The Sounds of English
English can be broken down into 44 individual sounds and represented by the 44 symbols in the table below.
Monophthongs are single vowel sounds. Single vowel sounds are produced by raising or lowering different parts of the tongue and using our voice. The position of the tongue increases or reduces the space in the mouth but doesn’t restrict the flow of air in any way. The lips may also be rounded and the sound may be long or short.
For example, the /ɑː/ sound is produced with the mouth open, the tongue back and the lips unrounded. This gives the sound its technical name: the open back unrounded vowel. The two dots next to the symbol tell us it is long sound.
The position of the single vowels on the table indicates the position of the tongue when the sound is produced. These symbols can also be arranged on a vowel diagram like the one below: the black dots represent the highest part of the tongue when the vowel sound is produced.
Diphthongs are double vowels sounds. This means they transition between two single vowels. The sounds they transition between is usually obvious from the symbol. For example, the /ɔɪ/ sound transitions from /ɔː/ to /ɪ/.
The /ɔɪ/, /eɪ/ and /aɪ/ sounds are known as a closing fronting diphthongs because the mouth closes and the tongue moves forward when we produce them.
The /əʊ/ and /aʊ/ sounds are known as closing backing diphthongs because the mouth closes and the tongue moves back when we produce them.
The /ɪə/, /ʊə/ and /eə/ sounds are called centring diphthongs because they all transition to a central position.
In contract to vowels, consonants produce sound by restricting or obstructing the flow of air in some way, with or without voice.
For example, the /t/ sound is produced by blocking the flow of air between the tongue and the alveolar ridge and releasing it explosively. This gives the sound its technical name: the voiceless alveolar plosive.
The /b/ sound is produced in the same way, but we use our voice. Together, the /b/ and /t/ sounds form a consonant pair.
The consonant pairs on the top row are known as stop sounds because they are all produced by stopping and releasing the flow of air.
The consonants pairs on the bottom row are known as fricatives because they produce sound by restricting the flow of air so that it creates friction.
The single consonants are all produced in a unique way but can be divided into smaller groups such as the nasals /m/, /n/ and /ŋ/, which block the flow of air through the mouth and release it through the nose instead.
The approximants /l/, /r/, /w/ and /j/ all produce sound by bringing the tongue close to another part of the mouth without restricting the flow of air.
See Phonemics vs Phonetics for more information about how these sounds are transcribed.