International Phonetic Alphabet

International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) is an alphabetic system of phonetic notation primarily based on the Latin alphabet. It was devised by the International Phonetic Association as a standardized representation of the sounds of spoken language. The IPA is used by linguists, speech-language pathologists, singers, actors, constructed language creators, and translators.

The IPA is designed to represent only those qualities of speech that are part of oral language: phones, phonemes, intonation, and the separation of words and syllables. To represent additional qualities of speech, such as tooth gnashing, lisping, and sounds made with a cleft lip and palate, an extended set of symbols, the ExtIPA, has been developed.

History

The International Phonetic Alphabet was first published in 1888 by the Association Phonétique Internationale (International Phonetic Association), a group of French and British language teachers founded by Paul Passy. The aim was to create a system that could be used to transcribe any language, in order to aid in its teaching and study. The original alphabet was based on the English and French alphabets, with additional symbols taken from various other languages to cover sounds not present in English or French.

Structure

The IPA is organized into three main sections: pulmonic consonants, non-pulmonic consonants, and vowels. Pulmonic consonants are those produced with air pressure from the lungs, which constitutes the majority of consonants in most languages. Non-pulmonic consonants include clicks, implosives, and ejectives. Vowels are categorized based on the position of the tongue and lips.

Pulmonic Consonants

These are categorized into a grid based on the place of articulation (ranging from bilabial to glottal) and the manner of articulation (such as plosive, nasal, and approximant).

Non-Pulmonic Consonants

This category includes sounds that do not use lung air for their production. They are further divided into clicks, implosives, and ejectives.

Vowels

Vowels are organized based on the position of the tongue (high, mid, low) and the position of the lips (rounded or unrounded).

Usage

The IPA is used in dictionaries, language textbooks, and linguistic research to provide a precise and unambiguous representation of the sounds of languages. It is particularly useful for languages with sounds that do not have letters in the Latin alphabet.

Extensions and Updates

The IPA chart has been revised several times to add new symbols for newly recognized sounds and to remove symbols no longer used. The most recent version was released in 2015. Extensions to the IPA, such as the Voice Quality Symbols (VoQS) and the ExtIPA, have been developed to represent additional sounds and features.

Criticism

Some linguists have criticized the IPA for its Eurocentric focus, arguing that it does not adequately represent the sounds of many non-European languages. Others have noted that the IPA can be complex and difficult for beginners to learn.

See Also

• Phonetics
• Phonology
• Language
• Linguistics

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