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Accelerate Learning the International Phonetic Symbols

Learning the International Phonetic Alphabetical Symbols and their related sounds can be a challenge. Part of the problem arises from the fact that some different dictionary publishers adopt different symbols while other symbols have been varied or changed slightly in their usage and acceptance over the years. The 4S-AEP Phonetic Chart gives examples of different symbols that are to be found in dictionaries and on the Internet for both the English and the International Phonetic systems. While 4S-AEP uses and recommends the first option for each sound, it is up to the individual or their educational institution to decide which symbol they prefer. Different words can be translated using different phonetic symbols depending on individual accent. That, in turn, usually depends on which country a person comes from. For example,

internationally, the word now is commonly written phonetically as “na�”. However, in Australia, it is

often pronounced as “næ]”. In England, it can be “na�” or “nau”, while in South Africa: “na:” and

in Wales as “nau”. Learning the 4S-AEP methodology has a major advantage in that it teaches how many of the different letters of the alphabet - as well as some of the symbol combinations - in the English language can make more than one sound. 4S-AEP learners are therefore more aware that words that are made from the same combinations will be written differently in phonetic script because they are pronounced differently. Given that the “r” is pronounced, which is not always so, the

words: fear – bear – heart – learn could be written phonetically as fıcr - ber - hart - lfrn.

In 4S-AEP, it is taught that there is no phonetic symbol for the letter “c” neither in the International nor in the British/English Systems. The four sounds made by “c” in the English language therefore have to be represented by other phonetic symbols. The ‘hard c’ sound in cat is shown by ‘k’, i.e.

“kæt”. -- The soft sound in city is shown by ‘s’, i.e. “sıti”. – The sound in cello is shown by ‘±’, i.e.

“±elo�”, while the ‘c’ in cuisenaire is indicated by ‘kw’, i.e. “kwizener.

4S-AEP also teaches about Digraphs, that is, those symbol combinations that are made from two symbols and that change the sound they make, e.g. ‘sh’, ‘ch’, ‘th’, ‘wh’, ‘ph’, ‘gh’, etc. It is therefore not unexpected that the phonetic symbols that apply will be quite different from those used for the single consonants. ‘sh’ > ‘•’ -- ‘ch’ > ‘±’ -- ‘th’ > ‘›’ and ‘ð‘ – ‘wh’ > ‘hw’, ‘h’ and ‘w’ – ‘ph’

and ‘gh’ > ‘f’.

While particular long and short vowel symbols such as ‘æ’, ‘eı’, ‘e’, ‘aı’ and the “r-combinations” such

as ‘ecr’, ‘aıc’, ‘�c‘, etc., have to be committed to memory and are retained best by regular usage and

practice, the easiest way to learn the phonetic symbols is to progress from the ‘simple’ to the ‘complex’ beginning with those consonant symbols that are the same as their alphabetical counterpart. The next step is to tackle the ones that are related in some way. Others can be paired for learning purposes, thus leaving the more difficult ones to put into written constructions until they are known. 4S-AEP recommends that students find a friend to whom they can write in phonetic alphabetical symbols and who in turn, will write back to them using the same method. It is quite surprising how quickly the symbols then become so much easier to use and to translate. It also can be fun – like a secret code game that only those ‘in the know’ understand.

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The 4S-AEP Accelerated Phonetic Learning Steps

(i) There are fifteen (15) International Phonetic Symbols that match the regular sounds made by

the Letters or Symbols of the Alphabet. Alphabet Phonetic Symbol Word Examples Additional Examples b b bed nib rubber d d dog fed middle f f fish cliff dolphin cough g g girl rag haggle ghost league h h hat ahead whom k k king rake cap ache plaque pick l l leg fall miller m m man jam summer lamb autumn n n nut tin winner gnome knot p p peg zip happy r r ride car diarrhoea write rhyme s s six gas lass race scent psalm t t ten net Thames letter ptomaine v v vision live of Stephen z z zoom razor nose puzzle xylophone (ii) Ten (10) of the other symbols are easy to remember when they are grouped or paired together. • – shin ¥ – measure -*- › - thumb ð – this -*-_ ± - chin ® - jam

n – nut ŋ - sing ŋg – finger -*- � - hut ə - panda

• Note how similar in sound and symbol, words such as shin and chin are: • – shin; ± - chin.

• The symbol ‘�’ in ‘hut’ is easy to remember because of it tent-like shape.

• The symbols ‘n’ – ‘ŋ‘ and ‘ŋg’ also fit together. The name of ŋ is eng or engma. ‘ŋ‘ and ‘ŋg’ are known as the ‘twanging’ sounds.

• The Schwa sound in ‘panda’, ‘comma’ and ‘agenda’ is represented by ‘ə’ – a reversed, mirrored, upside down “e”.

• The symbol ‘›’ is called ‘Theta’ which explains why it symbolizes the “th..” sound in ‘thumb’

and ‘theatre’. In contrast, the symbol ‘ð‘ is called ‘eth’ from which the “th..” sound in words

such as ‘this’, ‘that’ and ‘those’ comes.

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(iii) Two other symbols are related and therefore are not difficult to remember. They are ‘j’ and

‘®’. Unexpectedly ’j’ is used for ‘y..’ sounding words such as yellow and youth while ‘®’ is

the phonetic symbol for the ‘j..’ sound heard in jam and joy. (iv) The next group to study includes the symbols for “c”, “q”, “x”, “w” – “wh”, and the “zh..” and

“j..” sounds heard in ‘measure’ and ‘seizure’ and in ‘jump’ and ‘joy’.

As explained previously, the consonant “c” does not have its own separate phonetic symbol. Instead it is represented by other symbols, depending on the sound it makes in a

word. The ‘hard c’ sound in cave is shown by ‘k’, i.e. “keıv”. -- The ‘soft c’ sound in cite is

shown by ‘s’, i.e. “saıt”. – The sound in cellist is shown by ‘±’, i.e. “±elıt”, while the ‘c’ in

cuisine is indicated by ‘kw’, i.e. “kwızin”.

The consonant “q” has two main sounds, “kw..” in ‘quick’ > “kwık” and “k..” in ‘plaque’ >

“plak” and therefore, its phonetic symbol varies accordingly. While personal pronunciation varies, the consonant “q” in ‘bouquet’ and ‘queue’ is also usually shown phonetically as “k”,

that is, as “bo�keı” and “kju”.

Depending again on personal pronunciation, the consonant “x” makes either three or four different sounds and therefore is represented by different phonetic symbols, e.g. ‘box’ >

“bZks” – ‘exit’ > “egzıt” – ‘xerox’ > “zıcrZks” and ‘X-ray’ > “eks-reı”.

The consonant “w” which can also be a demi-vowel, varies because of pronunciation and depending on whether it is silenced. In words such as ‘wish’ and ‘well’, it is represented by

the regular phonetic symbol “w”. In ‘who’ and ‘whose’, the “wh” is shown as “h” as the “w”

remains silent. It is in words such as ‘whip’ and ‘where’ that the variations occur. In these

and similar words, the American influence is seen when the phonetic symbol “hw” is used,

e.g. “hwıp” and “hwer”. Alternatively, just “w” is used, i.e. “wıp” and “wer” or “wec" or “wecr".

The “zh” sound in ‘measure’, ‘seizure’ and ‘rouge’ is usually easy to remember as is its

phonetic symbol “¥". The nearest symbol to it is “®" which is also its closest sound “j..”

heard in ‘jump’ and ‘joy’.

(v) In this fifth stage, the long and short vowels are addressed as well as other variations such

as the Schwa–uh sound > “c” as heard in ‘panda’. While the ‘long e’ is easiest to

remember as the phonetic symbol, “i” because words like ‘piano’ are spelt with an “i” but make a ‘long e’ sound, the other vowel forms need to be practiced and committed to memory.

4S-AEP recommends that simple sentences be employed to demonstrate the differences between long and short vowels, e.g.

Early in the morning, my pet cats, Royal and Thumpy, like to sit and play in those trees above our front gate and watch all the people who walk along this street by our house on their way to work.

fli ın ðc mcnıŋ, maı pet kætz, R]ıæl ænd ›�mpi, laık tu sıt ænd pleı ın ðo�z triz cb�v a�r

fr�nt geıt ænd wZ± ]l ðc pip�l hu w]k clZŋ ðıs strit baı a�r ha�s Zn ðer weı tu wfk.

4S-AEP also recommends the use of the English Phonetic Symbols for teaching the long and short vowels sounds especially when the students are lower skilled in English as these phonetic symbols are much easy to understand and differ only because of their distinguishing marks, e.g.

Long a > ā – gate = gāt; Short a > ă - man = măn ------- Long e > ē – eve = ēv; Short e > ĕ -

pet = pĕt ------- Long i > ī – time = tīm; Short i > ĭ – rip = rĭp ------- Long o > ō – boat = bōt;

Short o > ŏ – Tom = Tŏm ------- Long u > ū – unit = ūnĭt; Short u > ǔ – run = rǔn.

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(vi) The sixth and final stage of the phonetic learning process targets those symbol

combinations that firstly contain the consonant “r”. The remaining ones that English language learners need to know to become superior speakers and writers of the language are then focused on.

This task is made easier by approaching it in parts. The first part involves mastering the variations in the sounds of “ar..”, “er..”, “ir..”, “or..”, “ur..” and “yr..”. The task is made more difficult because of the number of phonetic symbol variations that are used in various dictionaries and by different nations. It is also more of a challenge because of

the growing use of the Schwa-uh (c) sound and because many speakers tend to ‘drop’

the “r” when saying these combinations. 4S-AEP recommends that while, learners need to be aware of the different phonetic symbols that are sometimes used, they should select the most common, internationally,

used one and regularly apply it. To this end, ‘ar’ can be used for the “ar..” sound heard

in ‘cart’. ‘fr’ can be used for the “er..”. “ir..” and “ur..” sounds heard in ‘fern’, ‘bird’ and

‘turn’ while ‘]r’ can be used for the “or..” sound in ‘horn’.

Where there is a clear and distinct Schwa-uh sound, in words such as ‘dollar’, ‘mother’, ‘elixir’, ‘doctor’ and ‘augur’, the phonetic symbols “cr” or “c" should be used.

The second part involves mastering those three-symbol combination sounds heard in words such as ‘bear’, ‘here’, ‘fire’, ‘door’ and ‘pure’. Again, all of these sounds can be

represented by more than one phonetic symbol combination. Again, it is recommended

by 4S-AEP that learners select one that is commonly used internationally, e.g. er > bear;

ıc > here; aıc > fire; �r > door; juc > pure. It is important to note that the suggested 4S-

AEP phonetic symbols are open to variation and are not how everyone pronounces the words used as examples. The final part requires attention to be given to those phonetic symbols that are variations of the vowel sounds in particular “o..” and “u..”. These include the sounds heard in words such as ‘moon’, ‘book’, ‘boy’, ‘scout’, ‘mule’ and ‘broad’. In the same

vein, as recommended previously, learners should choose the most commonly used

phonetic symbols, e.g. u > moon; � > book; ]ı > boy; a� > scout; ju > mule; ] > broad.

While the suggestions outlined above have proved to be very helpful to English language learners, the most successful method of becoming proficient at the use of both the International and the English phonetic symbols is to use them regularly. This “use” approach has three main aspects: (i) Use Phonetic Symbols when writing to other English language learners. (ii) Discipline oneself to regularly read text written in Phonetic Script.

(iii) Daily or weekly select ten to twenty words and use quality dictionaries to explore and

research how these words are written and pronounced using both International and English Phonetic Symbols.

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