# IPA pronuciation mistakes in the dictionary?



## lauke

Hi guys,

Is not the first time I find some differences between the wordreference dictionary and the cambridge dictionary (the latter is the one I usually use to check the pronunciation).

For example I just came across this word
harness - Dizionario inglese-italiano WordReference (IPA /ˈhɑːnɪs/)
harness definizione, significato - che cosa è harness nel dizionario Inglese - Cambridge Dictionary (IPA /ˈhɑː.nəs/)

What concerns me is the difference between the ɪ sound and the ə sound. (I assume they both referece to UK-RP accent).

If this is an example of mistake how do I point such mistakes out?


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## Nino83

Sometimes there is some dialectal variation.


> Among speakers who make this distinction, the distributions of schwa and [ɪ̈] are quite variable, and in many cases the two are in free variation


Stress and vowel reduction in English - Wikipedia
In some dictionary the same ending (-ness) is transcribed with different symbols on different words: 
harness
hardness
The WR dictionary uses the same transcription of the Oxford Learner's Dictionary, in this case.


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## lauke

So it is correct then, it's not a typo, right?


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## Nino83

Yes, it is correct.
I think it depends on the variety they refer to and on the system they use.


> The distinction between unstressed /ɪ/ and /ə/ (e.g. _roses_ vs _Rosa's_) is sometimes lost in GA, while in RP it is retained. Thus in RP, _batted_ /ˈbætɪd/ and _battered_ /ˈbætəd/ are not homophones (as they are in Australian English).


Comparison of General American and Received Pronunciation - Wikipedia
If you follow the American English pronunciation, use /ə/.


> The merger is very common in the Southern Hemisphere accents. Most speakers of Australian English replace weak /ɪ/ with schwa
> The merger is also commonly found in General American.
> In RP, the contrast between /ə/ and weak /ɪ/ is maintained. In other accents of the British Isles behavior may be variable; in Irish English the merger is almost universal.


Phonological history of English high front vowels - Wikipedia  

The difference in pronunciation is clear in this page harness  
weak /ɪ/ in the British pronunciation, /ə/ in the American one


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## lauke

I'm not an expert in the subject, so probably my talking is no-sense. You can assume I'm talking about british english (UK-RP).
Does you argument hold although we are talking about the same accent?


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## Nino83

lauke said:


> ou can assume I'm talking about british english (UK-RP)


In UK-RP the the contrast between /ə/ and weak /ɪ/ is maintained, but I don't know in which words there is /ɪ/ or /ə/.
You could ask @entangledbank, which is an expert in the accents of the British Isles.


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## lauke

Shall I send him a private message, in case of further interest in the subject?


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## Paulfromitaly

lauke said:


> Shall I send him a private message, in case of further interest in the subject?


If you want to ask a language question, open a thread in the forums instead of soliciting help via PM, thanks.


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## berndf

Nino83 said:


> In UK-RP the the contrast between /ə/ and weak /ɪ/ is maintained, but I don't know in which words there is /ɪ/ or /ə/.


I would consider this as an allophonic variant and not as a phonemic contrast. I would distinguish between [ə] and [ɪ] but there is only /ə/.


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## Nino83

berndf said:


> I would distinguish between [ə] and [ɪ] but there is only /ə/


You're right, square brackets are better.


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