IPA Flashcards
Letters and symbols
The letters of the alphabet of a language are referred to as orthographic letters, which distinguishes them from IPA symbols
Brackets
IPA symbols are placed in brackets and are called symbols to distinguish them from letters of the English alphabet
Differences
t is an orthographic letter
till is an orthographic spelling
[t] is an IPA symbol
[tIl] is an IPA spelling or transcript
Transcribing
Writing a word in IPA symbols
Silent letters
Do not transcribe silent letters into IPA
Double letters
Transcribe only what you hear. Double letters do not sound different
Capital letters
IPA symbols remain the same whether or not the orthographic letter is capitalized
Punctuation
Do not use apostrophe marks in IPA
Penmanship
Be careful. Many IPA symbols look alike and can be easily confused
Accent marks for syllabic stress
Gives language rhythm and flow. Small marks are used to show where the stress falls within a word.
Phoneme
A single language sound that is represented by a single symbol, and is the smallest unit in IPA. Ex. [t]
Allophone
Any slight variation within that same sound (phoneme)
IPA agreements
Authors rarely agree on IPA spellings
Most important value of IPA
The most important value of IPA is that it breaks down all the complex sounds of language into individual units, and attaches a symbol to each one.
Pure vowel
When a vowels sound can be sustained without movement of the articulators or any change in the quality of sound until the air flow ceases
How many pure vowels
16
Diphthong
A vowel that is made up of two pure vowels with the acoustic result being perceived as a single distinguishable unit
How many diphthongs
6
How are vowels further grouped?
By the position of the tongue, lips, and jaw
Three types of vowels
- Forward, back and central vowels
- Close, mid or open vowels
- Rounded or unrounded vowels
Mouth diagram
Top- e I i
Bottom- E ae a
Back- u, Greekish U, O, backwards C, handwritten a
Mouth diagram shows
Tongue positions for certain vowels
Vowel diagram word positions
Forward. Central. Back.
Close.
Mid.
Open.
Forward, central, back
Refer to whether the arch of the tongue is forward, central, or back in the mouth
Close, mid, and open
refer to the width of the space between the tongue and roof of the mouth.
Closet tongue to the roof
More close the vowel
Open space and more dropped jaw
More open the vowel
All the letters/symbols
I ih i ee ae ah ei ay Backwards 3 eh
