RE: Why incomplete subscript/superscript alphabet ?

Hans Åberg wrote:

> I think that IPA might be designed for broad phonetic transcriptions
> [1], with a requirement to distinguish phonemes within each given
> language.

From the Wikipedia article you cited:

"For example, one particular pronunciation of the English word little
may be transcribed using the IPA as /ˈlɪtəl/ or [ˈlɪɾɫ̩]; the
broad, phonemic transcription, placed between slashes, indicates merely
that the word ends with phoneme /l/, but the narrow, allophonic
transcription, placed between square brackets, indicates that this final
/l/ ([ɫ]) is dark (velarized)."

IPA can be used pretty much as broadly or as narrowly as one wishes.
 

--
Doug Ewell | Thornton, CO, US | ewellic.org