Pronunciation symbols

BarII · Jun 7, 2015

A few years ago I decided to keep a pronunciation symbol key near the computer so when I look up a word in the dictionary I could refer to the key and figure out how to pronounce the word. Then I found some missing symbols and inconstant pronunciations between different keys. I want to work this out and start using the key again. What's a good key to use?

For an example of inconsistencies see the differences in "a" symbols between these two keys:

http://www.merriam-webster.com/pronsymbols.html
http://content.answcdn.com/main/content/pronkey-answers.html

The latter is from the American Heritage Dictionary, if you believe the credit at the bottom of the page.

apchelopech · Jun 8, 2015

Hi. My suggestion would be to not use either of those references and instead to rely on a phoneme chart, of which there are plenty to be found on the internet. Most (perhaps all) dictionaries use the internationally recognised 40 phonemes used in the English language, whereas those keys have some additional sounds. Also, some of the symbols aren't recognisable as phonemes.

For a useful guide to the pronunciation of the English language phonemes, you might want to try this -
http://www.esl-online.net/probook1view.pdf
As you'll see, it provides a cut-away graphic of the speech organs for each discreet sound.

King Neptune · Jun 8, 2015

I would suggest that you use the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Phonetic_Alphabet

Different dictionaries will give different pronunciations for the same word, because they are basing that on a particular location.

BTW, there are at least 44 phonemes in the English language, but that also depens on which pronunciations one is considering.

BarII · Jun 8, 2015

I'll have to figure out whether all that's practical for me. I don't want to memorize much. I want to be able to look up a word using my computer, using a website like http://www.ahdictionary.com or by entering define word in Google, and quickly figure out how to pronounce it without listening to it. But I may just end up listening to it after all.

Jamesaritchie · Jun 8, 2015

I have yet to find a real word that an online dictionary will not speak to you. It makes correct pronunciation easier, faster, and more accurate than trying to decipher the symbols.

Pronunciation symbols

BarII

apchelopech

King Neptune

BarII

Jamesaritchie