International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)

• The International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) is a system for representing the sounds of spoken language.
• It provides a one-to-one correspondence between a sound and a symbol, ensuring each sound has a unique symbol and vice versa.
• Phoneticians, linguists, speech therapists, and others use the IPA to accurately describe and transcribe speech sounds.
• The IPA chart is structured by articulatory features, detailing how sounds are produced in the vocal tract.

Vowels

• Vowels are classified by tongue height, tongue backness, and lip rounding.
• Tongue height refers to how high or low the tongue is in the mouth, with examples such as high vowels [i, u] and low vowels [a, ɑ]. Mid vowels are produced with an intermediate tongue position.
• Tongue backness indicates how far forward or back the tongue is, with front vowels like [i, e] and back vowels like [u, o]. Central vowels use a central tongue position.
• Lip rounding describes whether the lips are rounded (e.g., [u, o]) or unrounded (e.g., [i, e]).
• Diphthongs are vowels that change in quality during articulation, examples include [aɪ], [ɔɪ], and [aʊ].

Consonants

• Consonants are classified by place of articulation, manner of articulation, and voicing.
• Place of articulation: where the vocal tract constriction occurs.
  • Bilabial sounds involve both lips (e.g., [p, b, m]).
  • Labiodental sounds use the lower lip and upper teeth (e.g., [f, v]).
  • Dental sounds use the tongue tip and upper teeth (e.g., [θ, ð]).
  • Alveolar sounds use the tongue tip and the alveolar ridge (e.g., [t, d, s, z, n, l]).
  • Postalveolar sounds use the tongue blade and the area just behind the alveolar ridge (e.g., [ʃ, ʒ, tʃ, dʒ]).
  • Palatal sounds use the tongue body and the hard palate (e.g., [j]).
  • Velar sounds use the tongue body and the soft palate (velum) (e.g., [k, ɡ, ŋ]).
  • Glottal sounds are made at the glottis (e.g., [h, ʔ]).
• Manner of articulation: how the sound is produced.
  • Stop (Plosive) sounds involve complete vocal tract closure, followed by a release of air (e.g., [p, b, t, d, k, ɡ]).
  • Fricative sounds involve a narrow constriction, creating turbulent airflow (e.g., [f, v, θ, ð, s, z, ʃ, ʒ, h]).
  • Affricate sounds begin as stops and end as fricatives (e.g., [tʃ, dʒ]).
  • Nasal sounds involve airflow through the nasal cavity (e.g., [m, n, ŋ]).
  • Approximant sounds feature a wide channel for airstream passage, without turbulence.
    • Liquid sounds are approximants with lateral airflow around the tongue (e.g., [l, r]).
    • Glide (Semivowel) sounds are approximants similar to vowels (e.g., [w, j]).
• Voicing: Vibration of the vocal cords during sound production.
  • Voiced sounds involve vocal cord vibration (e.g., [b, d, ɡ, v, z, ʒ]).
  • Voiceless sounds do not involve vocal cord vibration (e.g., [p, t, k, f, s, ʃ, h]).

Other Symbols and Diacritics

• Diacritics are small marks that indicate modifications or finer phonetic details, such as nasalization, aspiration, and dentalization.
• Suprasegmentals are symbols that indicate stress, tone, or intonation. Primary stress is marked with a raised vertical line before the stressed syllable (e.g., [ˈ]).

IPA Chart Layout

• The IPA chart is typically presented as a table, where rows indicates manners of articulation, and columns indicate places of articulation for consonants. Vowels are arranged separately by tongue height and backness.
• Sounds are listed in pairs, with voiceless consonants on the left and voiced consonants on the right, where applicable.

Importance of IPA

• The IPA allows for consistent and accurate transcription of speech sounds, regardless of language.
• It is essential for phonetic research, linguistic analysis, speech pathology, and language teaching.
• It facilitates cross-linguistic comparisons and the study of speech disorders.

Using the IPA

• Learning the IPA involves familiarizing oneself with the symbols and the sounds they represent.
• Transcribing words and phrases while paying attention to the articulatory features of each sound is valuable practice.
• Referencing the IPA chart and consulting experienced phoneticians or linguists when needed aids learning.