The International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) is a standardized system of phonetic notation developed by linguists to accurately represent the sounds of spoken languages. It provides a set of symbols for every distinct sound (or phoneme) used in human speech. The IPA is used worldwide by linguists, language learners, and speech therapists to transcribe pronunciation, regardless of the language’s writing system.
Below is a list of the most commonly used IPA symbols for consonants, vowels, and suprasegmentals.
IPA Consonant Symbols
Consonants are produced with some degree of constriction or closure in the vocal tract. The IPA represents different types of consonants, categorized by place of articulation (where in the mouth the sound is produced) and manner of articulation (how the sound is produced).
| IPA Symbol | Sound Description | Example |
|---|---|---|
| /p/ | Voiceless bilabial stop | “pat” |
| /b/ | Voiced bilabial stop | “bat” |
| /t/ | Voiceless alveolar stop | “tap” |
| /d/ | Voiced alveolar stop | “dog” |
| /k/ | Voiceless velar stop | “cat” |
| /g/ | Voiced velar stop | “go” |
| /ʔ/ | Glottal stop | “uh-oh” |
| /f/ | Voiceless labiodental fricative | “fish” |
| /v/ | Voiced labiodental fricative | “van” |
| /θ/ | Voiceless dental fricative | “thin” |
| /ð/ | Voiced dental fricative | “this” |
| /s/ | Voiceless alveolar fricative | “sit” |
| /z/ | Voiced alveolar fricative | “zoo” |
| /ʃ/ | Voiceless postalveolar fricative | “shoe” |
| /ʒ/ | Voiced postalveolar fricative | “measure” |
| /h/ | Voiceless glottal fricative | “hat” |
| /tʃ/ | Voiceless postalveolar affricate | “church” |
| /dʒ/ | Voiced postalveolar affricate | “judge” |
| /m/ | Bilabial nasal | “man” |
| /n/ | Alveolar nasal | “net” |
| /ŋ/ | Velar nasal | “sing” |
| /r/ | Alveolar approximant | “red” |
| /l/ | Alveolar lateral approximant | “lip” |
| /w/ | Voiced labio-velar approximant | “win” |
| /j/ | Voiced palatal approximant | “yes” |
IPA Vowel Symbols
Vowels are produced without significant constriction in the vocal tract. Vowel sounds are categorized based on tongue position (high, mid, low) and lip rounding (rounded or unrounded). They are also classified by whether they are tense or lax and by their duration (long or short).
| IPA Symbol | Sound Description | Example |
|---|---|---|
| /iː/ | Close front unrounded vowel (long) | “see” |
| /ɪ/ | Near-close front unrounded vowel | “sit” |
| /e/ | Close-mid front unrounded vowel | “bed” |
| /ɛ/ | Open-mid front unrounded vowel | “bet” |
| /æ/ | Near-open front unrounded vowel | “cat” |
| /ɑː/ | Open back unrounded vowel (long) | “father” |
| /ɒ/ | Open back rounded vowel | “lot” |
| /ɔː/ | Open-mid back rounded vowel (long) | “thought” |
| /ʊ/ | Near-close back rounded vowel | “foot” |
| /uː/ | Close back rounded vowel (long) | “food” |
| /ʌ/ | Open-mid back unrounded vowel | “cup” |
| /ə/ | Schwa, mid-central unrounded vowel | “sofa” |
| /ɜː/ | Open-mid central unrounded vowel (long) | “bird” |
| /aɪ/ | Diphthong (closing), as in “eye” | “time” |
| /eɪ/ | Diphthong (closing), as in “bay” | “day” |
| /oʊ/ | Diphthong (closing), as in “go” | “go” |
| /aʊ/ | Diphthong (closing), as in “cow” | “now” |
| /ɔɪ/ | Diphthong (closing), as in “boy” | “toy” |
Suprasegmental Symbols
Suprasegmentals refer to features such as stress, length, and tone, which go beyond individual vowel and consonant sounds and affect larger units like syllables or whole words.
| IPA Symbol | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| ˈ | Primary stress | “ˈrecord” (as a noun) |
| ˌ | Secondary stress | “ˌunˈbelievable” |
| ː | Length mark | “food” /fuːd/ |
| . | Syllable break | “hotˈdog” (compound word) |
| ** | ** | Minor intonation break |
| ‖ | Major intonation break | “I finished my homework. ‖ Then I went out.” |
Other IPA Symbols
The IPA also includes additional symbols for diacritics (modifiers that add phonetic detail to a sound), tones, and sounds used in various languages that may not occur in English. Below are some additional IPA symbols that modify or extend the basic sounds.
| IPA Symbol | Description | Example |
|---|---|---|
| /ʰ/ | Aspirated sound | [pʰ] as in “pin” |
| /ʲ/ | Palatalized sound | [tʲ] as in Russian “тень” (shadow) |
| /̪/ | Dentalized sound | [d̪] for a dentalized “d” sound |
| /̃/ | Nasalization | [ã] as in French “maman” |
| /ʷ/ | Labialization | [kʷ] in “quick” (rounded lips) |
| /˞/ | Rhoticity (r-coloring) | [ə˞] as in “bird” |
Tone and Intonation
For tonal languages (such as Mandarin), the IPA also includes symbols for tone. These marks indicate the pitch contour used to pronounce words, which can affect meaning.
| IPA Symbol | Description | Example |
|---|---|---|
| ˥ | High tone | Mandarin: 妈 /ma˥/ (mother) |
| ˧ | Mid tone | Mandarin: 麻 /ma˧/ (hemp) |
| ˩ | Low tone | Mandarin: 骂 /ma˩/ (scold) |
| ˨˩ | Rising tone | Mandarin: 马 /ma˨˩/ (horse) |
Conclusion
The International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) provides a comprehensive system for accurately representing the sounds of human speech across languages. The IPA symbols cover a wide range of consonants, vowels, and suprasegmental features like stress and intonation, making it an invaluable tool for linguists, language learners, and professionals studying speech.