Update: 2004-04-02 08:47 PM -0500

TIL

Pronouncing the letters

ENGLISH PRONOUNCING DICTIONARY

Daniel Jones. Edited by Peter Roach, James Hartman and Jane Setter. Cambridge University Press, 2003.

Scanned by Maung Kan Tun and edited by U Kyaw Tun, M.S. (I.P.S.T., U.S.A.). Not for sale. Prepared for students of TIL Computing and Language Center, Yangon, MYANMAR .
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pronounce_e
E | EA | EE | EI | EO | EOU | EU/EW | EY

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letter E

p168. The vowel letter [e] has two main strong pronunciations linked to spelling: a 'short' pronunciation /e/ and a 'long' pronunciation /iː/. However, the situation is not clear cut and other pronunciations are available.

The 'short' pronunciation always occurs when the [e] is followed by a consonant which closes the syllable, or a double consonant before another vowel, e.g.:

The 'long' pronunciation is usually found when the [e] is followed by a single consonant and then a vowel, e.g.:

However, the 'short' pronunciation occurs in many cases where the [e] is followed by a single consonant and then a vowel, e.g.:

The 'long' pronunciation may also occur where the [e] is followed by two consonants, e.g.:

When there is an [r] in the spelling, the strong pronunciation is one of four possibilities: /ɪə (us) ɪr/, /eə (us) er/ , /ɜː (us) ɝː/ or

It frequently happens that the letter [e] has no pronunciation at all, but is used as a spelling convention to show that a preceding vowel is realised with its 'long' pronunciation, e.g.:

In addition

There are other vowel sounds associated with the letter [e], e.g.:

And, in rare cases:

UKT: Compare the pronunciation of <women> with:

<woman>

/ˆwʊm.ən/

In weak syllables

The vowel letter [e] is realised with the vowels /ɪ/, /i/ and /ə/ in weak syllables, or may also not be pronounced at all due to syllabic consonant formation or compression, e.g.:

UKT: The word <castle> has an "l" with a diacritical mark to show that it is a syllabic consonant -- See l cedilla.

letters EA

p169. The vowel diagraph [ea] has two main strong pronunciations linked to spelling: a 'short' pronunciation /e/ and a 'long' pronunciation /iː/. However, it is not normally predictable which one will occur, e.g.:

When the digraph is followed by an [r] in the spelling, the strong pronunciation is one of four possibilities: /ɪə (us) ɪr/, /eə (us) er/, /ɜː (us) ɝː/ or /ɑː (us) ɑːr/, e.g.:

In addition

There are other vowel sounds associated with the digraph [ea], e.g.:

In addition, there are instances when the two letters [e] and [a] come together in closed compounds, e.g.:

In weak syllables

The vowel diagraph [ea] is realised with the vowels /i/ and /ə/ in weak syllables and may result in a syllabic consonant, e.g.:

UKT: Words with the vowel diagraph [ea] in word-initial position is of importance in transliteration of Myanmar syllables and words.

		<ear>	/ɪəʳ/	us	/ɪr/
		<earl>	/ɜːl/	us	/ɝːl/
		<earth> (noun)	/ɜːθ/	us	/ɝːθ/
		<eat>	/iːt/

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letters EE

p172. The most common pronunciation for the vowel digraph ee is /iː/

When followed by an [r] in the spelling, [ee] is pronounced as either /ɪə (us) ɪr/ or /iː.ə (us) iː.ɚ/, e.g.:

UKT: Compare the pronunciation of <steer> with:

		<stearin>	/ˈstɪə.rɪn/	us	/ˈstiː.ɚ.ɪnː ; ˈstɪr-/
		<stir>	/stɜːʳ/	us	/stɝː/

In addition

There are other vowel sounds associated with the diagraph [ee], e.g.:

In weak syllables

The vowel digraph [ee] is realised with the vowel sound /i/ in weak syllables, e.g.:

letters EI

p173. There are several pronunciation possibilities for the vowel diagraph [ei]. One is /iː/ when following a [c]; this is immortalised in the spelling rhyme "I before E except after C, but only if the sound is /iː/", e.g.:

When followed by a silent [gh] in the spelling, it is usually pronounced as /eɪ/ but may be pronounced /aɪ/, e.g.:

The pronunciation /aɪ/ also occurs in two words which do not include [gh], but only in British English, e.g.:

When followed by an r in the spelling, [ei] is pronounced as /eə (us) er/ and /ɪə (us) ɪr/, e.g.:

In addition

Other vowel sounds are associated with the digraph [ei], e.g.:

UKT:
Compare the pronunciation of <rein> with:

		<reign>	/reɪn/
		<rain>	/reɪn/

<rein>, <reign> and <rain> are homonyms in British English. See Homonym

In weak syllables

The vowel digraph [ei] is realized with the vowel /ɪ/ in weak syllables, e.g.:

letters EO

p182. There are several pronunciation possibilities for the vowel diagraph [eo], e.g.:

UKT: The word <people> has an "l" with a diacritical mark to show that it is a syllabic consonant -- See l cedilla.

When followed by an [r] in the spelling, [eo] is pronounced as /ɔː (us) ɔːr/ and /ɪə (us) ɪr/, e.g.:

Where [geo-] is a prefix, there are several possible realisations, e.g.:

(In <geography>, the prefix may also be pronounced as /ˈʤɒg-/ in British English.)

In addition

There are instances when the two letters [e] and [o] come together in closed compounds, e.g.:

In weak syllables

The vowel digraph [eo] is realised with the vowel /ə/ in weak syllables, e.g.:

Index | Top

letters EOU

p182. The vowel letter combination [eou] has two possible pronunciations. After [c] or [g] the pronunciation is /ə/, e.g.:

After other letters, the pronunciation is /i.ə/, e.g.:

Index | Top

letters EU/EW

p187. The vowel digraphs [eu] and [ew] are similar in that their most common pronunciation is one of /juː/ or /uː/, e.g.:

Many words in British English which have /juː/ are pronounced without the /j/ in American English, e.g.:

UKT: Words of interest for transliteration of Myanmar:

		<ewe>	/juː/
		<ewer>	/juː.əʳ , jʊəʳ/	us	/juː.ɚ/
		<you> (strong form)	/juː/

When the digraph [eu] is followed by an [r] in the spelling, the strong pronunciation is usually /jʊə (us) jʊr/, although words borrowed from French may have /ɜː (us) ɝː/ in stressed syllables, and /əʳ (us) ɚ/ in unstressed syllables, e.g.:

In addition

Other sounds associated with the digraphs [eu] and [ew] are as follows:

In words borrowed from German, [eu] is pronounced /ɔɪ/, e.g.: