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English MFA dictionary v3.0.0#

  • Maintainer: Montreal Forced Aligner

  • Language: English

  • Dialect: N/A

  • Phone set: MFA

  • Number of words: 95,299

  • Phones: a aj aw aː b bʲ c cʰ cʷ d dʒ dʲ d̪ e ej f fʲ fʷ h i iː j k kp kʰ kʷ l m mʲ m̩ n n̩ o ow p pʰ pʲ pʷ s t tʃ tʰ tʲ tʷ t̪ u uː v vʲ vʷ w z æ ç ð ŋ ɐ ɑ ɑː ɒ ɒː ɔ ɔj ə əw ɚ ɛ ɛː ɜ ɜː ɝ ɟ ɟʷ ɡ ɡb 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: v3.0.0

  • Citation:

@techreport{mfa_english_mfa_dictionary_2024,
	author={McAuliffe, Michael and Sonderegger, Morgan},
	title={English MFA dictionary v3.0.0},
	address={\url{https://mfa-models.readthedocs.io/pronunciation dictionary/English/English MFA dictionary v3_0_0.html}},
	year={2024},
	month={Feb},
}

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](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/MontrealCorpusTools/mfa-models/main/dictionary/english/mfa/English MFA dictionary v3_0_0.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:
39,803
Examples:
* trim:
[tʲ ɹ ɪ m]
* ament:
[ej m ɛ n t]
* lambs:
[l a m z]
* gambo:
[ɡ a m b o]
Occurrences:
8,153
Examples:
* meads:
[mʲ iː d z]
* omega:
[əw mʲ iː ɡ ə]
* midst:
[mʲ i d s t]
* meets:
[mʲ iː t s]
Occurrences:
8
Examples:
* poems:
[pʰ ow m̩ z]
* album:
[æ ɫ b m̩]
* him:
[m̩]
* some:
[s m̩]
Occurrences:
1
Examples:
Occurrences:
77,947
Examples:
* burns:
[b ɜː n z]
* varna:
[v aː n a]
* vines:
[v aj n z]
* namco:
[n a m kʰ əw]
Occurrences:
98
Examples:
* giant:
[dʒ aj n̩ t]
* often:
[ɒ f t n̩]
* open:
[ow p n̩]
* isn't:
[ɪ z n̩]
Occurrences:
15,840
Examples:
* nadir:
[ɲ ej dʲ ɪ ə]
* news:
[ɲ uː z]
* nap:
[ɲ æ p]
* snail:
[s ɲ ej ɫ]
Occurrences:
15,493
Examples:
* mango:
[m æ ŋ ɡ ow]
* shank:
[ʃ a ŋ k]
* longa:
[l ɒ ŋ ɡ ə]
* inked:
[ɪ ŋ k t]

Stop Plain
Occurrences:
20,997
Examples:
* spark:
[s p ɑ ɹ k]
* sloop:
[s l ʉː p]
* hap:
[h æ p]
* camps:
[kʰ a m p s]
Occurrences:
3,212
Examples:
* puma:
[pʲ uː m a]
* udupi:
[j ʉː d ʉː pʲ i]
* aspis:
[æ s pʲ ɪ s]
* tuppy:
[tʰ ɐ pʲ i]
Occurrences:
29
Examples:
* puy:
[pʷ iː]
Occurrences:
25,552
Examples:
* balk:
[b ɒː ɫ k]
* bout:
[b aw t]
* taboo:
[tʰ a b ʉː]
* bart:
[b ɑ ɹ t]
Occurrences:
5,316
Examples:
* bilge:
[bʲ ɪ ɫ dʒ]
* benet:
[bʲ ɪ n ɛ t]
* robyn:
[ɹ əw bʲ ɪ n]
* sibyl:
[s ɪ bʲ ɪ ɫ]
Occurrences:
130
Examples:
* youth:
[j ʉː t̪]
* worth:
[w ɔ t̪]
* both:
[b əw t̪]
* thin:
[t̪ ɪ n]
Occurrences:
115
Examples:
* than:
[d̪ æ n]
* these:
[d̪ iː z]
* this:
[d̪ i s]
* that:
[d̪ æ t]
Occurrences:
52,430
Examples:
* bigot:
[bʲ ɪ ɡ ə t]
* altar:
[ɔ l t a]
* wants:
[w ə n t s]
* bouts:
[b aw t s]
Occurrences:
19,256
Examples:
* putin:
[pʰ uː tʲ i n]
* trio:
[tʲ ɹ i əw]
* team:
[tʲ iː m]
* steen:
[s tʲ iː n]
Occurrences:
267
Examples:
* tweet:
[tʷ iː t]
* twill:
[tʷ ɪ ɫ]
* twigs:
[tʷ ɪ ɡ z]
* tweak:
[tʷ iː k]
Occurrences:
39,706
Examples:
* iliad:
[ɪ ʎ i a d]
* jihad:
[dʒ ə h ɑː d]
* dari:
[d ɑː ɹ i]
* lands:
[l a n d z]
Occurrences:
12,826
Examples:
* lydia:
[ʎ i dʲ i a]
* deer:
[dʲ ɪ ə]
* today:
[tʰ ɔ dʲ e]
* idiot:
[ɪ dʲ i ə t]
Occurrences:
9,105
Examples:
* crape:
[c ɹ ej p]
* crips:
[c ɹ ɪ p s]
* tiki:
[tʲ iː c i]
* wiske:
[w ɪ s c i]
Occurrences:
977
Examples:
* squad:
[s cʷ æ d]
* queer:
[cʷ i a]
* quill:
[cʷ i ɫ]
* quell:
[cʷ ɛ ɫ]
Occurrences:
4,529
Examples:
* gated:
[ɟ ej tʲ ɪ d]
* gray:
[ɟ ɹ ej]
* saggy:
[s æ ɟ i]
* grace:
[ɟ ɹ ej s]
Occurrences:
202
Examples:
* gwen:
[ɟʷ ɛ n]
* gwynn:
[ɟʷ ɪ n]
* guido:
[ɟʷ i d ow]
* gwin:
[ɟʷ ɪ n]
Occurrences:
32,577
Examples:
* mimic:
[mʲ ɪ mʲ ɪ k]
* cox:
[kʰ ɔ k s]
* pock:
[pʰ ɒ k]
* skuas:
[s k ʉː ə z]
Occurrences:
1,442
Examples:
* kwok:
[kʷ ɔ k]
* quark:
[kʷ ɒ ɹ k]
* quart:
[kʷ ɒ ɹ t]
* croix:
[kʷ ɒː]
Occurrences:
17,075
Examples:
* going:
[ɡ ow ɪ ŋ]
* gael:
[ɡ ej ɫ]
* eagle:
[iː ɡ ə ɫ]
* brag:
[b ɹ æ ɡ]
Occurrences:
163
Examples:
* guava:
[ɡʷ ɑ v ə]
* guano:
[ɡʷ a n o]
* agua:
[ɑ ɡʷ ə]
* guang:
[ɡʷ ɑː ŋ]
Occurrences:
102
Examples:
* what:
[w ɒ ʔ]
* putin:
[pʲ ʉː ʔ ə n]
* got:
[ɡ ɑ ʔ]

Aspirated
Occurrences:
14,454
Examples:
* ports:
[pʰ ɔ t s]
* agape:
[ɑ ɡ ɑː pʰ ej]
* paula:
[pʰ ɒː l ə]
* peak:
[pʰ iː k]
Occurrences:
14,838
Examples:
* text:
[tʰ ɛ k s t]
* today:
[tʰ ʊ d ej]
* tulsi:
[tʰ ʊ ɫ s iː]
* tahoe:
[tʰ ɑː h ow]
Occurrences:
5,987
Examples:
* caged:
[cʰ ej dʒ d]
* kit:
[cʰ i t]
* kea:
[cʰ iː ə]
* nokia:
[n ɔ cʰ i a]
Occurrences:
15,859
Examples:
* cosh:
[kʰ ɒ ʃ]
* narco:
[n ɑː kʰ əw]
* kern:
[kʰ aː n]
* cuddy:
[kʰ ɔ dʲ i]

Affricate
Occurrences:
7,320
Examples:
* mitch:
[mʲ i tʃ]
* char:
[tʃ ɑː]
* two:
[tʃ uː]
* roch:
[ɹ ɒ tʃ]
Occurrences:
11,779
Examples:
* saj:
[s ɑː dʒ]
* jeet:
[dʒ i t]
* july:
[dʒ ʉː l aj]
* jimi:
[dʒ ɪ mʲ iː]

Sibilant
Occurrences:
81,280
Examples:
* stay:
[s t ej]
* hans:
[h ɑː n s]
* luce:
[l ʉː s]
* soc:
[s əw ʃ]
Occurrences:
33,119
Examples:
* axons:
[æ k s ɑ n z]
* nikes:
[n aj c i z]
* arabs:
[ej ɹ æ b z]
* laser:
[l ej z ɚ]
Occurrences:
16,190
Examples:
* xiang:
[ʃ ɑː ŋ]
* ocean:
[əw ʃ ə n]
* shush:
[ʃ ɔ ʃ]
* niche:
[ɲ i ʃ]
Occurrences:
896
Examples:
* luge:
[ʎ ʉː ʒ]
* asian:
[ej ʒ ə n]
* zhang:
[ʒ æ ŋ]
* deja:
[d ej ʒ ə]

Fricative
Occurrences:
18,515
Examples:
* frets:
[f ɹ ɛ t s]
* frist:
[f ɹ ɪ s t]
* morph:
[m ɔ f]
* fare:
[f ɛː]
Occurrences:
5,050
Examples:
* fit:
[fʲ ɪ t]
* comfy:
[kʰ ɔ m fʲ i]
* philo:
[fʲ ɪ l ow]
* filet:
[fʲ i ʎ i t]
Occurrences:
3
Examples:
Occurrences:
13,845
Examples:
* vert:
[v ɝ t]
* lavra:
[l a v ɹ ə]
* venn:
[v ɛ n]
* wurst:
[v ʊ ɹ s t]
Occurrences:
3,127
Examples:
* veers:
[vʲ ɪ ɹ z]
* ovid:
[ɑ vʲ ɪ d]
* mavis:
[m e vʲ i s]
* ivy:
[aj vʲ i]
Occurrences:
8
Examples:
Occurrences:
5,841
Examples:
* cloth:
[k l ɔ θ]
* earth:
[aː θ]
* tithi:
[tʲ iː θ i]
* birth:
[b ɝ θ]
Occurrences:
1,364
Examples:
* paths:
[pʰ æ ð z]
* dhabi:
[ð ɑː bʲ i]
* the:
[ð iː]
* that:
[ð æ t]
Occurrences:
2,154
Examples:
* heme:
[ç iː m]
* hymn:
[ç i m]
* hiss:
[ç ɪ s]
* hewn:
[ç uː n]
Occurrences:
8,526
Examples:
* hansa:
[h a n s ə]
* has:
[h æ s]
* hired:
[h aj ə d]
* hajj:
[h ɔ dʒ]

Approximant
Occurrences:
9,186
Examples:
* waves:
[w ej v z]
* wire:
[w aj ə]
* wings:
[w ɪ n z]
* woman:
[w ʊ m a n]
Occurrences:
70,108
Examples:
* prams:
[p ɹ a m z]
* drava:
[d ɹ ɑː v ə]
* prod:
[p ɹ ɒ d]
* prior:
[p ɹ aj ə]
Occurrences:
3,285
Examples:
* yargo:
[j ɑ ɹ ɡ ow]
* yowie:
[j aw w i]
* utica:
[j uː tʲ i k a]
* yoke:
[j o k]

Tap
Occurrences:
196
Examples:
* gad:
[ɡ æ ɾ]
* metal:
[m ɛ ɾ ə ɫ]
* head:
[h ɛ ɾ]
* it'll:
[ɪ ɾ ɫ̩]
Occurrences:
97
Examples:
* duty:
[dʲ ʉː ɾʲ i]
* body:
[b ɔ ɾʲ i]
* ready:
[ɹ ɛ ɾʲ i]
* video:
[vʲ i ɾʲ i o]
Occurrences:
35
Examples:
* many:
[m ɪ ɾ̃ i]
* under:
[ɐ ɾ̃ ɚ]
* tiny:
[tʰ aj ɾ̃ i]

Lateral
Occurrences:
29,417
Examples:
* loire:
[l w ɑ ɹ]
* lukas:
[l ʉ k ə z]
* tyler:
[tʰ aj l ɚ]
* flubs:
[f l ɔ b z]
Occurrences:
24,671
Examples:
* helps:
[h ɛ ɫ p s]
* bible:
[b aj b ə ɫ]
* tile:
[tʰ aj ɫ]
* colt:
[kʰ ɒ ɫ t]
Occurrences:
158
Examples:
* total:
[tʰ əw t ɫ̩]
* vital:
[v aj t ɫ̩]
* evil:
[iː v ɫ̩]
* civil:
[s ɪ v ɫ̩]
Occurrences:
20,823
Examples:
* aliyu:
[a ʎ i j uː]
* limit:
[ʎ ɪ mʲ ɪ t]
* lil:
[ʎ i ɫ]
* hally:
[h ɔ 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:
63,751
Examples:
* reset:
[ɹ i s ɛ t]
* tasty:
[tʰ ej s tʲ i]
* piggy:
[pʰ ɪ ɟ i]
* raspy:
[ɹ a s pʲ i]
Occurrences:
17,066
Examples:
* gaea:
[dʒ iː ə]
* weak:
[w iː k]
* dion:
[dʲ iː ɑ n]
* davie:
[d ej vʲ iː]
Occurrences:
2,833
Examples:
* moody:
[m ʉ dʲ i]
* usa:
[j ʉ ɛ s ej]
* luis:
[ʎ ʉ ɪ s]
* zeus:
[z ʉ s]
Occurrences:
8,227
Examples:
* cued:
[cʰ ʉː d]
* prune:
[p ɹ ʉː n]
* truth:
[tʃ ɹ ʉː θ]
* unite:
[j ʉː n aj t]
Occurrences:
4,035
Examples:
* bacon:
[b e k u n]
* upton:
[ɔ p t u n]
* ovum:
[o v u m]
* durum:
[dʲ uː u m]
Occurrences:
4,667
Examples:
* fuels:
[fʲ uː ɫ z]
* argue:
[a ɡ uː]
* muti:
[m uː tʰ i]
* boop:
[b uː p]
Occurrences:
72,797
Examples:
* rivet:
[ɹ ɪ v ə t]
* cabin:
[cʰ æ bʲ ɪ n]
* sin:
[s ɪ n]
* wick:
[w ɪ k]
Occurrences:
8,064
Examples:
* cycle:
[s aj k ʊ ɫ]
* stook:
[s t ʊ k]
* buren:
[b ʊ ɹ ə n]
* cure:
[cʰ ʊ a]

Close-Mid
Occurrences:
7,679
Examples:
* blaby:
[b l e bʲ i]
* bay:
[b e]
* navel:
[n e v ɛ ɫ]
* rates:
[ɹ e t s]
Occurrences:
17,233
Examples:
* raven:
[ɹ ej v ə n]
* malay:
[m ej l ej]
* ages:
[ej dʒ ɪ z]
* pace:
[pʰ ej s]
Occurrences:
7,012
Examples:
* prove:
[p ɹ o v]
* loess:
[l o i s]
* poll:
[pʰ o ɫ]
* volga:
[v o ɫ ɡ a]
Occurrences:
10,116
Examples:
* ago:
[ə ɡ ow]
* mole:
[m ow l ej]
* roca:
[ɹ ow k ə]
* poems:
[pʰ ow m̩ z]
Occurrences:
86,312
Examples:
* fanon:
[f a n ə n]
* bison:
[b aj s ə n]
* haydn:
[ç ej d ə n]
* alma:
[a ɫ m ə]
Occurrences:
9,826
Examples:
* luger:
[ʎ ʉ ɡ ɚ]
* caper:
[cʰ ej p ɚ]
* acre:
[ej k ɚ]
* alder:
[ɒː ɫ d ɚ]

Open-Mid
Occurrences:
46,399
Examples:
* caron:
[cʰ ɛ ɹ ə n]
* etna:
[ɛ t n ə]
* selma:
[s ɛ ɫ m a]
* xtra:
[ɛ k s t ɹ ə]
Occurrences:
1,561
Examples:
* dares:
[d ɛː z]
* spare:
[s p ɛː]
* flare:
[f l ɛː]
* carew:
[cʰ ɛː ɹ ʉː]
Occurrences:
310
Examples:
* viera:
[vʲ iː ɜ ɹ a]
* bury:
[b ɜ ɹ i]
* circe:
[s ɜ s i]
* burj:
[b ɜ dʒ]
Occurrences:
3,184
Examples:
* birk:
[b ɜː k]
* first:
[f ɜː s t]
* worth:
[w ɜː θ]
* ernie:
[ɜː ɲ i]
Occurrences:
3,489
Examples:
* third:
[s ɝ d]
* burg:
[b ɝ ɡ]
* word:
[w ɝ d]
* erne:
[ɝ n]
Occurrences:
23,536
Examples:
* spall:
[s p ɔ ɫ]
* malta:
[m ɔ ɫ t a]
* bunks:
[b ɔ ŋ k s]
* tor:
[tʰ ɔ]
Occurrences:
15,920
Examples:
* altos:
[æ ɫ t ow z]
* anwar:
[æ n w ɚ]
* gavin:
[ɡ æ vʲ ɪ n]
* paths:
[pʰ æ θ s]
Occurrences:
10,494
Examples:
* jumbo:
[dʒ ɐ m b ow]
* upper:
[ɐ p ɚ]
* moray:
[m ɐ ɹ i]
* tump:
[tʰ ɐ m p]

Open
Occurrences:
47,477
Examples:
* exact:
[ɪ ɡ z a k t]
* trash:
[t ɹ a ʃ]
* maga:
[m a ɡ ə]
* value:
[v a ʎ ʉː]
Occurrences:
2,141
Examples:
* sperm:
[s p aː m]
* light:
[l aː t]
* hern:
[h aː n]
* price:
[p ɹ aː s]
Occurrences:
11,104
Examples:
* togs:
[tʰ ɑ ɡ z]
* dante:
[d ɑ n tʰ ej]
* lat:
[l ɑ t]
* agog:
[ə ɡ ɑ ɡ]
Occurrences:
7,128
Examples:
* bah:
[b ɑː]
* barth:
[b ɑː θ]
* bara:
[b ɑː ɹ ə]
* noir:
[n w ɑː]
Occurrences:
14,837
Examples:
* ault:
[ɒ ɫ t]
* bots:
[b ɒ t s]
* opera:
[ɒ p ɹ ə]
* octa:
[ɒ k t ə]
Occurrences:
5,758
Examples:
* borer:
[b ɒː ɹ ə]
* corr:
[kʰ ɒː]
* ports:
[pʰ ɒː t s]
* pau:
[pʰ ɒː]

Diphthongs#

  • aj

  • aw

  • ej

  • ow

  • ɔj

  • əw

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