The IPSM Approach (Integrated Pronunciation, Spelling and Meaning Approach) is an English word memory technique. It links the pronunciation, spelling, and meaning of each English word by using phonetic notation and morpheme division. This enables learners to grasp the pronunciation rules and the core letter meanings within words progressively during the learning process. As a result, they can recognize a word by its pronunciation and understand its meaning upon seeing it, significantly improving the efficiency of memorizing words. In fact, memorizing an English word is essentially about connecting these three aspects of the word together.
The IPSM Approach consists of three key elements: IPS, ISM, and IPM. The IPS incorporates the pronunciation rules into the words through IPS notation. The ISM integrates the word formation rules into the words through morpheme division. The IPM is achieved by perceiving the inherent connection between phonemes and meanings.
Integrated Pronunciation and Spelling (IPS) notation for phonemes, a direct notation system, mark above the vowel and a few consonant letters of words to indicate pronunciations without altering their spellings, being simpler than the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) and other respelling symbols.
The IPSM Approach categorizes the main vowel pronunciations of words from strong to weak into four rhythms: open syllables (marked with a horizontal line), closed syllables (unmarked), light syllables (marked with a dot), and weak syllables (marked with a circle).
Symbols above vowel letters or vowel combinations:
- Line ( — ): Open diacritic (pronouncing the opened sound, vowel's letter sound).
- None ( ): Closed diacritic (pronouncing the closed sound).
- Dot ( . ): Soft diacritic (pronouncing /i/).
- Circle ( 。): Weak diacritic (pronouncing /ə/).
Other vowels are marked by
- Wave ( ~ ): Long vowel.
- Apostrophe ( ˋ ): Variant sound.
- Sharp ( ^ ): Pronouncing /˄/.
The IPS notation corresponds one-to-one with IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) . It is possible to convert the IPA of an Englsih word into IPS and vice versa. If you haven't mastered IPA yet, it won't affect your learning of IPS. If you have already mastered IPA, it will not only assist you in learning IPS but also enable you to have a better understanding of IPA.
Compared with IPA, IPS is created based on the pronunciation rules of words. It is more concise and clear. With long-term use, you can master the pronunciation rules of words imperceptibly and thus no longer need any phonetic notation.
| IPA Symbol | IPS Notation | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| /p/ | [p] | pen |
| /b/ | [b] | bed |
| /t/ | [t] | tab |
| /d/ | [d] | dog |
| /k/ | [k], [c], [ck] | kid, cat, cob, cub, kick |
| /g/ | [g] | gab, god, gun |
| /f/ | [f], [ph], [gh] | fan, phōtō, tôugh |
| /v/ | [v] | very̍ |
| /s/ | [s], [c] | sad, cell, city̍, cȳbe̊r |
| /z/ | [z], [s̍ ] | zoo, rīs̍e |
| /ð/ | [t̅h] | t̅his |
| /θ/ | [th] | think |
| /m/ | [m] | map |
| /n/ | [n] | nap |
| /ŋ/ | [ng], [n(k)] | king, think |
| /l/ | [l] | līke |
| /r/ | [r] | red |
| /h/ | [h] | his |
| /w/ | [w] | wag |
| /j/ | [y] | yes |
| /ʃ/ | [sh], [c̅h] | ship, måc̅hine |
| /ʒ/ | [s᷉] | vis᷉io̊n |
| /tʃ/ | [ch], [tch] | chat, catch |
| /dʒ/ | [j], [g], [dg] | jump, gem, ginge̊r, gy̍m, judge |
| /æ/ | [a] | bad |
| /e/ | [e] , [èa] | bed, hèad |
| /i/ | [i], [y̍], [ė], [ėy], [a̍ ], [u̍] | sit, prėtty̍, hônėy, dama̍ge, bu̍s̍y̍ |
| /ɔ/ | [o] | hot |
| /ʌ/ | [u], [ô], [ôu], [ôo] | but, lôve, ėnôugh, blôod |
| /ei/ | [ā], [āi], [āy], [eā], [èy], [èi] | lāte, wāit, sāy, greāt, thèy, wèigh |
| /i:/ | [ē], [ēe], [ēa], [ēi], [ēy], [iē], [ĩ] | mē, mēet, mēan, rėcēive, kēy, bėliēf, po̊lĩce |
| /ai/ | [ī], [ȳ] | nīce, flȳ |
| /əu/ | [ō], [ōa], [ōw], [ōu] | gō, rōad, slōw, thōugh |
| /ju:/ | [ū], [ūi], [ew̄], [eū] | dūty, sūit, new̄, neūtrål |
| /u:/ | [(l/r)ū], [oū], [oo], [õ] | trūe, groūp, tool, dõ |
| /u/ | [oo(k)], [oo(d)], [ù] | good, look, pùll, pùsh |
| /a:/ | [àr], [à] | dàrk, àsk |
| /au/ | [òu], [òw] | lòud, còw |
| /eə/ | [ār], [āir], [āer], [eār], [er] | cāre, fāir, āerāte, weār, there |
| /iə/ | [ēr], [ēer], [ēar], | bēer, hēar, hēre |
| /aiə/ | [īr] | fīre |
| /ɔ:/ | [or], [ōr], [ōar], [ōur], [ōu(gh)], [ã(l)], [ãu], [ãw], [(w)ãr], | port, bōard, yōur, bōught, tãll, ãutho̊r, lãw, wãr |
| /uə/ | [ūr] | dūring |
| /ə/ | [e̊], [å], [i̊], [o̊], [ů], [o̊u(s)] | ōpe̊n, åbòut, ēvi̊l, pro̊pel, sůpplȳ, fāmo̊us |
| /ə:/ | [e̊r], [år], [i̊r], [o̊r], [ůr], [e̊ar], [o̊ur], [e̊ur] | he̊r, collår, fi̊rst, wo̊rd, fůr, le̊arn, hono̊ur, amåte̊ur |
| /ɔi/ | [oi], [oy̍] | oil, boy̍ |
Unlike common syllable division, the morpheme division method uses symbols (-) to separate the prefixes, roots, infixes and suffixes of an English word based on word formation rules, better showing its internal structure.