Definition of segment

When phoneticians transcribe the speech sounds of a language, the unit of representation is called a segment, the individual sounds like [k], [e], [t], [s].

Phonetic symbols

1. IPA: The widely used symbols for phonetic transcription of speech sounds are the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA). It attempts to represent each sound of human speech with a single symbol and the symbols are enclosed in brackets [ ] to distinguish phonetic transcriptions from the spelling system of a language.

2. The functions of IPA:

a) It enables linguistics to transcribe speech sounds of languages consistently and accurately.

b) It helps teachers and learners to distinguish the spelling and pronunciation of words.

c) English textbooks and dictionaries generally make use of IPA in transcribing the variants of languages.

3. The definition of diacritic

In more detailed transcription (narrow transcription) a sound may be transcribed with a symbol to which a smaller is added in order to mark the finer distinctions. The smaller one is called a diacritic.