International Phonetic Alphabet

International Phonetic Alphabet
"IPA" in IPA ([aɪ pʰiː eɪ])
Script type	Alphabet – partially featural
Time period	since 1888
Languages	Used for phonetic and phonemic transcription of any language
Related scripts
Parent systems	Palaeotype alphabet, English Phonotypic Alphabet Romic alphabet International Phonetic Alphabet

The International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) is a system for writing down sounds. It was created by the International Phonetic Association in 1886, so that people could write down sounds of languages in a standard way.^[1] Linguists, language teachers, and translators use this system to show the pronunciation for words.

Wikipedia also uses the IPA to show how certain words are meant to be spoken. Most symbols are letters in the Latin alphabet, or variations of it. For example, the palatal approximant (the y in yesterday) is written with [j]. In IPA symbols can be written between slashes (called a broad transcription, e.g."little" can be written as /lɪtl/ ) or in square brackets (called a narrow transcription, e.g. "little" can be written [lɪɾɫ], which is how specific groups say it). Narrow translation is more precise than broad.

The IPA has symbols only for sounds that are used normally in spoken languages. The Extensions to the International Phonetic Alphabet (or extIPA) are used to write down other sounds.

The IPA is sometimes changed, and symbols are added or taken away. Right now there are 107 different letters in the IPA. There are also 52 marks which are added to letters to change their sound. These marks are called "diacritics".

1. ↑ International Phonetic Association (1999). Handbook of the International Phonetic Association: A guide to the use of the International Phonetic Alphabet. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-65236-7. (hb); (pb).