Phonetic transcriptions in the International Phonetic Alphabet

particular language or dialect. For example, the English word through consists of three
phonemes: the initial "th" sound, the "r" sound, and a vowel sound. The phonemes in this and
many other English words do not always correspond directly to the letters used to spell them
(English 
orthography
is not as strongly 
phonemic
as that of many other languages).
Phonemes

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The number and distribution of phonemes in English vary from dialect to dialect, and also
depend on the interpretation of the individual researcher. The number of consonant
phonemes is generally put at 24 (or slightly more depending on the dialect). The number of
vowels is subject to greater variation; in the system presented on this page there are 20–25
vowel phonemes in 
Received Pronunciation
, 14–16 in 
General American
and 19–20 in
Australian English. The pronunciation keys used in dictionaries generally contain a slightly
greater number of symbols than this, to take account of certain sounds used in foreign words
and certain noticeable distinctions that may not be—strictly speaking—phonemic.
Consonants
The following table shows the 24 consonant phonemes found in most dialects of English,
plus /x/, whose distribution is more limited. 
Fortis
consonants are always 
voiceless
,
aspirated
 in 
syllable onset
(except in clusters beginning with /s/), and sometimes also
glottalized
to an extent in 
syllable coda
 (most likely to occur with /t/, see 
T-glottalization
),
while lenis consonants are always 
unaspirated
and un-glottalized, and generally partially or
fully 
voiced
. The alveolars are usually 
apical
, i.e. pronounced with the tip of the tongue
touching or approaching the roof of the mouth, though some speakers produce them
laminally
, i.e. with the blade of the tongue.
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