Phonetic notation of the American Heritage Dictionary
The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (abbreviated AHD) uses a phonetic notation based on the Latin alphabet to transcribe the pronunciation of spoken English. It and similar respelling systems, such as those used by the Merriam-Webster and Random House dictionaries, are familiar to US schoolchildren.
The following tables show the AHD representations of English phonemes,[1] along with the IPA equivalents as used on Wikipedia.
Vowels
[edit]In general, long vowels are marked with a macron, and short vowels with a breve. A circumflex may also be used to indicate a pre-rhotic vowel. Usage of other symbols vary.
AHD | IPA | Example |
---|---|---|
ă | æ | bat |
ā | eɪ | bait |
âr | ɛər | bear |
ä | ɑː | father |
ĕ | ɛ | bet |
ē | iː | beat |
ĭ | ɪ | bit |
ī | aɪ | bite |
îr | ɪər | beer |
ŏ | ɒ | bot |
ō | oʊ | boat |
ô | ɔː | bought |
ôr | ɔːr | north |
oi | ɔɪ | boy |
o͝o | ʊ | book |
o͞o | uː | boot |
ou | aʊ | bout |
ŭ | ʌ | butt |
ûr | ɜːr | bird |
ə | ə | about |
ər | ər | butter |
Foreign | ||
œ | ø | French feu, German schön |
œ | French œuf, German zwölf | |
ü | y | French tu, German über |
◌N | ◌̃ | French bon |
Consonants
[edit]AHD | IPA | Example |
---|---|---|
b | b | buy |
ch | tʃ | China |
d | d | dye |
f | f | fight |
g | ɡ | guy |
h | h | high |
hw | hw | why |
j | dʒ | jive |
k | k | kite |
l | l | lie |
əl | bottle | |
m | m | my |
n | n | nigh |
ən | button | |
ng | ŋ | sing |
p | p | pie |
r | r | rye |
s | s | sigh |
sh | ʃ | shy |
t | t | tie |
th | θ | thigh |
th | ð | thy |
v | v | vie |
w | w | wide |
y | j | yacht |
z | z | zoo |
zh | ʒ | vision |
əm | əm | rhythm |
Foreign | ||
KH | ç | German ich |
x | German ach, Scottish loch |
Suprasegmentals
[edit]Stress is indicated by a prime character following stressed syllables. The character is in boldface when it indicates primary stress.
AHD | IPA | Description |
---|---|---|
◌′ | ˈ◌ | Primary stress |
◌′ | ˌ◌ | Secondary stress |
- | . | Syllable division (omitted after stressed syllables) |
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ Houghton Mifflin, American Heritage Dictionary pronunciation key (PDF), retrieved 2016-01-21.