The International Phonetic Association (IPA; French: ', ''API'') is an organization that promotes the scientific study of

phonetics Phonetics is a branch of linguistics that studies how humans produce and perceive sounds, or in the case of sign languages, the equivalent aspects of sign. Linguists who specialize in studying the physical properties of speech are phoneticians. ...

and the various practical applications of that science. The IPA's major contribution to phonetics is the

International Phonetic Alphabet The International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) is an alphabetic system of phonetic notation based primarily on the Latin script. It was devised by the International Phonetic Association in the late 19th century as a standardized representation ...

—a notational standard for the phonetic representation of all languages. The acronym IPA refers to both the association and the alphabet. On 30 June 2015, it was incorporated as a British

private company limited by guarantee In British, Australian, Bermudian, Hong Kong and Irish company law (and previously New Zealand), a company limited by guarantee (CLG) is a type of corporation used primarily (but not exclusively) for non-profit organisations that require legal pe ...

. The IPA also publishes the ''

Journal of the International Phonetic Association The ''Journal of the International Phonetic Association'' (''JIPA'', ) is a peer-reviewed academic journal that appears three times a year. It is published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of the International Phonetic Association. It was e ...

''. In addition, it arranges for the quadrennial International Congress of Phonetic Sciences (ICPhS)IPA: Conferences
/ref> through its affiliate, the Permanent Council for the Organization of ICPhS.

Early history

In 1886, a small group of language teachers in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

formed an association to encourage the use of phonetic notation in schools to help children acquire realistic pronunciations of foreign languages and also to aid in teaching reading to young children. The group, led by

Paul Passy Paul Édouard Passy (; 13 January 1859, Versailles21 March 1940, Bourg-la-Reine) was a French linguist, founder of the International Phonetic Association in 1886. He took part in the elaboration of the International Phonetic Alphabet. Early life ...

, called itself initially ''Dhi Fonètik Tîtcerz' Asóciécon'' (the ''FTA''). In January 1889, the name of the Association was changed to ''L'Association Phonétique des Professeurs de Langues Vivantes (AP),'' and, in 1897, to ''L'Association Phonétique Internationale (API)''—in English, the ''International Phonetic Association (IPA).'' The IPA's early peak of membership and influence in education circles was around 1914, when there were 1751 members in 40 countries.

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

and its aftermath severely disrupted the Association's activities, and the Journal did not resume regular publication until 1922.

Development of the Alphabet

The group's initial aim was to create a set of phonetic symbols to which different articulations could apply, such that each language would have an alphabet particularly suited to describe the sounds of the language. Eventually it was decided that a universal alphabet, with the same symbol being used for the same sound in different languages was the ideal. The first prototype of the

appeared in , and its development progressed rapidly up to the turn of the 20th century. Since then, there have been several sets of changes to the Alphabet, with additions and deletions that the progress of the science of phonetics has indicated.

Examinations

The IPA also has given examinations in phonetics since 1908, awarding Certificates of Proficiency in the phonetics of English, French, or German.

References

External links

International Phonetic Association
{{Authority control International Phonetic Alphabet International learned societies International organisations based in London Organizations established in 1886 1886 establishments in France

Early history

Development of the Alphabet

Examinations

See also

References

Further reading

External links