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International Phonetic Alphabet: Symbols
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The symbols chosen for the IPA are generally drawn from the Latin and Greek alphabets, or are modifications of Latin or Greek lettersInternational Phonetic Association. (1949). The principles of the International Phonetic Association, being a description of the International Phonetic Alphabet and the manner of using it, illustrated by texts in 51 languages. London: University College, Department of Phonetics.. There are ... a few symbols derived from Latin punctuation, such as the glottal stop , which was originally an apostrophe, but was later given the form of a "gelded" question mark to have the visual impact of the other consonants. On the other hand, some symbols, such as , though Latin in form, were inspired by glyphs in other writing systems (in this case, the Arabic letter `ain).
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The IPA is what MacMahon (1996) has termed a "selective" phonetic alphabet. It aims to provide a separate symbol for every contrastive (that is, phonemic) sound occurring in human language. For instance, a flap and a tap are two different articulations, but since no language has (yet) been found to make a phonemic distinction between them, the IPA does not provide them with dedicated symbols. Instead, it provides a single symbol,
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This is an active version of the reproduction of the International Phonetic Alphabet. The chart is split into its seven sections, staying typographically close to the familiar layout. However, these sections sport clickable symbols, each symbol linking to a canonical rendition of the sound.
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"Narrow" transcription ... uses symbols of the International Phonetic Alphabet. However, it uses more symbols than Gimson's phonemic transcription. "Narrow" transcription is mainly used by phoneticians and is not covered on Antimoon.
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The symbols chosen for the IPA are meant to harmonize with the Latin alphabet. For this reason, most symbols are either Latin or Greek letters, or modifications thereof. However, there are symbols that are neither: for example, the symbol denoting the glottal stop [ʔ] has the form of a "gelded" question mark, and was originally an apostrophe. Indeed, some symbols, such as that of the voiced pharyngeal fricative [ʕ], though modified to look more Latin, were inspired by glyphs in other writing systems (in this case, the Arabic letter ,
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The phonetic alphabet is frequently used in popular culture to evoke a military environment or situation. For example, in the movie Meet the Parents, Robert de Niro plays a former CIA operative who repeatedly utters phrases using the phonetic alphabet. Other notable examples of usage include the British television series Juliet Bravo which wasn't the character's name but her callsign, The Bill and Robert Ludlum's novel The Bourne Identity which repeatedly uses the system - the phrase Cain is for Charlie and Delta is for Cain is repeated, always italicized, to symbolize the messages relayed to the main character during the Vietnam War.
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