Center for Intensive English Studies

Phonetics

Phonetics is the study of the sounds people make when they speak. The link in this box use symbols from the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA). Some of these symbols look like English letters, but some do not. In the IPA, one symbol equals one sound. In English and many other languages, one letter or one symbol can sound very different depending on context. The IPA is a useful tool, but you do not need to memorize it to learn English. Instead of focusing on the symbols, look at the letters that these sounds represent. Pay attention to their context in the words. Your Learner's Dictionary also uses IPA symbols in their pronunciation guides. If you are having trouble with a word, you can look at the IPA symbols used in the guide and find them in the University of Iowa Phonetics link below. This will show you how to pronounce these sounds.

You can explore these resources to find stories on topics that interest you.