Sound-form annotation (IPS notation) is a kind of direct inline phonetic notation: without changing the spelling of a word, it distinguishes different readings of a word by marking symbols above the word’s vowel letters and a few consonant letters. It is more concise than IPA symbols and other respelling symbols.
The IPSM Approach divides a word’s main vowel pronunciation, from “strong” to “weak,” into four rhythms: open syllable, closed syllable, light syllable, and weak syllable. The open syllable is marked with a horizontal line (─), the closed syllable is unmarked (∅), the light syllable is marked with a dot (⦁), and the weak syllable is marked with a ring (○).
IPS notation and IPA correspond one-to-one: a word’s IPA can be converted into IPS, and vice versa. If the reader has not yet mastered IPA, this does not affect the learning of IPS; if the reader has already mastered IPA, it not only helps in learning IPS but also leads to a better understanding of IPA.
Compared with IPA, IPS is created according to the pronunciation rules of words and is concise and clear; through its subtle influence one masters the pronunciation rules of words, so that phonetic annotation is no longer needed.
A second-grade primary school student who has mastered the 26 English letters and Chinese pinyin can learn IPS notation.
The 26 Letters
| A | B | C | D | E | F | G |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| a | b | c | d | e | f | g |
| H | I | J | K | L | M | N |
| h | i | j | k | l | m | n |
| O | P | Q | R | S | T | |
| o | p | q | r | s | t | |
| U | V | W | X | Y | Z | |
| u | v | w | x | y | z |
Vowel Letters — A E I O U
Open Sound
| Open sound | [ ā ] | [ ē ] | [ ī ] | [ ō ] | [ ū ] |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Example | nāme | mē | līke | nō | ūse |
Note: the letter e at the end of a word is silent, as in name, unless the word has only one syllable, as in me.
Exercise
Reading Practice
cāpe nāme tāpe lāke gāme māke tāke hāte
mē bē fēte ēve wē
bīte fīve nīne kīte mīne nīce rīde sīde
rōse nōse rōpe nōte pōse hōme rōde
tūbe cūbe Jūne cūte hūge
Closed Sound
| Closed sound | [ a ] | [ e ] | [ i ] | [ o ] | [ u ] |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Example | bat | bed | hit | dog | but |
Exercise
Reading Practice
mat map bag cat hat fan bat apple
egg well red pen net hen bed bell
lick six bib pig pin kiss ink hill
ox on box sock hot not bot
sun cup bus nut gun
Light Sound
| Light sound | [ ȧ ] | [ ė ] | [ i ] | — | [ u̇ ] |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Example | imȧge | bėgin | lily | — | bu̇sy |
Note: the light sound has a dot added above and is always pronounced as /i/.
Weak Sound
| Weak sound | [ å ] | [ e̊ ] | [ i̊ ] | [ o̊ ] | [ ů ] |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Example | åbout | ope̊n | evi̊l | pro̊pel | sůpply |
Note: the weak sound has a ring added above and is always pronounced as /ǝ/.
Consonant Letters and Common Consonants
Through the pronunciation of the 26 letters, one can master 16 consonants:
[b], [d], [f], [j], [ch], [k], [l], [m], [n], [p], [r], [s], [t], [v], [w], [z]
| A | B | C | D | E | F | G |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| [ ā ] | [ bē ] | [ sē ] | [ dē ] | [ ē ] | [ ef ] | [ jē ] |
| H | I | J | K | L | M | N |
| [ āch ] | [ ī ] | [ jā ] | [ kā ] | [ el ] | [ em ] | [ en ] |
| O | P | Q | R | S | T | |
| [ ō ] | [ pē ] | [ kū ] | [ àr ] | [ es ] | [ tē ] | |
| U | V | W | X | Y | Z | |
| [ ū ] | [ vē ] | double-[ ū ] | [ eks ] | [ wī ] | [ zē ] |
Note: [j] is pronounced /dʒ/; [ch] is pronounced /tʃ/, which differs from the ch of Chinese pinyin.
Two-Vowel-Letter Combinations
Whichever letter bears the horizontal line above is read with that letter’s open sound.
| -A | -E | -I | -O | -U | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A- | [ āi ] | [ ãu ] | |||
| E- | [ ēa ] | [ ēe ] | [ ēi ] | [ eū ] | |
| I- | [ iē ] | ||||
| O- | [ ōa ] | [ oi ] | [ oo ] | [ ōu ] | |
| U- | [ ūi ] |
Note: oi, oo, and au are read according to neither the first nor the second letter; they must be memorized separately.
Exercise
Reading Practice
AI: tāil rāin pāint pāin jāil rāil nāil
AU: sãuse sãusȧge nãughtẏ ãutůmn
EE: bēe pēel jēep fēet sēe tēeth
EA: sēa mēat pēanut ēagle pēach tēa lēaf pēa
EI: cēil rėcēive co̊ncēit
IE: thiēf bėliēve piēce fiēld niēce
EU: Eūro̊p queūe
OA: rōad tōast tōad cōal gōat bōat cōat sōap
OI: coin oil point noise boil soil poiso̊n coil
OO: moon zoo roof rooste̊r boots food spoon room cool fool boom foolish
OU: thōugh sōul shōulde̊r mōuld
UI: sūit jūice frūit
Vowels with Multiple Pronunciations
| Multiple sounds | Example | |
|---|---|---|
| a | [ à ] | fàst |
| [ ã ] = [ o ] | ãll, wãr | |
| ea | [ ēa ] | mēat |
| [ eā ] | greāt | |
| [ èa ] = [ e ] | brèad | |
| ei | [ ēi ] | cēiling |
| [ èi ] = [ ā ] | vèil | |
| o | [ ô ] = [ u ] | sôme |
| [ õ ] = [ oo ] | shõe | |
| ou | [ ōu ] | sōul |
| [ oū ] | groūp | |
| [ òu ] | clòud | |
| [ ôu ] = [ u ] | dôuble | |
| oo | [ oo ] | cool |
| [ oo(d) ], [ oo(k) ] | good, book | |
| [ ôo ] | blôod | |
| u | [ ù ] | pùt |
Note: to effectively distinguish multiple sounds, three more symbols are introduced — the tilde (∼), the backslash (∖), and the caret (˄) — for differentiation.
Exercise
Reading Practice
pass after last class grass half dance ask
all also always
meat deal peak sea cease
brèad brèakfåst brèath brèadth plèasůre dèad dèaf hèad hèavẏ
breāk greāt greātly steāk weār peār beār
ceiling
freight weigh veil vein rein
dog lock bot cock not
love some money among monkey month none son other come color
do to undo who whose lose move remove movie prove approve improve
soul shoulder mould
group route soup could would should
loud proud out about south doubt house
trouble couple cousin
cool
book cook good foot look hook
blood flood
Substitutes for I and U
| Original | Substitute | Example | |
|---|---|---|---|
| i ⟹ y | [ ī ] | [ ȳ ] | flȳ |
| i ⟹ y | [ i ] | [ ẏ ] | lilẏ |
| ai ⟹ ay | [ āi ] | [ āy ] | sāy |
| ei ⟹ ey | [ ēi ] | [ ēy ] | kēy |
| ei ⟹ ey | [ èi ] | [ èy ] | thèy |
| au ⟹ aw | [ ãu ] | [ ãw ] | lãw |
| eu ⟹ ew | [ eū ] | [ ew̄ ] | new̄ |
| ou ⟹ ow | [ ōu ] | [ ōw ] | slōw |
| ou ⟹ ow | [ òu ] | [ òw ] | còw |
| oi ⟹ oy | [ oi ] | [ oẏ ] | boẏ |
Exercise
Reading Practice
AY: bāy rāy wāy sāy hāy pāy Māy lāy
EY: donkēy monkēy jockēy turkēy hockēy kēy trollēy
OY: oy̍ste̊r boy̍ còwboy̍ soy̍ toy̍
OW: rainbōw pillōw yellōw windōw bōwl rōw hollōw lōw
OW: còw tòwel clòwn òwl cròwn bròwn flòwe̊r tòwe̊r
AW: pãw drãw sãw strãw strãwberry̍ lãwn
Vowel Letter + R
Open Sound + R
| Open sound + R | [ ār ] = [ er ] | [ ēr ] = [ ir ] | [ īr ] | [ ōr ] = [ or ] | [ ūr ] |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Example | cāre | hēre | fīre | fōre | dūre |
Note: when an R sound follows immediately after an open sound, since the R sound involves a retroflex curl, the open sound changes automatically. IPS annotates the sound before the change, while IPA records the sound after the change; the two produce the same result.
Closed Sound + R
| Closed sound + R | [ er ] | [ or ] |
|---|---|---|
| Example | where | fork |
Vowel Combination + R
| [ āir ] = [ er ] | [ eār ] = [ er ] | [ ēer ] = [ ir ] | [ ēar ] = [ ir ] | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Example | hāir | weār | bēer | hēar | |
| [ ōar ] = [ or ] | [ ōur ] = [ or ] | [ eūr ] | |||
| Example | bōar | fōur | Eūro̊pe |
Weak Sound + R
| Weak sound + R | [ e̊r ] | [ i̊r ] | [ ůr ] | [ e̊ar ] |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Example | be̊rg | bi̊rd | bůrn | ye̊ar |
Other
| [ àr ] | |
|---|---|
| Example | càr |
Exercise
Reading Practice
AR: àrm càr càrd càrt fàrm pàrk gàrde̊n
ER: siste̊r brôthe̊r unde̊r rooste̊r winte̊r môthe̊r
IR: ci̊rcůs di̊rtẏ bi̊rd ci̊rcle di̊rt gi̊rl
OR: porch pork horse horn fort morning corn fork
UR: tůrtle sůrfing tůrkėy fůr hůrt půrse nůrse
Consonant Letters
These include the five closed sounds of the vowel letters, plus a few common consonants [g] [h] [sh] [w] [y].
| Letter | A | B | C | D | E | F | G |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pronunciation | [ā]/[a] | [b] | [s]/[k] | [d] | [ē]/[e] | [f] | [g]/[j] |
| Letter | H | I | J | K | L | M | N |
| Pronunciation | [h]/[ch]/[sh] | [ī]/[i] | [j] | [k] | [l] | [m] | [n] |
| Letter | O | P | Q | R | S | T | |
| Pronunciation | [ō]/[o] | [p] | [qu]=[kw] | [r]/[àr] | [s] | [t] | |
| Letter | U | V | W | X | Y | Z | |
| Pronunciation | [ū]/[u] | [v] | [w] | [ks]/[gz] | [y] | [z] |
Note: [y] is the /j/ of IPA; this method restores its original form.
Exercise
Reading Practice
B: big bad
C: city cake
D: desk
F: fake fit
G: got orange
H: hello sheep chair
J: jeep
K: kick
L: little light
M: mother monkey
N: number no
P: pass pick
Q: queen quick
R: rock rubber
S: sick snake
T: take tank
V: very van
W: wave walk
X: exit example
Y: yes yellow
Z: zoo zebra
More Consonants
| IPS | Example | Note | |
|---|---|---|---|
| c | [ k ] | can | c before a, o, u, consonants, and at the end |
| [ s ] | cent | c before e, i, y | |
| g | [ g ] | go | g before a, o, u. |
| [ j ] | orange | before e, i, y¹, word-final ge | |
| th | [ th ] | think | |
| [ ṫh ] | ṫhis | ||
| sh | [ sh ] | ship | |
| ch | [ ch ] | cheep | |
| [ ċh ] = [ sh ] | maċhine | ||
| tch | [ tch ] = [ ch ] | catch | |
| x | [ x ] = [ z ] | xeon | at the beginning of a word |
| ex | [ ėx ] = [ ėks ] | excess | x at the end or before a consonant, with some exceptions |
| [ ėẋ ] = [ ėgz ] | exact | x before a vowel, with some exceptions | |
| ph | [ ph ] = [ f ] | photo | |
| qu | [ qu ] = [ kw ] | quick | |
| ng | [ ng ] | king |
¹ Exceptions: finger, get, forget, together, begin, give, gift, girl, tiger
Exercise
Reading Practice
CH: bēach lunch chēese bench chůrch chickėn chāir cherry̍
SH: shēep shi̊rt ship fish dish
PH: phōtō elėphånt telėphōne trōphy̍ phàrmåcy̍ alphåbėt
TH: brôṫhe̊r fèaṫhe̊r lèaṫhe̊r fàṫhe̊r môṫhe̊r
TH: thumb thrēe bath thi̊rsty̍ thiēf mòuth tēeth
Consonant Combinations
Read the following consonant letter combinations until familiar.
| bl- | cl- | fl- | gl- | pl- | sl- | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| br- | cr- | fr- | gr- | pr- | tr- | dr- |
| sc- | sk- | sm- | sn- | sp- | st- | sw- |
| scr- | spr- | str- | shr- | thr- | spl- | |
| tw- |
Exercise
Reading Practice
BL: blūe black blòuse bloom blēach blank blonde
FL: flat flū flȳ flāme flūte floor flag flòwe̊r
PL: plāne plāy plus planėt plum plāte plant
CL: clock clòud clēan clāy clīmb clōse clap clòwn
GL: glôve glōbe glàss glūe glīde̊r
BR: brook brim brīde bròwn brèad brick brôthe̊r
CR: cròwn crab crēam crōw crāyo̊n
GR: grāy grēen gràss grāpe gròund grōw grand
PR: prīce prãwn press prince princess prāy
FR: frog frost Frīda̍y French frȳ frūit frônt frāme
TR: tracto̊r truck trāin trāy trēe trīangle trunk trollėy
DR: drēam drum drȳ drop drãw drīve dress drink
SM: smīle smell smōke smooth
SN: snōw snāke snāil snēak snack
SL: slōw slap slēep slīde slōpe sled
SW: switch swim swēet swing swèate̊r swèat
SP: spīde̊r spāce spoon spell
ST: stock store stàr stamp storm stick stūde̊nt stand
SC: scàrf scoote̊r scanne̊r scāre scāle scoop
SK: skunk skȳ ski̊rt skāte
Common Suffix Pronunciations
The pronunciation rules for -ed and -s/-es are fixed; although this book gives distinct annotations, they may, for simplicity, be left unmarked.
Some other suffixes, such as -ly, -ous, -ity, etc., are pronounced according to the rules; although this book annotates them all, since their pronunciation is uniform, they may for simplicity be left unmarked.
The -ed Suffix
| -ed pronunciation rule | Example |
|---|---|
| After voiced consonants and vowels [𝕖d] ⟹ [d] | call𝕖d, borrow𝕖d, mov𝕖d |
| After voiceless consonants [𝕖ḋ] ⟹ [t] | ask𝕖ḋ, finish𝕖ḋ, help𝕖ḋ |
| After the [t] sound [ėd] ⟹ [id] | wantėd, startėd |
| After the [d] sound [ėd] ⟹ [id] | needėd, countėd |
The -s/-es Suffix
| -s(-es) pronunciation rule | Example | |
|---|---|---|
| After consonants | after [s], [z], [sh], [s̃], [ch], [j] sounds add -es, pronounced [ėṡ] ⟹ [iz] | glassėṡ, buzzėṡ, washėṡ, teachėṡ |
| after voiceless consonants add s, pronounced [s] ⟹ [s] | books, typ𝕖s | |
| after voiced consonants add s, pronounced [ṡ] ⟹ [z] | bagṡ, lin𝕖ṡ, besid𝕖ṡ | |
| After vowels | after the letter o add -es, pronounced [𝕖ṡ] ⟹ [z] | tomato𝕖ṡ, potato𝕖ṡ, do𝕖ṡ |
| change -y to i and add -es, pronounced [𝕖ṡ] ⟹ [z] | ladi𝕖ṡ, fli𝕖ṡ | |
| otherwise pronounced [ṡ] ⟹ [z] | newṡ, dayṡ, boyṡ, beeṡ |
Special Suffix Pronunciations
Some commonly used suffixes have rather special pronunciation, but the pattern is the same; simply memorize them. For simplicity, this book omits phonetic annotation for them.
| Special suffix | Pronunciation | Example |
|---|---|---|
| -sion, -tion | -sho̊n | impression, nation |
| vowel letter + -sion | -s̃o̊n | vision, decision |
| -s-tion | -s-cho̊n | question, suggestion |
| -sure | -shůre | pressure |
| vowel letter + -sure | -s̃ůre | pleasure, measure |
| -dure | -dgůre | procedure |
| -ture | -chůre | picture, culture |
| -tiate | -shiāte | initiate, negotiate |
| -tial | -shål | partial |
| -tuous | -chūo̊us | virtuous |
| -cious | -sho̊us | delicious, precious |
| -cial | -shål | official, racial |
| -ceous | -sho̊us | herbaceous, curvaceous |
| -cient | -she̊nt | ancient |
| -ciency | -shency | efficiency, proficiency |
Silent Letters
Silent letters may be indicated in various ways — strikethrough, slashes, dots beneath, etc. For prominence, this book uses double-struck (blackboard bold) letters. If the learner has already memorized these silent letters, they may be left unmarked.
Silent Consonant Letters
| Combination | Example |
|---|---|
| 𝕙 | 𝕙our, 𝕙onour |
| c𝕙 | mec𝕙anic, C𝕙rist |
| 𝕘𝕙 | li𝕘𝕙t, hi𝕘𝕙, ei𝕘𝕙t, si𝕘𝕙, ni𝕘𝕙t |
| g𝕙 | g𝕙ost |
| r𝕙 | r𝕙yme, r𝕙ythm |
| 𝕘n | 𝕘nat, si𝕘n |
| 𝕜n | 𝕜nife, 𝕜now, 𝕜nee, 𝕜nock |
| m𝕓 | com𝕓, lam𝕓, thum𝕓, dum𝕓, clim𝕓 |
| 𝕡n | 𝕡neumonia |
| 𝕡s | 𝕡sychology |
| 𝕨r | 𝕨rong, 𝕨rist, 𝕨rite, 𝕨rap, 𝕨retch, 𝕨rench |
| 𝕨h | 𝕨ho, 𝕨hose |
| w𝕙 | w𝕙at, w𝕙en, w𝕙ere, w𝕙y |
| -is𝕥- | lis𝕥en, c𝕙ris𝕥en, c𝕙ris𝕥mas, whis𝕥le |
| 𝕤 | i𝕤land |
Silent Vowel Letters
Since words ending with a silent e make up a large proportion, for convenience the silent letter e at the end is not marked; only the silent letter e situated in the middle of a word is marked.
For example: nam𝕖ly, chang𝕖able, h𝕖art, for𝕖in, for𝕖iner, pig𝕖on, g𝕦itar, q𝕦eue, fr𝕚end
