International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) | Definition, Uses, & Chart (2024)

International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA), an alphabet developed in the 19th century to accurately represent the pronunciation of languages. One aim of the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) was to provide a unique symbol for each distinctive sound in a language—that is, every sound, or phoneme, that serves to distinguish one word from another. It is the most common example of phonetic transcription.

The concept of the IPA was first broached by Otto Jespersen in a letter to Paul Passy of the International Phonetic Association and was developed by A.J. Ellis, Henry Sweet, Daniel Jones, and Passy in the late 19th century. Its creators’ intent was to standardize the representation of spoken language, thereby sidestepping the confusion caused by the inconsistent conventional spellings used in every language. The IPA was also intended to supersede the existing multitude of individual transcription systems. It was first published in 1888 and was revised several times in the 20th and 21st centuries. The International Phonetic Association is responsible for the alphabet and publishes a chart summarizing it.

The IPA primarily uses Roman characters. Other letters are borrowed from different scripts (e.g., Greek) and are modified to conform to Roman style. Diacritics are used for fine distinctions in sounds and to show nasalization of vowels, length, stress, and tones.

The IPA can be used for broad and narrow transcription. For example, in English there is only one t sound distinguished by native speakers. Therefore, only one symbol is needed in a broad transcription to indicate every t sound. If there is a need to transcribe narrowly in English, diacritical marks can be added to indicate that the t’s in the words tap, pat, and stem differ slightly in pronunciation.

The IPA did not become the universal system for phonetic transcription that its designers had intended, and it is used less commonly in America than in Europe. Despite its acknowledged shortcomings, it is widely employed by linguists and in dictionaries, though often with some modifications. The IPA is also used by singers.

The Editors of Encyclopaedia BritannicaThis article was most recently revised and updated by Adam Augustyn.

International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) | Definition, Uses, & Chart (2024)

FAQs

International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) | Definition, Uses, & Chart? ›

The International Phonetics Alphabet

International Phonetics Alphabet
The International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) is an alphabetic system of phonetic notation based primarily on the Latin script. It was devised by the International Phonetic Association in the late 19th century as a standardized representation of speech sounds in written form.
https://en.wikipedia.org › International_Phonetic_Alphabet
(IPA) is used to represent the phonemes, or units of sound, spoken across all languages. It is used so that someone who knows the IPA can pronounce any word in any spoken language.

What is the IPA phonetic chart? ›

The IPA chart, also known as the international phonetic alphabet chart, was formulated by the international phonetic association in the 19th century. It was based on the Latin alphabet. It is popular with linguists and contains symbols. These symbols represent sounds in spoken English, not other languages.

Who uses IPA? ›

The IPA is used by lexicographers, foreign language students and teachers, linguists, speech–language pathologists, singers, actors, constructed language creators, and translators.

How is the IPA chart organized? ›

IPA chart structure

The chart is divided into vowels and consonants and each of them have their own symbols. In the vowel section, it is divided into two sections: monophthongs and diphthongs. These sound like difficult words, but they will be easier to grasp after these definitions.

What are the 26 phonetic alphabet? ›

So here is a cheat sheet: Alpha, Bravo, Charlie, Delta, Echo, Foxtrot, Golf, Hotel, India, Juliett, Kilo, Lima, Mike, November, Oscar, Papa, Quebec, Romeo, Sierra, Tango, Uniform, Victor, Whiskey, X-ray, Yankee, Zulu.

How to use the IPA? ›

In the IPA, a word's primary stress is marked by putting a raised vertical line (ˈ) at the beginning of a syllable. Secondary stress is marked by putting a lowered vertical line (ˌ) at the beginning of a syllable.

Why is IPA so important? ›

One aim of the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) was to provide a unique symbol for each distinctive sound in a language—that is, every sound, or phoneme, that serves to distinguish one word from another. It is the most common example of phonetic transcription.

How do I write my name phonetically? ›

To spell your name phonetically, break the parts of your names into syllables, capitalizing the letter sounds that one might emphasize when pronouncing your name. Include all letter sounds that might help a person say your name, even if those same sounds are not present in the actual spelling of your name.

What is the IPA useful for? ›

The IPA helps us to transcribe words in different languages and pronounce words accurately no matter the language. The IPA was created in 1888 by Paul Passy, a French linguist.

Is IPA difficult to learn? ›

That means the pronunciation and the 'spelling' match exactly, every time. If you've never used IPA before, it might look complicated. It's not. You can learn to use IPA from zero with one or two hours of practice.

What are the 44 phonetic symbols? ›

  • Set 1: s, a, t, p. Set 2: i, n, m, d. Set 3: g, o, c, k. Set 4: ck, e, u, r. Set 5: h, b, f, ff, l, ll, ss.
  • Set 6: j, v, w, x.
  • Set 7: y, z, zz, qu.
  • Consonant digraphs: ch, sh, th, ng.
  • Vowel digraphs: ai, ee, igh, oa, oo, ar, or, ur, ow, oi, ear, air, ure, er.
  • ay, ou, ie, ea, oi, ir, ue, wh, ph, ew, aw, au, oe, a-e.

How to memorize an English IPA chart? ›

A great way to practise the IPA symbols with the chart is to get a blank diagram and practise writing the symbols in, preferably with keywords for the ones that don't look like their intuitive English sounds so that you remember what they sound like.

What does Oscar Tango Mike mean? ›

Oscar-Mike – On the Move. Tango Mike – Thanks Much.

What does Bravo Charlie mean? ›

Bravo = the letter “B” Charlie = the letter “C” Delta = the letter “D” If you were to spell the word “bad”, you would say “Bravo Alpha Delta.” This avoids confusion and spelling errors, especially when communicating via telephone. Also, this method of spelling is typically used in the U.S. military.

What is the most common phonetic alphabet? ›

In the maritime world the NATO phonetic alphabet is most often used.
  • A. ALPHA. AL fah.
  • B. BRAVO. BRAH voh.
  • C. CHARLIE. CHAR lee.
  • D. DELTA. DEL tah.
  • E. ECHO. EKK oh.
  • F. FOXTROT. FOKS trot.
  • G. GOLF. GOLF.
  • H. HOTEL. HO tell.

What is IPA used for in industry? ›

IPA 99% is widely used in the coatings industry as a reagent for producing polymers as well as a dispersion agent for downstream. Intermediates that can be made from it include acetone, glycerol, methyl isobutyl ketone (MIBK), and bisphenol A, common precursors for resins and paints (CN102050713A).

Where is IPA used? ›

Isopropyl alcohol (2-propanol), also known as isopropanol or IPA, is the most common and widely used disinfectant within pharmaceutics, hospitals, cleanrooms, and electronics or medical device manufacturing.

Do Americans learn IPA? ›

Americans use the IPA system in many dictionaries, and American language teachers have to learn it. I took a course in it in college. There are other systems around, but IPA is definitely used in the U.S.

Does Oxford use IPA? ›

The New Oxford American Dictionary is the American version of the Oxford Dictionary of English, with substantial editing and uses a diacritical respelling scheme rather than the IPA system.

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