This year, 2010, we celebrate the 40th anniversary of the publication of the Journal of the International Phonetic Association and the 125th anniversary of the publishing of a journal by the Association. From 1886 through 1888, the journal had the title The Phonetic Teacher, rendered variably as Dhi Fonètik Tîtcer (1886–1887), dhə fənetik tîtcər (1887–1888), ðə fonetik tîtcər (1888). From 1889 to 1970, the name of the journal was Le Maître Phonétique (lə mɛːtr fɔnetik, revised in 1895 to lə mɛːtrə fɔnetik) in which articles and letters were usually published in phonetic transcription; hence, the journal is traditionally referred to as the ‘mf’.
Since 1971, the journal has been published as the Journal of the International Phonetic Association. Publication of JIPA was assumed by Cambridge University Press in 2001 on behalf of the IPA. To mark our anniversary year, a number of historical items are being reprinted in this issue of JIPA. The first is an IPA membership application form dating from 100 years ago, rediscovered recently at University College London, introduced here by Michael Ashby. The second two items recall the kind of publications that appeared in the mf – one an article and one an outline of the phonetic structure of a language, introduced by Daniel Hirst. The primary authors of the selections were two of the longest-standing members of the IPA throughout most of the 20th century and continuing into the 21st century: J. C. Catford and Eli Fischer-Jørgensen. Their contributions are legend, and examples of their work are reprinted here, in their original format, in memory of these two great phonetic scholars.
The final item reprinted here is the original text, with original cover pages and pagination, of the 1949 Principles of the IPA, introduced by IPA historian, Michael K. C. MacMahon. The Principles appeared as a pamphlet in 1949, issued as a supplement to the mf. It was reproduced as a pamphlet again in 1977 and in 1982 (with nearly identical content to that of 1949, save a few updates to the front and back matter and revisions to the Statutes of the IPA). Its republication here is intended to facilitate access to the Principles, especially to the many outlines of the phonetic systems of various languages, many of which have not been illustrated in subsequent issues of JIPA. The brief ‘spécimens’ that appeared in the Principles were more of a collective and editorial effort than the illustrations that have evolved in JIPA. They remain a useful resource and source of comparison, and they should be taken in their historical context. The number of spécimens totals 53, including three different varieties of English. The language varieties illustrated in the Principles are listed here for reference purposes in the order in which they appeared.
Language spécimens in the Principles (pages 20–51)
English (one variety of Southern British)
English (Scottish)
English (one form of American)
French (one form of Parisian)
Italian (Roman)
Spanish (Castilian)
Portuguese (of Lisbon)
Provençal (dialect of Arles)
Welsh (North)
German (one variety of North German)
Dutch
Danish (of Copenhagen)
Norwegian (Bokmål, an eastern variety)
Swedish (colloquial)
Icelandic
Russian
Polish (Warsaw colloquial)
Czech
Roumanian (of Bucarest)
Finnish
Estonian
Hungarian
Greek (one form of modern Athenian)
Georgian (of Tiflis)
Armenian (Eastern)
Arabic (Cairene, spoken language)
Somali (of Berbera)
Turkish (of Istanbul)
Persian (of Teheran)
Hindustani (Urdu)
Panjabi (Northern)
Bengali (Calcutta colloquial)
Oriya (Northern, colloquial)
Tamil (of Tirunelvalli, spoken language)
Sinhalese (Colombo colloquial)
Malay
Burmese
Shan (of Hsi Paw)
Thai (Siamese)
Annamese (of Tongking)
Chinese (Pekingese)
Chinese (Cantonese, of Hong Kong)
Korean (of Seoul)
Japanese (colloquial)
Igbo (of Umuahia, Southern Nigeria)
Yoruba (of Oyo, Nigeria)
Twi (Ashanti) (of the Gold Coast)
Swahili (of Zanzibar)
Ganda
Tswana (Chwana) (Rolong dialect of Mafeking)
Sotho (Sesuto) (Southern)
Xhosa
Afrikaans
