Proto English Vowels
A chart of vowel correspondences in many English dialects. Uses an extended version of Well's lexical sets as necessary to make a keyword for every line. Includes significant allophones, and shows the sounds used in casual connected speech rather than carefully-annunciated speech. The IPA used, tho broad, is not phonemic and is designed to show differences, rather than similarities, between the dialects. Although diacritics are often used, the non-use of diacritics does not imply that a particular vowel is used in its cardinal sense.
Abbreviations
| GAmE | General American (pre-WWII TV/radio) |
| RP | Received Pronunciation |
| AusE | (General) Australian English |
| VAusE | (General) Victorian Australian English |
| NZE | (General) General New Zealand English |
| JNWE | Jonathan North Washington's (American) English |
| ABrE | Aaron Braver's (American) English |
The Chart
| Keyword | ME | GAmE | JNWE | ABrE | RP | AusE | VAusE | NZE | Fran |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Short | |||||||||
| KIT | ɪ | ɪ | ɪ | ɪ | ɪ | i | i | ə | ɪ |
| DRESS | ɛ | ɛ | ɛ | ɛ | e̞ | e | e | e̝ | ɛ |
| LOT | ɔ | ɑ | ɑ | ɑ | ɒ | ɔ | ɔ | ɔ | ɔ |
| CLOTH | ɔ | ɒ | ɒ | ɒ | ɒ | ɔ | ɔ | ɔ | ɔ |
| STRUT | ʊ | ʌ̈ | ʌ̈ | ʌ̈ | ɐ | ä | ä | ä | ʌ |
| FOOT | ʊ | ʊ | ʊ | ʊ | ʊ | u | u | u | ʊ |
| Short a | |||||||||
| TRAP | a | æ | æ | æ | a | æ | æ | ɛ | a |
| SANG | a | æɪ̯ | e(ɪ̯/ː) | a | |||||
| SAG | a | æɪ̯ | æ(ː) | a | |||||
| BAD | a | æ | æ | æ | a(ː) | æː | æː | ɛ | a |
| TAN/PAM | a | Æ | Æ | a | |||||
| DANCE | a | æ | Æ | Æ | ɑː | æː | æː | äː | a |
| CAN'T | a | æ | Æ | Æ | ɑː | äː | äː | äː | ɑ |
| BATH | a | æ | æ | æ | ɑː | äː | äː | äː | a |
| PALM | al | ɑ | ɑ | ɒ | ɑː | äː | äː | äː | ɑ |
| Short pre-r | |||||||||
| START | ar | ɑɹ | ɒɹ̯ | ɑɹ̯ | ɑː | äː | äː | äː | ɑː |
| NORTH | ɔr | ɔɹ | ɔɹ̯ | ɔɹ̯ | ɔː | oː | oː | oː | ɔː |
| NURSE | ʊr | ɝ | ɹ̩ | ɹ̩ | ɜː | øː | øː | øː | ɜː |
| FIR | ɪr | ɝ | ɹ̩ | ɹ̩ | ɜː | øː | øː | øː | ɜː |
| HER | ɛr | ɝ | ɹ̩ | ɹ̩ | ɜː | øː | øː | øː | ɜː |
| HURRY | ʊ | ɝ | ɹ̩ | ɹ̩ | ɐ | ä | ä | ä | ɝ |
| MERRY | ɛ | ɛ | Æɹ̯ | Æɹ̯ | e̞ | e | e | e̝ | ɛ |
| MARRY | a | æ | Æɹ̯ | Æɹ̯ | a | æ | æ | ɛ | a |
| Short pre-l | |||||||||
| BELL | ɛ | ɛ | ɛ | ɛ | e̞ | e | æ | ɛ | ɛ |
| DOLL | ɔ | ɑ | ɑ | ɒ | ɒ | ɔu | ɔu | ? | ɔ |
| CULT | ʊ | ʌ̈ | ʌ̈ | ʌ̈ | ɐ | ɔ | ɔ | ? | ʌʊ |
| BALD | a | ɒ | ɒ | ɒ | ɔː | ɔʊ | ɔʊ | ? | ɔʊ |
| Long | |||||||||
| FLEECE | eː, ɛː | i | i | i | iː | ɪi | ɪi | ɪi | i |
| FACE | aː, ɛː, ɛi, ai | eɪ | eɪ̯ | eɪ̯ | eɪ | æi | æi | æɪ | eɪ |
| THOUGHT | ɔu | ɒ | ɒ | ɒ(?) | ɔː | oː | oː | oː | ɔː |
| GOAT | ɔː | o | ɤʊ̯ | ɤ̟ʊ̯ | əʊ | ɐʉ | ɐʉ | ɐʉ | ʌʊ |
| GOOSE | oː | u̟ | u̟ | ʉ̟ | uː | ʉ̟ː | ʉ̟ː | ʉ̟ː | u |
| PRIDE | iː | aɪ | ɑɪ̯ | ɑɪ̯ | aɪ | ɑe | ɑe | ɑe | ɑɪ |
| CHOICE | ɔi | ɒɪ | ɔɪ̯ | ɔɪ̯ | ɔɪ | oi | oi | oɪ | ɔɪ |
| MOUTH | uː | aʊ | aʊ̯ | aʉ̯ | aʊ | æə | æə | æə | aʊ |
| Long pre-unvoiced | |||||||||
| PRICE | iː | aɪ | ʌɪ̯ | ʌɪ̯ | aɪ | ɑe | ɑe | ɑe | ʌɪ |
| Long pre-r | |||||||||
| NEAR | eːr, ɛːr | ɪɹ | iɹ̯ | iɹ̯ | ɪə | iː ~ iə | iː ~ iə | iə | ɪː |
| SQUARE | aːr, ɛːr, ɛir, air | æɹ | Æɹ̯ | Æɹ̯ | ɛə | eː | eː | iə ~ ɪə | ɛː |
| FORCE | ɔːr | oɹ | ɔɹ̯ | ɔɹ̯ | ɔː | oː | oː | oː | ɔː |
| CURE | iur, oːr | uɹ | ʲɹ̩/ʲɨɹ̯ | ʲɹ̩ | ʊə | ʉ̟ːə | ʉ̟ːə | ? | jʊə |
| POOR | oːr, iur | uɹ | ɔɹ̯ | u(ə)ɹ̯ | ʊə | oː | oː | oː | ɔː |
| Long pre-l | |||||||||
| GOAL | ɔː | o | ɤ̹ː | ɤ̹ʊ̯ | əʊ | ɔʊ | ɔʊ | ɔʊ | əʊ |
| FOOL | oː | u | u(ə) | u(ə) | uː | ʉ̟ː ~ uː | uː | uː | uʊ |
| FUEL | iuə | uə | ʲu(ə) | ʲu(ə) | ʊə | ʉ̟ː ~ uː | uː | ? | juə |
| PALE/PAIL | aː, ɛː, ɛi, ai | e(?) | Æ | Æ | eə | ||||
| Unstressed | |||||||||
| HAPPY | i | i | i | ɪ | i | i | i | i | |
| ABBOT | ə | ɨ | ə | ə | ə | ə | ʌ | ||
| RABBIT | ɪ | ɨ | ɪ | ə | ə | ə | ɪ | ||
| BOTTOM/SYSTEM | ə | ə | ə | ə/ə | |||||
| TURNIP/VICTIM | ɪ | ə | ɪ(?)/ə | ɪ/ɪ | |||||
Disclaimer
(Disclaimer: This should be read as showing how diversity in pronunciation is not always an obstacle in comprehension. Not to be used as a source for anything. Some transcriptions based on the authors' own observations.)
