Many students of English struggle with phonetic transcription. This book is intended as a companion for students from the start of their linguistic training up to graduate or postgraduate level when they may analyse and transcribe authentic speech. It provides background as well as practical information (such as where to find phonetic fonts for the computer) and gives tips on how to avoid common mistakes. There are over 80 exercises relating to all levels of difficulty. A key is provided for both British and American pronunciation for most of them.