Lexical Sets

All About Lexical Sets

A terrific place to learn about J.C. Wells’s lexical sets is Eric Armstrong’s Lexical Sets for Actors, a free, online, open educational resource.

J.C. Wells’s original 27 lexical sets are:

* SPA is my keyword preference, since Wells’s original “PALM” includes L-coloration in many accents that can lead to confusion.

Sleuthing

How do I figure out splits that are merged in my own accent?

So-called “standard” accent resources (dictionaries) can be helpful here. Look up both possible lexical set words and the word in question and compare pronunciations.

(To be clear, the pronunciation itself is not important unless you’re working on the standard language variety that the dictionary is written in. The point here is to discover which words “go together”, regardless of the vowel sound they might use in any given language variety.)

To figure out if you have a TRAP or BATH word, or THOUGHT vs. CLOTH~LOT, try using a British dictionary such as the Cambridge Dictionary 

To figure out if you have a CLOTH or LOT word, try using an American dictionary such as the Merriam-Webster Dictionary. 

To figure out if you have a NORTH or FORCE word, I’ve compiled an alphabetized list.

Practice: Lexical Set Flashcards

(Click the arrows in the lower right corner to shuffle the deck.)

(Here are the set names, once again):