For the main Learning the International Phonetic Alphabet page, click here.
Including IPA symbols in documents
This page provides some general advice on including IPA symbols in your documents.Using an online clickable chart
This is perhaps the easiest method, and does not usually require installing anything further. These sites provide clickable lists of IPA symbols, allowing you to copy and paste the selected symbols into your document.Installing IPA fonts
There is a chance that your system already includes the resources required to include IPA symbols in your documents. If not, or if you have more advanced requirements, then you may need to install a specialized IPA font.For use with word processors
The Summer Institute of Linguistics provides fonts which containing a full range of IPA symbols for use with word processors: There are versions of the fonts for Windows, Mac OS X and Linux.For LaTeX
There is a concise explanation of the options available in this post on tex.stackexchange; the options are also discussed in this thread on the same site. If you go down the tipa route, you can download and install the tipa package from CTAN. Note that this font does not include the symbol for the labiodental flap; users might be able to make use of this advice. (If you are using Doulos SIL or Charis SIL then the symbol should be available.)Inserting IPA symbols in a word processor
Due to the proliferation of different operating systems and word processors, these suggestion might not apply in your specific case.If you do not have Doulos SIL or Charis SIL installed (see above) then you could try looking for IPA symbols in other fonts e.g. Calibri, Cambria, Times New Roman, Arial, Tahoma, Lucida Sans, Lucida Grande. Remember that using an online clickable chart (see above) provides a safe and convenient option in many cases.- Microsoft Word:
- Windows: go to the "Insert" menu, select "Symbol" from the menu across the top of the screen (the ribbon), then "More Symbols...". From the dropdown "Font" menu you can select Doulos SIL or Charis SIL if you have them installed (see above); if you don't and can't install them then try looking for the symbols in one of the fonts listed above (Calibri, Cambria, Times New Roman, Arial, Tahoma, Lucida Sans, Lucida Grande). From the table of symbols which shows up, scroll through, double click on the symbol you want to use and it will be inserted into your document. (Changing the value of the "Subset" dropdown menu may speed things up for you.) Repeat for any other symbols. Close the "Symbol" dialogue box when you are done.
- Mac OS X: go to the "Insert" menu, select "Advanced Symbol" from the menu across the top of the screen (the ribbon). From the dropdown "Font" menu you can select Doulos SIL or Charis SIL if you have them installed (see above); if you don't and can't install them then try looking for the symbols in one of the fonts listed above (Calibri, Cambria, Times New Roman, Arial, Tahoma, Lucida Sans, Lucida Grande). From the table of symbols which shows up, scroll through, double click on the symbol you want to use and it will be inserted into your document. Repeat for any other symbols. Close the "Symbol" dialogue box when you are done.
- In LibreOffice (Windows, Mac OS X, Linux): go to the "Insert" menu and select "Special character...". From the dropdown "Font" menu you can select Doulos SIL or Charis SIL if you have them installed (see above). From the table of symbols which shows up, scroll through, double click on the symbol you want to use and it will be inserted into your document. (Changing the value of the "Subset" dropdown menu may speed things up for you.) Repeat for any other symbols. Close the "Special Characters" dialogue box when you are done.
Using AutoCorrect to speed up the inserting of symbols
If you find that you are typing the same IPA symbols often, you might consider setting up an AutoCorrect function on your word processor to replace certain keystrokes with IPA symbols.- Microsoft Word:
- Mac OS X: "Word" -> "Preferences" -> "AutoCorrect", then in the "AutoCorrect" tab set a sequence of keys to be replaced by an IPA symbol.
- Windows: "File" -> "Options" -> "Proofing" -> "AutoCorrect Options...", then in the "AutoCorrect" tab set a sequence of keys to be replaced by an IPA symbol.
- LibreOffice (Windows, Mac OS X, Linux): "Tools" -> "AutoCorrect" -> "AutoCorrect options...", then in the "Replace" tab set a sequence of keys to be replaced by an IPA symbol.