IPA Associated Notation
Various symbols on a keyboard’s number row and capital letters are often used to extend the IPA. To better understand their usage, some vocabulary is helpful.
Notation is a system of written symbols, graphics, abbreviated expressions, and characters used in various disciplines to represent technical facts or quantities. Fields of academic study with recognized usage of notation include scientific disciplines, mathematical and artistic. In linguistics, it is a collection of related characters given a meaning to facilitate structured communication.
Wanderwort is German for ‘migrant word’ and also a loanword. A loanword is borrowed from one language and assimilated into another. This process usually occurs across a wide geographical area because new things and cultural practices are traded or adopted. Wanderworts are different from cognates, which are words that are similar in other languages because they share an origin that involves translation. Etymology is a sub-study of historical linguistics that examines the origin and evolution of the meaning of words throughout history. The focus of these studies includes:
- Pre-history language reconstruction and grouping into families (comparative linguistics)
- Description of a community’s speech history
- Illustration and explanation of changes in languages
- Development of general theories on the evolution of languages
Associated Symbols
Various mark patterns used for linguistic transcription are typically used together with the IPA. Some of the more familiar include:
- ⟨*⟩ – (a) A reconstructed form. (b) An ungrammatical form (including an unphonemic form).
- ⟨**⟩ – (a) A reconstructed form, deeper (more ancient) than a single ⟨*⟩, used when reconstructing even further back from already-starred forms. (b) An ungrammatical form. A less common convention than ⟨*⟩ (b), this is sometimes used when reconstructed, and ungrammatical forms occur in the same text.
- ⟨×⟩ – An ungrammatical form. A less common convention than ⟨*⟩ (b), this is sometimes used when reconstructed, and ungrammatical forms occur in the same text.
- ⟨?⟩ – A doubtfully grammatical form.
- ⟨%⟩ – A generalized form, such as a typical shape of a wanderwort that has not been reconstructed.
- ⟨#⟩ – A word boundary – e.g., ⟨#V⟩ for a word-initial vowel.
- ⟨$⟩ – A phonological word boundary, e.g., ⟨H$⟩ for a high tone that occurs in such a position.
How the IPA Uses Capital Letters
Capital letters are not used individually as speech symbols, but they are used in combination with the IPA in certain circumstances:
- For Voice Quality Symbols (VoQS) they are used as carrying letters in the transcription of disordered speech. Extended IPA diacritics on capital letters are also used as modifications.
- To indicate phonemes (units of sound) with predictable values or wildcards. A wildcard character works as a placeholder for a single character, such as an asterisk (*). The extIPA chart uses wildcards in illustrations.
More About Capital Letters or Wildcards
Capital letters as wildcards are frequently used to demonstrate the evolution of sounds and to summarize word shapes or syllables. Speech pathologists use wildcards for indeterminate sounds or superscripts to show subtle articulation. Authors vary in how they use capital letters in English-language materials. Some are widely recognized, such as ⟨N⟩ for {nasal}, ⟨C⟩ for {consonant}, and ⟨V⟩ for {vowel}. Diacritics are used to modify capital letters to transcribe sounds instead of adding in other ambiguous digits. Diacritics and wildcards in Voice Quality Symbols have different meanings and indicate secondary articulation or degree of voice quality.