Accent Reduction Course
Classification of English Sounds
Классификация английских звуков
Speech sounds are produced by the outgoing airflow from the lungs. The airflow may pass freely through the vocal tract, producing vowels, or meet an obstruction, producing consonants.
Click an IPA chip to open the interactive American IPA Chart. Later, when you upload audio files to your site, the same buttons can be switched back to direct playback.
Sound Production
Voicing / Работа голосовых связок
- Voiced sounds — звонкие звуки: the vocal cords vibrate. [b], [d], [g], [v], [ð], [z], [ʒ], [dʒ], [m], [n], [ŋ], [l], [r], [w], [j]
- Voiceless sounds — глухие звуки: the vocal cords do not vibrate. [p], [t], [k], [f], [θ], [s], [ʃ], [tʃ], [h]
Airflow / Воздушная струя
- Vowels — гласные: the airflow passes freely. [iː], [ɪ], [e], [æ], [ɑː], [ɒ], [ɔː], [ʊ], [uː], [ʌ], [ɜː], [ə], [eɪ], [aɪ], [ɔɪ], [aʊ], [əʊ], [ɪə], [eə], [ʊə]
- Consonants — согласные: the airflow meets an obstruction. [p], [b], [t], [d], [k], [g], [f], [v], [θ], [ð], [s], [z], [ʃ], [ʒ], [tʃ], [dʒ], [h], [m], [n], [ŋ], [l], [r], [w], [j]
American / British IPA Differences
| Word set | American IPA | British IPA / RP | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|
| LOT as in hot | [ɑ] | [ɒ] | General American usually has an unrounded back vowel; RP has a rounded short vowel. |
| BATH as in bath, dance | [æ] | [ɑː] | Many RP accents use [ɑː]; General American usually keeps [æ]. |
| GOAT as in go | [oʊ] | [əʊ] | American transcription often starts from [o]; RP often starts from schwa. |
| NEAR as in near | [ɪr] / [ɪɹ] | [ɪə] | American English is usually rhotic; RP is usually non-rhotic. |
| SQUARE as in hair | [er] / [eɹ] | [eə] | The American form normally contains pronounced /r/. |
| NURSE as in bird | [ɝ] | [ɜː] | American English uses an r-colored vowel; RP normally does not pronounce /r/ here. |
| LETTER final vowel | [ɚ] | [ə] | American final -er is often transcribed as r-colored schwa. |
| R consonant | [ɹ] / [r] | [r] / [ɹ] | For teaching American pronunciation, [ɹ] is more precise; dictionaries often simplify it to [r]. |
Vowels / Гласные
| Principle / Принцип | Categories / Категории |
|---|---|
| Tongue position Положение языка |
Front vowels — гласные переднего ряда: [iː], [ɪ], [e], [æ] Back vowels — гласные заднего ряда: [ɑː], [ɒ], [ɔː], [ʊ], [uː] Central / mixed vowels — гласные смешанного ряда: [ʌ], [ɜː], [ə] |
| Stability of articulation Степень стабильности артикуляции |
Monophthongs — монофтонги: [iː], [ɪ], [e], [æ], [ɑː], [ɒ], [ɔː], [ʊ], [uː], [ʌ], [ɜː], [ə] Diphthongs — дифтонги: [eɪ], [aɪ], [ɔɪ], [aʊ], [əʊ], [ɪə], [eə], [ʊə] Diphthongoids — дифтонгоиды: [iː], [uː] |
| Muscular tension Степень напряжённости |
Tense vowels — напряжённые гласные: [iː], [ɑː], [ɔː], [uː], [ɜː] Lax vowels — ненапряжённые гласные: [ɪ], [e], [æ], [ɒ], [ʊ], [ʌ], [ə] Semi-tense sounds — полунапряжённые звуки: diphthongs [eɪ], [aɪ], [ɔɪ], [aʊ], [əʊ], [ɪə], [eə], [ʊə] |
| Lip position Положение губ |
Rounded vowels — огубленные гласные: [ɒ], [ɔː], [uː], [ʊ] Unrounded vowels — неогубленные гласные: [iː], [ɪ], [e], [æ], [ɑː], [ʌ], [ɜː], [ə] |
Consonants / Согласные
1. By voice / По работе голосовых связок
- Voiced — звонкие: [b], [d], [g], [v], [ð], [z], [ʒ], [dʒ], [m], [n], [ŋ], [l], [r], [w], [j]
- Voiceless — глухие: [p], [t], [k], [f], [θ], [s], [ʃ], [tʃ], [h]
2. By noise / По степени шума
- Sonorants — сонанты: [m], [n], [ŋ], [l], [r], [w], [j]
- Noise consonants — шумные согласные: [p], [b], [t], [d], [k], [g], [f], [v], [θ], [ð], [s], [z], [ʃ], [ʒ], [tʃ], [dʒ], [h]
3. By energy / По количеству энергии
- Fortis consonants — сильные согласные, usually voiceless: [p], [t], [k], [f], [θ], [s], [ʃ], [tʃ]
- Lenis consonants — слабые согласные, usually voiced: [b], [d], [g], [v], [ð], [z], [ʒ], [dʒ]
4. By resonator / По типу резонатора
- Nasal consonants — носовые: [m], [n], [ŋ]
- Oral consonants — ротовые: [p], [b], [t], [d], [k], [g], [f], [v], [θ], [ð], [s], [z], [ʃ], [ʒ], [tʃ], [dʒ], [h], [l], [r], [w], [j]
Manner of Articulation / Способ образования
| Group / Группа | Subgroup / Подгруппа | Sounds / Звуки |
|---|---|---|
| Plosives / Stops Смычные |
Noise plosives — шумные смычные | [p], [b], [t], [d], [k], [g] |
| Nasal plosives Носовые смычные |
Sonorants — сонанты | [m], [n], [ŋ] |
| Affricates Аффрикаты |
The obstruction has two phases / преграда образуется двумя частями языка | [tʃ], [dʒ] |
| Fricatives Щелевые |
Noise fricatives — шумные щелевые | [f], [v], [θ], [ð], [s], [z], [h], [ʃ], [ʒ] |
| Approximants / Fricative sonorants Ротовые щелевые сонанты |
Lateral — боковой; Central / median — срединные | [l] / [w], [r], [j] |
Active Organ / Подвижный орган речи
Labial / Губные
Bilabial — губно-губные: [p], [b], [m], [w]
Labio-dental — губно-зубные: [f], [v]
Lingual / Язычные
Forelingual — переднеязычные: [t], [d], [n], [l], [s], [z], [θ], [ð], [ʃ], [ʒ], [tʃ], [dʒ], [r]
Palatal — палатальные: [j]
Backlingual / velar — заднеязычные: [k], [g], [ŋ]
Glottal / Гортанные
[h] — a glottal sound produced in the larynx.
Place of Articulation / Место образования
| Russian term | English term | Sounds |
|---|---|---|
| губно-губные | bilabial | [p], [b], [m], [w] |
| губно-зубные | labio-dental | [f], [v] |
| межзубные | interdental | [θ], [ð] |
| альвеолярные | alveolar | [t], [d], [n], [l], [s], [z] |
| альвеолярно-палатальные | post-alveolar / palato-alveolar | [ʃ], [ʒ], [tʃ], [dʒ] |
| заальвеолярные | post-alveolar | [r] |
| палатальные | palatal | [j] |
| альвеолярно-велярные | alveolar-velar / dark lateral | [ɫ] |
| заднеязычные | backlingual / velar | [k], [g], [ŋ] |
| гортанные | glottal | [h] |
Ultra-compact Student Summary
Vowels
Front [iː], [ɪ], [e], [æ] / back [ɑː], [ɒ], [ɔː], [ʊ], [uː] / central [ʌ], [ɜː], [ə]; monophthongs / diphthongs / diphthongoids; tense / lax; rounded / unrounded.
Consonants
Voiced / voiceless; sonorant [m], [n], [ŋ], [l], [r], [w], [j] / noise; fortis / lenis; nasal [m], [n], [ŋ] / oral; plosive / affricate / fricative / approximant; labial / lingual / glottal.