divs.auHow to pronounce the names of Melbourne suburbs.
There are a couple of suburb pronunciation guides around and sure, they'll list Prahran and Malvern and Reservoir and maybe even Truganina. But then they'll have whacky phonetics and you can tell they were written by someone with no concept of Melbourne or with no understanding of English phonology. Not that I'm claiming to be an expert in linguistics. But here is a full, comprehensive list of every Melbourne suburb, with a consistent and reliable phonology. For symbol meanings, see the pronunciation key below.
| Suburb | Pronunciation | LGA | Postcode |
|---|
Vowel Pronunciation Key
| Phoneme | IPA | Example Words | Pronunciation |
|---|---|---|---|
| uh | ʌ | CUP, LUCK | kuhp, luhk |
| ah | ɑː | ARM, FATHER | ahm, fah·‡@ |
| æ | æ | CAT, BLACK | kæt, blæk |
| eh | e | MET, BED | meht, behd |
| @ | ə | AWAY, CINEMA | @·way, sihn·@·m@ |
| œ | ɜːʳ | TURN, LEARN | tœn, lœn |
| ih | ɪ | HIT, SITTING | hiht, siht·ihñ |
| ee | iː | SEE, HEAT | see, heet |
| ø | ɒ | HOT, ROCK | høt, røk |
| aw | ɔː | CALL, FOUR | cawl, faw |
| uu | ʊ | PUT, COULD | puut, cuud |
| ew | uː | BLUE, FOOD | blew, fewd |
| iy | aɪ | FIVE, EYE | fiyv, iy |
| ow | aʊ | NOW, OUT | now, owt |
| ay | eɪ | SAY, EIGHT | say, ayt |
| oh | oʊ | GO, HOME | goh, hohm |
| oi | ɔɪ | BOY, JOIN | boi, join |
| eh@ | eəʳ | WHERE, AIR | weh@, eh@ |
| ee@ | ɪəʳ | NEAR, HERE | nee@, hee@ |
| u@ | ʊəʳ | PURE, TOURIST | pyu@, tu@-rist |
| ow@ | aʊʳ | OUR | ow@ |
| oi@ | ɔɪəʳ | ROYAL | roi@l |
Consonant Pronunciation Key
| Phoneme | IPA | Example Words | Pronunciation |
|---|---|---|---|
| b | b | BAD, LAB | bæd, læb |
| d | d | DID, LADY | dihd, lay·dee |
| f | f | FIND, IF | fiynd, ihf |
| g | g | GIVE, FLAG | gihv, flag |
| h | h | HOW, HELLO | how, heh·loh |
| j | j | YES, YELLOW | yehs, yehl·oh |
| k | k | CAT, BACK | kæt, bæk |
| l | l | LEG, LITTLE | lehg, lihd·@l |
| m | m | MAN, LEMON | man, leh·m@n |
| n | n | NO, TEN | noh, tehn |
| ñ | ŋ | SING, FINGER | sihñ, fihñ·g@ |
| p | p | PET, MAP | peht, mæp |
| r | ɹ | RED, TRY | rehd, ¢riy |
| s | s | SUN, MISS | suhn, mihs |
| $ | ʃ | SHE, CRASH | $ee, kræ$ |
| t | t | TEA, GETTING | tee, gehd·ihñ |
| ¢ | tʃ | CHECK, CHURCH | ¢ehk, ¢œ¢ |
| + | θ | THINK, BOTH | +iñk, boh+ |
| ‡ | ð | THIS, MOTHER | ‡his, muh‡·@ |
| v | v | VOICE, FIVE | vois, fiyv |
| w | w | WET, WINDOW | weht, wihn·doh |
| z | z | ZOO, LAZY | zew, lay·zee |
| £ | ʒ | PLEASURE, VISION | pleh£·@, vih£·@n |
| j | dʒ | JUST, LARGE | juhst, lahj |
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