The organization of the British phonetic chart

Hi,

I know that the British phonetic chart is divided into three parts: the monophtongs, the diphtongs and the consonants. But is there a reason why the monophtongs' part, for example, is organized the way it is? /i:/ is the first and then /ɪ/ and then...
Are they organized arbitrarily?

Thanks a lot.

Which chart are you referring to?

I mean the British phonetic chart that is divided into three parts. I can't include a picture, because I haven't reached 10 post yet.

If you mean this chart, then the location of the symbol represents the height of the tongue and the part of it which is raised in the production of that vowel, in a stylised side view of the mouth.

Thanks. I mean this: https:// (without space) encrypted-tbn0.gstatic dot com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRXnoK1d8qbdydirrn4fFuYiL-yS8rDdW5Otr0qutscziOYPu5Gcw

Quote:

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Originally Posted by angel-girl1

Thanks. I mean this: https:// (without space) encrypted-tbn0.gstatic dot com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRXnoK1d8qbdydirrn4fFuYiL-yS8rDdW5Otr0qutscziOYPu5Gcw

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If you compare the first quarter of that chart (Adrian Underhill's) to the one I linked you to, you'll see that the former is a simplified representation of the latter.

I appreciate your help.