IPA Symbols

ʃ

voiceless postalveolar fricative

shoe, she, push

tongue near palate, air through narrow gap (“sh”)

θ

voiceless dental fricative

think, bath, teeth

tip of tongue between teeth, no vocal vibration

ʊ

near-close near-back rounded vowel

book, foot, good

short “oo” sound, lips rounded but relaxed

ʌ

mid central vowel

cup, luck, sun

relaxed, tongue mid-low and centered

ʒ

voiced postalveolar fricative

measure, vision, beige

“zh” sound, same as ʃ but voiced

ʔ

glottal stop

uh-oh, mountain, button

quick closure of vocal folds; stop in airflow

æ

near-open front unrounded vowel

cat, bat, black

mouth open wide, tongue low and forward

ɑ

open back unrounded vowel

father, spa, hot (British)

low back sound, jaw open, tongue back

ð

voiced dental fricative

this, that, brother

like θ but with vocal fold vibration

ə

mid central unaccented vowel (schwa)

sofa, about, problem

relaxed, neutral position, common in unstressed syllables

ɛ

open-mid front unrounded vowel

bed, red, said

mid-low tongue, unrounded lips

ɪ

near-close near-front unrounded vowel

sit, ship, live

short “ih” sound, tongue high and front

ŋ

velar nasal

sing, long, finger

tongue back touches velum, air through nose

ɔ

open-mid back rounded vowel

thought, law, caught

rounded lips, tongue back and mid-low

ɹ

voiced alveolar approximant

red, car, around

American “r,” tongue curls slightly back, no contact with palate