Pronouncing dictionaries: Ambiguities and directions for the 21st-century EFL learner

In this paper, I will argue that a monolithic view of Received Pronunciation or Standard British English Pronunciation is and will not be of any help for the foreign learner who, on the other hand, is constantly confronted with authentic material in the language classroom. As a result of an investigation carried out on three well known pronouncing dictionaries, i.e. Jones’s English Pronouncing Dictionary (Roach et al. 200316) – until recently considered the “undisputed norm” (Monroy 2004, 275) – Well’s Longman Pronunciation Dictionary (Wells 20083) and The Oxford Dictionary of Pronunciation for Current English (Upton et al. 2003), and on online pronouncing dictionaries, I will point out that ambiguities and false directions, despite the ‘authority’ of the source, are clear obstacles for the language learner on, to quote the Beatles’ song, “the long and winding road” to English pronunciation.