are shortened to accommodate this. For example, in the sentence ''One make of car is better than another'', the syllables ''one'', ''make'', ''car'', ''bett-'' and ''{{notatypo|-noth-}}'' will be stressed and relatively long, while the other syllables will be considerably shorter. The theory of stress-timing predicts that each of the three unstressed syllables in between ''bett-'' and ''{{notatypo|-noth-}}'' will be shorter than the syllable ''of'' between ''make'' and ''car'', because three syllables must fit into the same amount of time as that available for ''of''. However, it should not be assumed that all varieties of English are stress-timed in this way. The English spoken in the West Indies,{{sfnp|Collins|Mees|2013|p=138}} in Africa{{sfnp|Wells|1982|p=644}} and in India{{sfnp|Wells|1982|pp=630–1}} are probably better characterized as [[Isochrony|syllable-timed]], though the lack of an agreed scientific test for categorizing an accent or language as stress-timed or syllable-timed may lead one to doubt the value of such a characterization.{{sfnp|Roach|1982|pp=73–9}}

===Intonation===
{{Further|Intonation (linguistics)#English}}

Phonological contrasts in intonation can be said to be found in three different and independent domains. In the work of Halliday{{sfnp|Halliday|1967|pp=18–24}} the following names are proposed:

*''Tonality'' for the distribution of continuous speech into tone groups.
*''Tonicity'' for the placing of the principal accent on a particular syllable of a word, making it the ''tonic syllable''. This is the domain also referred to as [[prosodic stress]] or [[sentence stress]].
*''Tone'' for the choice of pitch movement on the tonic syllable. (The use of the term ''tone'' in this sense should not be confused with the [[tone (linguistics)|tone]] of tone languages, such as Chinese.)

These terms ("the Three Ts") have been used in more recent work,{{sfnp|Tench|1996}}{{sfnp|Wells|2006}} though they have been criticized for being difficult to remember.{{sfnp|Roach|2009|p=144}} American systems such as [[ToBI]] also identify contrasts involving boundaries between intonation phrases (Halliday's ''tonality''), placement of pitch accent (''tonicity''), and choice of tone or tones associated with the pitch accent (''tone'').

Example of phonological contrast involving placement of intonation unit boundaries (boundary marked by comma):
{{ordered list|type=lower-alpha
 |1=Those who ran quickly, escaped. (the only people who escaped were those who ran quickly)
 |2=Those who ran, quickly escaped. (the people who ran escaped quickly)
}}

Example of phonological contrast involving placement of tonic syllable (marked by capital letters):
{{ordered list|type=lower-alpha
 |1=I have plans to LEAVE. (= I am planning to leave)
 |2=I have PLANS to leave. (= I have some drawings to leave)
}}

Example of phonological contrast (British English) involving choice of tone (\ = falling tone, \/ = fall-rise tone)
{{ordered list|type=lower-alpha
 |1=She didn't break the record because of the \ WIND. (= she did not break the record, because the wind held her up)
 |2=She didn't break the record because of the \/ WIND. (= she did break the record, but not because of the wind)
}}

There is typically a contrast involving tone between [[wh-question]]s and [[yes/no question]]s, the former having a falling tone (e.g. "Where did you \PUT it?") and the latter a rising tone (e.g. "Are you going /OUT?"), though studies of spontaneous speech have shown frequent exceptions to this rule.{{sfnp|Brown|1990|pp=122–3}} [[Tag questions]] asking for information are said to carry rising tones (e.g. "They are coming on Tuesday, /AREN'T they?") while those asking for confirmation have falling tone (e.g. "Your name's John, \ISN'T it.").

==History of English pronunciation==
{{Main|Phonological history of English}}

The pronunciation system of English has undergone many changes throughout the history of the language, from the [[Old English phonology|phonological system of Old English]], to [[Middle English phonology|that of Middle English]], through to that of the present day. Variation between [[English dialects|dialects]] has always been significant. Former pronunciations of many words are reflected in their spellings, as [[English orthography]] has generally not kept pace with phonological changes since the Middle English period.

The English consonant system has been relatively stable over time, although [[Phonological history of English consonants|a number of significant changes]] have occurred. Examples include the loss (in most dialects) of the {{IPA|[ç]}} and {{IPA|[x]}} sounds still reflected by the {{angbr|gh}} in words like ''night'' and ''taught'', and the splitting of voiced and voiceless allophones of fricatives into separate phonemes (such as the two different [[Pronunciation of English ⟨th⟩|phonemes represented by {{angbr|th}}]]). There have also been many [[Phonological history of English consonant clusters|changes in consonant clusters]], mostly reductions, for instance those that produced the usual modern pronunciations of such letter combinations as {{angbr|wr-}}, {{angbr|kn-}} and [[English wh|{{angbr|wh-}}]].

The [[Phonological history of English vowels|development of vowels]] has been much more complex. One of the most notable series of changes is that known as the [[Great Vowel Shift]], which began around the late 14th century. Here the {{IPA|[iː]}} and {{IPA|[uː]}} in words like ''price'' and ''mouth'' became diphthongized, and other long vowels became higher: {{IPA|[eː]}} became {{IPA|[iː]}} (as in ''meet''), {{IPA|[aː]}} became {{IPA|[eː]}} and later {{IPA|[eɪ]}} (as in ''name''), {{IPA|[oː]}} became {{IPA|[uː]}} (as in ''goose''), and {{IPA|[ɔː]}} became {{IPA|[oː]}} and later {{IPA|[oʊ]}} (in RP now {{IPA|[əʊ]}}; as in ''bone''). These shifts are responsible for the modern pronunciations of many written vowel combinations, including those involving a [[silent e|silent final {{angbr|e}}]].

Many other changes in vowels have taken place over the centuries (see the separate articles on the [[Phonological history of English low back vowels|low back]], [[Phonological history of English high back vowels|high back]] and [[Phonological history of English high front vowels|high front]] vowels, [[Phonological history of English short A|short A]], and [[Phonological history of English diphthongs|diphthongs]]). These various changes mean that many words that formerly rhymed (and may be expected to rhyme based on their spelling) no longer do.{{sfnp|Cercignani|1975|pp=513–8}} For example, in [[Shakespeare]]'s time, following the Great Vowel Shift, ''food'', ''good'' and ''blood'' all had the vowel {{IPA|[uː]}}, but in modern pronunciation ''good'' has been shortened to {{IPA|[ʊ]}}, while ''blood'' has been shortened and lowered to {{IPA|[ʌ]}} in most accents. In other cases, words that were formerly distinct have come to be pronounced the same – examples of such mergers include [[Meet–meat merger|''meet–meat'']], [[Pane–pain merger|''pane–pain'']] and [[Toe–tow merger|''toe–tow'']].

==Controversial issues==
===Velar nasal===
The phonemic status of the velar nasal consonant {{IPA|[ŋ]}} is disputed; one analysis claims that the only nasal phonemes in English are {{IPA|/m/}} and {{IPA|/n/}}, while {{IPA|[ŋ]}} is an allophone of {{IPA|/n/}} found before velar consonants. Evidence in support of this analysis is found in accents of the north-west Midlands of England where {{IPA|[ŋ]}} is found only before {{IPA|/k/}} or {{IPA|/ɡ/}}, with ''sung'' being pronounced as {{IPA|[sʌŋɡ]}}. However, in most other accents of English ''sung'' is pronounced {{IPA|[sʌŋ]}}, producing a three-way phonemic contrast ''sum'' – ''sun'' – ''sung'' {{IPA|/sʌm sʌn sʌŋ/}} and supporting the analysis of the phonemic status of {{IPA|/ŋ/}}. In support of treating the velar nasal as an allophone of {{IPA|/n/}}, {{Harvcoltxt|Sapir|1925}} claims on psychological grounds that {{IPA|[ŋ]}} did not form part of a series of three nasal consonants: "no naïve English-speaking person can be made to feel in his bones that it belongs to a single series with ''m'' and ''n''.&nbsp;... It still ''feels'' like ''ƞg''."{{sfnp|Sapir|1925|p=49}} More recent writers have indicated that analyses of {{IPA|[ŋ]}} as an allophone of {{IPA|/n/}} may still have merit, even though {{IPA|[ŋ]}} may appear both with and without a following velar consonant; in such analyses, an underlying {{IPA|/ɡ/}} that is [[Elision|deleted]] by a [[phonological rule]] would account for occurrences of {{IPA|[ŋ]}} not followed by a velar consonant.{{sfnp|Wells|1982|pp=60–63}}{{sfnp|Roach|2009|pages=46–48, 51–54}}{{sfn|Giegerich|1992|pages=297–300}} Thus the phonemic representation of ''sing'' would be {{IPA|/sɪnɡ/}} and that of ''singer'' is {{IPA|/ˈsɪnɡə/}}; in order to reach the phonetic form {{IPA|[sɪŋ]}} and {{IPA|[ˈsɪŋə]}}, it is necessary to apply a rule that changes {{IPA|/n/}} to {{IPA|[ŋ]}} before {{IPA|/k/}} or {{IPA|/ɡ/}}, then a second rule that deletes {{IPA|/ɡ/}} when it follows {{IPA|[ŋ]}}.

* 1. {{IPA|/n/}} → {{IPA|[ŋ]}} / ____ velar consonant 
* 2. {{IPA|/ɡ/}} → ∅ / {{IPA|[ŋ]}} _____

These produce the following results:

{|class=wikitable
! Word
! Underlying phonological form
! Phonetic form
|-
| ''sing''
| {{IPA|/sɪnɡ/}}
| {{IPA|[sɪŋ]}}
|-
|''singer''
| {{IPA|/ˈsɪnɡər/}}
| {{IPA|[ˈsɪŋər]}}
|-
| ''singing''
| {{IPA|/ˈsɪnɡɪnɡ/}}
| {{IPA|[ˈsɪŋɪŋ]}}
|-
|}

However, these rules do not predict the following phonetic forms:

{|class=wikitable
! Word
! Underlying phonological form
! Phonetic form
|-
| ''anger''
| {{IPA|/ˈænɡər/}}
| {{IPA|[ˈæŋɡər]}}
|-
|''finger''
| {{IPA|/ˈfɪnɡər/}}
| {{IPA|[ˈfɪŋɡər]}}
|-
| ''hunger''
| {{IPA|/ˈhʌnɡər/}}
| {{IPA|[ˈhʌŋɡər]}}
|-
|}

In the above cases, the {{IPA|/ɡ/}} is not deleted. The words are all single [[morpheme]]s, unlike ''singer'' and ''singing'' which are composed of two morphemes, ''sing'' plus ''-er'' or ''-ing''. Rule 2 can be amended to include a symbol # for a morpheme boundary (including word boundary):

2. {{IPA|/ɡ/ → ∅ / [ŋ] ___ #}}

This rule then applies to ''sing'', ''singer'' and ''singing'' but not to ''anger'', ''finger'', or ''hunger''.

According to this rule, the words ''hangar'' ('shed for aircraft'), which contains no internal morpheme boundary, and ''hanger'' ('object for hanging clothes'), which comprises two morphemes, are expected to constitute a minimal pair as ''hangar'' {{IPA|[ˈhæŋɡə]}} versus ''hanger'' {{IPA|[ˈhæŋə]}}; in actuality, their pronunciations are not consistently distinguished in this manner, as ''hangar'' is frequently pronounced {{IPA|[ˈhæŋə]}}.

Additionally, there are exceptions in the form of comparative and superlative forms of adjectives, where Rule 2 must be prevented from applying. The ending ''-ish'' is another possible exception.

 {|class=wikitable
! Word
! Underlying phonological form
! Phonetic form
|-
| ''long''
| {{IPA|/lɒnɡ/}}
| {{IPA|[lɒŋ]}}
|-
|''longer''
| {{IPA|/ˈlɒnɡər/}}
| {{IPA|[ˈlɒŋɡər]}}
|-
| ''longest''
| {{IPA|/ˈlɒnɡɪst/}}
| {{IPA|[ˈlɒŋɡəst]}}
|-
| ''longish''
| {{IPA|/ˈlɒnɡɪʃ/}}
| {{IPA|[ˈlɒŋɡɪʃ] or [ˈlɒŋɪʃ]}}
|-
|}

As a result, there is, in theory, a minimal pair consisting of ''longer'' ({{IPA|[ˈlɒŋɡər]}} 'more long') and ''longer'' ({{IPA|[ˈlɒŋər]}} 'person who longs'), though it is doubtful that native speakers make this distinction regularly.{{sfnp|Sobkowiak|1996|pp=95–6}} Names of persons and places, and loanwords, are less predictable. ''Singapore'' may be pronounced with or without {{IPA|[ɡ]}}; ''bungalow'' usually has {{IPA|[ɡ]}}; and ''Inge'' may or may not have {{IPA|[ɡ]}}.{{sfnp|Wells|2008}}

===Vowel system===
It is often stated that English has a particularly large number of vowel phonemes and that there are 20 vowel phonemes in Received Pronunciation,{{sfnp|O'Connor|1973|p=153}} 14–16 in General American, and 20–21 in Australian English. These numbers, however, reflect just one of many possible phonological analyses. A number of "biphonemic" analyses have proposed that English has a basic set of short (sometimes called "simple" or "checked") vowels, each of which can be shown to be a phoneme and can be combined with another phoneme to form long vowels and diphthongs. One of these biphonemic analyses asserts that diphthongs and long vowels may be interpreted as comprising a short vowel linked to a consonant. The fullest exposition of this approach is found in {{Harvcoltxt|Trager|Smith|1951}}, where all long vowels and diphthongs ("complex nuclei") are made up of a short vowel combined with either {{IPA|/j/}} (for which the authors use the symbol {{angbr|y}}), {{IPA|/w/}} or {{IPA|/h/}} (plus {{IPA|/r/}} for [[Rhotic consonant|rhotic]] accents), each thus comprising two phonemes.{{sfnp|Trager|Smith|1951|p=20}} Using this system, the word ''bite'' would be transcribed {{IPA|/bajt/}}, ''bout'' as {{IPA|/bawt/}}, ''bar'' as {{IPA|/bar/}} and ''bra'' as {{IPA|/brah/}}. One attraction that the authors claim for this analysis is that it regularizes the distribution of the consonants {{IPA|/j/}}, {{IPA|/w/}}, and {{IPA|/h/}} (as well as {{IPA|/r/}} in non-rhotic accents), which would otherwise not be found in syllable-final position. {{Harvcoltxt|Trager|Smith|1951}} suggest nine simple vowel phonemes to allow them to represent all the accents of American and British English they surveyed, symbolized {{IPA|/i, e, æ/}} (front vowels); {{IPA|/ᵻ, ə, a/}} (central vowels); and {{IPA|/u, o, ɔ/}} (back vowels).

The analysis from {{harvcoltxt|Trager|Smith|1951}} came out of a desire to build an "[[diasystem|overall system]]" to accommodate all English dialects, with dialectal distinctions arising from differences in the ordering of phonological rules,{{sfnp|Davis|1973|p=1}}{{sfnp|Allen|1977|pp=169, 226}} as well as in the presence or absence of such rules.{{sfnp|Saporta|1965|pp=218–219}} Another category of biphonemic analyses of English treats long vowels and diphthongs as conjunctions of two vowels. Such analyses, as found in {{Harvcoltxt|Sweet|1877}} or {{Harvcoltxt|Kreidler|2004}} for example, are less concerned with dialectal variation. In {{Harvcoltxt|MacCarthy|1967|pp=4, 36–37}}, for example, there are seven basic vowels and these may be doubled ([[geminated]]) to represent long vowels, as shown in the table below:

{|class=wikitable
! Short vowel
! Long vowel
|-
| i (''bit'')
| ii (''beet'')
|-
|e (''bet'')
|
|-
|a (''cat'')
|aa (''cart'')
|-
|o (''cot'')
|oo (''caught'')
|-
|u (''pull'')
|uu (''pool'')
|-
|ʌ (''cut'')
|
|-
|ə (''c'''o'''llect'')
|əə (''curl'')
|}

Some of the short vowels may also be combined with {{IPA|/i/}} ({{IPA|/ei/}} ''bay'', {{IPA|/ai/}} ''buy'', {{IPA|/oi/}} ''boy''), with {{IPA|/u/}} ({{IPA|/au/}} {{IPA|bough}}, {{IPA|/ou/}} ''beau'') or with {{IPA|/ə/}} ({{IPA|/iə/}} ''peer'', {{IPA|/eə/}} ''pair'', {{IPA|/uə/}} ''poor''). The vowel inventory of English RP in MacCarthy's system therefore totals only seven phonemes. (Analyses such as these could also posit six vowel phonemes, if the vowel of the final syllable in ''comma'' is considered to be an unstressed allophone of that of ''strut''.) These seven vowels might be symbolized {{IPA|/i/}}, {{IPA|/e/}}, {{IPA|/a/}}, {{IPA|/o/}}, {{IPA|/u/}}, {{IPA|/ʌ/}} and {{IPA|/ə/}}. Six or seven vowels is a figure that would put English much closer to the average number of vowel phonemes in other languages.{{sfn|Roach|2009|pages=99–100}}

A radically different approach to the English vowel system was proposed by [[Chomsky]] and [[Morris Halle|Halle]]. Their ''[[Sound Pattern of English]]'' {{harvcol|Chomsky|Halle|1968}} proposed that English has lax and tense vowel phonemes, which are operated on by a complex set of phonological rules to transform underlying phonological forms into surface phonetic representations. This generative analysis is not easily comparable with conventional analyses, but the total number of vowel phonemes proposed falls well short of the figure of 20 often claimed as the number of English vowel phonemes.

==See also==
{{div col|colwidth=25em}}
* [[Australian English phonology]]
* [[English orthography]]
* [[English pronunciation of Greek letters]]
* [[General American]]
* [[Non-native pronunciations of English]]
* [[Old English phonology]]
* [[Perception of English /r/ and /l/ by Japanese speakers]]
* [[Phonological development]]
* [[Phonological history of English vowels]]
* [[Phonological history of English consonants]]
* [[Pronunciation of English ⟨th⟩]]
* [[Received Pronunciation]]
* [[Regional accents of English]]
* [[Rhoticity in English]]
* [[T-glottalization]]
* [[R-colored vowel]]
* [[Sound correspondences between English accents]]
* [[:Category:Splits and mergers in English phonology]]
{{div col end}}

==Notes==
{{notelist-ua}}

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{{Refend}}

==Further reading==
{{Refbegin|indent=yes|30em}}
*{{Cite journal |last=Bacsfalvi |first=P. |year=2010 |title=Attaining the lingual components of /r/ with ultrasound for three adolescents with cochlear implants |journal=Canadian Journal of Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology |issue=34 |volume=3 |pages=206–217}}
*{{Cite journal |last1=Ball |first1=M. |last2=Lowry |first2=O. |last3=McInnis |first3=L. |year=2006 |title=Distributional and stylistic variation in /r/-misarticulations: A case study |journal=Clinical Linguistics & Phonetics |issue=20 |volume=2–3}}
*Campbell, F., Gick, B., Wilson, I., Vatikiotis-Bateson, E. (2010), "Spatial and Temporal Properties of Gestures in North American English /r/". ''Child's Language and Speech'', 53 (1): 49–69
*{{Citation |last=Cercignani |first=Fausto |year=1981 |title=Shakespeare's Works and Elizabethan Pronunciation |place=Oxford |publisher=Clarendon Press}}
*{{Citation |last=Crystal |first=David |author-link=David Crystal |year=1969 |title=Prosodic Systems and Intonation in English |place=Cambridge |publisher=Cambridge University Press}}
*Dalcher Villafaña, C., Knight, R.A., Jones, M.J., (2008), "Cue Switching in the Perception of Approximants: Evidence from Two English Dialects". ''University of Pennsylvania Working Papers in Linguistics'', 14 (2): 63–64
*Espy-Wilson, C. (2004), "Articulatory Strategies, speech Acoustics and Variability". ''From Sound to Sense'' June 11 – June 13 at MIT: 62–63
*{{Citation |last=Fudge |first=Erik C. |year=1984 |title=English Word-stress |place=London |publisher=Allen and Unwin}}
*{{Citation |last=Gimson |first=A.C. |year=1962 |title=An Introduction to the Pronunciation of English |place=London |publisher=Edward Arnold}}
*Hagiwara, R., Fosnot, S. M., & Alessi, D. M. (2002). "Acoustic phonetics in a clinical setting: A case study of /r/-distortion therapy with surgical intervention". ''Clinical linguistics & phonetics'', 16 (6): 425–441.
*{{Citation |last=Halliday |first=M.A.K. |year=1970 |title=A Course in Spoken English: Intonation |place=London |publisher=Oxford University Press}}
*Hoff, Erika, (2009), ''Language Development''. Scarborough, Ontario. Cengage Learning, 2005.
*Howard, S. (2007), "The interplay between articulation and prosody in children with impaired speech: Observations from electropalatographic and perceptual analysis". ''International Journal of Speech-Language Pathology'', 9 (1): 20–35.
*{{Citation |last=Kingdon |first=Roger |year=1958 |title=The Groundwork of English Intonation |place=London |publisher=Longman}}
*Locke, John L., (1983), ''Phonological Acquisition and Change''. New York, United States. Academic Press, 1983. Print.
*{{Citation |last1=O'Connor |first1=J. D. |last2=Arnold |first2=Gordon Frederick |year=1961 |title=Intonation of Colloquial English |place=London |publisher=Longman}}
*{{Citation |last=Pike |first=Kenneth Lee |year=1945 |title=The Intonation of American English |place=Ann Arbor |publisher=University of Michigan Press |author-link=Kenneth Lee Pike}}
*{{Cite journal |last1=Sharf |first1=Donald J. |title=Identification of synthesized /r–w/ continua for adult and child speakers |date=1982-04-01 |journal=J. Acoust. Soc. Am. |volume=71 |issue=4 |pages=1008–1015 |url=https://doi.org/10.1121/1.387652 |access-date=2024-06-07 |last2=Benson |first2=Peter J. |doi=10.1121/1.387652|pmid=7085977 |bibcode=1982ASAJ...71.1008S |url-access=subscription }}
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==External links==
{{Commons category}}
*[https://www.dynamicdialects.ac.uk/accent-map/ University of Glasgow Dynamic Dialects Accent Map]
*[https://slatona.com/en/ipa/chart/en IPA Phonetics Chart of English]

{{Description of English}}
{{Language phonologies}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:English Phonology}}
[[Category:English phonology| ]]