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⟨j⟩
⟨j⟩ is an English consonant monograph. In English, this normally represents a dge phoneme /dʒ/.
Standard pronunciation[edit | edit source]
In English, ⟨j⟩ normally represents a voiced palato-alveolar affricate /dʒ/, especially at the start of words like jam, jet, jingle, journey and jubilation. It rarely occurs at the ends of words; words that end in a voiced palato-alveolar affricate /dʒ/ are natively spelt as ⟨dge⟩, such as hedge, lodge, wedge, etc. A small number of words end ⟨dj⟩ or ⟨jj⟩.
As /ʒ/[edit | edit source]
All English words that have IPA phoneme /ʒ/ spelled as "j" are of foreign origin, mainly French.
- bijou /ˈbiːʒuː/
- déjà vu /deɪʒɑː ˈvuː/
- force majeure /fɔːrs mæˈʒɜːr/
- je ne sais quoi /ʒə nə seɪ ˈkwɑː/
- jeté /ʒəˈteɪ/ (a ballet term)
- joie de vivre /ʒwʌ də ˈviːvrə/
Also:
- From Persian: Taj Mahal /ˈtɑːʒ məˈhɑːl/
- From Portuguese: Rio de Janeiro /ˈriːoʊ deɪ ʒəˈnɛəroʊ/
As /j/[edit | edit source]
IPA phoneme /j/ is called the yod, and it is a semivowel.
- fjord /ˈfjɔːrd/, hallelujah /hælɪˈluːjə/
Spanish loan words[edit | edit source]
The letter "j" is pronounced [x] in Spanish. In Spanish loanwords it is pronounced in different ways in English, normally H phoneme /h/.
- jalapeño: /hæləˈpeɪnjəʊ,BrE hɑːləˈpeɪnjəʊAmE/
- junta: /ˈdʒʌntə,BrE ˈhʊntəAmE/
- San Jose (California): /sæn hoʊˈzeɪ/
- Silent J
- Juan: /wɑːn/
- marijuana: /mærəˈwɑːnə/. This word comes from Spanish marihuana [mariˈwana]. The spelling has a J in English but not in Spanish. Spanish has the alternate spelling mariguana.[1]
