This document provides an overview of English phonology and the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA). It explains that the IPA was developed because alphabets are insufficient to represent all the sounds in languages. Individual letters can represent multiple sounds and individual sounds can be represented by multiple letters or symbols. The IPA provides a standardized system of phonetic symbols to accurately transcribe the sounds. The document discusses phonemes as the smallest meaningful units of sound, and uses minimal pairs to illustrate how changing one phoneme can change the meaning of a word. It also presents several phonetic transcription examples.

1. English Phonology
Structure of Language

2. i
ɪ
ɛ
ə
ɜ
æ
u
ʊ
ɔ
ɒ
ʌ
ɑ
aɪ
aʊ
ɔɪ
oʊ
eɪ
m
n
ŋ
p
b
t
d
k
g
s
z
ʃ
ʒ
h
f
v
θ
ð
tʃ
dʒ
w
r
j
w
l

3. Phonetic
Transcription
Structure of Language

4. Why do we use
phonetic symbols?
Apparently, alphabets are
insufficient.
• One letter can have more thanone sound, and
one sound can have more thanone symbol.

5. Why do we use
phonetic symbols?
father
many
wanted
did
believe
Caesar
see
people
sea
key
write
gnaw
knot
lamb
psychology

6. Also,
Transcribingvowelsis morechallenging,
• more vowels than the letters
• diverse Englishdialects
• different experts = different symbols!
• each dictionary has its own symbols!

7. So, how to solve?
We need a phonetic alphabet!
International Phonetic Alphabet
(IPA)

8. First thing first,
Phonemes,
the smallest
meaningfulunits.
cannot be divided
carry meaning
Also, they aren't physical sound. They
are abstract mental representation.

9. Minimal pairs
• initial phoneme(consonant)
• _æt [pæt] pet – [bæt] bat
• _aɪ [θaɪ] thigh – [ðaɪ] thy
• medialphoneme (consonant)
• i_ər [iðər] either – [iθər] ether
• sʌ_ər [sʌfər] suffer – [sʌmər] summer
• finalphoneme (consonant)
• wɪ_ [wɪʧ] witch – [wɪʃ] wish
• saɪ_ [saɪt] site – [saɪd] side

10. Minimal pairs
• medialphoneme (vowel)
• f_st [fæst] fast – [fɜst] first
• n_t [nɑt] not – [noʊt] note

11. [_ɪg]
[p]
[b]
[d]
[g]
[s]
[z]
[f]
[v]
[dʒ]
[w]
[r]
pig [pɪg]
big [bɪg]
dig [dɪg]
gig [gɪg]
cig [sɪg]
zig [zɪg]
fig [fɪg]
vig [vɪg]
jig [ʤɪg]
wig [wɪg]
rig [rɪg] minimal
set
m
n
ŋ
p
b
t
d
k
g
s
z
ʃ
ʒ
h
f
v
θ
ð
tʃ
dʒ
w
r
j
l
front/initial phoneme

12. [b_t]
[i]
[ɪ]
[ɛ]
[æ]
[u]
[ɔ]
[ɒ]
[ʌ]
[aɪ]
[aʊ]
[oʊ]
[eɪ]
beat
bit
bet
bat
boot
bought
bot
but
bite
bout
boat
bait
minimal
set
i
ɪ
ɛ
ə
ɜ
æ
u
ʊ
ɔ
ɒ
ʌ
ɑ
aɪ
aʊ
ɔɪ
oʊ
eɪ
medial phoneme

13. “I say ‘tomayto’ [təmeɪtəʊ],
you say ‘tomahto’ [təmɑtəʊ],”
and we lovers of language
say “vive la différence.”

14. Let's Call the Whole Thing Off
Fred Astaire & Ginger Rogers – 1937
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LOILZ_D3aRg

15. References
• Finegan, E. (2008).Language:ItsStructureandUse,5th
Edition.
• Yule,G. (2010).TheStudyofLanguage,FourthEdition.
• Fromkin,V., Rodman, R., & Hyams, N. (2009).An
IntroductiontoLanguage,9th Edition.