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English MFA dictionary v2.0.0#

  • Maintainer: Montreal Forced Aligner

  • Language: English

  • Dialect: N/A

  • Phone set: MFA

  • Number of words: 93,887

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

  • License: CC BY 4.0

  • Compatible MFA version: v2.0.0

  • Citation:

@techreport{mfa_english_mfa_dictionary_2022,
	author={McAuliffe, Michael and Sonderegger, Morgan},
	title={English MFA dictionary v2.0.0},
	address={\url{https://mfa-models.readthedocs.io/pronunciation dictionary/English/English MFA dictionary v2_0_0.html}},
	year={2022},
	month={Mar},
}

Acoustic models
../../_images/full_logo_yellow.svg

Installation#

Install from the MFA command line:

mfa model download dictionary english_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:
38,441
Examples:
* amah:
[a m a]
* sloom:
[s l uː m]
* dims:
[d ɪ m z]
* muss:
[m ɐ s]
Occurrences:
4,168
Examples:
* amuse:
[a mʲ uː z]
* domy:
[d o mʲ i]
* amit:
[a mʲ i t]
* mung:
[mʲ ʉː ŋ]
Occurrences:
2,652
Examples:
* ovum:
[ow v m̩]
* foism:
[f ow ɪ z m̩]
* spasm:
[s p æ z m̩]
* axiom:
[æ k s i m̩]
Occurrences:
2,269
Examples:
* bumf:
[b ɐ ɱ f]
* envoi:
[ɑ ɱ v ɔj]
* envoy:
[ɑ ɱ v ɔj]
* infra:
[i ɱ f ɹ a]
Occurrences:
66,990
Examples:
* reign:
[ɹ e n]
* inner:
[i n a]
* treen:
[t ɹ iː n]
* fawns:
[f ɒ n z]
Occurrences:
7,468
Examples:
* mohun:
[m əw h n̩]
* doan:
[d ow n̩]
* tuvan:
[tʃ ʉː v n̩]
* felon:
[f ɛ l n̩]
Occurrences:
16,144
Examples:
* denys:
[dʲ iː ɲ ɪ s]
* naiad:
[ɲ e a d]
* banya:
[b a ɲ a]
* nym:
[ɲ i m]
Occurrences:
14,317
Examples:
* mung:
[m uː ŋ ɡ]
* mongo:
[m ɑ ŋ ɡ ow]
* minks:
[m ɪ ŋ k s]
* manx:
[m a ŋ k s]

Stop
Occurrences:
21,457
Examples:
* proud:
[p ɹ aw d]
* sip:
[s i p]
* slap:
[s l æ p]
* kemp:
[cʰ ɛ m p]
Occurrences:
27,415
Examples:
* bigot:
[b ɪ ɡ ə t]
* barca:
[b a s a]
* bubs:
[b ɐ b z]
* balbo:
[b æ ɫ b əw]
Occurrences:
55,362
Examples:
* bigot:
[b ɪ ɡ ə t]
* treen:
[t ɹ iː n]
* nest:
[n ɛ s t]
* trick:
[t ɹ i k]
Occurrences:
42,446
Examples:
* godly:
[ɡ ɑ d ʎ i]
* redo:
[ɹ i d ʉː]
* dod:
[d ɑ d]
* dims:
[d ɪ m z]
Occurrences:
9,937
Examples:
* recce:
[ɹ ɛ c i]
* crase:
[c ɹ e z]
* narky:
[n ɑː c i]
* skin:
[s c i n]
Occurrences:
5,963
Examples:
* griff:
[ɟ ɹ i f]
* biggy:
[b ɪ ɟ i]
* glues:
[ɟ ʎ ʉː z]
* gail:
[ɟ ej ɫ]
Occurrences:
33,297
Examples:
* kwaj:
[k w ɑː dʒ]
* salic:
[s a ʎ i k]
* tuck:
[tʰ ɐ k]
* sox:
[s ɑ k s]
Occurrences:
14,152
Examples:
* godly:
[ɡ ɑ d ʎ i]
* log:
[l ɑ ɡ]
* bigot:
[b ɪ ɡ ə t]
* gavel:
[ɡ æ v ɫ̩]
Occurrences:
6,723
Examples:
* fatah:
[f ej ʔ ə]
* bigot:
[b ɪ ɡ ə ʔ]
* inert:
[ɪ n ɜː ʔ]
* beta:
[bʲ iː ʔ ə]

Affricate
Occurrences:
8,690
Examples:
* trick:
[tʃ ɹ ɪ k]
* punch:
[pʰ ɐ n tʃ]
* tich:
[tʰ i tʃ]
* chaat:
[tʃ a t]
Occurrences:
11,675
Examples:
* kwaj:
[k w ɑː dʒ]
* josie:
[dʒ ow z i]
* drawl:
[dʒ ɹ ɑː w]
* djinn:
[dʒ i n]

Sibilant
Occurrences:
79,500
Examples:
* sloom:
[s l uː m]
* slurs:
[s l ɜː z]
* denys:
[dʲ iː ɲ ɪ s]
* muss:
[m ɐ s]
Occurrences:
31,351
Examples:
* slurs:
[s l ɜː z]
* dims:
[d ɪ m z]
* cous:
[kʰ ɐ z]
* amuse:
[a mʲ uː z]
Occurrences:
15,274
Examples:
* shuts:
[ʃ ɐ t s]
* nasir:
[ɲ ej ʃ ɪ ə]
* shoat:
[ʃ o t]
* shipp:
[ʃ i p]
Occurrences:
1,227
Examples:
* asian:
[e ʒ a n]
* zhuzh:
[ʒ ʊ ʒ]
* azul:
[æ ʒ ɒː ɫ]
* yonge:
[j ɒ n ʒ]

Fricative
Occurrences:
20,550
Examples:
* fatah:
[f ej ʔ ə]
* full:
[f ʊ ɫ]
* corfu:
[kʰ ɒ ɹ f ʉ]
* fawns:
[f ɒ n z]
Occurrences:
2,618
Examples:
* furor:
[fʲ ɜ ɹ a]
* fios:
[fʲ i s]
* goofy:
[ɡ uː fʲ i]
* fisk:
[fʲ i s k]
Occurrences:
14,727
Examples:
* gavel:
[ɡ æ v ɫ̩]
* vacs:
[v a k s]
* ava:
[a v a]
* villa:
[v ɪ l ə]
Occurrences:
1,709
Examples:
* villa:
[vʲ i l a]
* evp:
[iː vʲ iː pʰ iː]
* uvula:
[j uː vʲ ʊ l a]
* avens:
[a vʲ i n z]
Occurrences:
5,763
Examples:
* earth:
[aː θ]
* broth:
[b ɹ ɒ θ]
* thigh:
[θ aj]
* laths:
[l æ θ s]
Occurrences:
1,341
Examples:
* thass:
[ð a s]
* dhikr:
[ð i k]
* rathe:
[ɹ e ð]
* thon:
[ð ɒ n]
Occurrences:
2,104
Examples:
* hee:
[ç iː]
* hegel:
[ç e ɡ ɛ ɫ]
* hick:
[ç i k]
* julio:
[ç ʉː ʎ i ow]
Occurrences:
8,392
Examples:
* hullo:
[h u l o]
* hoik:
[h ɔj k]
* mohun:
[m əw h n̩]
* hexed:
[h ɛ k s t]

Approximant
Occurrences:
12,042
Examples:
* kwaj:
[k w ɑː dʒ]
* drawl:
[dʒ ɹ ɑː w]
* twig:
[t w ɪ ɡ]
* whorl:
[w aː ɫ]
Occurrences:
70,071
Examples:
* redo:
[ɹ i d ʉː]
* reign:
[ɹ e n]
* corfu:
[kʰ ɒ ɹ f ʉ]
* treen:
[t ɹ iː n]
Occurrences:
3,253
Examples:
* yunus:
[j ʉː n ə s]
* usa:
[j ʉ ɛ s ej]
* usage:
[j uː s i dʒ]
* yoda:
[j o d a]

Tap
Occurrences:
10,275
Examples:
* cutty:
[kʰ ɐ ɾ i]
* lotos:
[l ow ɾ ow z]
* kdy:
[kʰ ə ɾ i]
* beta:
[b ej ɾ ə]

Lateral
Occurrences:
28,803
Examples:
* log:
[l ɑ ɡ]
* sloom:
[s l uː m]
* slurs:
[s l ɜː z]
* lotos:
[l ow ɾ ow z]
Occurrences:
16,552
Examples:
* full:
[f ʊ ɫ]
* balbo:
[b æ ɫ b əw]
* hegel:
[ç e ɡ ɛ ɫ]
* culls:
[kʰ ɐ ɫ z]
Occurrences:
8,111
Examples:
* gavel:
[ɡ æ v ɫ̩]
* hegel:
[ç ej ɡ ɫ̩]
* diels:
[d aj ɫ̩ z]
* ertl:
[ɜː t ɫ̩]
Occurrences:
20,127
Examples:
* godly:
[ɡ ɑ d ʎ i]
* sloom:
[s ʎ ʉː m]
* salic:
[s a ʎ i k]
* lilt:
[ʎ i ɫ t]

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:
62,306
Examples:
* cutty:
[kʰ ɐ tʲ i]
* godly:
[ɡ ɑ d ʎ i]
* bigot:
[bʲ i ɡ ɔ t]
* redo:
[ɹ i d ʉː]
Occurrences:
17,739
Examples:
* denys:
[dʲ iː ɲ ɪ s]
* redo:
[ɹ iː d əw]
* hee:
[ç iː]
* treen:
[t ɹ iː n]
Occurrences:
2,913
Examples:
* corfu:
[kʰ ɒ ɹ f ʉ]
* luzon:
[ʎ ʉ z ɒ n]
* usa:
[j ʉ ɛ s ej]
* pubis:
[pʲ ʉ b ɪ s]
Occurrences:
8,968
Examples:
* sloom:
[s l ʉː m]
* redo:
[ɹ i d ʉː]
* corfu:
[kʰ ɒː f ʉː]
* amuse:
[ə mʲ ʉː z]
Occurrences:
4,105
Examples:
* hullo:
[h u l o]
* ovum:
[o v u m]
* titus:
[tʰ aj t u s]
* upton:
[ɔ p t u n]
Occurrences:
4,369
Examples:
* sloom:
[s l uː m]
* amuse:
[a mʲ uː z]
* mung:
[m uː ŋ ɡ]
* cued:
[cʰ uː d]
Occurrences:
73,837
Examples:
* denys:
[dʲ iː ɲ ɪ s]
* bigot:
[b ɪ ɡ ə t]
* dims:
[d ɪ m z]
* inner:
[ɪ n ə]
Occurrences:
7,706
Examples:
* full:
[f ʊ ɫ]
* furor:
[f ʊ ɹ ɚ]
* juris:
[dʒ ʊ ɹ ɪ s]
* soong:
[s ʊ ŋ]

Close-Mid
Occurrences:
6,869
Examples:
* reign:
[ɹ e n]
* salic:
[s e ʎ i k]
* naiad:
[ɲ e a d]
* hegel:
[ç e ɡ ɛ ɫ]
Occurrences:
17,924
Examples:
* fatah:
[f ej ʔ ə]
* reign:
[ɹ ej n]
* salic:
[s ej ʎ ɪ k]
* naiad:
[ɲ ej æ d]
Occurrences:
6,449
Examples:
* hullo:
[h u l o]
* smoke:
[s m o k]
* domy:
[d o mʲ i]
* nox:
[ɛ n o ɛ k s]
Occurrences:
10,115
Examples:
* lotos:
[l ow ɾ ow z]
* hullo:
[h ɐ l ow]
* josie:
[dʒ ow z i]
* smoke:
[s m ow k]
Occurrences:
71,520
Examples:
* amah:
[ɑː m ə]
* fatah:
[f ej ʔ ə]
* bigot:
[b ɪ ɡ ə t]
* barca:
[b ɑː s ə]
Occurrences:
9,416
Examples:
* inner:
[ɪ n ɚ]
* furor:
[f ɝ ɚ]
* major:
[m ej dʒ ɚ]
* tozer:
[tʰ ow z ɚ]

Open-Mid
Occurrences:
43,006
Examples:
* seco:
[s ɛ kʰ əw]
* nest:
[n ɛ s t]
* hegel:
[ç e ɡ ɛ ɫ]
* terre:
[tʰ ɛ ɹ]
Occurrences:
1,534
Examples:
* terre:
[tʰ ɛː]
* air:
[ɛː]
* yare:
[j ɛː]
* aware:
[a w ɛː]
Occurrences:
324
Examples:
* furor:
[fʲ ɜ ɹ a]
* myrrh:
[m ɜ]
* turvy:
[tʰ ɜ vʲ i]
* durst:
[d ɜ s t]
Occurrences:
3,341
Examples:
* slurs:
[s l ɜː z]
* earth:
[ɜː θ]
* inert:
[ɪ n ɜː t]
* whorl:
[w ɜː ɫ]
Occurrences:
3,470
Examples:
* slurs:
[s l ɝ z]
* earth:
[ɝ θ]
* sirs:
[s ɝ z]
* furor:
[f ɝ ɚ]
Occurrences:
20,609
Examples:
* cutty:
[kʰ ɔ tʰ i]
* godly:
[ɡ ɔ d ʎ i]
* log:
[l ɔ ɡ]
* bigot:
[bʲ i ɡ ɔ t]
Occurrences:
25,209
Examples:
* gavel:
[ɡ æ v ɫ̩]
* salic:
[s æ ʎ ɪ k]
* san:
[s æ n]
* balbo:
[b æ ɫ b əw]
Occurrences:
10,935
Examples:
* cutty:
[kʰ ɐ tʲ i]
* cous:
[kʰ ɐ z]
* muss:
[m ɐ s]
* bubs:
[b ɐ b z]

Open
Occurrences:
32,738
Examples:
* amah:
[a m a]
* barca:
[b a s a]
* amuse:
[a mʲ uː z]
* inner:
[i n a]
Occurrences:
2,041
Examples:
* earth:
[aː θ]
* whorl:
[w aː ɫ]
* jerk:
[dʒ aː k]
* firk:
[f aː k]
Occurrences:
11,304
Examples:
* godly:
[ɡ ɑ d ʎ i]
* log:
[l ɑ ɡ]
* dod:
[d ɑ d]
* san:
[s ɑ n]
Occurrences:
6,792
Examples:
* kwaj:
[k w ɑː dʒ]
* amah:
[ɑː m ə]
* barca:
[b ɑː s ə]
* drawl:
[dʒ ɹ ɑː w]
Occurrences:
15,667
Examples:
* godly:
[ɡ ɒ d ʎ i]
* log:
[l ɒ ɡ]
* dod:
[d ɒ d]
* corfu:
[kʰ ɒ ɹ f ʉ]
Occurrences:
5,960
Examples:
* corfu:
[kʰ ɒː f ʉː]
* fawns:
[f ɒː n z]
* drawl:
[d ɹ ɒː ɫ]
* borne:
[b ɒː n]

Diphthongs#

  • aj

  • aw

  • ej

  • ow

  • ɔj

  • əw

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