The pronunciations in parentheses in these Toastmasters web pages follow the rules in the following pronunciation key, which is from The Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, by E. D. Hirsch, Jr.; Joseph F. Kett; and James Trefil; published by Houghton Mifflin in 1988. As in that book, hyphens separate syllables and primary accented syllables are in CAPITAL LETTERS; for example: proh-NUN-see-ay-shun KEE.
| When a Sound Appears As | It Should Be Pronounced As In |
|---|---|
| a | pat |
| ay | pay, make |
| air | fare, pear, hair |
| ah | father, are, guard |
| b | bib |
| ch | church, cello |
| d | deed, filled |
| e | bet, berry, bury |
| ee | bee, each, conceit |
| f | fife, phase, rough |
| g | gag, ghost |
| h | hat, who, Gila monster, Jose |
| i | bit, spinach, manage |
| eye | by, bite, aisle, buy |
| eer | ear, pier, clear, beer, weird, cereal |
| j | edge, gem, jelly, judge, manage |
| k | kick, cat, pique, chaos, crack |
| kw | choir, quart, acquire |
| l | lad, lull |
| m | mum, column, paradigm |
| n | no, sin, sudden |
| ng | sing, anchor, angle |
| o | pot, water, honest |
| oh | no, owe, sew, moan, broach, low |
| aw | all, flaw, caucus, talk, Utah, broad, bought |
| oo | book |
| ooh | boot, Peru |
| oy | noise, boy |
| ow | out, house, bough, fowl, hour |
| p | pop |
| r | roar, rhythm, wren |
| s | sauce, cellar |
| sh | ship, dish, addition, anxious |
| t | tight, stopped, bought |
| th | breath |
| thh | breathe, feather |
| u | cut, income, does |
| yoo | puree, your, purify, uranium |
| yooh | few, beautiful, feud, ukase |
| uh | about, item, edible, lemon, circus, attention |
| ur | urge, firm, word, heard |
| v | valve, of. love, Wagner (German) |
| w | with, one, guano |
| y | yes, onion, hallelujah |
| z | zebra, xylem, anxiety, does |
| zh | garage, pleasure, vision |
| ks | box |
| gz | exist |
| gzh | luxury |
| ksh | anxious |