Learning the IPA: An Interview with Julie Brinker

Most of us have heard of the strict and heartless Professor Higgins from the classic play Pygmalion. With pen in hand and ears open with which to scrutinize and transcribe, he stands and waits for something worth jotting down to further his dissection of the English language. What he jots down are not words as we known them, his symbols express the sounds made to create the word, not the letters to spell them. Each variation of a vowel has it’s own character, each one capable of only one sound as with their counterparts the consonants who no longer squabble with inconsistencies in this phonetic script. What Professor Higgins has written down can be read in one way only, the only variation lying in human error of the one reading it. Were he to be a professor of linguistics in our modern society, that phonetic code scribbled down on his pad would be the IPA.

Established in 1886, the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) is a writing system in which each sound has it’s own phoneme, or symbol. It is means to convey with accuracy the pronunciation of a word in any dialect or language using internationally recognized symbols derived mostly from Greek lettering. It is used in many fields by professionals such as speech pathologists, foreign language teachers, linguists and translators but can also be a great deal of use to you, the voice actor and production manager, as well.

Did you know there are at least eleven ways in which to make the “sh” sound in the English language or that you could feasibly spell the word “fish” as “ghoti”? C’s and K’s can make the same sound, so can C’s and S’s. You’ve F and PH contesting, G’s and J’s, and just how many ways can you pronounce the letter A? The English language itself is a nightmare to work with, and even though pronunciation is different in Arkansas from what they say in New York, we all spell it the same way. That’s where the IPA comes in.

In the IPA, if you want a standard American pronunciation, fish is always going to be /fɪʃ/ with the "sh" sound only having one possible phoneme: /ʃ/. There is no C, /k/ is all you need for key and car, and the same goes for /s/ and /f/. G as in grass is /g/, J as in judge is /ʤ/ and every sound for A has it's own phoneme too. Once you have the phonemes memorized, there is no guess work needed to pronounce any word written down in the IPA and as you may have noticed, a good many of the phonemes used in the IPA, are the same letters you already know.

Recently I spoke with Julie Brinker who holds a MFA in Theatre and is currently teaching several classes at North Central Texas College, including a course entitled Theater Voice in which she teaches the IPA. The following interview was conducted over e-mail.

Q: How would you define/describe the IPA as a tool for vocal performance?
Julie Brinker: As a method of standardizing pronunciation, the IPA can "level the playing field" among its users, who can easily use a standard accent or a dialect as transcribed into IPA.

Q: In your experience, how difficult is it to learn the phonemes of the IPA?
Julie Brinker: For primary speakers of a language, the IPA is usually pretty easy (a few of the vowels take the most time to learn to differentiate).

Q: Do you believe the IPA to be helpful for a Production Manager giving directions to their cast?
Julie Brinker: Most groups quickly develop a shorthand for efficient direction. The IPA could be one tool in this kit.

Q: What personal examples can you give of benefits gained from use of the IPA in performing? Directing?
Julie Brinker: I have used the IPA to learn several dialects for the stage--Cockney, Scottish, Manchester-area, and Irish have been the most recent. I also use the IPA to double-check standard pronunciations, particularly of foreign place names and phrases. I've used the IPA as a vocal coach on productions to create a unified accent (and to create the illusion of very different accents).

Q: Are there any instances outside of performing/directing in which you have found the IPA helpful?
Julie Brinker: Just personally, knowing how to pronounce places and words in my travels and in conversation.

Q: Would you recommend familiarity with the IPA to anyone with even a passing interest in vocal performance? Directing?
Julie Brinker: Again, it's a very handy tool. You can certainly get by without it, especially if you have a really good ear, but once you learn the basics, it's a very fast and easy way to increase your vocal flexibility. For directors/vocal coaches, it provides a non-judgmental basis to approach pronunciation and dialect work.

Julie Brinker holds a BA in Humanities from Oklahoma City University and an MFA in Theatre from Arizona State University. She has taught at Illinois State University, the University of New Hampshire, and North Central Texas College. She has also worked as a drama specialist in Hawaii and American Samoa, and done additional theatre study in England, Ireland, and Greece. She has acted and directed extensively, and her play, Rachel's Night, won the National Playwriting for Young Audiences award in 1990.

If you are interested in learning the IPA, there are several good books to look to such as "Speak with Distinction" by Edith Skinner which you can find online or in any major bookstore. There are also many websites you can obtain charts and information from for free. For a more focused learning environment, check your local university or college for related courses.

Have fun,
~Niko