How to read transcription in English: basic rules and examples

10 April 2025

English-learners

Oleksandra Kulish

Book expert

English is quite difficult, but this is only at first glance. Once you dive into learning it, you realize how interesting and melodic the language is. What we see in writing does not always match how it sounds. Significant differences in spelling and pronunciation create certain challenges for those who want to learn to read and speak. Even native speakers can encounter problems when pronouncing new or borrowed words. This is why you often hear unclear or incorrect pronunciations.

Because of this, an important step in learning is mastering transcription rules. Understanding helps you correctly pronounce words without relying on intuition. What is transcription, and how should it be used correctly? Let's explore this so that your business English sounds professional and clear.

What is behind English transcription?

Transcription is a system of special symbols used to represent sounds. Since English has many exceptions, transcription helps avoid misunderstandings and learn the correct pronunciation of sounds in different words.

There are two main types of English transcription:

Phonetic. It records sounds as they are pronounced using the symbols of the International Phonetic Alphabet. For example, the word "thought" in phonetic transcription is written as /θɔːt/.
Phonemic. In this case, only significant sound differences necessary to distinguish words are conveyed. Phonemic transcription is often used in linguistics.

Mastering transcription is important for the following reasons:

It helps to learn the correct pronunciation, especially for those who are learning English as a foreign language;
It prevents pronunciation mistakes since many English words are not pronounced as they are written;
It improves listening comprehension — familiarity with transcription helps recognize sounds more quickly in native speakers' speech;
It is useful for actors, linguists, and announcers — it allows mastering correct pronunciation and accent.

Transcription is frequently used in English dictionaries, literature, textbooks, phonetic research, and even in software for linguistic analysis. Mastering transcription significantly improves language skills and helps pronounce words correctly without needing to learn them "by ear".

Main transcription symbols

English transcription is based on special symbols that represent the sound structure of a word. The foundation is the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA). These are unique symbols for each sound. There are consonants, vowels, and additional symbols. Let's go into more detail about each of them.

Consonant sounds in transcription are represented by symbols that often coincide with Latin letters but can also have special characters:

/p/ — pen /pen/;
/b/ — big /bɪɡ/;
/θ/ — thin /θɪn/ (voiceless sound [θ], as in the word "think");
/ð/ — this /ðɪs/ (voiced sound [ð], as in the word "that");
/ʃ/ — she /ʃiː/ (sound [sh]);
/tʃ/ — chess /tʃes/ (sound [ch]);
/ʒ/ — measure /ˈmeʒər/ (sound [zh]);
/ŋ/ — sing /sɪŋ/ (nasal sound [ŋ], as in "ring").

Vowels in English can be short, long, and diphthongs:

Short vowels:

/ɪ/ — bit /bɪt/;
/e/ — pen /pen/;
/æ/ — cat /kæt/;
/ʌ/ — cup /kʌp/;
/ɒ/ — hot /hɒt/ (in British English);
/ʊ/ — book /bʊk/.

Long vowels (denoted with a colon):

/iː/ — see /siː/;
/uː/ — blue /bluː/;
/ɔː/ — law /lɔː/;
/ɑː/ — car /kɑːr/;
/ɜː/ — bird /bɜːd/.

Diphthongs (a combination of two vowel sounds pronounced without a pause):

/aɪ/ — time /taɪm/;
/eɪ/ — day /deɪ/;
/ɔɪ/ — boy /bɔɪ/;
/aʊ/ — house /haʊs/;
/oʊ/ — go /ɡoʊ/ (in American English).

Additional symbols:

Stress (') — placed before the stressed syllable: banana /bəˈnɑːnə/.
Reduced sound /ə/ (schwa) — a neutral vowel, as in sofa /ˈsəʊfə/.
Apostrophe (’) — indicates a sound omission, for example, in don’t /dəʊnt/.

These symbols help accurately reproduce the pronunciation of English words and avoid common mistakes. It is essential to keep learning and practicing so that your speech is clear. In educational literature, transcription notes are included to help you read words correctly.

Special Features of English Transcription

English does not just represent sounds but also takes into account nuances of pronunciation that can change depending on context, accent, or speech speed. Often, the way a word is written does not correspond to how it is pronounced. Therefore, it is important to constantly learn these changes. For example, the word "colonel" is pronounced as [ˈkɝːnəl], although there is no "r" in the written form.

English has sounds that are not found in other languages. One such sound is the interdental sounds /θ/ (as in "thin") and /ð/ (as in "this"), which some people confuse with /s/ and /z/.

Unlike many languages, where stress on words is typically fixed, in English it can change and even affect the meaning of a word. For example:

ˈrecord (noun) — a record;
reˈcord (verb) — to record.

In rapid speech, sounds are often altered or completely disappear. This phenomenon is called reduction. As a result, pronunciation may become less clear, and transcription helps understand how to pronounce such words correctly. For example:

"going to" is pronounced as /ˈɡənə/;
"did you" — /dɪdʒu/.

Furthermore, British and American English have their own pronunciation differences, which are also reflected in transcription. Understanding these features helps you learn to better understand speakers with different accents. For example:

car — /kɑː/ (British) and /kɑr/ (American);
schedule — /ˈʃedjuːl/ (British) and /ˈskedʒuːl/ (American).

We recommend practicing pronunciation, watching videos, and using the "shadowing" method to improve your pronunciation. Reading books, dictionaries, and textbooks is also useful for developing proper speaking skills.

Features of Vowel Sound Transcription

In English, vowels are divided into short, long, and diphthongs:

Short vowels: [ɪ], [ʊ], [e], [æ], [ʌ], [ɒ], [ə]. The method of pronunciation is quick and relaxed.
Long vowels: [iː], [uː], [ɔː], [ɑː], [ɜː]. For example, beet [biːt] and bit [bɪt] have different vowel lengths.
Diphthongs: consist of two combined vowel sounds. For example, [aɪ] in the word time [taɪm] or [eɪ] in the word face [feɪs].

Vowel sound transcription in English has specific features that should be considered when learning pronunciation.

Features of Consonant Sound Transcription

Consonant sounds are divided into several groups:

Voiceless and voiced: [p] — [b], [t] — [d], [k] — [g], [s] — [z].
Affricates: [ʧ] (chat), [ʤ] (judge).
Fricatives: [θ] (think), [ð] (this), [ʃ] (she).
Nasals: [m], [n], [ŋ] (sing).
Approximants (sonorants): [r], [l], [w], [j].

Each of these sounds has its own articulatory feature and affects the correct pronunciation of words.

How to Properly Write Transcription

Writing transcription of words in English follows certain rules. To correctly format transcription, you need to consider special symbols, stress placement, differences between British and American pronunciations, and your speaking skills.

Let’s start with the basics — using the correct brackets. /.../ — phonemic transcription (basic sounds of a word). [...] — phonetic transcription (more detailed pronunciation).

Pay attention to stress. The primary stress — ˈ. It is placed before the stressed syllable. Secondary stress is indicated by the lower symbol — ".". You will find it before the weaker stressed syllable. Another rule is the correct representation of vowel length. Long vowels are marked with a colon.

Don't forget to use schwa /ə/. It represents an unstressed vowel in many words. Also, indicate reduction in spoken language. Write contractions and word merges where appropriate.

Consider dialectal differences. Specify British and American variants if they are different. And of course, properly write complex sounds. Use the symbols /θ/, /ð/, /ŋ/, and others according to pronunciation.

What Are Some Examples of Complex Transcription Cases?

There are words where pronunciation significantly differs from spelling, or cases where one sound can have different transcription variants. Here are some complex cases:

"queue"
Transcription: /kjuː/
Difficulty: The letters "ue" sound like /uː/, and the remaining letters are not pronounced, making the transcription look shorter.
"tough"
Transcription: /tʌf/
Difficulty: The spelling does not reflect the correct pronunciation because of the letters "ou," which in this case produce the complex sound /ʌ/.
"bough"
Transcription: /baʊ/
Difficulty: Similar to "tough," the letters "ough" have an unexpected pronunciation, in this case producing the sound /aʊ/.
"knight"
Transcription: /naɪt/
Difficulty: The letter "k" at the beginning of the word is not pronounced, and "igh" gives the sound /aɪ/, even though the spelling "knight" contains letters that are not read.
"leisure"
Transcription: in British English — /ˈleʒ.ər/, in American English — /ˈliː.ʒɚ/.
Difficulty: The complex pronunciation due to the combination of the letters "ei" and "s," where the sound /ʒ/ is pronounced instead of the more familiar /s/ for many people.

These examples show how important it is to understand the rules of transcription to correctly reproduce sounds, regardless of how the word is written.

Summary

English transcription is a useful tool for improving pronunciation. It helps enhance English language skills, read books, avoid common mistakes, and better understand spoken language. Knowledge of phonetic symbols simplifies learning new words, helps improve accent, and makes communication in English more natural and confident. We hope that these transcription recording and learning methods will assist you in studying the language.