
For the main Learning the International Phonetic Alphabet
page, click here.
Writing IPA
symbols
This page is intended to help
you learn to write IPA symbols clearly and unambiguously. This is
an important skill for a phonetician.
A typed version of each base (on-the-line) IPA symbol is shown.
Three ruled lines are shown, one at the bottom to show the line on
which the character (minus any descender) sits, one at the top to
show the height of tallest characters, and one in the middle to
show the height of the character 'x'.
Handwritten versions of each symbol by two phoneticians are also
provided, in columns A and B. The ruled lines from the typed
versions have been retained to give a better indication of the size
of the characters and their position relative to a line of
transcription in which they might appear. As you would expect, you
will notice slight differences between the handwritten versions but
each symbol is still clear and unambiguous.
For some symbols one or more sample 'unacceptable versions' are
given. These are versions which are frequently encountered,
especially in transcriptions by people new to phonetic
transcription, but which need to be avoided. In most cases this is
due to the potential for mistaking one symbol for another. If you
are using a computer (as opposed to a tablet), if you hover your
mouse pointer over the unacceptable version you will see a
description of the problematic feature(s). You can check the
meaning of any typography terms you don't know
here.
The list of symbols is broken down into sections:
Pulmonic consonants
Typed version |
A |
B |
unacceptable versions |
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Non-pulmonic consonants
Typed version |
A |
B |
unacceptable versions |
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Other symbols
Typed version |
A |
B |
unacceptable versions |
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Vowels
Typed version |
A |
B |
unacceptable versions |
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