It was founded to promote the scientific study of all aspects of phonetics and phonology of oral and sign languages through scholarly exchange across disciplines and through the use of a hybrid methodology.
[1] The founding and honorary members are Amalia Arvaniti, Mary Beckman, Cathi Best, Catherine Browman, Jennifer S. Cole, Mariapaola D'Imperio, Louis M. Goldstein, José Ignacio Hualde, Patricia Keating, John Kingston, D.R.
Since the Association's inception, the methodologies of laboratory phonology are emerging as the dominant approach to the study of sound systems in universities in North America, Europe, Australia, New Zealand, and many other locations.
Conferences generally have between four and six themes, which are broadly defined in order to bring together speakers and commentators from different disciplines and theoretical backgrounds.
The journal encompasses the scientific study of the elements of oral language, their organization, their grammatical function, and their role in speech communication.