O potrzebie monografii (użycia) IPA

Abstract

On the need of a monograph on (the use of) IPA

The article provides the rationale for a forthcoming monograph on the use of the International Phonetic Alphabet. The study presents the arguments in the form of questions, and answers them at length. The questions fall into three groups: phonetic, graphical and practical issues. From the last category, the problem of selecting an appropriate font and a way to conveniently use it can be mentioned. The phonetic issues that need to be explained in the context of an international transcription include: transcription of Polish sounds normally described as prepalatal, dental, and alveolar, as well as the value of phonation, and alaryngeal speech symbols. Graphic problems include such issues as: means of transcribing archiphonemes, asynchronous and polysegmental articulations, lowered variants of Polish phonemes /m/ and /n/, and others. The paper also mentions typographical matters, such as italic variants of phonetic symbols and small capitals. The article concludes with an overview of the possible audience of the planned monograph, and an enumeration of reasons for a compilation of a study containing answers to the above-mentioned questions.