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Learn IPA: short stories All lessons
IPA reader 10 of 10

Today, or to die?

IPA reading practice: a 154-word story in broad British transcription, a good read after lesson 10. Read it in IPA first, then check yourself.

The story in IPA

Read it in IPA first. Tap a word to check its spelling, or the eye on a line to see the whole line.

  4. Nurse

  5. Me

  6. Nurse

  8. Me

  9. Nurse

  10. Me

  12. Nurse

  14. Me

  15. Nurse

  16. Me

  17. Nurse

  19. Old man

Transcriptions are broad British (RP), word by word, as each word is said on its own (its word page's transcription where it has one), with the everyday weak forms of a, an, the, to, of and and. Fast connected speech runs words together more than this. Each character has a voice of their own; the voices are synthetic (Piper, British English), not recordings of people.

The whole story in six accents

The transcription is British. Listen to what each voice does with day, and why an Australian today can sound like to die.

  • Southern British (RP)The accent most British dictionaries transcribe. No r after a vowel.
  • General AmericanSays every r. Taps the t of water and better.
  • AustralianNo r after a vowel. Day starts lower, time further back.
  • South AfricanNo r after a vowel. The vowel of bit is often a schwa.
  • ScottishSays every r, often as a tap. Few long vowels, and x in loch.
  • IrishSays every r. Steady vowels in go and day.

Every reading here is a synthetic voice imitating that accent, not a recording of a native speaker.

Hear it in six accents

DRESS. Much the same vowel everywhere. American, Scottish and Irish transcriptions tend to write it ɛ, British dictionaries e: a difference in printing more than in sound.

Every clip here is a synthetic voice imitating that accent, not a recording of a native speaker. Transcriptions are broad: what a typical speaker of the accent does, highlighted where the accents differ.

Did you follow it?

Three questions on the story. The answers are in IPA too, so read them before you tap.

Part of Kilo Lingo Plus - the story above is free to read.