Unit 3: The international
phonetic alphabet (IPA)
Reviewed
✦ T he I nternational P honetic Alphabet
English uses the Latin alphabet, also called the Roman alphabet. Alphabetic
writing systems use symbols to represent the sounds of the language. Each
letter in an alphabet is supposed to correspond to a sound in spoken
language. In English there are at least 44 sounds, but only 26 letters. This
means that some letters represent more than one sound and that some letters
are combined to represent a single sound, e.g., 'th', 'sh', 'ee'. These two-letter
combinations are called digraphs. The result of having fewer letters than
sounds and early standardisation is that readers cannot always tell by looking
at the written form of a word how it will be pronounced. Most languages which
use alphabets are easier to read because the spelling and pronunciation are
much more closely tied than in English. One solution to this problem is to use
the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) to show students how to pronounce
new vocabulary. The IPA was developed in the late 19th century. It provides a
symbol for every sound used in human languages. Each language has its own
subset of phonetic symbols. Each symbol represents a sound in the language.
Each sound is called a phoneme. 'Dog' consists of three phonemes: d-o-g.
'Shop' also consists of three phonemes: sh-o-p, although it is spelt with four
letters. The words sound and phoneme can be used interchangeably when we
are talking about the sounds of a language.
✦ P honetic transcription
Unit 3: The international phonetic alphabet (IPA) 1
, Using symbols to represent how language is pronounced is called phonetic
transcription.
When shop is transcribed, we only use three symbols: /ʃɒp/ corresponding to
the three sounds in the word: sh-o-p
On the next page is the phonemic chart used for British English. The accent
this represents is given various names: RP (received pronunciation), BBC
English, Oxford English, standard English accent. It reflects the accent
common among middle-class British English speakers, especially in the south
of England. In fact, it is estimated that only 2% of people in the UK
pronounce all the sounds in the RP way, but we need to have a standard way
of representing pronunciation, and this is the most widely recognised British
English pronunciation because it is the accent of the 'ruling class’. It was the
accent originally insisted on for BBC presenters, which may be why it has
become so widely regarded as correct and standard.
✦ P honemic chart f or B ritish E nglish
Phonetics is concerned with how sounds are made, whereas phonemics look
at smaller differences in the sounds.
In EFL teaching, we use something called the phonetic chart to represent all of
the sounds in English. A phoneme just describes a meaningful sound.
Unit 3: The international phonetic alphabet (IPA) 2
phonetic alphabet (IPA)
Reviewed
✦ T he I nternational P honetic Alphabet
English uses the Latin alphabet, also called the Roman alphabet. Alphabetic
writing systems use symbols to represent the sounds of the language. Each
letter in an alphabet is supposed to correspond to a sound in spoken
language. In English there are at least 44 sounds, but only 26 letters. This
means that some letters represent more than one sound and that some letters
are combined to represent a single sound, e.g., 'th', 'sh', 'ee'. These two-letter
combinations are called digraphs. The result of having fewer letters than
sounds and early standardisation is that readers cannot always tell by looking
at the written form of a word how it will be pronounced. Most languages which
use alphabets are easier to read because the spelling and pronunciation are
much more closely tied than in English. One solution to this problem is to use
the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) to show students how to pronounce
new vocabulary. The IPA was developed in the late 19th century. It provides a
symbol for every sound used in human languages. Each language has its own
subset of phonetic symbols. Each symbol represents a sound in the language.
Each sound is called a phoneme. 'Dog' consists of three phonemes: d-o-g.
'Shop' also consists of three phonemes: sh-o-p, although it is spelt with four
letters. The words sound and phoneme can be used interchangeably when we
are talking about the sounds of a language.
✦ P honetic transcription
Unit 3: The international phonetic alphabet (IPA) 1
, Using symbols to represent how language is pronounced is called phonetic
transcription.
When shop is transcribed, we only use three symbols: /ʃɒp/ corresponding to
the three sounds in the word: sh-o-p
On the next page is the phonemic chart used for British English. The accent
this represents is given various names: RP (received pronunciation), BBC
English, Oxford English, standard English accent. It reflects the accent
common among middle-class British English speakers, especially in the south
of England. In fact, it is estimated that only 2% of people in the UK
pronounce all the sounds in the RP way, but we need to have a standard way
of representing pronunciation, and this is the most widely recognised British
English pronunciation because it is the accent of the 'ruling class’. It was the
accent originally insisted on for BBC presenters, which may be why it has
become so widely regarded as correct and standard.
✦ P honemic chart f or B ritish E nglish
Phonetics is concerned with how sounds are made, whereas phonemics look
at smaller differences in the sounds.
In EFL teaching, we use something called the phonetic chart to represent all of
the sounds in English. A phoneme just describes a meaningful sound.
Unit 3: The international phonetic alphabet (IPA) 2
