RESPELLING, also re-spelling. A lexicographical technique or system in which the PRONUNCIATION of English words is shown by means of a fixed set of letters and diacritics in which each letter unit has only one value: for example, o with the value in hope (usually regardless of accent variations). Most present-day respelling systems include the schwa or weak vowel [ə]. A dictionary that uses such a system not only describes it in detail in the introduction but also usually displays a set of key word-values at the bottom of each page, for easy consultation. In Britain, the key words of the Chambers English Dictionary (1988) are: ‘fāte; fâr; hûr; mīne; mōte; för; mūte; mn; ft; dhen (then); el′əmənt (element).’ In the US, the key words (etc.) of The Random House Dictionary (1987), with the key letters in roman, are: ‘act, cāpe, dâre, pärt; set, ēqual; if, īce; ox, ōver, ôrder, oil, bk, bt, out; up, ûrge; child, sing; shoe; thin, that; zh as in treasure. ə = a as in alone, e as in system, i as in easily, o as in gallop, u as in circus;^ə as in fire (fī^ər), hour (ou^ər). l and n can serve as syllabic consonants, as in cradle (krādˈl), and button (butˈn).’ The only current alternative to respelling is phonetic symbols, such as those of the International Phonetic Alphabet. IPA symbols representing the RP accent are standard in British learners' dictionaries and have become more common in recent years in British mother-tongue dictionaries: compare recent editions of The Concise Oxford Dictionary: the 7th in 1982 has respelling; the 8th in 1990 uses IPA. Respelling remains standard in the US.