INTERNATIONAL PHONETIC ASSOCIATION

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INTERNATIONAL PHONETIC ASSOCIATION, short form IPA. An association that seeks to promote the science of PHONETICS and its practical applications. It was founded in 1886 in France under the English name The Phonetic Teachers' Association, by a group of language teachers who used phonetic theory and transcription in their work. The journal Dhi Fonètik Tîtcer started in France in the same year, edited by Paul Passy and printed in English in a phonetic script; its name was changed in 1889 to Le Maître phonétique. At first, the Association was concerned mainly with phonetics applied to teaching English, but interest expanded with the membership to the phonetic study of all languages. It acquired its present name in 1897. Although the Association played an important part in the European movement for the reform of LANGUAGE TEACHING in the late 19c, it is now best known for its regularly revised alphabet. See JONES, SPEECH.

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INTERNATIONAL PHONETIC ASSOCIATION