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English (UK) MFA dictionary v2.0.0#

  • Maintainer: Montreal Forced Aligner

  • Language: English

  • Dialect: British English

  • Phone set: MFA

  • Number of words: 74,898

  • Phones: aj aw b bʲ c cʰ d dʒ dʲ ej f fʲ h i iː j k kʰ l m mʲ m̩ n n̩ p pʰ pʲ s t tʃ tʰ tʲ v vʲ w z æ ç ð ŋ ɐ ɑ ɑː ɒ ɒː ɔj ə əw ɛ ɛː ɜ ɜː ɟ ɡ ɪ ɫ ɫ̩ ɱ ɲ ɹ ʃ ʉ ʉː ʊ ʎ ʒ ʔ θ

  • License: CC BY 4.0

  • Compatible MFA version: v2.0.0

  • Citation:

@techreport{mfa_english_uk_mfa_dictionary_2022,
	author={McAuliffe, Michael and Sonderegger, Morgan},
	title={English (UK) MFA dictionary v2.0.0},
	address={\url{https://mfa-models.readthedocs.io/pronunciation dictionary/English/English (UK) MFA dictionary v2_0_0.html}},
	year={2022},
	month={Mar},
}

G2P models
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Installation#

Install from the MFA command line:

mfa model download dictionary english_uk_mfa

Or download from the release page.

The dictionary available from the release page and command line installation has pronunciation and silence probabilities estimated as part acoustic model training (see Silence probability format and training pronunciation probabilities for more information. If you would like to use the version of this dictionary without probabilities, please see the plain dictionary.

Intended use#

This dictionary is intended for forced alignment of English transcripts.

This dictionary uses the MFA phone set for English, and was used in training the English MFA acoustic model. Pronunciations can be added on top of the dictionary, as long as no additional phones are introduced.

Performance Factors#

When trying to get better alignment accuracy, adding pronunciations is generally helpful, especially for different styles and dialects. The most impactful improvements will generally be seen when adding reduced variants that involve deleting segments/syllables common in spontaneous speech. Alignment must include all phones specified in the pronunciation of a word, and each phone has a minimum duration (by default 10ms). If a speaker pronounces a multisyllabic word with just a single syllable, it can be hard for MFA to fit all the segments in, so it will lead to alignment errors on adjacent words as well.

Ethical considerations#

Deploying any Speech-to-Text model into any production setting has ethical implications. You should consider these implications before use.

Demographic Bias#

You should assume every machine learning model has demographic bias unless proven otherwise. For pronunciation dictionaries, it is often the case that transcription accuracy and lexicon coverage for the prestige variety modeled in this dictionary compared to other variants. If you are using this dictionary in production, you should acknowledge this as a potential issue.

IPA Charts#

Consonants#

Obstruent symbols to the left of are unvoiced and those to the right are voiced.

Manner

Labial

Labiodental

Dental

Alveolar

Alveopalatal

Palatal

Velar

Glottal

Nasal
Occurrences:
16,401
Examples:
* zomb:
[z ɒ m b]
* mondo:
[m ɒ n d əw]
* boom:
[b ʉː m]
* reem:
[ɹ iː m]
Occurrences:
1,119
Examples:
* mewl:
[mʲ ʉː ɫ]
* pmee:
[pʰ iː mʲ iː]
* mitra:
[mʲ iː t ɹ ə]
* jimi:
[dʒ ɪ mʲ iː]
Occurrences:
1,684
Examples:
* totem:
[tʰ əw t m̩]
* kalam:
[cʰ æ l m̩]
* osm:
[ɒː s m̩]
* venom:
[v ɛ n m̩]
Occurrences:
947
Examples:
* unfit:
[ɐ ɱ f ɪ t]
* nymph:
[ɲ ɪ ɱ f]
* infra:
[ɪ ɱ f ɹ ə]
* info:
[ɪ ɱ f əw]
Occurrences:
27,375
Examples:
* mondo:
[m ɒ n d əw]
* calne:
[kʰ ɑː ɫ n]
* nests:
[n ɛ s t s]
* hone:
[h əw n]
Occurrences:
5,030
Examples:
* cyan:
[s aj n̩]
* lumen:
[l ʉː m n̩]
* avant:
[æ v n̩ t]
* seiun:
[s ej n̩]
Occurrences:
6,303
Examples:
* niall:
[ɲ iː ɫ]
* knees:
[ɲ iː z]
* upney:
[ɐ p ɲ i]
* renee:
[ɹ ɪ ɲ ej]
Occurrences:
6,054
Examples:
* ring:
[ɹ ɪ ŋ]
* anglo:
[æ ŋ ɡ l əw]
* hangs:
[h æ ŋ z]
* tango:
[tʰ æ ŋ ɡ əw]

Stop
Occurrences:
9,434
Examples:
* julep:
[dʒ ʉː l ɛ p]
* jape:
[dʒ ej p]
* pulp:
[pʰ ɐ ɫ p]
* spree:
[s p ɹ iː]
Occurrences:
11,922
Examples:
* zomb:
[z ɒ m b]
* bipod:
[b aj pʰ ɒ d]
* wehrb:
[v ɛː b]
* boom:
[b ʉː m]
Occurrences:
26,137
Examples:
* sleet:
[s ʎ iː t]
* pitt:
[pʰ ɪ t]
* nests:
[n ɛ s t s]
* aorta:
[ej ɒː t ə]
Occurrences:
20,290
Examples:
* bipod:
[b aj pʰ ɒ d]
* mondo:
[m ɒ n d əw]
* aide:
[ej d]
* rode:
[ɹ əw d]
Occurrences:
4,476
Examples:
* dicky:
[d ɪ c i]
* craps:
[c ɹ æ p s]
* crest:
[c ɹ ɛ s t]
* clear:
[c ʎ ɪ ə]
Occurrences:
2,556
Examples:
* grift:
[ɟ ɹ ɪ f t]
* doggy:
[d ɒ ɟ i]
* voggy:
[v ɒ ɟ i]
* grim:
[ɟ ɹ ɪ m]
Occurrences:
14,363
Examples:
* yolks:
[j əw k s]
* aches:
[ej k s]
* duck:
[d ɐ k]
* score:
[s k ɒː]
Occurrences:
5,156
Examples:
* ghazi:
[ɡ ɑː z i]
* oghuz:
[əw ɡ ʉː z]
* anglo:
[æ ŋ ɡ l əw]
* saga:
[s ɑː ɡ ə]
Occurrences:
5,976
Examples:
* sleet:
[s ʎ iː ʔ]
* pitt:
[pʰ ɪ ʔ]
* bated:
[b ej ʔ ɪ d]
* aorta:
[ej ɒː ʔ ə]

Affricate
Occurrences:
4,694
Examples:
* ouch:
[aw tʃ]
* tew:
[tʃ ʉː]
* tubes:
[tʃ ʉː b z]
* cham:
[tʃ æ m]
Occurrences:
5,097
Examples:
* julep:
[dʒ ʉː l ɛ p]
* jape:
[dʒ ej p]
* mangy:
[m ej n dʒ i]
* due:
[dʒ ʉː]

Sibilant
Occurrences:
34,516
Examples:
* sleet:
[s ʎ iː t]
* yolks:
[j əw k s]
* dis:
[d ɪ s]
* nests:
[n ɛ s t s]
Occurrences:
13,750
Examples:
* zomb:
[z ɒ m b]
* ghazi:
[ɡ ɑː z i]
* pours:
[pʰ aw ə z]
* oghuz:
[əw ɡ ʉː z]
Occurrences:
6,624
Examples:
* sheol:
[ʃ ej əw ɫ]
* cush:
[kʰ ʊ ʃ]
* osh:
[ɒ ʃ]
* shew:
[ʃ əw]
Occurrences:
506
Examples:
* lujvo:
[l ʉ ʒ v əw]
* asian:
[ej ʒ ə n]
* ezhes:
[ɛ ʒ ɪ z]
* usual:
[j ʉː ʒ]

Fricative
Occurrences:
9,135
Examples:
* foyer:
[f ɔj ə]
* grift:
[ɟ ɹ ɪ f t]
* efs:
[ɛ f s]
* guff:
[ɡ ɐ f]
Occurrences:
779
Examples:
* fee:
[fʲ iː]
* goofy:
[ɡ ʉː fʲ i]
* feed:
[fʲ iː d]
* fused:
[fʲ ʉː z d]
Occurrences:
6,473
Examples:
* wehrb:
[v ɛː b]
* vials:
[v aj ɫ̩ z]
* calve:
[kʰ ɑː v]
* veer:
[v ɪ ə]
Occurrences:
457
Examples:
* vth:
[vʲ iː tʰ iː ej tʃ]
* vela:
[vʲ iː l ə]
* tovey:
[tʰ əw vʲ i]
* civvy:
[s ɪ vʲ i]
Occurrences:
2,418
Examples:
* oath:
[əw θ]
* width:
[w ɪ d θ]
* roth:
[ɹ ɒ θ]
* vth:
[f ɪ f θ]
Occurrences:
530
Examples:
* thass:
[ð æ s]
* hythe:
[h aj ð]
* dalet:
[d ɑː ʎ ɪ ð]
* thilk:
[ð ɪ ɫ k]
Occurrences:
950
Examples:
* hick:
[ç ɪ k]
* hail:
[ç ej ɫ]
* hiply:
[ç ɪ p ʎ i]
* hits:
[ç ɪ t s]
Occurrences:
3,623
Examples:
* hone:
[h əw n]
* hoary:
[h ɒː ɹ i]
* hares:
[h ɛː z]
* hangs:
[h æ ŋ z]

Approximant
Occurrences:
5,151
Examples:
* wale:
[w ej ɫ]
* wood:
[w ʊ d]
* width:
[w ɪ d θ]
* what:
[w ɒ t]
Occurrences:
27,515
Examples:
* ring:
[ɹ ɪ ŋ]
* rode:
[ɹ əw d]
* reem:
[ɹ iː m]
* rare:
[ɹ ɛː]
Occurrences:
1,419
Examples:
* yolks:
[j əw k s]
* eau:
[j ʉː]
* usona:
[j ʉː s əw n ə]
* urus:
[j ʊ ɹ ə s]

Lateral
Occurrences:
12,269
Examples:
* julep:
[dʒ ʉː l ɛ p]
* lay:
[l ej]
* anglo:
[æ ŋ ɡ l əw]
* elena:
[ɛ l ej n ə]
Occurrences:
6,206
Examples:
* wale:
[w ej ɫ]
* sheol:
[ʃ ej əw ɫ]
* calne:
[kʰ ɑː ɫ n]
* niall:
[ɲ iː ɫ]
Occurrences:
4,956
Examples:
* niall:
[n aj ɫ̩]
* real:
[ɹ iː ɫ̩]
* aral:
[ɛː ɹ ɫ̩]
* vials:
[v aj ɫ̩ z]
Occurrences:
8,389
Examples:
* sleet:
[s ʎ iː t]
* poley:
[pʰ əw ʎ i]
* litt:
[ʎ ɪ t]
* clear:
[c ʎ ɪ ə]

Vowels#

Vowel symbols to the left of are unrounded and those to the right are rounded.

Front

Near-Front

Central

Near-Back

Back

Close
Occurrences:
12,825
Examples:
* ghazi:
[ɡ ɑː z i]
* poley:
[pʰ əw ʎ i]
* hoary:
[h ɒː ɹ i]
* mangy:
[m ej n dʒ i]
Occurrences:
9,224
Examples:
* sleet:
[s ʎ iː t]
* sheol:
[ʃ iː əw ɫ]
* dis:
[dʲ iː aj ɛ s]
* reem:
[ɹ iː m]
Occurrences:
903
Examples:
* ueno:
[j ʉ ej ɲ əw]
* poo:
[pʰ ʉ]
* lukan:
[l ʉ k n̩]
* duets:
[d ʉ ɛ t s]
Occurrences:
6,380
Examples:
* boom:
[b ʉː m]
* tew:
[tʃ ʉː]
* julep:
[dʒ ʉː l ɛ p]
* oghuz:
[əw ɡ ʉː z]
Occurrences:
45,039
Examples:
* ring:
[ɹ ɪ ŋ]
* dis:
[d ɪ s]
* pitt:
[pʰ ɪ t]
* bated:
[b ej ʔ ɪ d]
Occurrences:
3,041
Examples:
* wood:
[w ʊ d]
* cush:
[kʰ ʊ ʃ]
* dour:
[d ʊ ə]
* pouf:
[pʰ ʊ f]

Close-Mid
Occurrences:
10,857
Examples:
* wale:
[w ej ɫ]
* sheol:
[ʃ ej əw ɫ]
* aide:
[ej d]
* bated:
[b ej ʔ ɪ d]
Occurrences:
45,598
Examples:
* pours:
[pʰ aw ə z]
* foyer:
[f ɔj ə]
* aorta:
[ej ɒː t ə]
* orme:
[ɒː m ə]

Open-Mid
Occurrences:
15,330
Examples:
* dis:
[dʲ iː aj ɛ s]
* nests:
[n ɛ s t s]
* julep:
[dʒ ʉː l ɛ p]
* reem:
[ɹ ɪ ɛ m]
Occurrences:
1,060
Examples:
* wehrb:
[v ɛː b]
* rare:
[ɹ ɛː]
* bear:
[b ɛː]
* hares:
[h ɛː z]
Occurrences:
197
Examples:
* perv:
[pʰ ɜ v]
* derf:
[d ɜ f]
* ubert:
[j ʉ b ɜ t]
* furor:
[fʲ ɜ ɹ ə]
Occurrences:
3,341
Examples:
* duh:
[d ɜː]
* berne:
[b ɜː n]
* glogg:
[ɡ l ɜː ɡ]
* burns:
[b ɜː n z]
Occurrences:
14,824
Examples:
* anglo:
[æ ŋ ɡ l əw]
* aloo:
[æ l ʉː]
* palp:
[pʰ æ ɫ p]
* cyan:
[s aj æ n]
Occurrences:
6,766
Examples:
* bum:
[b ɐ m]
* pulp:
[pʰ ɐ ɫ p]
* uggo:
[ɐ ɡ əw]
* guff:
[ɡ ɐ f]

Open
Occurrences:
765
Examples:
* karin:
[kʰ ɑ ɹ ɪ n]
* marfa:
[m ɑ f ə]
* agua:
[ɑ ɡ w ə]
* kaon:
[cʰ ej ɑ n]
Occurrences:
5,659
Examples:
* ghazi:
[ɡ ɑː z i]
* calne:
[kʰ ɑː ɫ n]
* saga:
[s ɑː ɡ ə]
* real:
[ɹ ej ɑː ɫ]
Occurrences:
10,578
Examples:
* zomb:
[z ɒ m b]
* bipod:
[b aj pʰ ɒ d]
* mondo:
[m ɒ n d əw]
* glogg:
[ɡ l ɒ ɡ]
Occurrences:
5,239
Examples:
* aorta:
[ej ɒː t ə]
* orme:
[ɒː m ə]
* hoary:
[h ɒː ɹ i]
* score:
[s k ɒː]

Diphthongs#

  • aj

  • aw

  • ej

  • ɔj

  • əw

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