the ipa market " alexis mr " urges that phonetic alphabets be standardized , and writes , " why not let the invisible hand of the " market " of ideas operate freely ? " but the market * is * operating . that 's exactly why we have several different systems , any that 's why people feel free to modify those systems as they please . i do not see how the market would demand i asked in an earlier egram ( vol-6 - 199 ) why it would benefit me , as an active fieldworker , to have a completely revamped phonetic alphabet . i am still waiting for a plausible answer . i am happy with ipa most of the time , and when i ' m not i innovate as necessary . a complete overhaul would be wrenching for me and probably leave me feeling extremely alientated . more likely , i would just go on using the ipa and chinese ipa symbols i already use , and the dubious goal of a new , unified standard phonetic system would fail . i think the real reason some people want to overhaul ipa is to alter its aesthetics - to make it neater , more symmetrical somehow . i do not see any practical value in this . nor do i see any need to have a single , unified system , replacing both ipa and american consensual practice . everybody recognizes esh , and everybody recognizes s-hachek , and if a letter _ y _ appears in a transcription you look carefully at the introduction and find out what it represents , that 's all . where is the problem ? please , someone tell me , where is the problem ? david prager branner , yuen ren society asian l&l , do-21 , university of washington seattle , wa 98195 ( charmii @ u . washington . edu )