Some Remarks Regarding English Transcription Practices in Taiwan

The EFL and linguistic materials available in Taiwan exhibit a large number of transcription systems, all differing from each other in certain respects. While some of these differences are of linguistic nature, and stem from the authors' own perception of the English phonetic/phonological system, others are purely graphic, frequently having arisen through misinterpretation of the traditional transcription symbols as established by the International Phonetics Association (IPA). The multitude of transcription systems and the differences in graphics for the same phonetic symbols can be said to present a confusing picture of English sounds and their transcription to the students of English in Taiwan. In the present article, the background of the issues discussed above is investigated, and, wherever appropriate, ways to correct some of these non-standard practices are presented. The author also provides some suggestions regarding the reduction of the current multitude of transcription styles by means of standardization.