Phonetic Alphabet as a Pronunciation Guide

영어발음교육과 발음기호

The purpose of this paper is to suggest that the International Phonetic Alphabet be included in English curriculum and taught in English classroom. Current English curriculum for elementary and middle school students doesn't specify anything for the education of the IPA. The knowledge of IPA is essential for the students to study by themselves how to pronounce English words. The IPA, however, is either too little or too much to be taught at school. It is too little in that it doesn't tell us anything about allophones, the knowledge of which could enable us to get rid of foreign accents as much as possible. It is too much in that it can represent more than one sounds (e.g., /ɔ/ in American and British English). To overcome these drawbacks, it should be introduced gradually with the allophones in the same environments. The correct vowel sounds should be introduced with the aid of pronunciation dictionary so that the students could get their own vowel quality. Moreover, the IPA symbol should be adopted for the English textbooks.