pronounced as /notice/The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (abbreviated AHD) uses a phonetic notation based on the Latin alphabet to transcribe the pronunciation of spoken English. It and similar respelling systems, such as those used by the Merriam-Webster and Random House dictionaries, are familiar to US schoolchildren.
The following tables show the AHD representations of English phonemes, along with the IPA equivalents as used on Wikipedia.
In general, long vowels are marked with a macron, and short vowels with a breve. A circumflex may also be used to indicate a pre-rhotic vowel. Usage of other symbols vary.
| AHD | IPA | Example | |
|---|---|---|---|
| ă | pronounced as /æ/ | bat | |
| ā | pronounced as /eɪ/ | bait | |
| âr | pronounced as /ɛər/ | bear | |
| ä | pronounced as /ɑː/ | father | |
| ĕ | pronounced as /ɛ/ | bet | |
| ē | pronounced as /iː/ | beat | |
| ĭ | pronounced as /ɪ/ | bit | |
| ī | pronounced as /aɪ/ | bite | |
| îr | pronounced as /ɪər/ | beer | |
| ŏ | pronounced as /ɒ/ | bot | |
| ō | pronounced as /oʊ/ | boat | |
| ô | pronounced as /ɔː/ | bought | |
| ôr | pronounced as /ɔːr/ | north | |
| oi | pronounced as /ɔɪ/ | boy | |
| o͝o | pronounced as /ʊ/ | book | |
| o͞o | pronounced as /uː/ | boot | |
| ou | pronounced as /aʊ/ | bout | |
| ŭ | pronounced as /ʌ/ | butt | |
| ûr | pronounced as /ɜːr/ | bird | |
| ə | pronounced as /ə/ | about | |
| ər | pronounced as /ər/ | butter | |
| Foreign | |||
| œ | pronounced as /ø/ | French feu, German schön | |
| pronounced as /œ/ | French œuf, German zwölf | ||
| ü | pronounced as /y/ | French tu, German über | |
| ◌ | pronounced as /link/ | French bon | |
| AHD | IPA | Example |
|---|---|---|
| b | pronounced as /b/ | buy |
| ch | pronounced as /tʃ/ | China |
| d | pronounced as /d/ | dye |
| f | pronounced as /f/ | fight |
| g | pronounced as /ɡ/ | guy |
| h | pronounced as /h/ | high |
| hw | pronounced as /hw/ | why |
| j | pronounced as /dʒ/ | jive |
| k | pronounced as /k/ | kite |
| l | pronounced as /l/ | lie |
| pronounced as /əl/ | bottle | |
| m | pronounced as /m/ | my |
| n | pronounced as /n/ | nigh |
| pronounced as /ən/ | button | |
| ng | pronounced as /ŋ/ | sing |
| p | pronounced as /p/ | pie |
| r | pronounced as /r/ | rye |
| s | pronounced as /s/ | sigh |
| sh | pronounced as /ʃ/ | shy |
| t | pronounced as /t/ | tie |
| th | pronounced as /θ/ | thigh |
| th | pronounced as /ð/ | thy |
| v | pronounced as /v/ | vie |
| w | pronounced as /w/ | wide |
| y | pronounced as /j/ | yacht |
| z | pronounced as /z/ | zoo |
| zh | pronounced as /ʒ/ | vision |
| əm | pronounced as /əm/ | rhythm |
| Foreign | ||
| pronounced as /ç/ | German ich | |
| pronounced as /x/ | German ach, Scottish loch | |
Stress is indicated by a prime character following stressed syllables. The character is in boldface when it indicates primary stress.
| AHD | IPA | Description | |
|---|---|---|---|
| ◌ | pronounced as /ˈ◌/ | Primary stress | |
| ◌ | pronounced as /ˌ◌/ | Secondary stress | |
| - | pronounced as /./ | Syllable division (omitted after stressed syllables) |