Lexical set

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.

"RP" refers to Received Pronunciation, the traditionally prestigious accent in England.^[2]
"GenAm" refers to an accent of the General American type, which is associated with a geographically "neutral" or widespread sound system throughout the US.^[3]

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

References

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

Bibliography

Wells, John C. (1982). Accents of English I: An Introduction. Cambridge, New York: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-29719-2.
Wells, John C. (1982b). Accents of English III: Beyond the British Isles. Cambridge, New York: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-28541-0.
Schneider, Burridge, Kortmann, Mesthrie, Upton (2004). A handbook of Varieties of English, vol.1. Berlin, New York: Mouton de Gruyter. ISBN 978-3-11-019718-1.

External links

Nicole Taylor (with the collaboration of Norma Mendoza-Denton ), The University of Arizona, Anthropology 383, Standard Lexical Sets, 2002 (in Archive.is)
University of Pennsylvania, Linguistics 001, Lecture 9: Pronunciation of English

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