What is the international phonetic alphabet?

The International Phonetic Alphabet is a tool that let’s us talk about sounds without confusion.

Unfortunately, in the English language, the letters within a word don’t always tell us exactly how a word is pronounced. Take the words said and maid for example. Despite both having the same vowels, their sound is completely different.

And there’s an even better example. Cough, through, though, thought all contain ough which is pronounced uniquely in each word.

Therefore, we need a method of communicating about the pronunciation of words without relying on the spelling.

This is where the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) comes in.

There are approximately 44 sounds in the English language.

• 24 consonants
• 20 vowels

We say approximately because there is some variation across regions and dialects.

For each sound, the IPA assigns a unique symbol.

Now, we can phonetically describe our words without confusion.

• said becomes /sed/
• maid becomes /meɪd/

We also use periods to separate syllables in a word. The stressed syllable is marked with an apostrophe preceding it.

For example, the word minimal would be /ˈmɪn.ɪ.məl/, with three syllables and stress on the first.

A few things to note about the IPA

It is worth pointing out a few things about the IPA. There are some single sounds that are represented with two symbols.

• /tʃ/ as the ch in church
• /dʒ/ as the j in jump

We can also classify our vowels into monothongs and diphthongs.

Monothongs are a single sound which we can further categorise into long and short vowel sounds. Long vowel sounds are indicated with a ː symbol and are longer in duration.

• Consider how the iː in sheep /ʃiːp/ is longer in duration than ɪ in ship /ʃɪp/
• Or how the uː in moon /muːn/ is longer in duration than ʊ in book /bʊk/

Diphthongs are made up of different vowel sounds produced within the same syllable.

We start with the first sound, and transition to the second. This is why diphthongs use two IPA symbols.

Where is the IPA used?

You will see the IPA used in any good dictionary. Each word will use the IPA to show pronunciation, often with two entires for the UK and US dialects.

English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teachers should also be using the IPA in their lessons. You may be in a situation where you cannot hear a newly learnt word and so having a written reminder of it's pronunciation is very useful.

Flashcards, language learning apps and our MinimalPears game will all use the IPA. In our case, it can help you identify which sounds are the minimal pairs.

Why do I see different IPA spellings for the same word?

Firstly, this could be because each spelling is for a different dialect - usually, the UK or US.

Secondly, different sources may use a different set of symbols. Linguists are constantly debating how pronounciation has changed over time.

Some of the common vowels symbols that seem to be used interchangeably are:

• e and ɛ
• æ and a
• ɜː and əː

To understand completely, let me introduce the vowel grid from the IPA.

This grid represents the tongue position when producing different vowel sounds. The vertical axis represents the height of the tongue. The horizontal axis represents how forwards and backwards it is in the mouth.

Notice how the symbols used interchangeably are very close together on the chart. The set of symbols e, æ and ɜː are the symbols that were selected in the 1920s. On the other hand, ɛ, a and əː try to capture how sounds have changed to the modern day.

Are there any limitations of the IPA?

The IPA is great as a tool and a rough guide for language learners. But nothing beats hearing a sound with your own ears and trying to imitate what you heard. It is definitely worth adding to your toolkit, but be aware of the limitations.

The IPA also only explains how to pronounce a word in isolation. But during fluid speech, we alter some sounds so that we flow between them more naturally.

These are called coarticulations. They can be unstress syllables, change phonemes depending on the preceding or following sound, or drop syllables entirely.