The tables below show the pronunciation symbols used in the Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary (IPA) as well as equivalent traditional symbols (Ox), which may still be more familiar to some.
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| IPA | Ox | Word | IPA | Ox |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| p | p | plosive | ˈpləʊsɪv | plō´sĭv |
| b | b | bilabial | ˌbaɪˈleɪbɪəl | bīlā´bĭal |
| t | t | triphthong | ˈtrɪfθɒŋ | trĭ´fthŏng |
| d | d | digraph | ˈdaɪgrɑːf | dī´grahf |
| k | k | comma | ˈkɒmə | kŏ´ma |
| g | g | glottal | ˈglɒtl | glŏ´tal |
| ʧ | ch | chapter | ˈʧæptəʳ | chă´pter |
| ʤ | j | widget | ˈwɪʤɪt | wĭ´jĭt |
| f | f | phoneme | ˈfəʊniːm | fō´nēm |
| v | v | vowel | ˈvaʊəl | vow´el |
| θ | th | thesaurus | θɪˈsɔːrəs | thĭsawr´us |
| ð | dh | feather | ˈfeðəʳ | fĕ´dher |
| s | s | subject | ˈsʌbʤɪkt | sŭ´bjĭkt |
| z | z | zeugma | ˈzjuːgmə | zū´gma |
| ʃ | sh | dash | dæʃ | dăsh |
| ʒ | zh | word-division | ˈwɜːd-dɪvɪʒən | we͡rd´-dĭvĭzhon |
| h | h | hypotaxis | ˌhaɪpəˈtæksɪs | hīpotă´ksĭs |
| m | m | monologue | ˈmɒnəlɒg | mŏ´nolŏg |
| n | n | noun | naʊn | nown |
| ŋ | ng | spelling | ˈspelɪŋ | spĕ´lĭng |
| l | l | letter | ˈletəʳ | lĕ´ter |
| r | r | rhotic | ˈrəʊtɪk | rō´tĭk |
| j | y | yod-dropping | ˈjɒd-drɒpɪŋ | yŏd´-drŏpĭng |
| w | w | quote | kwəʊt | kwōt |
| IPA | Ox | Word | IPA | Ox |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| iː | ē | read | riːd | rēd |
| ɪ | ĭ | syntax | ˈsɪntæks | sĭ´ntăks |
| e | ĕ | text | tekst | tĕkst |
| æ | ă | grammar | ˈgræməʳ | gră´mer |
| ɑː | ah | ideograph | ˈɪdɪəgrɑːf | ĭ´dĭograhf |
| a͡r | aide-mémoire | ˌeɪd-ˌmemˈwɑːʳ | ād-mĕmwa͡r´ | |
| ɒ | ŏ | cock | kɒk | kŏk |
| ɔː | aw | talk | tɔːk | tawk |
| o͡r | corpus | ˈkɔːpəs | co͡r´pus | |
| ʊ | o͝o | book | bʊk | bo͝ok |
| uː | o͞o | toot | tuːt | to͞ot |
| ʌ | ŭ | rubber | ˈrʌbəʳ | rŭ´ber |
| ɜː | e͡r | learn | lɜːn | le͡rn |
| ə | a | alphabet | ˈælfəbet | ă´lfabĕt |
| e | literacy | ˈlɪtərəsɪ | lĭ´teracĭ | |
| i | pencil | ˈpensl | pĕ´nsil | |
| o | colon | ˈkəʊlən | kō´lon | |
| u | circumflex | ˈsɜːkəmfleks | se͡r´kumflĕks | |
| er | author | ˈɔːθəʳ | aw´ther | |
| eɪ | ā | paper | ˈpeɪpəʳ | pā´per |
| əʊ | ō | spoke | spəʊk | spōk |
| aɪ | ī | write | raɪt | rīt |
| aʊ | ow | umlaut | ˈʊmlaʊt | o͝o´mlawt |
| ɔɪ | oi | voiced | vɔɪst | voist |
| ɪə | e͞r | gazetteer | ˌgæzəˈtɪəʳ | găzete͞r´ |
| eə | a͞r | swear | sweəʳ | swa͞r |
| ʊə | oor | plural | ˈplʊərəl | ploor´al |
In addition to the symbols shown above, the traditional system also employs special symbols for some compound sounds, viz, i͞r for īer (aɪə), owr for ower (aʊə), ū for yo͞o (juː) and u͞r for yoor (jʊə).
In the IPA system, r’s are only written r when pronounced, and linking r’s (r’s which are only pronounced immediately before a word starting with a vocalic sound) are indicated by the special symbol ʳ. For vowel symbols in -r in the traditional system, the r is mute in front of a consonant, trilled before a vowel and linking at the end of a word, whereas other r’s are always pronounced.
Sounds which share the same IPA symbol are usually indistinguishable.