BBC Learning English Gets Symbols Wrong
I have just discovered the BBC Learning English Pronunciation Tips page, a splendid resource not only for learners of English but also for teachers and anybody wishing to learn IPA symbols for English. Among other things, it has an IPA chart as well as videos showing how vowel and consonant sounds are pronounced.
I particularly like the chart (Listen to the sounds of English) where each symbol, when clicked, plays the sound it represents. (This is arguably more effective with vowels rather than consonants.)
Two elementary errors blight this chart, however. First, the diphthong given as /??/ is wrong: the correct symbol is /a?/. Second, the consonant /l/ is wrongly given as /?/ � this latter sound is the retroflex lateral approximant which one finds in the Dravidian language Tamil; it is, loosely speaking, an /l/ sound produced with the tongue curled back (retroflex).
What these errors show is that transcribing sounds is an exact business: there is no room for creativity or self-expression, as subtle differences may result in altogether different sounds. I have written to the BBC pointing out these errors, and hope the chart is amended soon.
I particularly like the chart (Listen to the sounds of English) where each symbol, when clicked, plays the sound it represents. (This is arguably more effective with vowels rather than consonants.)
Two elementary errors blight this chart, however. First, the diphthong given as /??/ is wrong: the correct symbol is /a?/. Second, the consonant /l/ is wrongly given as /?/ � this latter sound is the retroflex lateral approximant which one finds in the Dravidian language Tamil; it is, loosely speaking, an /l/ sound produced with the tongue curled back (retroflex).
What these errors show is that transcribing sounds is an exact business: there is no room for creativity or self-expression, as subtle differences may result in altogether different sounds. I have written to the BBC pointing out these errors, and hope the chart is amended soon.
Categories:
Phonetics and Phonology
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