Agenda

• Definition of the IPA

• Aim of the IPA
• History of the IPA
• Uses
• Overview on English
Phonemes
• Sound /h/
• Sound
 Objectives
After this module, you will be able to:
• Understand what IPA is, its aim and history.
• Know about English Phonemes specifically /h/
and
• The International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) is
an alphabetic system of phonetic transcription. It
was devised by the International Phonetic
Association as a standardized representation of the
sounds of spoken language.
• The IPA is the major as well as the oldest
organization for phoneticians. It was established in
1886 in Paris.
• The latest version of the IPA Alphabet was published
in 2005.
 Aim of the IPA
• The aim of the IPA is to promote the scientific
study of phonetics and the various practical
applications of that science.
• The IPA is designed to represent only those
qualities of speech that are distinctive in a
spoken language: phonemes, intonation, and
the separation of words and syllables.
 History of the IPA
• In 1886, a group of French and British language teachers, led by the French
linguist Paul Passy, formed the International Phonetic Alphabet. And to
make it usable for other languages, the symbols were allowed to vary from
language to language. For example, the sound [ʃ] was originally
represented with the letter ⟨c⟩ in English, but with the letter ⟨x⟩ in French.
However, in 1888, the alphabet was revised so as to be uniform across
languages, thus providing the base for all future revisions.
• Since its creation, the IPA has undergone a number of revisions. After
major revisions and expansions in 1900 and1932, the IPA remained
unchanged until 1989. A minor revision took place in 1993. The alphabet
was last revised in May 2005 with the addition and removal of some
symbols and renaming some others.
 Uses
• The IPA is used in dictionaries to indicate the
pronunciation of words.
• The IPA is used in some foreign language text
books and phrase books to transcribe the
sounds of languages which are written with
non-latin alphabets. It is also used by non-
native speakers of English when learning to
speak English.
English Phonemes
• In English, there is no one-to-one relation
between the system of writing and the system
of pronunciation. The alphabet which we use
to write English has 26 letters but in (Standard
British) English there are 44 speech sounds:
24 of which are consonant sounds and 20
vowel sounds.
• IPA classifies the Consonants Sounds of English
According to the Manner and Place of
Articulation
  /h/
• The Manner of Articulation:
The flow of air is constricted, but not totally
stopped or blocked. This is called a Fricative
sound.
  /h/
• The Place of Articulation:
The glottis (throat) is the organ used to
produce the sound /h/.
This is the only Glottal sound in English.
Listen and Practice
• The Manner of Articulation:
This sound is made with air passing through
the nose. This is called a Nasal Sound .
• The Place of Articulation:
Velar sounds are those sounds made by the
articulation of the tongue towards the soft
palate.
Listen and Practice