The IPA
(The initials IPA are used for both the International Phonetic Alphabet and for
the International Phonetic Association which created it. It should usually be
clear which one is being referred to.)
- founded in France in 1886
- most original members were language teachers. (Until 1897, its name was the Phonetic Teachers' Association.)
- published the first version of its alphabet in 1888.
Guiding principle: one sound = one symbol
- a different symbol for each distinctive sound
- the same symbol should be used for that sound in every language which uses it
- simple symbols for major sounds (from the roman alphabet where possible)
- diacritics for more minor modifications
Recent revisions: 1989 (Rogers' textbook), 1993, 1996
A page from the "Maître
phonétique", the journal that the International Phonetic Association used to
publish entirely its phonetic alphabet.
We'll be using IPA for the rest of this course.
Next: IPA symbols for English consonants
Previous: Writing things the way they sound
Up: Table of Contents