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.
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 tree as [tr].ii or [tr]i . And both pronunciations gets interpreted to represent 🌳 (with non ambiguity), because there is no other word(s) in English coming into ambiguity with the sound tr.i
Same applies for snow: sn][au][au] / [sn][au]
and 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 many / several emotions (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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