Of the phonetic alphabets hitherto invented only one, that of the International Phonetic Association, complies satisfactorily with the above-mentioned requirements. The next best is the Swedish dialect alphabet (which, in spite of its name, is really international).
In constructing phonetic orthographies, or in making phonetic transcripts for language students, attention must be given not only to the designs of any special letters that may be required, but also to the manner of using the alphabet. This will depend (I) on the precise purpose for which the alphabet is required, and (2) on the structure of the particular language or languages dealt with. Thus if the writer's purpose is to make a comparative study of related languages he may be obliged to mark distinctions which it would be unnecessary to mark in a transcript of one language for the use of those who wish to learn to speak it.
The above table of the International Phonetic symbols taken in conjunction with the chart of the organs of speech (fig. 1) shows the chief principles of sound classification. The meanings of most of the technical terms describing the various classes of sounds are self-evident. Attention may, however, be called to the following, which require some explanation. The "back" of the tongue is the part which lies normally opposite the soft palate (velum) ; the "front" is the part which lies normally opposite the "hard" palate ; the "blade" is the part which lies normally opposite the teeth-ridge (upper gum, alveolars). "Palatal" consonants are those formed by the "front" of the tongue against the hard palate, such as the English sound of y or the German ch in ich. "Retroflex" con sonants are those made by the tip of the tongue against the hard palate such as the Hindi sounds of Z Classification of Vowels.—Vowels are classified (I) according to the position of the tongue, and (2) according to the position of the lips. In forming a vowel the opening between the lips and the distance of the tongue from the palate must be sufficient to ensure that there is no audible friction when voice is emitted. The lips may be spread (as for the English ee-sound) or they may have "close" rounding (as in the sound of u in rule) or "open" rounding (as in the vowel in long). The classification of vowels according to tongue positions and the terminology em ployed in describing vowels is shown in figs. 2, 3 and 4. The relative tongue-positions of vowels may be indicated by dots placed on the vowel figure (fig. 4).
In order to give an intelligible description of the vowels of any language, it has been found necessary to establish a system of cardinal vowels. These are the vowels
marked by the large black dots in fig. 4. The eight primary cardinal vowels are represented by the letters i, e, c, a, CI, a, o, U ; these are numbered r to 8 respectively. Eight secondary cardinal vowels are represented by y, 0, ce, D, A, N, m (numbered
9 to i6 respectively). (No letter has been adopted for secondary cardinal vowel No. 12, as it has not been found to exist as a separate phoneme in any language.) They have the same tongue positions as the primary cardinal vowels, but different lip-positions. Nos. 9 to 13 have lip-rounding, and Nos. 14, 15, 16 have lip spreading. The tongue-positions of any vowel may be repre sented by a dot at the appropriate place on the cardinal vowel chart. This marking, together with a description of the lip-position, shows the language learner exactly how the vowel is formed, and gives him a good idea of what it sounds like. Thus a foreign learner who has never heard English can learn to make the vowel of cat when he knows that it is half way between cardinal vowels 3 and 4 (c and a). An Englishman learning Italian without a teacher can get a good idea of what the Italian vowels sound like from a diagram (fig. 5) which shows the relationship of the Italian vowels to the cardinal vowels.
transcribing particular languages, the cardinal vowel letters are used to represent sounds in the vicinity of the cardinal vowel sounds. The letters, in fact, serve to represent vowels lying within certain areas on the vowel figure as shown in fig. 2. In the comparatively unusual cases when two vowel-sounds within the same cardinal area are used for the purpose of distinguishing words additional vowel-letters have to be introduced. Such are I (used for the English vowel in sit), u (used for the English vowel in put), y (used for the German vowel in Gluck). ae is commonly used for the vowel in cat, which lies in the left upper corner of the a-area, though there is no objection to using a for it except in comparative work. Symbols are also required for "central" vowels. The most important is a which represents the "neutral" or "intermediate" sound of a in along. Others are 4, 14, which represent unrounded and rounded vowels with tongue positions intermediate between those of i and u; 4 is the Russian LI and u is heard in the Norwegian Jius and in a frequent Scottish pronunciation of book. The vowel in the London pronunciation of bird is represented by 3 or by a with a length mark (a :).