What is Phonetics?
Phonetics is the study of speech sounds. In English, we use the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) to represent every distinct sound (phoneme) in a standardized way—regardless of spelling.
Vowel Sounds
/iː/
see
/ɪ/
sit
/e/
bed
/æ/
cat
/ɑː/
father
/ɒ/
hot
/ɔː/
saw
/ʊ/
book
/uː/
food
/ʌ/
cup
/ɜː/
bird
/ə/
about
Consonant Sounds
/p/
pen
/b/
bat
/t/
top
/d/
dog
/k/
cat
/g/
go
/f/
fish
/v/
van
/θ/
think
/ð/
this
/s/
sun
/z/
zoo
/ʃ/
ship
/ʒ/
vision
/h/
hat
/m/
man
/n/
no
/ŋ/
sing
/l/
leg
/r/
red
/j/
yes
/w/
wet
Tips for Learning Phonetics
- Use a mirror to watch your mouth shape when making sounds.
- Record yourself and compare with native speakers.
- Practice minimal pairs (e.g., ship vs. sheep).
- Refer to phonemic charts regularly—they’re your roadmap!