A simplified list of the International Phonetic Alphabet sounds and symbols for young singers and pianists beginning their study of Lyric Diction.
**Includes indexes by spelling, and sound!**
Vowel Sounds
[a]
English: This sound is only used in the diphthong [aɪ] ("hi").
Italian: This sound is always spelled with the letter a.
*Unstressed a still sounds [a], never [ə].
German: This sound is always spelled with the letter a.
*Again, unstressed a still sounds [a], never [ə].
French: This sound is spelled with the letter a.
It is always the choice for a except when...
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spelled â.
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a is followed by a silent, final s. (*this rule doesn't work for verbs)
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a is followed by [z].
[
[ɑ]
English: This sound occurs in words like "father", and "alter".
Italian: This sound does not occur in Italian.
German: For the purpose of entry level diction study,
this sound rarely occurs in German.
French: This sound is spelled by the letter a. It occurs when...
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spelled â.
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a is followed by a silent, final s. (*This rule doesn't work for verbs)
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a is followed by [z].
[ɑ̃]
French: This sound only occurs in French, when a is followed by n or m.
(**Double n or m does NOT result in a nasalized vowel.)
[e]
English: This sound rarely occurs in English without the diphthong [eɪ] ("day").
It does occur in words such as "chaotic".
Italian: This sound is spelled with the letter e. It occurs when...
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e is unstressed (**Remember, all unstressed e and o are closed!)
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e is stressed, and we looked it up in a dictionary.
(**Remember, this sound does NOT have a diphthong attached)
German: This sound is spelled by the letter e. It occurs when...
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e is followed by a single consonant.
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e is doubled.
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e is followed by h.
French: This sound is spelled by the letter e. It occurs when...
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spelled é.
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words end with -er and -ez.
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e is followed by final, silent consonants.
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e in initial dess-, desc-, eff-, and ess-.
[ɛ]
English: This sound occurs in words like "bed" and "dead".
Italian: This sound is spelled by the letter e. It occurs when...
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e occurs in stressed syllables we looked up in a dictionary.
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e is followed by two consonants.
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e is preceded by a glide.
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we looked the word up in the dictionary.
German: This sound is spelled by the letters e and ä. It occurs when...
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e is followed by two consonants.
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spelled ä.
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in the prefixes er-, ver-, emp-, and ent-.
French: This sound is spelled by the letter e. It occurs when...
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spelled è, ê, or ë.
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e is followed by a double consonant.
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in the combinations ei and ai.
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when e is followed by silent t.
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in the combination ay.
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e is followed by a sounded consonant. (Remember "careful")
[ɛ̃]
French: This sound is only found in French. It occurs...
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in combinations im, in, or ym, yn.
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in combinations aim, ain, or ein, eim.
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in combinations ien [jɛ̃] or oin [wɛ̃]
[i]
English: This sound occurs in words like "fee" and "bee".
Italian: This sound is spelled by the letter i.
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Two exceptions are when i is functioning as a glide, or gives its life to soften the preceding consonant.
German: This sound is spelled by the letter i. It occurs when...
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i is followed by a single consonant.
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i is followed by h.
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in the combination ie.
French: This sound occurs...
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when spelled with i, î or ï.
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when spelled y or ÿ.
[ɪ]
English: This sound occurs in words like "bit" and "inside".
Italian: This sound does not occur in Italian.
German: This sound is spelled by the letter i. It occurs when...
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i is followed by two consonants.
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in most monosyllabic words.
French: This sound does not occur in French.
[o]
English: This sound only occurs in English as the diphthong [oʊ] ("go").
Italian: This sound is spelled by the letter o. It occurs when...
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o is unstressed.
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o is unstressed and we looked it up in a dictionary.
(**Remember, this sound does NOT have a diphthong attached)
German: This sound is spelled by the letter o. It occurs when...
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o is followed by a single consonant.
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o is followed by h.
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o is doubled.
French: This sound is spelled by different combinations. It occurs...
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when spelled by o or ô.
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when spelled by au or eau.
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when o is followed by a silent consonant.
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when o is followed by [z].
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when o is followed by -tion.
[ɔ]
English: This sound occurs in words like "bought" and "caught".
Italian: This sound is spelled by the letter o. It occurs when...
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o is stressed, and we looked it up.
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in a final accented syllable.
German: This sound is spelled by the letter o. It occurs when...
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o is followed by two consonants.
French: This sound is spelled by the letter o. It occurs when...
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o is followed by a sounded consonant (the consonants in "careful")
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o is followed by a vowel.
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in the combination au+r.
[õ]
French: This sound is only found in French. It occurs when o is followed by n or m.
(**Double n or m does NOT result in a nasal vowel.)
[u]
English: This sound occurs in words like "boo" and "through".
Italian: This sound is spelled by the letter u. The only exception is when u is functioning as a glide. (**usually u plus a vowel)
German: This sound is spelled by the letter u. It occurs when...
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u is followed by one consonant.
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u is followed by h.
(**qu is always pronounced [kv].)
French: This sound is only spelled by the letters ou.
It is NOT spelled by the letter u.
[ʊ]
English: This sound occurs in words like "book" and "cook".
Italian: This sound does not occur in Italian.
German: This sound is spelled by the letter u. It occurs when...
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u is followed by two consonants.
French: This sound does not occur in French.
[ə]
English: This sound occurs in unstressed syllables. Example: "about" or "around".
Italian: This sound does NOT occur in Italian.
German: This sound is spelled by the letter e in unstressed syllables.
(**Except in prefixes discussed under [ɛ])
French: This sound is spelled by the letter e. It occurs when...
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e occurs without an accent.
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e is final.
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in monosyllabic words (me, de, etc.)
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es is final.
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in third person plural endings -ent.
(if the article is "les" it's a pretty good guess that the verb is third person plural)
[ɚ]
English: This sound is found only in English. It occurs in unstressed syllables, colored with r. Example: "butter" or "water".
[ʌ]
English: This sound is found only in English. It is similar to [ə] but only occurs only in stressed syllables. Example: "the" or "what".
[ɝ]
English: This sound is found only in English. It occurs in stressed syllables, but carries an r color. Example: "bird" or "word".
Mixed Vowel Sounds
[y]
This sound is a combination of [i] and [u].
German: This sound is spelled by the letter ü. It occurs when...
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ü is followed by a single consonant.
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ü is followed by h.
French: This sound is spelled by the single letter u.
[Y]
This sound is a combination of [ɪ] and [ɛ].
German: This sound is spelled by the letter ü. It occurs when...
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ü is followed by two consonants.
[ø]
This sound is a combination of [e] and [o].
German: This sound is spelled by the letter ö. It occurs when...
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ö is followed by a single consonant.
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ö is followed by h.
French: This sound is spelled by different combinations. It occurs when...
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eu, oeu, and ueu are final or followed by a silent consonant.
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the word ends in -euse.
[œ]
This sound is combination of [ɛ] and [ɔ].
German: This sound is spelled by the letter ö. It occurs when...
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ö is followed by two consonants.
French: This sound is spelled by different combinations. It occurs when...
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eu, oeu, and ueu are followed by -il or -ill.
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ue are in the words "cueil" and "gueil".
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oe is in the word "oeil".
[œ̃]
French: This sound is only found in French.
It occurs when u is followed by n or m.
(**Double n or m does NOT result in a nasal vowel.)
Glides
[j]
English: This sound occurs in worlds like "use" and "you".
Italian: This sound is spelled by the letter i. It occurs when...
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i is before or between vowels.
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i is initial.
German: This sound is always spelled with the letter j.
French: This sound is spelled with the letter i. There are many exceptions to these rules so if you're unsure, always look it up. It occurs when...
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i is followed by another vowel. (Exception: when ie, io, or ia are preceded by a consonant plus l/r.)
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ï, or y is intervocalic.
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in the combination ill, or ilh. (**Exception: "a million tranquil villages"...mille, tranquille, and ville.)
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when final il or ill follows a vowel. (**Double l sounds [ɭ] when not in combination with i.)
[w]
English: This sound occurs in words like "would" and "worth".
Italian: This sound is spelled by the letter u. It occurs...
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most often between a consonant and a vowel. Example: "Buona"
German: This sound does not occur in German.
French: This sound is spelled by the letter u. It occurs when...
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ou is followed by a vowel (other than mute e).
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spelled oi [wa]
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spelled oin [wɛ̃]
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spelled oy plus a vowel [waj]
[ɥ]
French: This sound is only found in French. It is spelled by the letter u. Again, there are many exceptions. If you are unsure, look it up. It occurs when...
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u is followed by a vowel other than mute e
Diphthongs
[aɪ]
English: This sound occurs only in English.
It is heard in words like "hi" and "bye".
[eɪ]
English: This sound occurs only in English.
It is heard in words like "day" and "obey".
[ɔɪ]
English: This sound occurs only in English.
It is heard in worlds like "joy" and "boy".
[oʊ]
English: This sound only occurs in English.
It is heard in words like "go" and "though".
[aʊ]
English: This sound only occurs in English.
It is heard in words like "how" and "doubt".
[ae]
German: This sound is only found in German. It is made by four different combinations of vowels. They are...
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ai, ei, ay, and ey.
[ao]
German: This sound is only found in German.
It only occurs with the letters au.
[ɔø]
German: This sound is only found in German.
It occurs with the letters eu and äu.
Consonant Sounds
[b]
This sound is always spelled with the letter b in all four languages.
[ç]
English: This sound does not occur in English.
Italian: This sound does not occur in Italian.
German: This sound is spelled by the letters ch. It occurs when...
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the letters ch follows i, e, ä, ö, ü, ie, ei, eu, or äu.
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the suffix -ig
French: This sound does not occur in French.
[d]
This sound is always spelled with the letter d in all four languages.
[f]
English: This sound is always spelled by the letter f.
Italian: This sound is always spelled by the letter f.
German: This sound is always spelled by the letter v.
French: This sound is always spelled by the letter f.
[g]
English: This sound is always spelled by the letter g.
Italian: This sound is spelled by the letter g. It occurs when...
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g is followed by a, o, or u.
German: This sound is spelled by the letter g.
French: This sound is spelled by the letter g. It occurs when...
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g is followed by a, o, or u.
[h]
English: This sound is always spelled by the letter h.
Italian: This sound does not occur in Italian.
German: This sound is spelled by the letter h. It occurs when...
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h is initial or begins the word stem. **when h occurs in the middle of the word is it silent.
[k]
English: This sound is spelled by the letters k and c.
Italian: This sound is spelled by the letter c. It occurs when...
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c is followed by a, o, or u.
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ch is followed by i or e.
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sch also sounds [sk]
German: This sound is spelled by the letters k and q.
French: This sound is spelled by the letter c. It occurs when...
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c is followed by a, o, or u.
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ct is final.
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spelled by the letter q.
[ks]
English: This sound is spelled by the letter x.
Italian: This sound doesn't occur in Italian.
German: This sound is spelled by the letters x or chs.
French: This sound is spelled by the letter x. Normally x is silent but the sound does occur...
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with initial x.
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when x is medial.
[ɭ]
This sound is spelled by the letter ɭ in all four languages.
[ʎ]
Italian: This sound only occurs in Italian. It is always spelled with the letters gli.
This sound is always doubled unless initial.
[m]
This sound is spelled by the letter m in all four languages.
Italian: This sound also occurs when n precedes b or p.
[ɱ]
This sound is only found in Italian. It occurs when m or n is followed by f or v.
Example: "non voglio"
[n]
This sound is spelled with the letter n in all four languages.
[ŋ]
English: This sound is spelled by the letters ng in words like "sing".
Italian: This sound occurs when n precedes [k] or [g].
German: This sound occurs when n precedes g or k.
French: This sound does not occur in French.
[ɲ]
English: This sound does not occur in English.
Italian: This sound is always spelled by the letters gn.
This sound is always doubled unless initial.
[p]
English: This sound is always spelled by the letter p.
Italian: This sound is always spelled by the letter p.
German: This sound is spelled by the letter p.
Also, when the letter b is final, it becomes unvoiced and sounds [p].
French: This sound is always spelled by the letter p.
[ɾ]
English: This sound does not occur in English.
Italian: This sound is a single, flipped r.
German: This sound is a single, flipped r.
It only occurs when the letter r is initial.
French: This sound is spelled with the letter r.
In spoken French, the letter r is pronounced with a uvular [R].
But in art song and opera, the flipped sound [r] is used
except in moments of specific color choice.
The letter r is in the word “careful” and thus sounded.
Exceptions to this rule always involve final r being silent.
They are...
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words that end with -ier, -yer, and -iller.
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nouns and adjectives that end with -ser, -cher, and -ger.
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verbs that end with -er.
[ɹ]
English: This sound only occurs in English and is spelled with the letter r.
[s]
English: This sound is spelled with the letter s.
Italian: This sound is spelled with the letter s. It occurs when...
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at the beginning of a word, and followed by an unvoiced consonant or vowel.
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following a consonant.
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when doubled.
German: This sound is spelled by the letter s. It occurs when...
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s is at the end of a word.
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s is doubled or the symbol ß.
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s follows an unvoiced consonant.
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s precedes a consonant (except for ch, t, or p)
French: This sound is spelled by the letters ç and s. It occurs when...
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spelled with the letter ç.
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c is followed by e, i, or y (including sce, and sci)
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s is not intervocalic.
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double ss
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final -tie [si]
[ʃ]
English: This sound is spelled by the letters sh.
Italian: This sound is spelled by the letters sci and sce.
German: This sound is spelled by the letter s. It occurs when...
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s is followed by ch, t, or p.
French: This sound is always spelled by the letters ch.
[t]
English: This sound is always spelled by the letter t.
Italian: This sound is always spelled by the letter t.
German: This sound is spelled by the letters t or th.
Also, when the letter d is final, it becomes unvoiced or [t].
French: This sound is spelled by the letter t.
[ts]
English: This sound does not occur in English.
Italian: This sound is spelled by the letter z.
When doubled, it is transcribed [tts]
German: This sound is spelled with the letter z.
French: This sound does not occur in French.
[dz]
Italian: This sound only occurs in Italian. It is also spelled with the letter z. There are no concrete rules as to when
z is voiced or unvoiced. Best advice is to look it up when you're unsure.
Also, when this sound is doubled, it is transcribed [ddz]
[tʃ]
English: This sound is spelled by the letters ch.
Italian: This sound is spelled by the letter c. It occurs when...
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c is followed by i, or e.
German: This sound is spelled by the letters tsch.
French: This sound does not occur in French.
[dʒ]
English: This sound is spelled by the letter j.
Italian: This sound is spelled by the letter g. It occurs when...
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g is followed by i or e.
German: This sound does not occur in German.
French: This sound does not occur in French.
[v]
English: This sound is always spelled by the letter v.
Italian: This sound is always spelled by the letter v.
German: This sound is always spelled by the letter w.
French: This sound is always spelled by the letter v.
[x]
German: This sound only occurs in German. It is spelled by the letters ch.
It occurs when...
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ch follows a, o, u, or au.
[ʒ]
English: This sound is spelled by the letter z. It occurs in words like "azure".
Italian: This sound does not occur in Italian.
German: This sound does not occur in German.
French: This sound is always spelled by the letter j.
[z]
English: This sound is spelled by the letter z.
Italian: This sound is spelled by the letter s. It occurs when...
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s is between two vowels (like the English word "rose")
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s precedes a voiced consonant.