KIT
sit
ship · bit
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Sounds library
A clear guide to British Modern RP. Choose a sound for articulation tips and examples, then follow its lesson link to practise.
Listen to the keyword in Ryan’s British English voice. These are word recordings, not isolated sounds; consonant families use one representative word. The GHOUL card uses ‘fool’ as its /uː/ model.
Short vowels
The six checked vowels, plus unstressed schwa and happY. happY /i/ is unstressed, not the long FLEECE vowel.
Long vowels
The length mark /ː/ matters. SQUARE is shown as /ɛː/ in this course’s Modern RP convention.
Diphthongs
Explore vowel glides, including traditional NEAR /ɪə/ and CURE /ʊə/. The rule pages explain smoothing and common mergers.
Consonants
Open a sound family for articulation tips and examples, then follow its lesson-practice link.
Rule pages
Turn the symbols into practical decisions. Read the NEAR and CURE guides, or try the Dark L Detector.
James’s Modern RP conventions. Gold letters show the target spelling in each example. GOAT is /əʊ/ by default; GOAL /ɒʊ/ is its allophone before dark L within a word. NEAR defaults to /ɪə/; the rule page explains when within-word smoothing gives /ɪː/. CURE /ʊə/ has common /ɔː/ mergers and accepted variants. Sound references remain available as before; workbook links keep their existing access checks.