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Using IPA for Standard American English
IPA, as it applies to Standard American English, consists of only a fraction of the symbols available in IPA.

Some Helpful Rules
Use the IPA key for pronunciation.

Here are a few tips to get you started. Always remember the following while using IPA.


 * First and foremost is not to rely on existing notions of how a word is spelled. Take a moment to review the following examples and note how the spelling in English is drastically different from the spellings in IPA.


 * Each syllable needs at least one vowel.


 * Approximants modify vowels around them.


 * The symbols and  are both Central-Mid vowels. The difference is that the ʌ is used in the stressed syllable.

Glossary

 * Articulators: Speech organs involved in making a sound, such as the lips, teeth, and tongue.
 * Voiced: A sound in which the vocal cords vibrate. Examples are, and as in These. Note that the use of articulators in these examples are exactly the same as in the voiceless examples below, but the vocal cords vibrate.
 * Voiceless: A sound in which the vocal cords do not vibrate. Examples are, and as in teeth. Note that the use of articulators in these examples are exactly the same as in the voiced examples above, but the vocal cords do not vibrate.
 * Manner of Articulation: How articulators are involved in making a sound make contact. In Standard American English, there are only seven.
 * Places of Articulation: Where an obstruction occurs in the vocal tract between an active articulator (typically part of the tongue) and a stationary articulator (typically part of the roof of the mouth). In Standard American English, there are only eight.

Classifications
Consonants:
 * Manner of Articulation:
 * Stops: A consonant sound produced by stopping the airflow in the vocal tract. The sound is produced at, and cannot be made after, the initial expulsion of air.
 * Fricatives: Sounds produced by forcing air through a narrow channel made by placing two articulators close together. Examples of these are (produced by joining the teeth and lip) and  (produced by joining the teeth and tongue).
 * Affricates: Consonants that begin as stops but release as a fricative.
 * Nasals: A sound produced in the nose, where the oral cavity acts as a resonance chamber for the sound but the air does not escape through the mouth.
 * Approximants: Speech sounds in which the articulators approach each other but not narrowly enough to create turbulent airflow.
 * Glides (Semivowels): A sound that is phonetically equivalent to a vowel sound but functions as the syllable boundary.


 * Places of Articulation:
 * Bilabial: A consonant articulated with both lips.
 * Labio dental: A consonant articulated with the lower lip and the upper teeth.
 * Inter dental: A consonant produced by placing the blade of the tongue against the upper incisors.
 * Alveolar: A consonant articulated with the tongue against or close to the superior alveolar ridge.
 * Alveo-palatal: A consonant articulated with the blade of the tongue behind the alveolar ridge, and the body of the tongue raised toward the palate.
 * Palatal: A consonant articulated with the body of the tongue raised against the middle part of the roof of the mouth.
 * Velar: A consonant articulated with the back part of the tongue against the back part of the roof of the mouth.
 * Glottal: A consonant articulated with the glottis.

Vowels:
 * Classifications:
 * High, Mid, and Low: The vertical position of the tongue relative to either the roof of the mouth.
 * Front, Central, and Back: The position of the tongue during the articulation of a vowel relative to the back of the mouth.
 * Rounded and Unrounded: Whether or not the lips are rounded.