Some Remarks Regarding English Transcription Practices in Taiwan

論台灣通行之英語音標系統

在台灣的英語教學與語言學領域裡，相關的語言教材或是語言研究的文獻資料，經常採用不一致的英語音標系統。其分歧的部份原因來自於各學者對語音和音位系統持有不同的認知判斷，另一部份原因則源自於對國際音標符號的錯誤解讀。在這兩種因素加總之下，造成了台灣英語音標系統的混亂現象，也增加了學生在學習英語上的困難。本文檢討上述之議題，並嘗試釐清各種相關問題，最後提議以標準化的英語發音輔助系統，來改善現今的音標使用問題。

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.