NYSTCE English to Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) Practice Test

Which notation system is specifically designed to represent phonemes in spoken language?

1. American Standard Code for Information Interchange (ASCII)

2. International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)

3. Text-to-Speech (TTS)

4. Phonetic Script (PS)

The correct answer is: International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)

The International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) is specifically designed to represent phonemes in spoken language because it provides a consistent and standardized set of symbols that correspond directly to the sounds of speech in all languages. Each symbol in the IPA represents a unique phoneme, allowing linguists, language teachers, and learners to accurately depict pronunciation regardless of the language being represented. This system is crucial for language study and teaching, as it facilitates clear communication of sounds that may not be adequately captured by standard orthography. In contrast, the American Standard Code for Information Interchange (ASCII) is a character encoding standard used primarily for electronic communication and does not focus on phonetic representation. Text-to-Speech (TTS) refers to technology that converts written text into spoken words, and while it involves phonemes, it does not serve as a notation system. Phonetic Script (PS) may suggest a representation of sounds, but it is not widely recognized or standardized like the IPA. Therefore, the IPA stands out as the definitive system for phonemic representation in spoken language.