Definition of International Phonetic Alphabet

In some dictionaries and manuals of language A series of symbols appear indicating how sounds should be pronounced in each language. Thus, by knowing the meaning of these signs, it is possible to improve the spoken knowledge of a foreign language. The set of signs used forms an alphabet, specifically the international phonetic alphabet. This name comes from the acronym in English AFI, Alphabet phonetic International.

The spellings of an alphabet have their corresponding sign in the international phonetic alphabet

From a historical point of view, the API system was developed jointly at the end of the 19th century. by various language specialists and teachers, all led by the French linguist Paul Passy.

Thus the AssociationPhonetics International. In this way, with a single alphabet you can identify the sounds of any language. Over the years some modifications have been included to perfect the alphabet. East code International allows any recipient of a message can know the pronunciation of a word.

Also, it is used as a complementary system in the learning of the orthography. This linguistic code includes the set of possibilities of the human voice to reproduce sounds.

Examples applied to the English language

The long sound of the letter i is expressed with the symbol i: y is used for combining some letters together (ee, ea or ese, for example see, speak or these). In contrast, the short i sound appears in words like chip, thin, or ship.

The long sound of the letter u is represented by the sound u: and is normally used to refer to words where there are two vowels or continuous (choose, food or foot). The short sound appears in words like book, good, or cook.

The long sound of the letter a is indicated by the sign a: and is applicable to words such as arm, bar, car or far. On the contrary, the short sound is found in words such as are, sun or cut.

Most languages ​​are made up of a number of phonemes ranging from 25 to 40

There are about 6500 languages ​​in the world and each one of them has a different sound. Phonetics studies the joint of consonants and vowels. The points of articulation of a tongue are called phonation and are the following: labial, coronal, dorsal, radical and glottal.

Each language has its own phonemes and, consequently, the use of an international phonetic alphabet is necessary.

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