Phonology of English

Like many other languages, English has wide variation in pronunciation, both historically and from dialect to dialect. In general, however, the regional dialects of English share a largely similar (but not identical) phonological system. Among other things, most dialects have vowel reduction in unstressed syllables and a complex set of phonological features that distinguish fortis and lenis consonants (stops, affricates, and fricatives). Most dialects of English preserve the consonant /w/ (spelled w) and many preserve /θ, ð/ (spelled th), while most other Germanic languages have shifted them to /v/ and /t, d/: compare English will /wɪl/ ( listen) and then /ðɛn/ ( listen) with German [vɪl] ( listen) ("want") and [dɛn] ( listen).