This pronunciation guide explains IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) symbols. To hear examples of how IPA characters sound, visit the Seeing Speech project.

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
• ɪ pin, lick
• e say, rain
• ɛ ten, bread
• æ mad, cat
• a far, start
• u pool, blue
• o hole, toe
• ʌ bus, mud
• ɔ store, corn
• y French tu, German müde (like u but with pursed lips)
• ə believe, cinnamon (in an unstressed syllable)

Stops

• p peach, apple
• b ball, above
• t tall, light
• d dill, adore
• k cave, ticket
• g give, dig

Fricatives

• f phone, raffle
• v lively, love
• θ thin, author
• s passing, bus
• z zebra, deposit
• ʃ shell, ocean
• h hill, ahead
• x loch, challah

Affricates

• tʃ chip, ditch
• dʒ adjoin, bridge

Nasals

• m mill, hammer
• n nickel, sunny
• ŋ singer, wrong

Approximants

• l lamb, ill
• r rat, furry (but slightly trilled)
• 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