Foulkes is often spelled with the letters F-O-U-L-K-E-S, yet its phonetic transcription in IPA is /faʊlks/. The initial sound /f/ is followed by the diphthong /aʊ/ which sounds like "ow". The next sound is /l/ followed by the sound /k/ which is a velar sound. The final sound /s/ is pronounced as an unvoiced alveolar fricative. Although the word is commonly spelled with an "e" at the end, the correct spelling, as shown by the IPA transcription, is without the "e".