What is IPA (the International Phonetic Alphabet)?

IPA is a standardized set of symbols that represents every distinct sound in human speech. English uses about 44 phonemes, and IPA lets learners see and drill each sound explicitly instead of guessing from spelling.

What is the difference between General American (GA) and Received Pronunciation (RP)?

GA is the mainstream US accent; RP is a reference British accent. Key differences include rhoticity (GA pronounces r after vowels; RP typically drops it), the LOT/CLOTH vowel (GA ɑ/ɔ vs RP ɒ), the BATH vowel (GA æ vs RP ɑː), and the flap t in GA. IPA Sound Drill shows both accents side-by-side for every word and phrase.

What are weak forms in English?

Weak forms are reduced pronunciations of function words (a, the, of, to, and, have, was, can, etc.) in unstressed positions. For example, 'of' becomes /əv/ or /ə/ rather than /ʌv/. Native speakers use weak forms constantly; learning them is the fastest way to sound natural. IPA Sound Drill covers 36 weak forms with both weak and strong IPA.

What is connected speech?

Connected speech is how sounds change and link when words run together: linking (an apple → a-napple), glide insertion (I am → I-yam), assimilation (did you → didju), and elision. IPA Sound Drill includes 201 phrase-level patterns for drilling these transitions.

Is IPA Sound Drill free?

Yes. No ads, no sign-up, no account required. Cookieless analytics only. The full source code and data are open on GitHub at https://github.com/nkhippo/IPASoundDrill.

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Vocabulary

IPA is a map of sounds.

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