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English (US) MFA dictionary v2.2.1#

  • Maintainer: Montreal Forced Aligner

  • Language: English

  • Dialect: General American English

  • Phone set: MFA

  • Number of words: 79,037

  • Phones: aj aw aː b bʲ c cʰ cʷ d dʒ dʲ d̪ ej f fʲ h i iː j k kʰ kʷ l m mʲ m̩ n n̩ ow p pʰ pʲ pʷ s t tʃ tʰ tʲ tʷ t̪ v vʲ w z æ ç ð ŋ ɐ ɑ ɑː ɒ ɒː ɔj ə ɚ ɛ ɝ ɟ ɟʷ ɡ ɡʷ ɪ ɫ ɫ̩ ɱ ɲ ɹ ɾ ɾʲ ɾ̃ ʃ ʉ ʉː ʊ ʎ ʒ ʔ θ

  • License: CC BY 4.0

  • Compatible MFA version: v2.1.0

  • Citation:

@techreport{mfa_english_us_mfa_dictionary_2023,
	author={McAuliffe, Michael and Sonderegger, Morgan},
	title={English (US) MFA dictionary v2.2.1},
	address={\url{https://mfa-models.readthedocs.io/pronunciation dictionary/English/English (US) MFA dictionary v2_2_1.html}},
	year={2023},
	month={May},
}

G2P models
../../_images/full_logo_yellow.svg

Installation#

Install from the MFA command line:

mfa model download dictionary english_us_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](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/MontrealCorpusTools/mfa-models/main/dictionary/english/mfa/English (US) MFA dictionary v2_2_1.dict).

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:
17,485
Examples:
* mayan:
[m aj ə n]
* almah:
[æ ɫ m ə]
* moult:
[m ow ɫ t]
* amite:
[ej m ɛ t]
Occurrences:
3,285
Examples:
* agami:
[æ ɡ ə mʲ i]
* jemmy:
[dʒ ɛ mʲ i]
* memic:
[mʲ i mʲ ɪ k]
* mists:
[mʲ ɪ s t s]
Occurrences:
25
Examples:
Occurrences:
9
Examples:
Occurrences:
34,399
Examples:
* anton:
[æ n t ɑ n]
* noil:
[n ɔj ɫ]
* kuban:
[cʰ ʉː b ɑː n]
* ne'er:
[n ɛ ɹ]
Occurrences:
236
Examples:
Occurrences:
7,153
Examples:
* jinny:
[dʒ ɪ ɲ i]
* enact:
[ɪ ɲ æ k t]
* nabbs:
[ɲ æ b z]
* nico:
[ɲ i k ow]
Occurrences:
7,367
Examples:
* mongo:
[m ɑː ŋ ɡ ow]
* brung:
[b ɹ ɐ ŋ]
* using:
[j ʉː z ɪ ŋ]
* inc:
[ɪ ŋ k]

Stop
Occurrences:
8,790
Examples:
* pluto:
[p l ʉː t ow]
* prove:
[p ɹ ʉː v]
* plead:
[p l ɛ d]
* sleep:
[s ʎ i p]
Occurrences:
11,342
Examples:
* newbz:
[ɲ ʉː b z]
* soba:
[s ow b ə]
* abort:
[ə b ɒ ɹ t]
* both:
[b ow θ]
Occurrences:
32
Examples:
Occurrences:
55
Examples:
Occurrences:
23,004
Examples:
* vital:
[v aj t ə ɫ]
* soft:
[s ɒ f t]
* yurt:
[j ʊ ɹ t]
* shoot:
[ʃ ʉː t]
Occurrences:
17,316
Examples:
* doane:
[d ow n]
* dazed:
[d ej z d]
* rowed:
[ɹ ow d]
* poled:
[pʰ ow ɫ d]
Occurrences:
4,402
Examples:
* lunky:
[l ɐ ɲ c i]
* clare:
[c ʎ ɛ ɹ]
* cleft:
[c ʎ ɛ f t]
* krebs:
[c ɹ ɛ b z]
Occurrences:
2,701
Examples:
* gill:
[ɟ ɪ ɫ]
* guile:
[ɟ aj ɫ]
* glens:
[ɟ ʎ ɛ n z]
* gills:
[ɟ ɪ ɫ z]
Occurrences:
13,512
Examples:
* cried:
[k ɹ aj d]
* excel:
[ɪ k s ɛ ɫ]
* pac:
[pʰ æ k]
* scuff:
[s k ɐ f]
Occurrences:
5,216
Examples:
* yaga:
[j ɑː ɡ ə]
* agate:
[ə ɡ æ t]
* glory:
[ɡ l ɒː ɹ i]
* sigg:
[s ɪ ɡ]
Occurrences:
207
Examples:
* ought:
[ɒ ʔ]
* rat:
[ɹ æ ʔ]
* often:
[ɑː f ʔ ə n]
* quote:
[kʷ ow ʔ]

Affricate
Occurrences:
3,325
Examples:
* chase:
[tʃ ej s]
* gulch:
[ɡ ɐ ɫ tʃ]
* try:
[tʃ aj]
* chaps:
[tʃ æ p s]
Occurrences:
4,970
Examples:
* julep:
[dʒ ʉː l ɛ p]
* jawn:
[dʒ ɒː n]
* mage:
[m ej dʒ]
* jails:
[dʒ ej ɫ z]

Sibilant
Occurrences:
36,484
Examples:
* spore:
[s p ɒ ɹ]
* parsi:
[pʰ ɑ ɹ s i]
* texed:
[tʰ ɛ k s t]
* skint:
[s c ɪ n t]
Occurrences:
15,814
Examples:
* chaz:
[tʃ æ z]
* johns:
[dʒ ɑ n z]
* hymns:
[ç ɪ m z]
* zizz:
[z ɪ z]
Occurrences:
6,861
Examples:
* shing:
[ʃ ɪ ŋ]
* shag:
[ʃ æ ɡ]
* smush:
[s m ʊ ʃ]
* shity:
[ʃ ɪ tʲ i]
Occurrences:
559
Examples:
* usual:
[j ʉː ʒ ɫ̩]
* dejah:
[d ej ʒ ə]
* hajj:
[h ɑ ʒ]
* jete:
[ʒ ɛ tʰ ej]

Fricative
Occurrences:
8,215
Examples:
* flux:
[f l ɐ k s]
* leafs:
[ʎ iː f s]
* photo:
[f ow t ow]
* force:
[f ɒ ɹ s]
Occurrences:
2,166
Examples:
* fiend:
[fʲ iː n d]
* flisk:
[fʲ ʎ ɪ s k]
* finch:
[fʲ ɪ n tʃ]
* fjord:
[fʲ ɒ ɹ d]
Occurrences:
5,607
Examples:
* hev:
[h ɛ v]
* ivan:
[i v ɑː n]
* diva:
[dʲ iː v ə]
* lnav:
[ɛ l ɲ ej v]
Occurrences:
1,728
Examples:
* vim:
[vʲ ɪ m]
* dvd:
[dʲ iː vʲ iː dʲ iː]
* dvds:
[dʲ iː vʲ iː dʲ iː z]
* vide:
[vʲ iː d ej]
Occurrences:
2,527
Examples:
* thor:
[θ ɒ ɹ]
* thong:
[θ ɑ ŋ]
* kathy:
[cʰ æ θ i]
* death:
[d ɛ θ]
Occurrences:
637
Examples:
* meath:
[mʲ iː ð]
* thems:
[ð ɛ m z]
* rethe:
[ɹ iː ð]
* oaths:
[ow ð z]
Occurrences:
976
Examples:
* hail:
[ç ej ɫ]
* hazen:
[ç ej z ə n]
* hist:
[ç ɪ s t]
* here:
[ç ɪ ɹ]
Occurrences:
3,717
Examples:
* hexad:
[h ɛ k s æ d]
* hatta:
[h æ t ə]
* hoofs:
[h ʉ f s]
* honey:
[h ɐ ɲ i]

Approximant
Occurrences:
4,440
Examples:
* dwell:
[d w ɛ ɫ]
* luan:
[ʎ ʉ w ɑ n]
* wabi:
[w ɑː bʲ i]
* wirra:
[w ɪ ɹ ə]
Occurrences:
35,258
Examples:
* ruff:
[ɹ ɐ f]
* orin:
[ɒ ɹ ɪ n]
* fours:
[f ɒː ɹ z]
* yarl:
[j ɑ ɹ ɫ]
Occurrences:
1,149
Examples:
* yes:
[j ɛ s]
* ewen:
[j ʉː ə n]
* ubac:
[j ʉ b æ k]
* yam:
[j æ m]

Tap
Occurrences:
139
Examples:
* god:
[ɡ ɑ ɾ]
* gotta:
[ɡ ɑ ɾ ə]
* paid:
[pʰ ej ɾ]
* items:
[aj ɾ ə m z]
Occurrences:
117
Examples:
* city:
[s ɪ ɾʲ i]
* ready:
[ɹ ɛ ɾʲ i]
* dated:
[d ej ɾʲ ɪ d]
* buddy:
[b ɐ ɾʲ i]
Occurrences:
36
Examples:

Lateral
Occurrences:
12,204
Examples:
* blush:
[b l ɐ ʃ]
* gloat:
[ɡ l ow t]
* late:
[l ej t]
* gusla:
[ɡ ʊ s l ə]
Occurrences:
11,157
Examples:
* cool:
[kʰ ʉː ɫ]
* skulk:
[s k ɐ ɫ k]
* hulls:
[h ɐ ɫ z]
* afoul:
[ə f aw ɫ]
Occurrences:
110
Examples:
Occurrences:
9,753
Examples:
* sully:
[s ɐ ʎ i]
* glad:
[ɟ ʎ æ d]
* lyra:
[ʎ ɪ ɹ ə]
* shyly:
[ʃ aj ʎ i]

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:
16,574
Examples:
* cosey:
[kʰ ow z i]
* ninny:
[ɲ ɪ ɲ i]
* rocky:
[ɹ ɑ c i]
* rashy:
[ɹ æ ʃ i]
Occurrences:
6,400
Examples:
* wfoe:
[w ʊ fʲ iː]
* dll:
[dʲ iː ɛ ɫ ɛ ɫ]
* bixie:
[bʲ iː ʃ i ej]
* three:
[θ ɹ iː]
Occurrences:
2,271
Examples:
* sault:
[s ʉ]
* few:
[fʲ ʉ]
* jewry:
[dʒ ʉ ə ɹ i]
* toots:
[tʰ ʉ t s]
Occurrences:
4,636
Examples:
* lubes:
[ʎ ʉː b z]
* usest:
[j ʉː z ə s t]
* pupa:
[pʲ ʉː p ə]
* whoes:
[ç ʉː z]
Occurrences:
44,669
Examples:
* boid:
[b ow ɪ d]
* optic:
[ɑ p tʲ ɪ k]
* limbs:
[ʎ ɪ m z]
* titty:
[tʰ ɪ tʲ i]
Occurrences:
2,529
Examples:
* broom:
[b ɹ ʊ m]
* pusta:
[pʰ ʊ s t ə]
* woman:
[w ʊ m ə n]
* put:
[pʰ ʊ ʔ]

Close-Mid
Occurrences:
11,327
Examples:
* slate:
[s l ej t]
* phage:
[f ej dʒ]
* plays:
[p l ej z]
* eish:
[ej ʃ]
Occurrences:
10,146
Examples:
* doses:
[d ow s i z]
* doe:
[d ow]
* yeo:
[j ow]
* polo:
[pʰ ow l ow]
Occurrences:
47,030
Examples:
* maka:
[m ɑ k ə]
* poems:
[pʰ ow ə m z]
* uncle:
[ɐ ŋ k ə ɫ]
* sfnal:
[ɛ s ɛ f n ə ɫ]
Occurrences:
9,853
Examples:
* avers:
[ej v ɚ z]
* major:
[m ej dʒ ɚ]
* loser:
[ʎ ʉ z ɚ]
* tenor:
[tʰ ɛ n ɚ]

Open-Mid
Occurrences:
18,865
Examples:
* hexes:
[h ɛ k s ɪ z]
* crepe:
[c ɹ ɛ p]
* deco:
[d ɛ k ow]
* plebs:
[p l ɛ b z]
Occurrences:
3,497
Examples:
* serb:
[s ɝ b]
* ashur:
[æ ʃ ɝ]
* lured:
[l ɝ d]
* ferko:
[f ɝ k ow]
Occurrences:
15,969
Examples:
* alga:
[æ ɫ ɡ ə]
* zaman:
[z æ m ə n]
* swang:
[s w æ ŋ]
* babel:
[b æ b ə ɫ]
Occurrences:
7,424
Examples:
* wyd:
[d ɐ bʲ ʉː w aj dʲ iː]
* clunk:
[k l ɐ ŋ k]
* null:
[n ɐ ɫ]
* junky:
[dʒ ɐ ɲ c i]

Open
Occurrences:
0
Examples:
Occurrences:
5
Examples:
* might:
[m aː]
* like:
[l aː k]
* likes:
[l aː k s]
* night:
[n aː t]
Occurrences:
10,648
Examples:
* copse:
[kʰ ɑ p s]
* maja:
[m ɑ j ə]
* josh:
[dʒ ɑ ʃ]
* dion:
[dʲ iː ɑ n]
Occurrences:
2,436
Examples:
* bari:
[b ɑː ɹ i]
* blois:
[b l w ɑː]
* nauru:
[n ɑː ʉː ɹ ʉː]
* basra:
[b ɑː ɹ ə]
Occurrences:
5,324
Examples:
* osm:
[ɒ s ə m]
* boggs:
[b ɒ ɡ z]
* warps:
[w ɒ ɹ p s]
* tawn:
[tʰ ɒ n]
Occurrences:
1,559
Examples:
* water:
[w ɒː t ɚ]
* gaul:
[ɡ ɒː ɫ]
* soyuz:
[s ɒː j ʉː z]
* haut:
[h ɒː t]

Diphthongs#

  • aj

  • aw

  • ej

  • ow

  • ɔj

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