Reddit reviews Phonetics: A Coursebook

Hi!

That “weird” phonetic spelling is derived from the International Phonic Alphabet (IPA). An interactive version can be found below:

http://www.ipachart.com/

Each sound in languages worldwide are assigned to this alphabet and it is used in numerous ways such as helping children to acquire language, learning a new language or learning the pronunciation of words. It’s used in many fields such as speech language therapy and in some instances, forensics.

For example, “hello” would be transcribed as /hɛˈləʊ/

The forward slashes are used to indicate the start and end of a word or phrase. It’s often used by linguists to transcribe the sound and inflections made by words, for example, different accents may produce a different IPA transcript. You can try your own words here:

https://tophonetics.com/

One of the coolest things I found about IPA was it’s use in criminal investigation. For example, in the 70s, there is an the Ted Kaczynski “Unabomber” case where the analysis of his voice, accent and word choice was used to help pinpoint the killer:

https://youtu.be/mC73RSXafjU

https://www.npr.org/2017/08/22/545122205/fbi-profiler-says-linguistic-work-was-pivotal-in-capture-of-unabomber

I hope this helps! If you have any other questions regarding the IPA or phonics please hmu and I’ll be happy to assist. Here is a link to the textbook by Rachael Anne Knight I used in university to study Phonetics if you were seriously interested in learning how to use it:


https://www.amazon.co.uk/Phonetics-Coursebook-Rachael-Anne-Knight/dp/0521732441/ref=asc_df_0521732441_nodl/?tag=googshopuk-21&linkCode=df0&hvadid=310977525294&hvpos=1o27&hvnetw=g&hvrand=5089921460476181905&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=m&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9045217&hvtargid=pla-581568737966&psc=1&th=1&psc=1