English Phonotypic Alphabet

The English Phonotypic Alphabet is a phonetic alphabet developed by Sir Isaac Pitman and Alexander John Ellis originally as an English language spelling reform.[1] Although never gaining wide acceptance, elements of it were incorporated into the modern International Phonetic Alphabet.[2]

Letters of the English phonotypic Alphabet
Additional letters for other languages in 1845.
The American version of the alphabet of 1855, as reprinted in a medical dictionary in 1871
An early version of the alphabet, 1843

It was originally published in June 1845.[3] Subsequently, adaptations were published which extended the alphabet to the German, Arabic, Spanish, Tuscan, French, Welsh, Italian, Dutch, Polish, Portuguese and Sanskrit languages.[4]

Letters

The letters are as follows (with some approximations to accommodate Unicode)

Late 1843 (English)

At this stage, long vowels had a cross-bar, and short vowels did not

Long vowels

Ɨ /iː/, E /eɪ/, A /ɑː/, Ɵ /ɔː/, Ʉ /oʊ/?, ꭐ-bar /uː/

Short vowels

I /ɪ/, ⵎ /ɛ/, Ʌ /æ/, O /ɒ/, U /ʌ/, ꭐ /ʊ/

(a proper ⟨ꭐ⟩ was taller and without the dot, like ⟨Ɯ⟩ but with the middle stem not so tall as the others, and did not have a serif at the bottom right)

Diphthongs

Ɯ /juː/, ⅄ /aɪ/, Ȣ /aʊ/?

Reduced ('obscure') vowels

Ǝ /ə/, ⵎ /ᵊ/

Consonants

P B, T D, Є J /tʃ dʒ/, K G

F V, Θ Δ /θ ð/, S Z, Σ Σ /ʃ ʒ/,

L R, M N, И /ŋ/, Y W H.

1845
Ɛɛ /iː/
_a /eɪ/
(Ā)ᶐ /ɑː/
Ɵɵ /ɔː/
_ɷ /oʊ/
Ɯɯ /uː/
Ii /ɪ/
Ee /ɛ/
Aɑ /æ/
Oo /ɒ/
Uu /ʌ/
_(ꭐ) /ʊ/
(Ɨ)ᶖ /aɪ/
_(ꝍ) /ɔɪ/
Ɣɤ /aʊ/
_ᶙ /juː/
Yy /j/
Ww /w/
Hh /h/
Pp /p/
Bb /b/
Tt /t/
Dd /d/
Єꞔ /tʃ/
Jj /dʒ/
Cc /k/
Gg /ɡ/
Ff /f/
Vv /v/
Ꞁ(ⱦ) /θ/
Ƌ(đ) /ð/
Ss /s/
Zz /z/
Σʃ /ʃ/
(Ʒ)ʒ /ʒ/
Rr /r/
Ll /l/
Mm /m/
Nn /n/
(Ŋ)ŋ /ŋ/

References
  1. Daniels, Peter T. (1996). The World's Writing Systems. Oxford University Press. p. 831. ISBN 9780195079937.
  2. Coulmas, Florian (1999-03-12). "English Phonotypic Alphabet". The Blackwell Encyclopedia of Writing Systems. Wiley. ISBN 9780631214816.
  3. Completion of the Phonotypic Alphabet, The Phonotypic Journal, 5 Nelson Place, Bath, Phonographic Institution, vol. 4, no 42, June 1845, p. 105-106
  4. Extension of the Phonotypic Alphabet, The Phonotypic Journal, 5 Nelson Place, Bath, Phonographic Institution, vol. 4, no 43, June 1845, p. 121–123
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