In some dictionaries and language manuals there are a series of symbols that indicate how sounds should be pronounced in each language. Thus, by knowing the meaning of these signs, it is possible to improve the spoken knowledge of a foreign language. The set of signs used forms an alphabet, specifically the international phonetic alphabet. This name comes from the acronym in English AFI, Alphabet phonetic International.
The spellings of an alphabet have their corresponding sign in the international phonetic alphabet
From a historical point of view, the API system was developed jointly at the end of the 19th century by various language specialists and teachers, all of them led by the French linguist Paul Passy.
Thus the International Phonetic Association was formed . In this way, with a single alphabet you can identify the sounds of any language. Over the years some modifications have been included to perfect the alphabet. This international code allows any recipient of a message to know the pronunciation of a word.
Also, it is used as a complementary system in the learning of spelling . This linguistic code includes the set of possibilities of the human voice to reproduce sounds.
Examples applied to the English language
The long sound of the letter i is expressed by the symbol i: and is used for the combination of some letters together (ee, ea or ese, for example see, speak or these). In contrast, the short i sound appears in words like chip, thin, or ship.
The long sound of the letter u is represented by the sound u: and is normally used to refer to words where there are two vowels or continuous (choose, food or foot). The short sound appears in words like book, good, or cook.
The long sound of the letter a is indicated by the sign a: and is applicable to words such as arm, bar, car or far. On the contrary, the short sound is found in words such as are, sun or cut.
Most languages are made up of a number of phonemes ranging from 25 to 40
There are about 6500 languages in the world and each one of them has a different sound. Phonetics studies the articulation of consonants and vowels. The points of articulation of a tongue are called phonation and are the following: labial, coronal, dorsal, radical and glottal.
Each language has its own phonemes and, consequently, the use of an international phonetic alphabet is necessary.