information:classification
Pronunciation

In many languages, such as the English language, the pronunciation of some words is not consistently apparent from their spelling. In these languages, dictionaries usually provide the pronunciation. For example, the definition for the word dictionary might be followed by the International Phonetic Alphabet spelling / ˈ d ɪ k ʃ ə n ər i / (in British English) or / ˈ d ɪ k ʃ ə n ɛr i / (in American English). American English dictionaries often use their own pronunciation respelling systems with diacritics, for example dictionary is respelled as "dĭk ′ shə-nĕr′ē" in the American Heritage Dictionary. The IPA is more commonly used within the British Commonwealth countries. Yet others use their own pronunciation respelling systems without diacritics: for example, dictionary may be respelled as DIK -shə-nerr-ee. Some online or electronic dictionaries provide audio recordings of words being spoken.