Re: Re[2]: [tied] Re: how many vowels English language has?

From: P&G
Message: 25174
Date: 2003-08-19

> > There is no standard way of typing IPA from an ordinary
> > keyboard.
> The Kirshenbaum system is the de facto standard ... and I'm aware
> of at least four other standards;

That makes five. So there is no standard, as I said. I'm well aware of
Kirschenbaum's sytem (and how seldom it is actually used!) but since I was
merely typing a broad transcription of English, for people who might not
have know Kirschenbaum, it would have been wrong to use it. It was also
not necessary to make the fine distinctions that these systems allow.

> Kirshenbaum uses /@/ for schwa.

We used to do that on this list, until several members complained that their
systems were treating @ as the email sign, so we changed it, by internal
agreement, to &, which means we can no longer use & for the sound /æ/, so I
use the symbol A because, in broad transcriptions of English, it is easy.
The context means that most people don't take it as a phonetic symbol, they
way you seem to have - but I apologise again if I have misled you.

Peter