International Phonetic Script (IPS) Teaching Booklet.
IPS is a user-friendly phonetic system designed to represent words from any language using intuitive, keyboard-friendly symbols. It avoids the complexity of IPA and uses familiar letters, simple markers, and clear rules.
IPS is primarily intended to provide sufficient level of accuracy for language learners to assist with proper phenomes. IPS would have a much less steeper learning curve than IPA. With proper sample sets, one should be able to get familiar with IPS, within a few days.
1. Vowels
- Short/long pairs: a / aa, i / ii, u / uu, o / oo, é / éé, è / èè
- Nasalized vowels: [an], [en], [in], [on], [un]
- Rounded front vowels: [ue] (ö / ø), [au] (dough, daughter)
- The nasal ringing ° (pin° pon°, din° don°)
2. Consonants
- Base: b, c, d, f, g, h, j, k, l, m, n, p, r, s, t, v, w, x, y, z
- Special: [sh], [ch], [ts], ñ, [jz], [Rr]
- Aspirates: uppercase P, K, B, G)
- Clusters: use brackets [ ]: e.g., [br], [str], [jñ] [gñ]
3. Apostrophe (')
Marks abrupt stop, glottal closure, palatalization, or tense consonants.
- cat → kèt'
- uh-oh ! → o'.o'
- uh-oh → o'.oo
- Qur’ān → Ku.[Rr]'.aa.n'
4. Long Vowels
Long vowels are represented by doubling:
- aa, ii, uu, oo, éé, èè, [eu][eu], [au][au]
- Example: hooray → huu.réé
- German schön → [sh][eu]n' (short) or [sh][eu][eu]n' (long)
5. Syllable Structure
Pattern: (Cluster) + Vowel + (Optional Ending)
- kè.t' (English :cat)
- [br]aa.s' (English :bras)
- [str]ii.t' (English :street)
- fl[eu].r' (French : fleur)
6. Tone Markers (Optional)
For tone languages, you can add: ˉ high, ˊ rising, ˇ dipping, ˋ falling, ˙ neutral
- maˉ, maˊ, maˇ, maˋ, ma˙
7. Sample Words in IPS
| Language | Word | IPS |
|---|---|---|
| English | cat | kè.t' |
| English | street | [str]ii.t' |
| English | water | w[au].te.r' |
| French | fleur | fl[eu].r' |
| German | schön | [sh][eu][eu].n' |
| German | Flughafen | [fl]uu.gaa.fe.n' |
| Japanese | tsunami | [ts]u.naa.mi |
| Japanese | chotto | [ch]o.t'.to |
| French | chocolat | [sh]o.ko.la |
| English | chocolat | [ch]o.ko.le.t' |
| Portuguese | meias | méé.s' |
| Portuguese | pão | p[au]' |
| Russian | мир | mii.r' |
| Sanskrit | kṣetra | [ks]e.t.ra |
| Sanskrit | jñāna | [jñ]aa.na |
| Sanskrit | dhyāna | [Dy]aa.na |
8. Quick Reference
- Vowels: a aa, i ii, u uu, o oo, é éé, è èè, °, [au], [eu]
- Nasalized: [an] [en] [in] [on] [un]
- Consonants: b, c, d, f, g, h, j, k, l, m, n, p, r, s, t, v, w, x, y, z
- Special consonants: [sh], [ch], [ts], ñ, [jz], [Rr]
- Clusters: [br], [str], [jñ], etc.
- Apostrophe (') = abrupt stop, glottal closure, palatalization, tense consonants
- Long vowels = doubling: aa, ii, uu, éé, [eu][eu], [au][au]
English words in IPA & IPS
Note : letters inside () are silent.
| # | Word | IPA | IPS |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | cat | /kæt/ | kè.t' |
| 2 | dog | /dɔɡ/ | d[au].g' |
| 3 | fish | /fɪʃ/ | fi.[sh]' |
| 4 | bird | /bɜrd/ | bee.(r').d' |
| 5 | house | /haʊs/ | ha.u'.s' |
| 6 | school | /skuːl/ | s'.kuu.l' or [sk]uu.l' |
| 7 | skull | /skʌl/ | s'.ka.l' or [sk].a.l' |
| 8 | tree | /triː/ | [tr]ii or [tr]i |
| 9 | tri / try | /tɹaɪ/ | [tr]a.i' |
| 10 | bread | /brɛd/ | [br]é.d' |
| 11 | water | /ˈwɔtər/ | w[au].te.(r') |
| 12 | fire | /faɪər/ | fa.ye.(r') |
| 13 | sun | /sʌn/ | sa.n' |
| 14 | moon | /muːn/ | muu.n' |
| 15 | star | /stɑːr/ | s'.taa.(r') or s.ta.(r') |
| 16 | wind | /wɪnd/ | wi.n'.d' |
| 17 | rain | /reɪn/ | réé.n' |
| 18 | snow | /snoʊ/ | [sn][au][au] or [sn][au] |
| 19 | book | /bʊk/ | bu.k' |
| 20 | pen | /pɛn/ | pé.n' |
| 21 | chair | /tʃɛər/ | [ch]é.a.(r') |
| 22 | table | /ˈteɪbl/ | téé.[bl]' |
| 23 | door | /dɔr/ | d[au][au].(r') |
| 24 | window | /ˈwɪndoʊ/ | wi.n'.d[au] or wi.n'.d[au][au] |
| 25 | floor | /flɔr/ | fl[au].(r') or fl[au][au].(r') |
| 26 | car | /kɑr/ | k'aa.(r') |
| 27 | train | /treɪn/ | [tr]éé.n' |
| 28 | plane | /pleɪn/ | [pl]éé.n' |
| 29 | ship | /ʃɪp/ | [sh]i.p' |
| 30 | milk | /mɪlk/ | mi.l'.k' |
| 31 | cheese | /tʃiːz/ | [ch]ii.z' |
| 32 | egg | /ɛɡ/ | é.g' |
| 33 | apple | /ˈæpəl/ | è.p'.l' or è.pe.l' |
| 34 | orange | /ˈɔrɪndʒ/ | [au].ré.n'.j' |
| 35 | happy | /ˈhæpi/ | hè.pi |
| 36 | sad | /sæd/ | sèè.d' |
| 37 | good | /ɡʊd/ | gu.d' |
| 38 | bad | /bæd/ | bèè.d' |
| 39 | yes | /jɛs/ | ye.s' |
| 40 | no | /noʊ/ | n[au]' |
| 41 | please | /pliːz/ | [pl]ii.z' |
| 42 | thank | /θæŋk/ | [θ]è.n'.k' |
| 43 | sorry | /ˈsɔri/ | s[au].ri |
| 44 | love | /lʌv/ | la.v' |
| 45 | friend | /frɛnd/ | [fr]é.n'.d' |
| 46 | family | /ˈfæməli/ | fè.me.li or fè.mi.li |
| 47 | work | /wɜrk/ | wee.(r').k' |
| 48 | play | /pleɪ/ | [pl]é |
| 49 | run | /rʌn/ | ra.n' |
| 50 | ran | /ræn/ | rèè.n' |
| 51 | rain | /reɪn/ | réé.n' |
| 52 | walk | /wɔːk/ | w[au][au]k' |
| 53 | sunny | /ˈsʌni/ | sa.ni |
| 54 | moonlight | /ˈmuːnlaɪt/ | muu.n'.la.i'.t' or muu.n'.l[ai].t' |
| 55 | chromosomes | /ˈkɹoʊməˌsoʊmz/) | [kr]o.me.zoo.m's' |
Notes : Observe that in daily conversation we can pronounce me as m.ii or m.i . And both pronunciations gets interpreted to represent I/Me (with non ambiguity), because there is no other word(s) in English coming into ambiguity with the sound m.i
Same applies to floor : fl[au].(r') / fl[au][au].(r') etc.
But in the case of walk : w[au][au]k' observe how w[au]k' (English : wok) conveys a totally different meaning.
Note : Also context also plays an important role: for example snow if pronounced as s'n[au] sounds exactly as snore. Thus is such cases context matters / comes into picture. Example:
There is s'n[au] outside. (snow)
Do you s'n[au]? (snore)
IPS can also be used to represent several emotional cues (verbal cues). Take the following examples.
ok : o.ké (ex: Is everything ok?)
ok : O.Ké (ex: Ok, give me a second!)
ok !? : O'.ké ?
ok... : oo.kéé (ex: ok, ok I will come... 😮💨)
really : ri.e.li (ex: I really mean so 😇)
really ! : Ri.e.li (ex: Really ! 😮)
really !? : Ri.e.lii (ex: Oh, really ! 😲)
really...? (sacarstic) : ri.e.lii.i (ex: Really! You were there...!? 😏)
© Ly De Sandaru
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