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English (UK) MFA dictionary v2.0.0a#

  • Maintainer: Montreal Forced Aligner

  • Language: English

  • Dialect: British English

  • Phone set: MFA

  • Number of words: 74,882

  • Phones: aj aw b bʲ c cʰ d dʒ dʲ d̪ ej f fʲ h i iː j k kʰ l m mʲ m̩ n n̩ p pʰ pʲ s t tʃ tʰ tʲ t̪ 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 v2.0.0a},
	address={\url{https://mfa-models.readthedocs.io/pronunciation dictionary/English/English (UK) MFA dictionary v2_0_0a.html}},
	year={2022},
	month={May},
}

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:
16,457
Examples:
* marla:
[m ɑ ː l ə]
* epsom:
[ɛ p s m ̩]
* monad:
[m ɒ n æ d]
* mound:
[m a w n d]
Occurrences:
1,119
Examples:
* muted:
[m ʲ ʉ ː ʔ ɪ d]
* swami:
[s w ɑ ː m ʲ i]
* memes:
[m ʲ i ː m z]
* homie:
[h ə w m ʲ i]
Occurrences:
1,685
Examples:
* begum:
[b e j ɡ m ̩]
* liam:
[ʎ i ː m ̩]
* simum:
[s ɪ m m ̩]
* prism:
[p ɹ ɪ z m ̩]
Occurrences:
947
Examples:
* unfit:
[ɐ ɱ f ɪ t]
* envy:
[ɛ ɱ v ʲ i]
* anvil:
[æ ɱ v ɪ ɫ]
* oomph:
[ʉ ɱ f]
Occurrences:
27,403
Examples:
* djinn:
[d ʒ ɪ n]
* alan:
[æ l n ̩]
* argan:
[ɑ ː ɡ n ̩]
* iona:
[a j ə w n ə]
Occurrences:
5,036
Examples:
* liken:
[l a j k n ̩]
* lemon:
[l ɛ m n ̩]
* orfen:
[ɒ ː f n ̩]
* skien:
[s c a j n ̩]
Occurrences:
6,307
Examples:
* cones:
[k ʰ ə w ɲ i ː z]
* snip:
[s ɲ ɪ p]
* fungi:
[f ɐ ɲ ɟ i ː]
* nib:
[ɲ ɪ b]
Occurrences:
6,073
Examples:
* wrang:
[ɹ æ ŋ]
* bring:
[b ɹ ɪ ŋ]
* heng:
[h ɛ ŋ]
* junco:
[d ʒ ɐ ŋ k ʰ ə w]

Stop
Occurrences:
9,439
Examples:
* jpg:
[d ʒ e j p ʰ ɛ ɡ]
* path:
[p ʰ æ θ]
* pas:
[p ʰ æ s]
* tap:
[t ʰ æ p]
Occurrences:
11,951
Examples:
* bantu:
[b æ n t ʰ ʉ]
* biff:
[b ɪ f]
* ebert:
[i ː b ɜ ː t]
* bheer:
[b ɪ ə]
Occurrences:
28
Examples:
* thing:
[t ̪ ɪ ŋ]
* think:
[t ̪ ɪ ŋ k]
* three:
[t ̪ ɹ i ː]
* width:
[w ɪ t ̪]
Occurrences:
80
Examples:
* other:
[ɐ d ̪ ə]
* this:
[d ̪ ɪ s]
* than:
[d ̪ æ n]
* tho:
[d ̪ ə w]
Occurrences:
25,859
Examples:
* taps:
[t ʰ æ p s]
* shute:
[ʃ ʉ ː t]
* batch:
[b æ t ʃ]
* tutu:
[t ʰ ʉ t ʰ ʉ]
Occurrences:
20,120
Examples:
* idar:
[a j d ə]
* kanji:
[c ʰ æ n d ʒ i]
* woody:
[w ʊ d ʲ i]
* juke:
[d ʒ ʉ ː k]
Occurrences:
4,480
Examples:
* canid:
[c ʰ e j n ə d]
* kitty:
[c ʰ ɪ ʔ i]
* kiang:
[c ʰ i ː æ ŋ]
* kited:
[c ʰ a j ʔ ɪ d]
Occurrences:
2,562
Examples:
* sengi:
[s ɛ ɲ ɟ i]
* agley:
[ə ɟ ʎ i ː]
* biggy:
[b ɪ ɟ i]
* grins:
[ɟ ɹ ɪ n z]
Occurrences:
14,374
Examples:
* clive:
[k l a j v]
* kayak:
[c ʰ a j æ k]
* zikr:
[z i k]
* wakes:
[w e j k s]
Occurrences:
5,166
Examples:
* mug:
[m ɐ ɡ]
* elgar:
[ɛ ɫ ɡ ɑ ː]
* guff:
[ɡ ɐ f]
* grego:
[ɟ ɹ e j ɡ ə w]
Occurrences:
5,982
Examples:
* art:
[ɑ ː ʔ]
* fat:
[f æ ʔ]
* inuit:
[ɪ n ʊ ɪ ʔ]
* rat:
[ɹ æ ʔ]

Affricate
Occurrences:
4,698
Examples:
* chula:
[t ʃ ʊ l ə]
* chili:
[t ʃ ɪ ʎ i]
* chess:
[t ʃ ɛ s]
* chaat:
[t ʃ ɑ ː t]
Occurrences:
5,097
Examples:
* parge:
[p ʰ ɑ ː d ʒ]
* katja:
[c ʰ æ t d ʒ ə]
* gemel:
[d ʒ ɛ m ɫ ̩]
* jut:
[d ʒ ɐ t]

Sibilant
Occurrences:
34,612
Examples:
* unst:
[ɐ n s t]
* sica:
[s ɪ k ə]
* frets:
[f ɹ ɛ t s]
* swami:
[s w ɑ ː m ʲ i]
Occurrences:
13,795
Examples:
* gunns:
[ɡ ɐ n z]
* pales:
[p ʰ e j ɫ z]
* tansy:
[t ʰ æ n z i]
* risen:
[ɹ ɪ z ə n]
Occurrences:
6,627
Examples:
* sidhe:
[ʃ i ː]
* cwtch:
[k ʰ ʊ t ʃ]
* hvac:
[e j t ʃ v æ k]
* phd:
[p ʰ i ː h e j t ʃ d ʲ i ː]
Occurrences:
506
Examples:
* jit:
[d ʒ ɪ t]
* veggo:
[v ɛ d ʒ ə w]
* wodge:
[w ɒ d ʒ]
* jonny:
[d ʒ ɒ ɲ i]

Fricative
Occurrences:
9,013
Examples:
* fleer:
[f ʲ ʎ i ː ə]
* fens:
[f ɛ n z]
* fiber:
[f a j b ə]
* forum:
[f ɒ ː ɹ m ̩]
Occurrences:
931
Examples:
* fusil:
[f ʲ ʉ ː z ɪ ɫ]
* fleak:
[f ʲ ʎ i ː k]
* feats:
[f ʲ i ː t s]
* flix:
[f ʲ ʎ ɪ k s]
Occurrences:
6,417
Examples:
* rave:
[ɹ e j v]
* avert:
[ə v ɜ ː t]
* diva:
[d ʲ i ː v ə]
* give:
[ɟ ɪ v]
Occurrences:
559
Examples:
* viet:
[v ʲ i ə t]
* civey:
[s ɪ v ʲ i]
* hiv:
[e j t ʃ a j v ʲ i ː]
* vila:
[v ʲ i ː l ə]
Occurrences:
2,416
Examples:
* meth:
[m ɛ θ]
* thyle:
[θ a j ɫ]
* ethe:
[i ː θ i ː]
* thaw:
[θ ɒ ː]
Occurrences:
531
Examples:
* they:
[ð e j]
* the:
[ð i ː]
* thass:
[ð æ s]
* kithe:
[c ʰ a j ð]
Occurrences:
951
Examples:
* hale:
[ç e j ɫ]
* haydn:
[ç e j d n]
* he'd:
[ç i ː d]
* hijab:
[ç ɪ d ʒ æ b]
Occurrences:
3,632
Examples:
* haut:
[h ɒ ː t]
* hanks:
[h æ ŋ k s]
* jihad:
[d ʒ ə h ɑ ː d]
* hui:
[h ʉ ː i]

Approximant
Occurrences:
5,164
Examples:
* road:
[ɹ ə w d]
* quash:
[k w ɒ ʃ]
* nimmo:
[ɲ ɪ m ə w]
* mouse:
[m a w s]
Occurrences:
27,552
Examples:
* rely:
[ɹ ɛ ʎ a j]
* reis:
[ɹ e j z]
* renee:
[ɹ ɪ ɲ e j]
* rook:
[ɹ ʊ k]
Occurrences:
1,422
Examples:
* via:
[v a j ə]
* yexes:
[j ɛ k s ɪ z]
* plain:
[p l e j n]
* soya:
[s ɔ j ə]

Lateral
Occurrences:
12,290
Examples:
* longe:
[l ɐ n d ʒ]
* lens:
[l ɛ n z]
* glade:
[ɡ l e j d]
* aloft:
[ə l ɒ f t]
Occurrences:
6,211
Examples:
* corel:
[k ʰ ɒ ɹ ɫ ̩]
* basil:
[b æ z ɫ ̩]
* gold:
[ɡ ɒ ʊ ɫ d]
* myall:
[m a j ɫ ̩]
Occurrences:
4,958
Examples:
* abdel:
[æ b d ɫ ̩]
* ankle:
[æ ŋ k ɫ ̩]
* sunil:
[s ʊ ɲ ɫ ̩]
* zonal:
[z ə w n ɫ ̩]
Occurrences:
8,395
Examples:
* oily:
[ɔ j ʎ i]
* iblis:
[i b ʎ i ː s]
* psle:
[p ʰ i ː ɛ s ɛ ʎ i ː]
* jilin:
[d ʒ i ː ʎ ɪ n]

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:
12,833
Examples:
* busey:
[b ɐ s i]
* slyly:
[s l a j ʎ i]
* modi:
[m ɒ d ʲ i]
* pcr:
[p ʰ i ː s i ː ɑ ː]
Occurrences:
9,239
Examples:
* quay:
[c ʰ i ː]
* wheek:
[w i ː k]
* grise:
[ɟ ɹ i ː z]
* leese:
[ʎ i ː z]
Occurrences:
901
Examples:
* cuzco:
[k ʰ ʉ ː s k ə w]
* stu:
[s t ʲ ʉ ː]
* shew:
[ʃ ʉ ː]
* users:
[j ʉ ː z ə z]
Occurrences:
6,408
Examples:
* looms:
[l ʉ ː m z]
* hukou:
[h ʉ ː k ʰ ə w]
* dupes:
[d ʒ ʉ ː p s]
* rubin:
[ɹ ʉ ː b ɪ n]
Occurrences:
45,081
Examples:
* spit:
[s p ɪ t]
* build:
[b ɪ ɫ d]
* pixie:
[p ʰ ɪ k s i]
* inane:
[ɪ ɲ e j n]
Occurrences:
3,050
Examples:
* jury:
[d ʒ ʊ ɹ i]
* budd:
[b ʊ d]
* moong:
[m ʊ ŋ]
* hook:
[h ʊ k]

Close-Mid
Occurrences:
10,863
Examples:
* leyte:
[l e j t]
* rate:
[ɹ e j t]
* rake:
[ɹ e j k]
* hales:
[ç e j ɫ z]
Occurrences:
45,673
Examples:
* macra:
[m æ k ɹ ə]
* losel:
[l ə w z ɫ ̩]
* hider:
[h a j d ə]
* dower:
[d a w ə]

Open-Mid
Occurrences:
15,353
Examples:
* ped:
[p ʰ ɛ d]
* whet:
[w ɛ t]
* uzbek:
[ʊ z b ɛ k]
* esky:
[ɛ s c i ː]
Occurrences:
1,058
Examples:
* care:
[c ʰ ɛ ː]
* flary:
[f l ɛ ː ɹ i]
* ger:
[ɟ ɛ ː]
* darin:
[d ɛ ː ɹ ɪ n]
Occurrences:
197
Examples:
* murr:
[m ɜ]
* quirt:
[k w ɜ ː t]
* durn:
[d ɜ ː n]
* lures:
[l ɜ ː z]
Occurrences:
3,347
Examples:
* verbs:
[v ɜ ː b z]
* earn:
[ɜ ː n]
* glogg:
[ɡ l ɜ ː ɡ]
* perc:
[p ʰ ɜ ː k]
Occurrences:
14,837
Examples:
* assad:
[æ s ə d]
* flagg:
[f l æ ɡ]
* slang:
[s l æ ŋ]
* fat:
[f æ t]
Occurrences:
6,816
Examples:
* buxom:
[b ɐ k s m ̩]
* uslar:
[ɐ s l ə]
* bubba:
[b ɐ b ə]
* gutsy:
[ɡ ɐ t s i]

Open
Occurrences:
768
Examples:
* mwah:
[m w ɑ ː]
* arte:
[ɑ ː t ʲ i]
* tatar:
[t ʰ æ t ʰ ɑ ː]
* mardi:
[m ɑ ː d ʲ i]
Occurrences:
5,676
Examples:
* graph:
[ɡ ɹ ɑ ː f]
* blast:
[b l ɑ ː s t]
* dada:
[d ɑ ː d ɑ ː]
* shahi:
[ʃ ɑ ː ç i]
Occurrences:
10,597
Examples:
* rond:
[ɹ ɒ n d]
* boggs:
[b ɒ ɡ z]
* onry:
[ɒ ː n ɹ i]
* polly:
[p ʰ ɒ ʎ i]
Occurrences:
5,248
Examples:
* abord:
[ə b ɒ ː d]
* faule:
[f ɒ ː ɫ]
* daw:
[d ɒ ː]
* orb:
[ɒ ː b]

Diphthongs#

  • aj

  • aw

  • ej

  • ɔj

  • əw

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