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Since the invention of the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) in 1888, language students everywhere have been reaping the benefits. The International Phonetic Alphabet was a system created to give a correspondence between each sound in language and each phonetic symbol. With the IPA, a student can learn what parts of the mouth are called, and then they will be able to tell where a sound was made. Furthermore, knowing the IPA can help a student build native pronunciation and learn where to place stress, tone, and intonation from the start of their language journey. The amazing thing about the International Phonetic Alphabet is that someone who knows the phonetic alphabet can pronounce any word in any language. Pushing air through the vocal cords produces speech sounds. Vowels are organized by the tongue’s position in the mouth: it can be front (up close to the teeth), central, or back (pulled back toward the throat), as well as high, mid, or low. Constants have two variables that organize them in the International Phonetic Alphabet: place and manner of articulation. Articulation is when the student makes a speech sound. Place of articulation is where in the mouth the sound is made. And lastly, how the air travels to make the sound is the manner of articulation. This is all very important for ESL students when learning English because they can truly learn the native pronunciation from the beginning rather than developing this later on. Not only does the International Phonetic Alphabet assist ESL students on how to pronounce new words in English, the IPA also aids their development on how and where to place stress, tone, and intonation. This is especially helpful for English language students because English in an intonation language. Meaning there is a varied pitch contour across an utterance but pitch is not used to distinguish words. This can be a hard concept for some students to grasp at first. For example, in Thai, a string of sounds can be said with different pitches, thus having different meanings. Similarly, in Japanese, the length of a constant or a vowel can change the meaning of a word. The International Phonetic Alphabet can assist students whose native language has very different stress and pitches learn the correct style for speaking English successfully. As you can see, the International Phonetic Alphabet can benefit ESL students in many ways. The IPA allows all students to learn the unique pronunciation of English from the beginning of their language journey. If a student knows the International Phonetic Alphabet, they can pronounce any word. Some students may be put off learning the International Phonetic Alphabet because it’s a lot like learning a new language in itself. That’s not to mention learning an actual new language as well. While it may seem like a daunting task initially, learning the International Phonetic Alphabet will help language students in the long run succeed in both the beginning stages as well as the more advanced stages of learning English. Sources: "Introduction to Linguistic Theory" Adam Szczegielniak https://scholar.harvard.edu/files/adam/files/phonetics.ppt.pdf
