Update: 2004-03-31 11:06 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_p-q-r
P | PH | Q | R | RRH

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letter P

p392. The consonant letter [p] is most often as /p/, e.g.:

In addition

[p] can be silent. There are three combinations in which this can occur: [pn], [ps] and [pt].

[p] is silent in [pn] and [ps] when word initial, e.g.:

[pt] can be silent word initially and word finally, e.g.:

In addition

[p] can be silent in other instances, e.g.:

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letters PH

p407. The consonant digraph [ph] is usually pronounced as /f/, e.g.:

However, the realisation /v/ can occur in some words, e.g.:

In addition

A much less common realization of the consonant digraph [ph] is /p/, e.g.:

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letter Q

p438. In general, the consonant letter [q] is followed by [u] and pronounced /kw/ or /k/, e.g.:

In words borrowed from Arabic, [q] is not always followed by [u], e.g.:

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letter R

p442. In British English, [r] is pronounced only where it appears before a vowel. In American English, [r] is pronounced in all positions, e.g.:

See the discussion at LIAISON for comments concerning 'linking r' in British English.

In addition

In the word <iron>, [r] is not pronounced in British English but colours the vowel in the second syllable in US English, e.g.:

UKT: As a chemistry teacher, I had to pronounce [r] to differentiate between:
   <iron> and <ion>.

<ion>

/ˈaɪ.ən , -ɒn/

us

/-ən , -ɑːn/

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p464. The consonant letter combination [rrh] behaves like the letter [r], e.g.:

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UKT notes

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