seeking advice

[Blaine Erickson]

This is a little off-topic, but I think it raises an important point
that seems to have been misunderstood.

"Elizabeth J. Pyatt" <ejp10 at PSU.EDU>, apparently quoting someone, wrote:

>   Furthermore, there is no reason to contribute to the
>   general perception that Americans just can't handle
>   phonetic symbols, a perception that is reinforced by
>   the fact that American dictionary makers, and only
>   they, refuse to use IPA for pronunciation guides.
>
>   I think this refers to the practice of Websters and
>   other American dictionaries of using "cheesy" phonetic
>   spelling as in "long i" to represent the /ay/ or /aj/
>   diphthong. I also consider this to be inane and very
>   irritating. I hope that's not what the publisher wants.

Although I laud the use of the word "cheesy," dictionary publishers
have a very good reason for not using IPA: no one wants to buy a
dictionary that tells them they "talk wrong." If dictionaries were to
use IPA, then they would have to settle on one pronunciation, and all
non-standard speakers would therefore be "wrong"--according to the
dictionary, which for non-linguists is the de facto authority on
"proper" usage.

On the other hand, if dictionary makers use a system in which they
define the pronunciation value of symbols with familiar words (i.e.,
the system they use now), then users can figure out how to say
unfamiliar words, in a way that is appropriate for their dialect.

I, for one, don't want to be told by my dictionary that I'm "wrong"
for not having a contrast between the vowels in _cot_ and _caught_,
or that I'm "wrong" for maintaining the <wh>/<w> contrast. On the
other hand, I wouldn't want a dictionary that didn't represent these
differently.

So while there are excellent dialectal (and economic!) reasons for
not using IPA in dictionaries, and although it is important for
students to understand that there are several phonetic transcription
traditions, I, like just about everyone else commenting on this,
think that Lyle should stick with IPA in his book.

Best wishes,

Blaine Erickson
erickson at kumagaku.ac.jp
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