International Phonetic Alphabet

A detailed definition of the term "international phonetic alphabet" in the context of "pronunciation & sounds".

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International Phonetic Alphabet

A system of notation based on the Latin alphabet. Devised by the International Phonetic Association as a standardized representation of spoken language sounds.

Transcriptions in IPA are a way of representing the soudns of speech in a way that's consistent across all spoken languages.

The IPA Chart

Interactive Chart of IPA Symbols and Sounds

Example Transcriptions

Here are example IPA transcriptions of the same words in multiple languages:

English

  • "cat" is transcribed as /kæt/
  • "dog" is transcribed as /dɔg/

Spanish

  • "gato" is transcribed as /ˈɡato/
  • "perro" is transcribed as /ˈpero/

German

  • "Katze" is transcribed as /ˈkatsə/
  • "Hund" is transcribed as /hʊnt/

Japanese

  • "猫" is transcribed as /neko/
  • "犬" is transcribed as /inu/
See also:
Core Skills