What is the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)?
Q: What is the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)?
A: The International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) is a system for writing down sounds. It was created by the International Phonetic Association in 1886 to provide a standard way of writing down the pronunciation of words from different languages.
Q: Who uses the IPA?
A: 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.
Q: What type of symbols does it use?
A: Most symbols used in the IPA are letters from the Latin alphabet or variations of it. For example, the palatal approximant (the y in yesterday) is written with [j].
Q: How do you write sounds using IPA?
A: Sounds can be written between slashes (called a broad transcription), or in square brackets (called a narrow transcription). Narrow translation is more precise than broad.
Q: What types of sounds does it include?
A: 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.
Q: Does it ever change?
A: Yes, sometimes symbols are added or taken away from the IPA as needed. Right now there are 107 different letters and 52 marks which are added to letters to change their sound called "diacritics".
