[TSL 3104 Phonetics and Phonology] – Vowels

The following table displays and describes the different IPA vowels and diphthongs. Click on a vowel to hear an audio clip. (Note: The audio clips may not play well in the media bar of Internet Explorer. Use another player or download the links to disk.)

Vowel	Description	Example
	forward vowel	as in beet
	forward vowel	as in bit
	forward vowel	as in chaotic
	diphthong	as in bait
	forward vowel	as in bet
	diphthong	as in bat
	forward vowel	as in Boston (as spoken by New Englanders)
	diphthong	as in by
	diphthong	as in house
	back vowel	as in boot
	diphthong	as in abuse
	back vowel	as in book
	back vowel	as in pillow
	diphthong	as in boat
	back vowel	as in awe
	diphthong	as in boy
	back vowel	as in father
	central vowel, stressed	as in bud
	central vowel, unstressed (schwa)	as in appeal
	central vowel with r, stressed	as in burr
	central vowel with r, unstressed (hooked schwa)	as in butter
	central vowel, r-less	as in bird

[TSL3104 Phonetics and Phonology] Consonants

The following table displays and describes the different IPA consonants. Click on a symbol to hear an audio clip. (Note: The audio clips may not play well in the media bar of Internet Explorer. Use another player or download the links to disk.)

Consonant	Description	Example
	stop-plosive consonant, unvoiced	as in pet
	stop-plosive consonant, voiced	as in bet
	stop-plosive consonant, unvoiced	as in ten
	stop-plosive consonant, voiced	as in den
	stop-plosive consonant, unvoiced	as in kit
	stop-plosive consonant, voiced	as in give
	nasal consonant	as in me
	nasal consonant	as in neat
	nasal consonant (eng)	as in hung
	fricative consonant, unvoiced	as in feet
	fricative consonant, voiced	as in vain
	fricative consonant, unvoiced	as in think
	fricative consonant, voiced	as in then
	fricative consonant, unvoiced	as in sea
	fricative consonant, voiced	as in zip
	fricative consonant, unvoiced (esh)	as in she
	fricative consonant, voiced	as in azure
	fricative consonant, unvoiced	as in heat
	lateral consonant	as in lift
	glide	as in rose
	glide (yot)	as in yes
	glide, voiced	as in were
	glide, unvoiced	as in when
	combination consonant, unvoiced	as in chill
	combination consonant, voiced	as in jet