Wells Standard Lexical Sets For English
The Standard Lexical Sets for English introduced by John C. Wells in Accents of English are in wide usage. Wells defined each lexical set on the basis of the pronunciation of words in two reference accents, which he calls RP and GenAm.
- RP refers to Received Pronunciation, the traditionally prestigious accent in England.
- GenAm refers to a conservative accent of the General American type which has resisted the horse-hoarse and cot–caught mergers.
Wells classifies words of the English language into 24 lexical sets on the basis of the pronunciation of the vowel of their stressed syllable in the two reference accents. Each lexical set is named after a representative keyword, as follows:
| Keyword | RP | GenAm | Example words |
|---|---|---|---|
| KIT | i ɪ | i ɪ | ship, rip, dim, spirit |
| DRESS | e e | e ɛ | step, ebb, hem, terror |
| TRAP | a æ | a æ | bad, cab, ham, arrow |
| LOT | o ɒ | a ɑ | stop, rob, swan |
| STRUT | u ʌ | u ʌ | cub, rub, hum |
| FOOT | u ʊ | u ʊ | full, look, could |
| BATH | a ɑː | a æ | staff, clasp, dance |
| CLOTH | o ɒ | o ɔ | cough, long, laurel, origin |
| NURSE | e ɜː | e ɜr | hurt, term, work |
| FLEECE | i iː | i i | seed, key, seize |
| FACE | e eɪ | e eɪ | weight, rein, steak |
| PALM | a ɑː | a ɑ* | calm, bra, father |
| THOUGHT | o ɔː | o ɔ* | taut, hawk, broad |
| GOAT | o əʊ | o o | soap, soul, home |
| GOOSE | u uː | u u | who, group, few |
| PRICE | a aɪ | a aɪ | ripe, tribe, aisle, choir |
| CHOICE | o ɔɪ | o ɔɪ | boy, void, coin |
| MOUTH | a aʊ | a aʊ | pouch, noun, crowd, flower |
| NEAR | i ɪə | i ɪr | beer, pier, fierce, serious |
| SQUARE | e ɛə | e ɛr | care, air, wear, Mary |
| START | a ɑː | a ɑr | far, sharp, farm, safari |
| NORTH | o ɔː | o ɔr | war, storm, for, aural |
| FORCE | o ɔː | o or | floor, coarse, ore, oral |
| CURE | u ʊə | u ʊr | poor, tour, fury |
* not followed by /r/
For example, the word rod is pronounced /rɒd/ in RP and /rɑd/ in GenAm. It therefore belongs in the LOT lexical set. Weary is pronounced /ˈwɪərɪ/ in RP and /ˈwɪri/ in GenAm, and thus belongs in the NEAR lexical set.
Some words of the English language do not belong to any lexical set. For example, the stressed syllable of tomato is pronounced /ɑː/ in RP, and /eɪ/ in GenAm, a combination which is very unusual, and is not covered by any of the 24 lexical sets above.
Read more about this topic: Lexical Set
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