Chapter 3: Transcribing Speech Sounds

Now that you know how humans use their articulators to produce speech, and how linguists classify speech sounds, you’re ready to learn how to use the International Phonetic Alphabet to transcribe speech sounds. In this chapter, we learn some of the principles for doing a phonetic transcription of the sounds of Canadian English.

When you’ve completed this chapter, you will be able to:

• distinguish between broad and narrow transcription,
• use the IPA to transcribe words and sentences of Canadian English,
• recognize some of the predictable processes that affect speech sounds and narrow transcription.