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A lexical set is a group of words that share a similar feature.

Wells Standard Lexical Sets for UK and US English

The Standard Lexical Sets for English introduced by John C. Wells in Accents of English[1] are in wide usage. Wells defined each lexical set on the basis of the pronunciation of words in two reference accents, which he calls RP and GenAm.

Wells classifies words of the English language into 24 lexical sets on the basis of the pronunciation of the vowel of their stressed syllable in the two reference accents. Each lexical set is named after a representative keyword, as follows:[4]

Lexical sets, as defined in Wells (1982)
Keyword RP GenAm Example words
KIT ɪ ɪ ship, rip, dim, spirit
DRESS e ɛ step, ebb, hem, terror
TRAP æ æ bad, cab, ham, arrow
LOT ɒ ɑ stop, rob, swan
STRUT ʌ ʌ cub, rub, hum
FOOT ʊ ʊ full, look, could
BATH ɑː æ staff, clasp, dance
CLOTH ɒ ɔ cough, long, laurel, origin
NURSE ɜː ɜr hurt, term, work
FLEECE iː i seed, key, seize
FACE eɪ eɪ weight, rein, steak
PALM ɑː ɑ* calm, bra, father
THOUGHT ɔː ɔ* taut, hawk, broad
GOAT əʊ o soap, soul, home
GOOSE uː u who, group, few
PRICE aɪ aɪ ripe, tribe, aisle, choir
CHOICE ɔɪ ɔɪ boy, void, coin
MOUTH aʊ aʊ pouch, noun, crowd, flower
NEAR ɪə ɪr beer, pier, fierce, serious
SQUARE ɛə ɛr care, air, wear, Mary
START ɑː ɑr far, sharp, farm, safari
NORTH ɔː ɔr war, storm, for, aural
FORCE ɔː or floor, coarse, ore, oral
CURE ʊə ʊr poor, tour, fury

* not followed by /r/

For example, the word rod is pronounced /rɒd/ in RP and /rɑd/ in GenAm. It therefore belongs in the LOT lexical set. Weary is pronounced /ˈwɪərɪ/ in RP and /ˈwɪri/ in GenAm, and thus belongs in the NEAR lexical set.

Some words of the English language do not belong to any lexical set. For example, the stressed syllable of tomato is pronounced /ɑː/ in RP, and /eɪ/ in GenAm, a combination which is very unusual, and is not covered by any of the 24 lexical sets above.[5]

Choice of keywords

Wells explains his choice of keywords ("kit", "fleece", etc.) as follows:

[t]he keywords have been chosen in such a way that clarity is maximized: whatever accent of English they are spoken in, they can hardly be mistaken for other words. Although fleece is not the commonest of words, it cannot be mistaken for a word with some other vowel; whereas beat, say, if we had chosen it instead, would have been subject to the drawback that one man's pronunciation of beat may sound like another's pronunciation of bait or bit.[6]

Wherever possible, the keywords end in a voiceless alveolar or dental consonant.[6]

Unstressed vowels

Wells also describes three sets of words based on their word-final unstressed vowels. Although not included in the standard 24 lexical sets, these "have indexical and diagnostic value in distinguishing accents".[7]

Keyword Example words
happY silly, Tony, merry
lettER beggar, martyr, visor
commA China, sofa

Uses

The Standard Lexical Sets of Wells are widely used to discuss the phonological and phonetic systems of different accents of English in a clear and concise manner. Although based solely on RP and GenAm, the Standard Lexical Sets have proven useful in describing many other accents of English. This is true because, in many dialects, the words in all or most of the sets are pronounced with similar or identical stressed vowels. Wells himself uses the Lexical Sets most prominently to give "tables of lexical incidence" for all the various accents he discusses in his work. For example, here is the table of lexical incidence he gives for Newfoundland English:[8]

KIT ɪ FLEECE iː NEAR ɛr
DRESS ɛ FACE ɛː, ɛɪ SQUARE ɛr
TRAP æ PALM æ, ɑː START ær
LOT ɒ THOUGHT ɑː NORTH ɔ̈r
STRUT ɔ̈ GOAT ʌʊ FORCE ɔ̈r
FOOT ʊ GOOSE uː CURE ɔ̈r
BATH æ PRICE əɪ happY [i]
CLOTH ɑː CHOICE əɪ lettER ər [ɚ]
NURSE ɜr MOUTH əu commA ə

The table indicates that, for example, Newfoundland English uses the /ɪ/ phoneme for words in the KIT lexical set, and that the NORTH, FORCE and CURE sets are all pronounced with the same vowel /ɔ̈r/. Note that some lexical sets, such as FACE, are given with more than one pronunciation: this indicates that not all words in the FACE lexical set are pronounced similarly (in this case because Newfoundland English has not fully undergone the pane–pain merger).[9] (Note that in 1982 Wells used an older version of the International Phonetic Alphabet which lacked many of the independent symbols for central vowels. 1982 /ɔ̈/ was the open-mid central rounded vowel, which today is /ɞ/.)

Wells also uses the Standard Lexical Sets to refer to "the vowel sound used for the standard lexical set in question in the accent under discussion":[10] Thus, for example, in describing the Newfoundland accent, Wells writes that "KIT and DRESS are reportedly often merged as [ɪ]",[11] meaning that the stressed syllables of words in the KIT lexical set and words in the DRESS lexical set are reportedly often pronounced identically with the vowel [ɪ].

Lexical sets may also be used to describe splits and mergers. For example, RP, along with most non-rhotic accents, pronounces words such as "father" and "farther" identically. This can be described more economically as the merger of the PALM and START lexical sets. Most North American accents make "father" rhyme with "bother". This can be described as the merger of the PALM and LOT lexical sets.

Origin

In a 2010 blog post, Wells wrote:

I sometimes think that a century from now my lexical sets will be the one thing I shall be remembered for. Yet I dreamt them up over a weekend, frustrated with the incoherent mess of symbols used in such contemporary publications as Weinreich's "Is a structural dialectology possible?".[12]

He also wrote that he claimed no copyright in the Standard Lexical Sets, and that everyone was "free to make whatever use of them they wish".[12]

Extensions for English

Some varieties of English make distinctions in stressed vowels that are not captured by the 24 lexical sets. For example, some Irish and Scottish accents that have not undergone the fern–fir–fur merger split the NURSE lexical set into multiple subsets. For such accents, the 24 Wells lexical sets may be inadequate. Because of this, a work devoted to Irish English may split the Wells NURSE set into two subsets, a new, smaller NURSE set and a TERM set.[13]

Some writers on English accents have introduced a GOAL set to refer to a set of words that have the GOAT vowel in standard accents but may have a different vowel in Sheffield[14] or in south-east London.[15] Wells has stated that he didn't include a GOAL set because this should be interpreted as an allophone of GOAT that is sensitive to the morpheme boundary, which he illustrates by comparing the London pronunciations of goalie and slowly.[16]

Wells Standard Lexical Sets for English around the world

[1][17]

trad RP RP Shared RP London Norwich Bristol Birmingham (West Midlands) Leeds (West Yorkshire) Scotland E Scotland St. E. Urban Scots Orkney Shetland Wales Cardiff E. Trad.R.Welsh E. Ireland R. Northern Irish Pop. Dublin Fash. Dublin R. South West Supr.South GA (general) GA (regional) New England NYC Philadelphia The Inland North R. Southern W and Mid-W. Canadian Canada (Wells) Anglo-Bahamian Afro-Bahamian Jamaican Jamaican (Wells) T&T creole Acrolect and Mesolect (General )Trinidad Guyana Barbados Bahamas NZ NZE (Wells) AusE AusE (Wells) Pure Fiji E. Hawaii P. Basilectal Hawaii P. Mesolectal Hausa NigE Yoruba NigE Igbo NigE Southern NigE Ghanian Liberian Settler E. Cameroon South Africa Indian Pakistani Singapore Malaysian Philippine
FLEECE iː iː iː ɪi iː i iː iː i i i i i i iː iː iː i: iʲə iː iː iː i i iː iɪ ̴ iː iː i i̞i ̴ ɪi iɪ ̴ iː ɪi i i̝ ̴ ɪ̝i i iː iː iː i iː iː iː i:, ɪɨ iː i:, ᵊi, əi iː i ̴ iˑ i > ij i > ij iː i i i i > iː i i > ɛ > e iː iː > ɪ iː i i > iː iː > i > ɪ
KIT ɪ ɪ ɪ ɪ ɪ ɪ ɪ ɪ ɪ ɪ ̴ ë ɛ̈ ̴ ë ̴ ʌ ̴ ɪ ɪ ̴ ï ̴ ë ̴ ɛ̈ ï ̴ ë ̴ ɛ̈ ̴ ɤ̈ ɪ ɪ ɪ ɪ e ɪ ɪ ɪ ɪ ɪ ɪ ɪ ɪ ɪ ̴ ɪ̞ ɪ ̴ ɪ̞ ̴ ɪ̠ ɪ ̴ iə ɪ ɪ ɪ ɪ ɪ ɪ ɪ ɪ > i ɪ ɪ ɪ ɪ ɘ, ə, ə̞, ɪ ə ɪ, ə ɪ i̠ ̞ i i ɪ i i i i > ɪ ɪ > e i > ai ɪ, ə ɪ > iː ɪ i i iː > i > ɪ
DRESS e ɛ ɛ ̴ e e ɛ ɛ ɛ ɛ ɛ ɛ ɛ̝ ɛ ɛ ɛ ɛ ɛ ɛ ɛ ̞ ɛ ɛ ɛ ɛ ɛ ɛ ɛ ɛ ɛ ̴ ɛ̞ ɛ ̴ ɛ̞ ̴ ɛ̠ ̴ ɐ ɛ ̴ eə ɛ ɛ ɛ ɛ ɛ ɛ ɛ ɛ ɛ ɛ ɛ ɛ e, e̝, e̝̠ e e, ɛ e e̞ æ̝ ̴ e ɛ ̴ æ̝ ə, a e̝ e̝ ɛ, e ɛ ɛ ɛ > e > i > iɛ ̴ iə e e > ɛ > ə e æ æ > ɛ > e ɛ
TRAP æ a a ̴ æ æ æ æ a a a a a̠ a a a a a æ a æ æ æ æ æ æ æ > ɛə æ ̴ æə ̴ ɛə ̴ ɪə æ ̴ æə ̴ ɛə ̴ ɪə æ ̴ æə ̴ ɛə ̴ ɪə æ æ æ ̴ a æ a ̴ æ a ̴ æ a ̴ ɐ a a > æ a aː a a ɛ æ æ, æe, æː æ ɛ̞ æ̝ æ̝ ̴ æ a a a a a æ a > e æ æ >ɛ æ ɛ æ > ɛ ɑ
START ɑː ɑː ɑː ɑː aː ar [aɻ] ɑː aː ar a ɛ̝ ̴ a ɑ ̴ a a ̴ ɑ aː aː aːr ɑ(ː)ɻ æː (ɹ) ɑːɻ aːɹ ɑːɹ ɑɚ ɑɚ aː(ɹ) ̴ ɑː(ɹ) ɑə ̴ ɒə ɑ ̴ ɒ ̴ ɔ ɑ ̴ ɑ̟ ̴ a ɒɚ > ɑɚ ɑ ʌɹ > ɐɹ ɑr ɑː ɑː aːɹ aː(r) aː a x ɑ aː(r) aːr aː ɐː aː ɐː aː ă ̴ a ɑ ɑ ̴ ar a a a a a ɑ a > ɛ ɑː ɑː ɑː ɑ ɑ > ɑ̈ ɑr
PALM ɑː ɑː ɑː ɑː aː a ɑː aː a (or /ɑ/) a a̠ ɑ ɔ aː aː aː aː ɑ ɔ aː ̴ ɑː ɑə ̴ ɒə ɑ ɑ ̴ ɑ̟ ̴ a ɑ ̴ ɒo ɑ ̴ ɑ̠ > ɒ ɒː ɑ ɑ ɑ aː aː aː a x ɒ aː aː aː, ɑː ɐː aː aː ă ̴ a ɑ ɑ aː a a a a(ː) ɑ > æ a ɑː ɑː ɑː ɑ ɑ > ɑ̈ ɑ
BATH ɑː ɑː ̴ aː ɑː ̴ a ɑː aː a a a a (or /ɑ/) a a̠ a a ̴ ɑ a ̴ aː a ̴ aː a ̴ aː æ, aː ɑ(ː) æː aː aː aː æ a æ > ɛə > a æə ̴ ɛə ̴ ɪə æə ̴ ɛə ̴ ɪə æ ̴ æə ̴ ɛə ̴ ɪə æ æ æ ̴ a æ a ̴ æ a ̴ æ aː aː aː a x ɑ aː aː aː ɐː aː aː ă ̝ æ̝ æ̝ ̴ æ aː a a a a(ː) æ a aː ɑː æ ̴ ɑː ɑ ɑ > ɑ̈ ɑ
LOT ɒ ɒ ɒ ɒ ɒ a ɒ ɒ ɔ (or /ɒ/) ɔ̞ o ̴ ɔ ɔ ɔ ̴ ɒ ɒ ɑ ɔ ɒ ɒ a ɔ a ɑ ɑ ɔ ɑ ̴ ɒ ɑ ̴ ɑə ɑ ɑ ̴ ɑ̟ ̴ a ɑ ɑ ̴ ɑ̠ > ɒ ɒ ɑ ɑ ɑ ɔ a x ɒ ɔ > ʌ > ɒ ɒ a x ɑ ɒ ɑ ɒ, ɞ̠ ɒ ɔ, ɔᵊ, ɔə ɒ ɒ̝̆ ̴ ɔ̝̆ ɔ ɔ ̴ ɑ ̴ ɒ a ɔ ɔ ɔ ɔ ɑ ɔ > a ɒ ɔ > ɒ > a ɔː ɔ ɔ ɑ
CLOTH ɒ ɒ ɒ ̴ ɔː ɒ ɒ, ɔː ɒ ɒ ɒ ɔ ɔ̞ o ̴ ɔ ɔ ɔ ̴ ɑ ɒ ̴ ɔː ɔ ɒ, ɔː ɔ, ɑ ɔ, ɑ ɑ ɔ ̴ ɔə ̴ ʊə ɔ ̴ ɔ̝ə ̴ oə ɔ ̴ ɒ ̴ ɑ ɑɒ ɑ ̴ ɑ̠ ̴ ɒ > ɔ ɒ ɑ ɔ ɔ ɔː aː x ɔː ɔ > ɔː ɔ x ɒ aː x ɔː ɒː ɒː ɒ oː, oᵊː, oə ɒː ɒ̝ ɔ ɔ > ɒ ɔ ɔ ɔ ɔ ɔ ɑ ɔ ɔ > o > aː ɔː ̴ ɔ ̴ oː ɔ ɔ o
THOUGHT ɔː ɔː ɔː oː ɔː ɔ ɔː ɔː ɔ ɔ̞ ɔ ɔ ̴ ʌ̈ʊ ɔ ɔː ʌː ɔː ɔː ɔ(ː) aː ɔː, oː ɑː ɒː ɔ, ɑ ɔ, ɑ ɑ ̴ ɔ ɔ ̴ ɔə ̴ ʊə ɔ ̴ ɔ̝ə ̴ oə ɔ ̴ ɒ ̴ ɑ ɑɒ ɑ ̴ ɑ̠ ̴ ɒ > ɔ ɒ ɑ ɔ ɔ ɔː aː x ɔː ɔː > ɒ ɒ x ɔ aː x ɑː ɒː ɑː ɑː, oə, o.ɐ ɔː ɔː ɒ̝̆ ̴ ɔ̞̆ ɔ ɔ > ɒ oː ɔ ɔ ɔ ɔ > ɔː ɔ ɔ > au ɔː ɔː > oː > aː ɔː ɔ ɔ o
NORTH ɔː ɔː ɔː oː ɔː ɔr [ɔɻ] ɔː ɔː ɔr ɔ̞ o ̴ ɔ ɒ ̴ ɔ ɒ ̴ ɔ ɔː ɔː ɔːr ɔ(ː)ɻ aː(ɹ) ɒːɻ, ɔːɻ ɑːɹ ɒːɹ ɔɚ ɔɚ ɔ(ɹ) > ɒə o ̴ ɔɚ o ̴ ʊ o ̴ ɔ oɚ o > ɔ > ɒ ɔɹ or ɔə ɔə ɔːɹ aː(r) x ɔː(r) ɔː ɒ x ɔ aː(r)x ɔː(r) ɒːr oa oː, oə, o.ɐ ɔː ɔː ɒ̝ ̴ ɔ̞ ɔ ɔ ̴ or ɔ ɔ ɔ ɔ ɔ o, ɔ̝ ɔ > a ɔː ɔː > aː > ɒ ɔː ɔ ɔ or
FORCE ɔː ɔː ɔː oː ɔː ɔr ʌʊə ( ̴ ɔː) ɔː ( ̴ ɔə) or o o ɔ ɔ ̴ o ɔː ɔː oːr o(ː)ɻ ɒː(ɹ) ɔːɻ, oːɻ ɔːɹ oːɹ ɔɚ oɚ ɔ(ɹ) o ̴ ɔɚ o ̴ ʊ o oɚ o > ɔ ɔɹ or oə oə oːɹ oːr ɔː ɒ x ɔ oː(r) oːr oa oː, oə, o.ɐ ɔː ɔː ɒ̝ ̴ ɒ̝ˑ ̴ ɔ̞ ɔ ɔ ̴ or o, oa (owa) ɔ ɔ ɔ ɔ o, ɔ̝ ɔ ɔː ɔː > oː ɔː ̴ ɔʊ ɔ ɔ or
FOOT ʊ ʊ ʊ ʊ ʊ ʊ ʊ ʊ u ʉ̠ ɛ̈ ̴ ʉ ̴ ʏ ʊ ̴ u u ʊ ɤ ʊ ʊ ʉ ʊ ʊ ʊ ʊ ʊ ʊ ʊ ʊ ʊ ̴ ʊ̈ ʊ ̴ ʊ̈ ʊ̈ ̴ ʏ ʊ ̴ ʊ̈ ʊ ʊ ʊ ʊ ʊ ̴ u ʊ ʊ ʊ ʊ ʊ ʊ ʊ, ɨ̞ ʊ ʊ ʊ o̝ ̴ u̞ u ʊ ʊ u u u u > ʊ u > ʊ u ʊ ʊ > uː ʊ ̴ uː u u uː > u > ʊ
GOOSE uː uː uː ʉː ʉː u uː uː u ʉ̠ ʉ ̴ ʏ u ̴ ʉ u ̴ ø uː uː uː uː ʉ(ː) ujə uː uː uː u ʏ (south) u ̴ ʊuː ʊu ̴ uː ̴ ɪu uː ̴ ʉu uː ̴ ʉ ʉ̟u̟ ̴ y̟ʉ̟ ̴ ʉ̟y̟ ̴ y̟y̟ uʊ ̴ uː ̴ ʉ ʉu u ʉː ʉː uː uː uː u uː uː uː ʉː,ʏː, ɪʉ, ɐʉ uː ʉː, ᵊʉː, ʉːᵊ uː u̞ ̟ ̴ uˑ u u uː ʊ, u ʊ, u u u > uː u u uː uː uː u u > uː uː > u > ʊ
STRUT ʌ ʌ ʌ ʌ ʌ ʌ ʊ ( ̴ ʌ) ʊ ʌ ʌ ʌ̈ ʌ ̴ ɔ̈ ɔ̈ ̴ ʊ̈ ̴ ʌ ə ə ʌ ʌ ʌ ʊ ʌ ʌ̈ ʌ̈ ʌ ʌ ə ʌ ʌ ̴ ʌ̝ ɜ ̴ ʌ ̴ ɔ ɜ ɜ ʌ ʌ ʌ̠ ʌ̠ ɵ ̴ o ʌ ʌ > ɔː > ɒ ɒ x ʌ ʌ ʌ ʌ ɐ, ɐ̞ ʌ ɐ ʌ a̠ ɑ ̴ ʌ ɑ ̴ ʌ ɑ, ʊ ɔ ɔ ɔ a ̴ ɔ > ɛ ʌ ɔ > u ̴ a ʌ ʌ > ə > ʊ ʌ ɑ ɑ ʌ
NURSE ɜː əː əː ̴ ɜː ɜː ɜː → ɝ ɜr ɜ ɜː ɜr ʌ ʌ̈ ̴ ɛ̈ ɔ̈ ɔ ̴ ɔ̈ ɜː ø œː ʌr, ɛr ə(ː)ɻ ʊː(ɹ) ɚːɻ, øːɻ ɚːɹ ɚːɹ ɚ ɝ ə(ɹ) ɜ ɜ ɜ ɚ > ɐɚ ə əɹ ɜr ə ̴ ɜ ɜ ̴ əi ɜː ʌ x ʌr x ɜːr ɜː > ɔː ɒ x 3 ʌ x ʌr [ɝː] əi ɵː, œː, øː ɜː ɜː ɜː ɛ ̴ ɛ̠ ɜr ɜr aː ɜ ɜ ɜ, ɔ, a ɛ(ː) ʌ > ʌ ̟ ɔ > ɛ > e ɜː ɜː > ʌ > ə > aː ʌ ə ɔ ɛr
LETTER ə ə ə ə ə → ɚ ər ə ə ər ɪ ̴ ʌ ʌ̈ ə e ə ə ̴ ʌ ər əɻ ə(ɹ) əɻ əɹ əɹ ɚ ɚ ə(ɹ) ə ə ə ɚ ɜ əɹ ɚ ə ə o ̴ əːɹ a [ɐ] x ʌr x ə ə > ʌ a x ə a x ə /ər/ [ɚ] ə ə ə ə ɐ ̴ a̠ ̴ ă ɑ ɑ ̴ ɚ a a a a a ə a ̴ e ̴ ɔ ə ə ʌ ə ə ɛr
COMMA ə ə ə ə ə ə ̴ əl ə ə ʌ ʌ ʌ̈ ə ̴ a ɐ ə ə ə ̴ ʌ ə ə ə, ɐ ə ə ə ə ə ə(ɹ) ə ə ə ə ə ɐ ə ə ə o a [ɐ] x ʌr x ə a > ə > ʌ a x ə a x ə ə ə ɘ, ə, ɜ, ɐ ə ə ə ɐ̞ ̟ ̴ a̠ ̴ ă ɑ ɑ ̴ ə a a a a a ə > ʌ a ̴ e ̴ ɔ > u ə a ʌ ə ə > ʌ ɑ
FACE eɪ eɪ eɪ ʌɪ æi ɛɪ ʌɪ eː ( ̴ ɛɪ) e e e eɪ eɪ ̴ e ei ei eː (or ei) eː eːə eː eː eː eː eɪ eɪ eɪ eɪ ̴ ɛɪ e ̴ e̝ɪ ̴ i̞ɪ eɪ ̴ eː ɛi ̴ æ̠i eɪ ̴ eː eɪ eɪ ei ɛi eː e [iɛ x eː] eː e eː eː eː æe, ɐe, ɐi ʌɪ ɛe, æe ʌɪ e ̴ eː ̴ ei eɪ ̴ e eɪ ̴ e e e a e, a e ̴ ei > ei / ɛ ̴ ɛi > ɛi e e > a > ej əɪ eː eɪ ̴ eː e e > eː eɪ
GOAT əʊ ̴ ɔʊ əʊ əʊ ̴ oʊ ʌʊ ʌʊ, uː, (ʊ) ɔʊ ʌʊ oː ( ̴ ɔʊ) o ɔ o ou əʊ oː (or ou) oː ɔʊ, oː ʌɔ əʊ oː əʊ, oʊ oʊ oʊ əo > ɔ oʊ oʊ ̴ ɜʊ oʊ ̴ öʊ ̴ o: ɜy ̴ ɜu > æ̠u oʊ ̴ ɵʊ > o: ɵʊ or ɵu ɵu oː o [uɔ x oː] oː o oː oː oː ɐʉ, ɐɨ ʌʊ əʉ ʌʊ o̞ ̴ o̞ː ̴ o̞u oʊ ̴ o oʊ ̴ o oː o, ɔ o, ɔ o, ɔ o ̴ ou > ou / ɔ ̴ ɔu > ɔu o o > ɔ > u əʊ oː > ɔː əʊ ̴ oː ̴ ʊ o o > oː o
COLD ɒʊ
PRICE aɪ ʌɪ ʌɪ ̴ aɪ ɑɪ ʌi ɑɪ ɒɪ aɪ ae, ʌi ʌi əi aɪ ̴ eɪ aɪ ̴ ɜɪ əi əɪ ai aɪ ɛɪ əɪ ɑɪ æɪ aɪ ɑɪ ɑɪ ɑɪ > əɪ ɑɪ ̴ ɒɪ aɪ ̴ ʌe aɪ ̴ ɜɪ ai ̴ aːæ ̴ aː aɪ > əɪ ʌɪ ̴ ɜɪ ̴ ɐɪ aɪ ɑi ai ̴ ɑi ai aɪ aɪ aɪ aɪ ʌi ʌɪ ɑe, ɒe, ɑi ɑɪ ɑe, ɔe ɑɪ aĭ ɑɪ ɑɪ ai, əi ai ai ai ai > ai > a a > aɨ, ai a > i > aj aɪ aɪ aɪ ai ai ɑɪ
MOUTH aʊ aʊ aʊ æʊ æʉ aʊ æʊ aʊ ʌu ʌʉ̠ ʉ ̴ ʌʉ aʊ ̴ u ʌʊ̈ ̴ u əu ʌu au aʊ ɛʉ ɛʊ ɛʊ aʊ aʊ aʊ æʊ ɑʊ > əʊ aʊ ̴ æʊ aʊ ̴ æɔ ̴ ɛɔ aɔ ̴ ɜʊ æɔ ̴ æɒ > aɒ əʊ > æʊ > aʊ ʌʊ ̴ ɜʊ ɑʊ aø ̴ aɛ aɔ ̴ ɑɔ aʊ ̴ ɵʊ ɔʊ ɔʊ ɔʊ ɔʊ ʌʊ ɑʊ æʉ, ɛʉ æʊ æɔ, ɐɔ æʊ ă ̝ o ̴ ă ̝ʊ̝ ɑʊ ɑʊ au, əu au au au au > au ̴ a ʌu, au au > aw > aɔ əʊ aʊ aʊ au au ɑʊ
CHOICE ɔɪ ɔɪ ɔɪ ɔɪ oi oɪ ɒɪ ( ̴ oɪ) ɔɪ ɒɪ ɔe ɔe ɔɪ ɔɪ ɔi ʌi ɔ ɔɪ ɔɪ aɪ ɔɪ, oɪ ɑɪ ɒɪ ɔɪ ɔɪ ɔɪ ɔɪ oɪ ̴ ʊɪ oɪ ̴ ɔɪ oɪ ɔɪ > oɪ ɔɪ ɔɪ oi ɔi ɔi aɪ x ɔɪ ɔɪ ɔɪ aɪ x ɔɪ ʌi x oi əi oe, oi ɔɪ oɪ ɔɪ o ̴ oː ̴ o̞e oɪ ̴ ɔɪ oɪ ̴ ɔɪ ɔi ɔi ɔi ɔi ɔi ʌɨ, ʌi > ʌ ɔi > ɔj ɔɪ ɔi > oɪ > oe ɔɪ ɔi ɔi oɪ
NEAR ɪə ɪə ɪə iə ɛː ir [iɻ] iːə ( ̴ ɪə) ɪə ir i i iə iə jɜː ̴ iːə iːə ̴ jø iə iːr i(ː)ɻ iː(ɹ) iːɻ iːɹ iːɹ iɚ, ɪɚ iɚ, ɪɚ iə(ɹ) ɪə ɪə i i̠ɚ i ɪɹ ɪr eə ̴ iə eə ̴ iə eːɹ eːr [ɪɛɹ x eːɹ] ˑɛː eə eː(r) eːr eə iə, iːɐ, e.ɐ, eə iə ̴ iːə ̴ iː, eə ɪə, ɪᵊ, ɪː iə ̴ iːə ̴ iː i ̴ iɐ̆ iɑ iɑ ̴ ir ia ia ia ia, ija iɛ > ia iə, ɪə > eə / i, ɪ > e iɛ ̴ iə ɪə iə > iːjə > ɪjəː > eə ɪə ̴ eə iə iə > iː ir
SQUARE eə (or ɛə) ɛː ɛː ̴ ɛə eə ɛː ɛɪr [ɛɻ] ɛː ɛː er e e ̴ ɛ̝ e ̴ ɛ e ̴ ɛ ɛː ɛː ɛː eːr ə(ː)ɻ ɛː(ɹ) eːɻ, øɻ eːɹ eːɹ ɛɚ ɛɚ ɛə(ɹ) ɛə ɛə ɛ ɛ̞ɚ ɛ ɛɹ ɛr eə eə eːɹ eːr [ɪɛɹ x eːɹ] ɛː > ˑɛː eə eː(r) eːr eə eə, iːɐ, e.ɐ, iə eə eə, eᵊ, eː eə e ̴ eɐ̆ eɑ eɑ ̴ er ea ia, ea ia, ea ia, ea ɛ > ɛa ɛ > e, æ ɛ > e > iɛ ̴ iə eə æ > eː > eə > ɛː eə ̴ əɪ ̴ ɑɪ æ æ > ɛ er
CURE ʊə ʊə ̴ ɔː ʊə ̴ ɔː uə ɜː, ɔː ur ̴ ɔr uːə ( ̴ ʊə ̴ ɔː) ʊə ( ̴ ɔː) ur jʉ̠ jʉ uə uə uːə uːə ̴ ʌː (ɪ)uwə uːr u(ː)ɻ uʲə(ɹ) uːɻ uːɹ uːɹ juɚ juɚ juə(ɹ) ʊə ʊ ʊ uɚ > ɚ ju > jə jəɹ > juɹ > jɵɹ ʊr uə uə oːr juɜ ɒ x ɔ oː(r) oːr oa ʉə, ʉ.ɐ ʊə x uːə ̴ uː, ɔː ʊə, ʉə, oː ʊə x ɔː ̴ uːə ̴ uː u ̴ ʉɐ ̴ uɐ uɑ uɑ ̴ ur ua (uwa) ua ua ua uɛ ̴ uɔ ̴ ɔ o ɔ > ua ʊə ɪjoː > ɪjɔ > ɪjuː > ɪjuə juə ̴ eɔː ̴ jeɔ ɔ ɔ ur
HAPPY ɪ i i ɪi [i] i [i] ɪ e, ɪ, i e e ̴ ɛ̈ i i [i] = /iː/ iː iː iː ɪ, e i i i i i ɪ i i i i i i i i ɪ ɪ i [ɪ], occas. [i] ɪ > i i [i] iː [ɪ̞] i, ə̯i, iˑ iː iː ĭ ̞ i i i i i i i ̴ ɪ i i > e [ɪ̞ ̴ i] ɪ > iː ɪ i i ɪ
BEER iːə ˑɛ > iɛ
HORSES ɪ ə ɪ ə, i ə, i ə > ɪ ɪ ̴ ɨ ̴ ə i ̴ ɨ ̴ ʎ ɪ ̴ ɨ ̴ ə ɪ ̴ ɪ̈ ɪ ̴ ɨ > ə ə ɪ ɘ, ə, ɜ, ɐ ə ɐ̆ e e ̴ ə ̴ ɪ iː > ɪ ̴ e ə > ɛ ə > ɨ ɪ ɔ ɛ
GOAL o o o ̴ ɔ o oʊ oʊ oʊ oʊ oʊ ̴ o̞ː ɔ̟u ̴ ɒ̟u oʊ > oː ɵu ou o ̴ ou > ou / ɔ ̴ ɔu > ɔu o > ɔ > u əʊ ̴ oː
BERTH ɛ ɛ̝ ̴ ɛ̈
BIRTH ɪ ɛ̈ ̴ ʌ̈
PRIZE ae ae aːɛ ̴ aːæ ̴ aː ɑɪ ɑi ̴ ai aː
HEAD ɛ i ̴ ɛ̝
AFTER a ɛ ̴ a̠
NEVER ɛ ̴ ɛ̈ ɛ̈ ̴ ë ̴ ɪ
STAY e əi ̴ e [eɪ] (or eː)
STONE o e ̴ o
STAND a ɔ̞ ̴ a̠
DO ʉ e ̴ ʉ
OFF ɔ̞ a̠ ̴ ɔ
ONE ʌ ̴ ɔ
BOAR oə
POWER auwə aɔɚ
FIRE aijə aæɚ ̴ aːɚ aiə
EARS œ ̴ iə
TUESDAY ɪu
SNOW [ou] (or oː)
SOFT ɔ(ː) aː ɔː ɑ ɒ
PRIDE ɛɪ, aɪ əɪ ɑɪ æɪ ɑɪ
DANCE æ, ɑ æː aː, (ɑː) æː, aː aː æə ̴ ɛə ̴ ɪə æə ̴ ɛə ̴ ɪə æ ̴ æə ̴ ɛə ̴ ɪə eə æ̝ æ̝
PATH ɑ æː aː, (ɑː) æː, aː aː
MARRY ɛ æ æ æ ɛ e̞ ɛ
MERRY ɛ ɛ ɛ ɛ ̴ ʌ ɛ e̞ ɛ
MARY ɛ e e ̴ ɛ ̴ ɛə e ̴ ɛ ɛ e̞ ɛ
ORANGE ɔ ɑ, o ɑ ɑ o ̴ ɔ ɑ ̴ ɒ ̴ o
TOMORROW ɑ ɑ ɑ ɑ ̴ ɒ
HAND eə
PIN/PEN ɪ ̴ iə
THINK/LENGTH ɪ ̴ ɪi
GOING ɔ̟u ̴ ɒ̟u
POOL u ʊ̠ ̴ u
PULL uʊ ʊ̠ ̴ u
FEEL i ɪ ̴ iə ̴ i̞i
FILL iɪ ɪ ̴ iə ̴ ï
FALL ei ̴ ɛ
FELL ɛ
MIRROR/NEARER i̠
COW aʊ ̴ ɑʊ
STAR ɑɹ > ɐɹ
BROAD ɔː
EIGHT eː
BARE ˑɛː > iɛ
TREACLE ɯ, ɔ̝, o, ʊ, u, ɤ
BED e
SPHERE ɛ > iɛ ̴ iə
ZERO e > i > ɛ
CARRIER ia
CORDIAL ia ̴ iɛ ̴ iɔ ̴ iu
TRUER ua
TRUANT ua ̴ uɛ ̴ uɔ
OFFICES i
PAINTED ɛ
VILLAGE e
TERM ɛ > e > a
POOR uə uə ur

Use in other languages

Lexical sets have also been used to describe the pronunciation of other languages, such as French,[18] Irish[19] and Scots.[20]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b Wells (1982)
  2. ^ Wells (1982), pp. 117ff
  3. ^ Wells (1982), p. 118
  4. ^ Wells (1982), pp. 123ff
  5. ^ Wells (1982), p. 122
  6. ^ a b Wells (1982), p 123
  7. ^ Wells (1982), p. 165
  8. ^ Wells (1982b), p. 499
  9. ^ Wells (1982b), p. 498
  10. ^ Wells (1982), p. 124
  11. ^ Wells (1982b), p. 500
  12. ^ a b "John Wells's phonetic blog: lexical sets". 2010-02-02. Retrieved 2010-04-30.
  13. ^ Hickey, Raymond. A sound atlas of Irish English. Walter de Gruyter, 2004. pp. 54–55. ISBN 3-11-018298-X.
  14. ^ Stoddart, Upton and Widowson in Urban Voices, Arnold, London, 1999, page 76
  15. ^ Tollfree in Urban Voices, Arnold, London, 1999, page 165
  16. ^ "John Wells's phonetic blog: the evidence of the vows". 2011-05-03. Retrieved 2014-02-17.
  17. ^ de Gruyter (2004)
  18. ^ Armstrong, Nigel (2001). Social and stylistic variation in spoken French: a comparative approach. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. pp. 100ff. ISBN 90-272-1839-0.
  19. ^ Raymond Hickey (29 August 2011). The Dialects of Irish: Study of a Changing Landscape. Walter de Gruyter. ISBN 978-3-11-023830-3.
  20. ^ Robert McColl Millar (2007). Northern and insular Scots. Edinburgh University Press. ISBN 978-0-7486-2316-7.

Bibliography

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