Phonetic symbols are marks that show how English words are pronounced. They use written characters to record sounds.
For example:
- The word bed is written as /bed/ in phonetic symbols.
- The word book is written as /bʊk/.
Phonetic symbols come from the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA). The IPA is a system created by linguists to record the sounds of all languages. English uses a part of this system for its own sounds.
Phonetic symbols can also show the pronunciation of the 26 English letters. For example, the letter A is pronounced /eɪ/ in English.
There are two main styles: British and American. The British system we use here is called the DJ phonetic symbols, named after British phonetician Daniel Jones.