Phoneme: the smallest unit of sound that distinguishes meaning. Ship /ʃɪp/ and sheep /ʃiːp/ differ by one phoneme. Pairs like this are minimal pairs — the proof that two sounds are phonemes in a language.
The phonemes of English (with legal-neighbouring examples):
• Vowels: /iː/ (deed), /ɪ/ (did), /e/ (debt), /æ/ (fact), /ɑː/ (fraud — in BrE), /ɒ/ (cost), /ɔː/ (court), /ʊ/ (book), /uː/ (proof), /ʌ/ (judgment), /ɜː/ (term), /ə/ (the unstressed vowel — the most common sound in English: about, sofa)
• Diphthongs: /eɪ/ (case), /aɪ/ (trial), /ɔɪ/ (jury), /aʊ/ (house), /əʊ/ (oath), /ɪə/ (here), /eə/ (swear), /ʊə/ (juror)
• Consonants: /p b t d k g/ (plea, brief, tort, deed, court, guilt), /tʃ dʒ/ (charge, judge), /f v/ (fraud, verdict), /θ ð/ (theory, this), /s z/ (suit, cause), /ʃ ʒ/ (shall, measure), /m n ŋ/ (murder, negligence, wrongful — the /ŋ/ in -ing), /h/ (heir), /l r/ (law, right), /w j/ (writ, lawsuit)
Transcription = writing sounds in symbols (IPA). Lawyers meet transcription when:
1. Transliterating Nepali names into English documents (how many ways can ऋषि or घनश्याम be spelled? — courts require consistent spelling across citizenship, certificates and pleadings);
2. Transcribing recorded evidence (intercepts, confessions) — the transcript becomes an exhibit;
3. Pronouncing legal vocabulary — alias /ˈeɪliəs/, certiorari /ˌsɜːtiəˈreəraɪ/, habeas corpus / ˈheɪbiəs ˈkɔːpəs/ — confident pronunciation is part of professional credibility.