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The Extended Speech Assessment Methods Phonetic Alphabet (X-SAMPA) is a variant of SAMPA developed in 1995 by John C. Wells, professor of phonetics at University College London.[1] It is designed to unify the individual language SAMPA alphabets, and extend SAMPA to cover the entire range of characters in the 1993 version of International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA). The result is a SAMPA-inspired remapping of the IPA into 7-bit ASCII.

SAMPA was devised as a hack to work around the inability of text encodings to represent IPA symbols. Later, as Unicode support for IPA symbols became more widespread, the necessity for a separate, computer-readable system for representing the IPA in ASCII decreased. However, X-SAMPA is still useful as the basis for an input method for true IPA.

Summary

Notes

Lower-case symbols

X-SAMPA IPA IPA image Description Examples
a a
Xsampa-a.png
open front unrounded vowel French dame [dam]
b b
Xsampa-b.png
voiced bilabial plosive English bed [bEd], French bon [bO~]
b_< ɓ
Xsampa-b lessthan.png
voiced bilabial implosive Sindhi ɓarʊ [b_<arU]
c c
Xsampa-c.png
voiceless palatal plosive Hungarian latyak ["lQcQk]
d d
Xsampa-d.png
voiced alveolar plosive English dig [dIg], French doigt [dwa]
d` ɖ
Xsampa-d
voiced retroflex plosive Swedish hord [hu:d`]
d_< ɗ
Xsampa-d lessthan.png
voiced alveolar implosive Sindhi ɗarʊ [d_<arU]
e e
Xsampa-e.png
close-mid front unrounded vowel French blé [ble]
f f
Xsampa-f2.png
voiceless labiodental fricative English five [faIv], French femme [fam]
g ɡ
Xsampa-g.png
voiced velar plosive English game [geIm], French longue [lO~g]
g_< ɠ
Xsampa-g lessthan.png
voiced velar implosive Sindhi ɠəro [g_<@ro]
h h
Xsampa-h.png
voiceless glottal fricative English house [haUs]
h\ ɦ
Xsampa-hslash.png
voiced glottal fricative Czech hrad [h\rat]
i i
Xsampa-i.png
close front unrounded vowel English be [bi:], French oui [wi], Spanish si [si]
j j
Xsampa-j2.png
palatal approximant English yes [jEs], French yeux [j2]
j\ ʝ
Xsampa-jslash2.png
voiced palatal fricative Greek γειά [j\a]
k k
Xsampa-k.png
voiceless velar plosive English skip [skIp], Spanish carro ["karo]
l l
Xsampa-l.png
alveolar lateral approximant English lay [leI], French mal [mal]
l` ɭ
Xsampa-l
retroflex lateral approximant Svealand Swedish sorl [so:l`]
l\ ɺ
Xsampa-lslash.png
alveolar lateral flap Wayuu püülükü [pM:l\MkM]
m m
Xsampa-m.png
bilabial nasal English mouse [maUs], French homme [Om]
n n
Xsampa-n.png
alveolar nasal English nap [n{p], French non [nO~]
n` ɳ
Xsampa-n
retroflex nasal Swedish rn [h2:n`]
o o
Xsampa-o.png
close-mid back rounded vowel French veau [vo]
p p
Xsampa-p.png
voiceless bilabial plosive English speak [spik], French pose [poz], Spanish perro ["pero]
p\ ɸ
Xsampa-pslash.png
voiceless bilabial fricative Japanese fuku [p\M_0kM]
q q
Xsampa-q.png
voiceless uvular plosive Arabic qasbah ["qQs_Gba]
r r
Xsampa-r.png
alveolar trill Spanish perro ["pero]
r` ɽ
Xsampa-r
retroflex flap Bengali gari [gar`i:]
r\ ɹ
Xsampa-rslash2.png
alveolar approximant English red [r\Ed]
r\` ɻ
Xsampa-rslash
retroflex approximant Malayalam വഴി ["v@r\`i]
s s
Xsampa-s.png
voiceless alveolar fricative English seem [si:m], French session [sE"sjO~]
s` ʂ
Xsampa-s
voiceless retroflex fricative Swedish mars [mas`]
s\ ɕ
Xsampa-sslash.png
voiceless alveolo-palatal fricative Polish świerszcz [s\v'ers`ts`]
t t
Xsampa-t.png
voiceless alveolar plosive English stew [stju:], French raté [Ra"te]
t` ʈ
Xsampa-t
voiceless retroflex plosive Swedish rt [m2t`]
u u
Xsampa-u.png
close back rounded vowel English boom [bu:m], Spanish su [su]
v v
Xsampa-v.png
voiced labiodental fricative English vest [vEst], French voix [vwa]
v\ (or P) ʋ
Xsampa-Porvslash.png
labiodental approximant Dutch west [v\Est]/[PEst]
w w
Xsampa-w2.png
labial-velar approximant English west [wEst], French oui [wi]
x x
Xsampa-x.png
voiceless velar fricative Scots loch [lOx] or [5Ox]; German Buch, Dach; Spanish caja, gestión
x\ ɧ
Xsampa-xslash2.png
voiceless palatal-velar fricative Swedish sjal [x\A:l]
y y
Xsampa-y.png
close front rounded vowel French tu [ty] German über ["y:b6]
z z
Xsampa-z.png
voiced alveolar fricative English zoo [zu:], French azote [a"zOt]
z` ʐ
Xsampa-z
voiced retroflex fricative Mandarin Chinese rang [z`aN]
z\ ʑ
Xsampa-zslash.png
voiced alveolo-palatal fricative Polish źrebak ["z\rEbak]

Capital symbols

X-SAMPA IPA IPA image Description Example
A ɑ
Xsampa-A2.png
open back unrounded vowel English father ["fA:D@(r\)] (RP and Gen.Am.)
B β
Xsampa-B2.png
voiced bilabial fricative Spanish lavar [la"Ba4]
B\ ʙ
Xsampa-Bslash.png
bilabial trill Reminiscent of shivering ("brrr")
C ç
Xsampa-C2.png
voiceless palatal fricative German ich [IC], English human ["Cjum@n] (broad transcription uses [hj-])
D ð
Xsampa-D2.png
voiced dental fricative English then [DEn]
E ɛ
Xsampa-E2.png
open-mid front unrounded vowel French même [mE:m], English met [mEt] (RP and Gen.Am.)
F ɱ
Xsampa-F.png
labiodental nasal English emphasis ["EFf@sIs] (spoken quickly, otherwise uses [Emf-])
G ɣ
Xsampa-G2.png
voiced velar fricative Greek γωνία [Go"nia]
G\ ɢ
Xsampa-Gslash.png
voiced uvular plosive Inuktitut nirivvik [niG\ivvik]
G\_< ʛ
Xsampa-Gslash lessthan.png
voiced uvular implosive Mam ʛa [G\_<a]
H ɥ
Xsampa-H.png
labial-palatal approximant French huit [Hit]
H\ ʜ
Xsampa-Hslash.png
voiceless epiglottal fricative Agul мехӀ [mEH\]
I ɪ
Xsampa-I2.png
near-close front unrounded vowel English kit [kIt]
I\
Xsampa-Islash.png
near-close central unrounded vowel (non-IPA) Polish ryba [rI\bA] 
J ɲ
Xsampa-J.png
palatal nasal Spanish año ["aJo], English canyon ["k{J@n] (broad transcription uses [-nj-])
J\ ɟ
Xsampa-Jslash.png
voiced palatal plosive Hungarian egy [EJ\]
J\_< ʄ
Xsampa-Jslash lessthan.png
voiced palatal implosive Sindhi ʄaro [J\_<aro]
K ɬ
Xsampa-K2.png
voiceless alveolar lateral fricative Welsh llaw [KaU]
K\ ɮ
Xsampa-Kslash.png
voiced alveolar lateral fricative Mongolian долоо [tOK\O:]
L ʎ
Xsampa-L2.png
palatal lateral approximant Italian famiglia [fa"miLLa], Castilian: llamar [La"mar]
L\ ʟ
Xsampa-Lslash.png
velar lateral approximant Korean 구지 [t6L\gudz\i]
M ɯ
Xsampa-M.png
close back unrounded vowel Korean [M:ms\_hik_}]
M\ ɰ
Xsampa-Mslash.png
velar approximant Spanish fuego ["fweM\o]
N ŋ
Xsampa-N2.png
velar nasal English thing [TIN]
N\ ɴ
Xsampa-Nslash.png
uvular nasal Japanese san [saN\]
O ɔ
Xsampa-O2.png
open-mid back rounded vowel American English off [O:f]
O\ ʘ
Xsampa-Oslash.png
bilabial click  
P (or v\) ʋ
Xsampa-Porvslash.png
labiodental approximant Dutch west [PEst]/[v\Est], allophone of English phoneme /r\/
Q ɒ
Xsampa-Q.png
open back rounded vowel RP lot [lQt]
R ʁ
Xsampa-R2.png
voiced uvular fricative German rein [RaIn]
R\ ʀ
Xsampa-Rslash.png
uvular trill French roi [R\wa]
S ʃ
Xsampa-S2.png
voiceless postalveolar fricative English ship [SIp]
T θ
Xsampa-T2.png
voiceless dental fricative English thin [TIn]
U ʊ
Xsampa-U2.png
near-close back rounded vowel English foot [fUt]
U\ ᵿ
Xsampa-Uslash.png
near-close central rounded vowel (non-IPA) English euphoria [jU\"fO@r\i@]
V ʌ
Xsampa-V.png
open-mid back unrounded vowel Scottish English strut [str\Vt]
W ʍ
Xsampa-X.png
voiceless labial-velar fricative Scots when [WEn]
X χ
Xsampa-x2.png
voiceless uvular fricative Klallam sχaʔqʷaʔ [sXa?q_wa?]
X\ ħ
Xsampa-Xslash.png
voiceless pharyngeal fricative Arabic ح āʾ [X\A:]
Y ʏ
Xsampa-Y2.png
near-close front rounded vowel German hübsch [hYpS]
Z ʒ
Xsampa-Z2.png
voiced postalveolar fricative English vision ["vIZ@n]

Other symbols

X-SAMPA IPA IPA image Description Example
. .
Xsampa-fullstop.png
syllable break  
" ˈ
Xsampa-doublequotes.png
primary stress  
% ˌ
Xsampa-percentage.png
secondary stress American English pronunciation [pr\@%nVn.si."eI.S@n]
' (or _j) ʲ
Xsampa-
palatalized Russian Земля (Earth) [z'I"ml'a] or [z_jI"ml_ja]
: ː
Xsampa-colon.png
long  
:\ ˑ
Xsampa-colonslash.png
half long Estonian differentiates three vowel lengths
-   separator Polish trzy [t-S1] vs. czy [tS1] (affricate)
@ ə
Xsampa-at.png
schwa English arena [@"r\i:n@]
@\ ɘ
Xsampa-atslash.png
close-mid central unrounded vowel Paicĩ kɘ̄ɾɘ [k@\_M4@\_M]
@` ɚ
Xsampa-at
r-coloured schwa American English color ["kVl@`]
{ æ
Xsampa-leftcurly.png
near-open front unrounded vowel English trap [tr\{p]
} ʉ
Xsampa-rightcurly.png
close central rounded vowel Swedish sju [x\}:]; AuE/NZE boot [b}:t]
1 ɨ
Xsampa-1.png
close central unrounded vowel Welsh tu [t1], American English rose's ["r\oUz1z]
2 ø
Xsampa-2.png
close-mid front rounded vowel Danish købe ["k2:b@], French deux [d2]
3 ɜ
Xsampa-3.png
open-mid central unrounded vowel English nurse [n3:s] (RP) or [n3`s] (Gen.Am.)
3\ ɞ
Xsampa-3slash.png
open-mid central rounded vowel Irish tomhail [t3\:l']
4 ɾ
Xsampa-4.png
alveolar flap Spanish pero ["pe4o], American English better ["bE4@`]
5 ɫ
Xsampa-l eor5.png
velarized alveolar lateral approximant; also see _e English milk [mI5k], Portuguese livro ["5iv4u]
6 ɐ
Xsampa-6.png
near-open central vowel German besser ["bEs6], Australian English mud [m6d]
7 ɤ
Xsampa-7.png
close-mid back unrounded vowel Estonian kõik [k7ik], Vietnamese mơ [m7_M]
8 ɵ
Xsampa-8.png
close-mid central rounded vowel Swedish buss [b8s]
9 œ
Xsampa-9.png
open-mid front rounded vowel French neuf [n9f], Danish drømme [dR9m@]
& ɶ
Xsampa-amper.png
open front rounded vowel Swedish skörd [x\&d`]
? ʔ
Xsampa-questionmark.png
glottal stop Cockney English bottle ["bQ?o]
?\ ʕ
Xsampa-qmarkslash.png
voiced pharyngeal fricative Arabic ع ʿayn [?\Ajn]
*   undefined escape character, SAMPA's "conjunctor"  
/   (a) French vowel archiphonemes or indeterminacies
(b) delimiter of phonemic transcriptions
maison /mE/zO~/
<   begin nonsegmental notation, e.g., SAMPROSA[3]  
<\ ʢ
Xsampa-lessthanslash.png
voiced epiglottal fricative Siwi arˤbˤəʢa (four) [ar_?\b_?\@<\a]
>   end nonsegmental notation  
>\ ʡ
Xsampa-greaterthanslash.png
epiglottal plosive Archi гӀарз (complaint) [>\arz]
^
Xsampa-hat.png
upstep  
!
Xsampa-exclamation.png
downstep  
!\ ǃ
Xsampa-exclamationslash.png
postalveolar click Zulu iqaqa (polecat) [i:!\a:!\a]
| |
Xsampa-bar.png
minor (foot) group  
|\ ǀ
Xsampa-barslash.png
dental click Zulu icici (earring) [i:|\i:|\i]
||
Xsampa-doublebar.png
major (intonation) group  
|\|\ ǁ
Xsampa-doublebarslash.png
alveolar lateral click Zulu xoxa (to converse) [|\|\O:|\|\a]
=\ ǂ
Xsampa-equalsslash.png
palatal click  
-\
Xsampa-dashslash.png
linking mark  

Diacritics

X-SAMPA IPA IPA image Description
_"   ̈
Xsampa- doublequotes.png
centralized
_+   ̟
Xsampa- plus.png
advanced
_-   ̠
Xsampa- minus.png
retracted
_/   ̌
Xsampa- slash.png
rising tone
_0   ̥
Xsampa- 0.png
voiceless
_<   implosive (IPA uses separate symbols for implosives)
= (or _=)   ̩
Xsampa-equalsor equals.png
syllabic
_> ʼ
Xsampa- greaterthan.png
ejective
_?\ ˤ
Xsampa- questionslash.png
pharyngealized
_\   ̂   falling tone
_^   ̯
Xsampa- hat.png
non-syllabic
_}   ̚
Xsampa- rightcurly.png
no audible release
`  ˞
Xsampa-
rhotacization in vowels, retroflexion in consonants (IPA uses separate symbols for consonants, see t` for an example)
~ (or _~)   ̃
Xsampa-tildor tild.png
nasalization
_A   ̘
Xsampa- A.png
advanced tongue root
_a   ̺
Xsampa- a2.png
apical
_B   ̏
Xsampa- B.png
extra low tone
_B_L  ᷅
Xsampa- B L.png
low rising tone
_c   ̜
Xsampa- c.png
less rounded
_d   ̪
Xsampa- d.png
dental
_e   ̴
Xsampa- e.png
velarized or pharyngealized; also see 5
<F>
Xsampa-ltFgt.png
global fall
_F   ̂
Xsampa- F.png
falling tone
_G ˠ
Xsampa- G.png
velarized
_H   ́
Xsampa- H.png
high tone
_H_T  ᷄
Xsampa- H T.png
high rising tone
_h ʰ
Xsampa- h.png
aspirated
_j (or ') ʲ
Xsampa-
palatalized
_k   ̰
Xsampa- k.png
creaky voice
_L   ̀
Xsampa- L.png
low tone
_l ˡ
Xsampa- l.png
lateral release
_M   ̄
Xsampa- M.png
mid tone
_m   ̻
Xsampa- m.png
laminal
_N   ̼
Xsampa- N.png
linguolabial
_n
Xsampa- n2.png
nasal release
_O   ̹
Xsampa O.png
more rounded
_o   ̞
Xsampa- o.png
lowered
_q   ̙
Xsampa- q.png
retracted tongue root
<R>
Xsampa-ltRgt.png
global rise
_R   ̌
Xsampa- R.png
rising tone
_R_F  ᷈
Xsampa- R F.png
rising falling tone
_r   ̝
Xsampa- r.png
raised
_T   ̋
Xsampa- T.png
extra high tone
_t   ̤
Xsampa- t.png
breathy voice
_v   ̬
Xsampa- v.png
voiced
_w ʷ
Xsampa- w.png
labialized
_X   ̆
Xsampa- X.png
extra-short
_x   ̽
Xsampa- x.png
mid-centralized

Charts

Consonants

Consonants (pulmonic)
Place of articulation Labial Coronal Dorsal Laryngeal
Manner of articulation Bilabial Labio‐
dental
Dental Alveolar Post‐
alveolar
Retro‐
flex
Palatal Velar Uvular Pharyn‐
geal
Epi‐
glottal
Glottal
Nasal    m    F    n    n`    J    N    N\
Plosive p b p_d b_d t d t` d` c J\ k g q G\ >\ ?
Fricative p\ B f v T D s z S Z s` z` C j\ x G X R X\ ?\ H\ <\ h h\
Approximant    B_o    v\    r\    r\`    j    M\
Trill    B\    r    *    R\    *
Tap or Flap    *    *    4    r`    *
Lateral Fricative K K\ *    *    *   
Lateral Approximant    l    l`    L    L\
Lateral Flap    l\    *    *    *
Coarticulated
W Voiceless labialized velar approximant
w Voiced labialized velar approximant
H Voiced labialized palatal approximant
s\ Voiceless palatalized postalveolar (alveolo-palatal) fricative
z\ Voiced palatalized postalveolar (alveolo-palatal) fricative
x\ Voiceless "palatal-velar" fricative
Affricates and double articulation
ts voiceless alveolar affricate
dz voiced alveolar affricate
tS voiceless postalveolar affricate
dZ voiced postalveolar affricate
ts\ voiceless alveolo-palatal affricate
dz\ voiced alveolo-palatal affricate
tK voiceless alveolar lateral affricate
kp voiceless labial-velar plosive
gb voiced labial-velar plosive
Nm labial-velar nasal stop
Consonants (non-pulmonic)
Clicks Implosives Ejectives
O\ Bilabial b_< Bilabial _> For example:
|\ Laminal alveolar ("dental") d_< Alveolar p_> Bilabial
ǃ\ Apical (post-) alveolar ("retroflex") J\_< Palatal t_> Alveolar
=\ Laminal postalveolar ("palatal") g_< Velar k_> Velar
|\|\ Lateral coronal ("lateral") G\_< Uvular s_> Alveolar fricative

Vowels

Front Central Back
Close
Blank vowel trapezoid.svg
i • y
1 • }
M • u
I • Y
I\ • U\
• U
e • 2
@\ • 8
7 • o
e_o • 2_o
@
• o_o
E • 9
3 • 3\
V • O
{ •
6
a • &
A • Q
Near‑close
Close‑mid
Mid
Open‑mid
Near‑open
Open

See also

References

  1. ^ Wells, J.C. "Computer-coding the IPA: a proposed extension of SAMPA" (PDF). UCL Phonetics and Linguistics. University College London. Retrieved 16 March 2016.
  2. ^ "Language Subtag Registry" (text). IETF. 2022-08-08. Retrieved 12 November 2022.
  3. ^ For a summary of SAMPROSA, see Wells, J.C. (19 September 1995). "SAMPROSA (SAM Prosodic Transcription)". UCL Phonetics and Linguistics. University College London. Retrieved 23 October 2021.