Further to Articulatory Force and the IPA Revisions

Abstract

I read with interest the note by Leigh Lisker in JIPA 22 (pp 57–61) concerning the problem of marking force of articulation in phonetic transcription, and his regret that the 1989 revisions did not include diacritics for the fortis-lenis distinction. It is true that there exists no universally agreed definition of articulatory force, however, as Professor Lisker points out, phoneticians involved in transcription frequently encounter the need to differentiate sounds of different strength which appear to be the same in other phonetic dimensions.