2.3 Phonetic transcription of speech sounds

2.3.1 Unit of representation

　 When we hear a foreign language spoken for the first time, we find it hard to break up the flow of speech into individual sounds. When we learn that language we have to learn to produce each sound correctly. Children acquiring their mother tongue are able to cut speech into single sounds and produce them. They know implicitly how to produce the sounds. Phoneticians state explicitly how speech sounds are produced. When they transcribe the speech sounds of a language, the unit of representation is called segments, the individual sounds like [k], [e], [t], [s].

2.3.2 Phonetic symbols

　 The widely used symbols for phonetic transcription of speech sounds is the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA). This system of transcription has been developing since 1888. It attempts to represent each sound of human speech with a single symbol. The symbols are enclosed in brackets [ ] to distinguish phonetic transcriptions from the spelling system of a language. It enables linguists to transcribe speech sounds of languages consistently and accurately. It helps the teacher and the learner of such languages as English, of which the spelling and the pronunciation of words do not correspond. English textbooks and dictionaries generally make use of IPA, but variants may be found. It is necessary that you consult the pronunciation guide before using a book or dictionary. The writers need to use the variants because they may transcribe different dialects of English. In this book we will use IPA in transcribing the sounds of British English, and some variants in the case of American English.

　 In more detailed transcription (sometimes referred to as narrow transcription), a sound may be transcribed with a symbol to which a smaller symbol is added in order to mark the finer distinctions. The smaller one is called a diacritic. For example, the sound [p] is pronounced differently in pin and spin. In pronouncing pin, there is a puff of air coming out of the mouth. While in pronouncing spin, there isn't. The two words can be transcribed as [phin] and [spin]. The small raised “h” is used to indicate that the sound is aspirated. This kind of distinctions will be further discussed in Chapter 3.