This pronunciation guide explains IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) symbols. It’s based on ‘IPA symbols and speech sounds’ in Essentials of Linguistics, by Catherine Anderson (2018), Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-SA 4.0).
The high-set stress mark ( ˈ ) precedes syllables with primary (strongest) stress. The low-set stress mark ( ˌ ) precedes syllables with secondary (medium) stress. The triangular colon ( ː ) indicates a longer vowel sound.
A diphthong is a speech sound that combines two vowels in one syllable. For example, modE ‘toy’ (one syllable) has a diphthong, but ‘chaos’ (two syllables) does not. When there is no hyphen between a pair of vowels, this indicates a diphthong.
Vowels
- i see, neat, piece
- ɪ pin, bit, lick
- e say, place, rain
- ɛ ten, said, bread
- æ mad, cat, fan
- a far, start
- u pool, blue
- o throw, hole, toe
- ʌ bus, mud, lunch
- ɔ store, corn
- ɝ bird, fur
- ə believe, cinnamon, surround (in an unstressed syllable)
Stops
- p peach, apple, cap
- b bill, above, rib
- t tall, internal, light
- d dill, adore, kid
- k cave, ticket, luck
- g give, baggage, dig
Fricatives
- f phone, raffle, leaf
- v lively, love
- θ thin, author, bath
- s celery, passing, bus
- z zebra, deposit
- ʃ shell, ocean
- h hill, ahead
Affricates
- tʃ chip, ditch
- dʒ adjoin, bridge
Nasals
- m mill, hammer, broom
- n nickel, sunny, spoon
- ŋ singer, wrong
Approximants
- l lamb
- ɹ robot, furry, star
- j yellow, royal
- w winter, flower
If you want to learn more about how to pronounce Old English words, here are some helpful resources:
- R. Marsden, The Cambridge Old English Reader, 2nd edn (2015)
- B. Mitchell and F. C. Robinson, A Guide to Old English, 8th edn (2011)
- P. Baker, Introduction to Old English, 3rd edn (2012)
- Þæt Eald-Ænglisce Blog
