English phonology
Some of the short vowels may also be combined with  ( bay,  buy,  boy), with  ( ,  beau) or with  ( peer,  pair,  poor). The vowel inventory of English RP in MacCarthy's system therefore totals only seven phonemes. Analyses such as these could also posit six vowel phonemes, if the vowel of the final syllable in comma is considered to be an unstressed allophone of that of strut. These seven vowels might be symbolized , , , , ,  and . Six or seven vowels is a figure that would put English much closer to the average number of vowel phonemes in other languages.