Yes; I've got a working knowledge of the full IPA, diacritics and all. Of course, I have an undergrad degree in linguistics, but still.
I think the IPA should be taught more widely than it is—perhaps not to a level of fluency, but at least to a level of moderate proficiency. Most of the other conventions for pronunciation are ad-hoc and ambiguous, whereas the IPA gives an unambiguous and international standardized system for pronunciation in every possible language, which is invaluable in many situations.
Comments
Yes; I've got a working knowledge of the full IPA, diacritics and all. Of course, I have an undergrad degree in linguistics, but still.
I think the IPA should be taught more widely than it is—perhaps not to a level of fluency, but at least to a level of moderate proficiency. Most of the other conventions for pronunciation are ad-hoc and ambiguous, whereas the IPA gives an unambiguous and international standardized system for pronunciation in every possible language, which is invaluable in many situations.