Week 5: The International Phonetic Alphabet

This week’s reading comes from Language Files (2016). It introduces you to a tool called the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA), which linguists use to transcribe speech sounds in a consistent and accurate way. Please read file 2.1 (pp. 42–47) and familiarize yourself with the IPA Chart, each available on the Readings & Videos page of our course site.

You are also encouraged to read (or at least skim) files 2.2 and 2.3. The IPA chart can be confusing, and files 2.2 and 2.3 help to explain how it is organized, building on the topics we discussed last week (like voicing, nasality, etc.).

Also, please make sure to post a response to the Week 5 discussion board thread. Your post is due by 11:59pm on Friday, 24 February.

I will post a video going over these topics this week, and I’ll notify you when I do so.

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