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Language: Linguistics · Semiotics · Speech


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 the University of London. It is designed to unify the individual language SAMPA alphabets, and extend SAMPA to cover the entire range of characters in the 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. On the other hand, X-SAMPA is still useful as the basis for an input method for true IPA.

Summary[]

Notes[]

  • The IPA symbols that are ordinary lower-case letters have the same value in X-SAMPA as they do in the IPA.
  • X-SAMPA uses backslashes as modifying suffixes to create new symbols. For example O is a distinct sound from O\, to which it bears no relation. Such use of the backslash character can be a problem, since many programs interpret it as an escape character for the character following it. For example, you cannot use such X-SAMPA symbols in EMU, therefore you need to replace backslash with some other symbol (e.g. an asterisk: '*') when adding phonemic transciption to an EMU speech database.
  • X-SAMPA diacritics follow the symbols they modify. Except for ~ for nasalization, = for syllabicity, and ` for retroflexion and rhotacization, diacritics are joined to the character with the underscore character _.
  • The underscore character is also used to encode the IPA tiebar.
  • The numbers _1 to _6 are reserved diacritics as shorthand for language-specific tone numbers.

Lower case symbols[]

X-SAMPA IPA IPA image Description Examples
a a File:Xsampa-a.png open front unrounded vowel French dame [dam], Spanish padre ["paD4e]
b b File:Xsampa-b.png voiced bilabial plosive English bed [bEd], French bon [bO~]
b_< ɓ File:Xsampa-b lessthan.png voiced bilabial implosive Sindhi ɓarʊ [b_<arU]
c c File:Xsampa-c.png voiceless palatal plosive Hungarian latyak ["lQcQk]
d d File:Xsampa-d.png voiced alveolar plosive English dig [dIg], French doigt [dwa]
d` ɖ File:Xsampa-d'.png voiced retroflex plosive Swedish hord [hu:d`]
d_< ɗ File:Xsampa-d lessthan.png voiced alveolar implosive Sindhi ɗarʊ [d_<arU]
e e File:Xsampa-e.png close-mid front unrounded vowel French ses [se], English met [met] (AusE and NZE)
f f File:Xsampa-f2.png voiceless labiodental fricative English five [faIv], French femme [fam]
g ɡ File:Xsampa-g.png voiced velar plosive English game [geIm], French longue [lO~g]
g_< ɠ File:Xsampa-g lessthan.png voiced velar implosive Sindhi ɠəro [g_<@ro]
h h File:Xsampa-h.png voiceless glottal fricative English house [haUs]
h\ ɦ File:Xsampa-hslash.png voiced glottal fricative Czech hrad [h\rat]
i i File:Xsampa-i.png close front unrounded vowel English be [bi:], French oui [wi], Spanish si [si]
j j File:Xsampa-j2.png palatal approximant English yes [jEs], French yeux [j2]
j\ ʝ File:Xsampa-jslash2.png voiced palatal fricative Greek γειά [j\a]
k k File:Xsampa-k.png voiceless velar plosive English scat [sk{t], Spanish carro ["kar:o]
l l File:Xsampa-l.png alveolar lateral approximant English lay [leI], French mal [mal]
l` ɭ File:Xsampa-l'.png retroflex lateral approximant Svealand Swedish sorl [so:l`]
l\ ɺ File:Xsampa-lslash.png alveolar lateral flap Japanese rakuten [l\akM_0teN\]
m m File:Xsampa-m.png bilabial nasal English mouse [maUs], French homme [Om]
n n File:Xsampa-n.png alveolar nasal English nap [n{p], French non [nO~]
n` ɳ File:Xsampa-n'.png retroflex nasal Swedish hörn [h2:n`]
o o File:Xsampa-o.png close-mid back rounded vowel French gros [gRo]
p p File:Xsampa-p.png voiceless bilabial plosive English speak [spik], French pose [poz], Spanish perro ["per:o]
p\ ɸ File:Xsampa-pslash.png voiceless bilabial fricative Japanese fuku [p\M_0kM]
q q File:Xsampa-q.png voiceless uvular plosive Arabic qasbah ["qQs_Gba]
r r File:Xsampa-r.png alveolar trill Spanish perro ["per:o]
r` ɽ File:Xsampa-r'.png retroflex flap  
r\ ɹ File:Xsampa-rslash2.png alveolar approximant English red [r\Ed]
r\` ɻ File:Xsampa-rslash'.png retroflex approximant Malayalam വഴി ["v6r\`i]
s s File:Xsampa-s.png voiceless alveolar fricative English seem [si:m], French session [se"sjO~]
s` ʂ File:Xsampa-s'.png voiceless retroflex fricative Swedish mars [mas`]
s\ ɕ File:Xsampa-sslash.png voiceless alveolo-palatal fricative Polish świerszcz [s\v'erStS]
t t File:Xsampa-t.png voiceless alveolar plosive English stew [stju:], French raté [Ra"te], Spanish tuyo ["tujo]
t` ʈ File:Xsampa-t'.png voiceless retroflex plosive Swedish mört [m2t`]
u u File:Xsampa-u.png close back rounded vowel English boom [bu:m], Spanish su [su]
v v File:Xsampa-v.png voiced labiodental fricative English vest [vEst], French voix [vwa]
v\ (or P) ʋ File:Xsampa-Porvslash.png labiodental approximant Dutch west [v\Est]/[PEst]
w w File:Xsampa-w2.png labial-velar approximant English west [wEst], French oui [wi]
x x File:Xsampa-x.png voiceless velar fricative Scots loch [lOx] or [5Ox]; German Buch, Dach; Spanish caja, gestión
x\ ɧ File:Xsampa-xslash2.png voiceless palatal-velar fricative Swedish sjal [x\A:l]
y y File:Xsampa-y.png close front rounded vowel French tu [ty] German über ["y:b6]
z z File:Xsampa-z.png voiced alveolar fricative English zoo [zu:], French azote [a"zOt]
z` ʐ File:Xsampa-z'.png voiced retroflex fricative Mandarin Chinese rang [z`aN]
z\ ʑ File:Xsampa-zslash.png voiced alveolo-palatal fricative Polish źrebak ["z\rEbak]

Uppercase symbols[]

X-SAMPA IPA IPA image Description Example
A ɑ File:Xsampa-A2.png open back unrounded vowel English father ["fA:D@(r\)] (RP and Gen.Am.)
B β File:Xsampa-B2.png voiced bilabial fricative Spanish lavar [la"Ba4]
B\ ʙ File:Xsampa-Bslash.png bilabial trill Reminiscent of shivering ("brrr")
C ç File:Xsampa-C2.png voiceless palatal fricative German ich [IC], English human ["Cjum@n] (broad transcription uses [hj-])
D ð File:Xsampa-D2.png voiced dental fricative English then [DEn]
E ɛ File:Xsampa-E2.png open-mid front unrounded vowel French même [mEm], English met [mEt] (RP and Gen.Am.)
F ɱ File:Xsampa-F.png labiodental nasal English emphasis ["EFf@sIs] (spoken quickly, otherwise uses [Emf-])
G ɣ File:Xsampa-G2.png voiced velar fricative Greek γωνία [Go"nia], Danish vælge ["vElG@]
G\ ɢ File:Xsampa-Gslash.png voiced uvular plosive Inuktitut nirivvik [niG\ivvik]
G\_< ʛ File:Xsampa-Gslash lessthan.png voiced uvular implosive Mam ʛa [G\_<a]
H ɥ File:Xsampa-H.png labial-palatal approximant French huit [Hit]
H\ ʜ File:Xsampa-Hslash.png voiceless epiglottal fricative  
I ɪ File:Xsampa-I2.png near-close near-front unrounded vowel English kit [kIt]
I\ or ɪ̈   near-close central unrounded vowel Polish ryba [rI\bA
J ɲ File:Xsampa-J.png palatal nasal Spanish año ["aJo], English canyon ["k{J@n] (broad transcription uses [-nj-])
J\ ɟ File:Xsampa-Jslash.png voiced palatal plosive Hungarian egy [EJ\]
J\_< ʄ File:Xsampa-Jslash lessthan.png voiced palatal implosive Sindhi ʄaro [J\_<aro]
K ɬ File:Xsampa-K2.png voiceless alveolar lateral fricative Welsh llaw [KaU]
K\ ɮ File:Xsampa-Kslash.png voiced alveolar lateral fricative  
L ʎ File:Xsampa-L2.png palatal lateral approximant Italian famiglia [fa"miLa], Castilian llamar [La"mar], English million ["mIL@n] (broad transcription uses [-lj-])
L\ ʟ File:Xsampa-Lslash.png velar lateral approximant
M ɯ File:Xsampa-M.png close back unrounded vowel Korean (eu)
M\ ɰ File:Xsampa-Mslash.png velar approximant Spanish fuego ["fweM\o]
N ŋ File:Xsampa-N2.png velar nasal English thing [TIN]
N\ ɴ File:Xsampa-Nslash.png uvular nasal Japanese san [saN\]
O ɔ File:Xsampa-O2.png open-mid back rounded vowel RP thought [TO:t], American English off [O:f]
O\ ʘ File:Xsampa-Oslash.png bilabial click  
P (or v\) ʋ File:Xsampa-Porvslash.png labiodental approximant Dutch west [PEst]/[v\Est], allophone of English phoneme /r\/
Q ɒ File:Xsampa-Q.png open back rounded vowel RP lot [lQt]
R ʁ File:Xsampa-R2.png voiced uvular fricative German rein [RaIn]
R\ ʀ File:Xsampa-Rslash.png uvular trill French roi [R\wa]
S ʃ File:Xsampa-S2.png voiceless postalveolar fricative English ship [SIp]
T θ File:Xsampa-T2.png voiceless dental fricative English thin [TIn]
U ʊ File:Xsampa-U2.png near-close near-back rounded vowel English foot [fUt]
U\ ᵿ or ʊ̈ File:Xsampa-Uslash.png near-close central rounded vowel English euphoria [jU\"fO@r\i@]
V ʌ File:Xsampa-V.png open-mid back unrounded vowel RP English strut [str\Vt]
W ʍ File:Xsampa-X.png voiceless labial-velar fricative Scots when [WEn]
X χ File:Xsampa-x2.png voiceless uvular fricative Klallam sχaʔqʷaʔ [sXa?q_wa?]
X\ ħ File:Xsampa-Xslash.png voiceless pharyngeal fricative Arabic <ح>ha’ [X\A:]
Y ʏ File:Xsampa-Y2.png near-close near-front rounded vowel German hübsch [hYpS]
Z ʒ File:Xsampa-Z2.png voiced postalveolar fricative English vision ["vIZ@n]

Other symbols[]

X-SAMPA IPA IPA image Description Example
. . File:Xsampa-fullstop.png syllable break  
" ˈ File:Xsampa-doublequotes.png primary stress  
% ˌ File:Xsampa-percentage.png secondary stress  
' (or _j) ʲ File:Xsampa-'or j.png palatalized  
: ː File:Xsampa-colon.png long  
:\ ˑ File:Xsampa-colonslash.png half long Estonian differentiates three vowel lengths
-   separator Polish trzy [t-S1] vs. czy [tS1] (affricate)
@ ə File:Xsampa-at.png schwa English arena [@"r\i:n@]
@\ ɘ File:Xsampa-atslash.png close-mid central unrounded vowel Paicĩ kɘ̄ɾɘ [k@\_M4@\_M]
{ æ File:Xsampa-leftcurly.png near-open front unrounded vowel English trap [tr\{p]
} ʉ File:Xsampa-rightcurly.png close central rounded vowel Swedish sju [x\}:]; AuE/NZE boot [b}:t]
1 ɨ File:Xsampa-1.png close central unrounded vowel Welsh tu [t1], American English rose's ["r\oUz1z]
2 ø File:Xsampa-2.png close-mid front rounded vowel Danish købe ["k2:b@], French deux [d2]
3 ɜ File:Xsampa-3.png open-mid central unrounded vowel English nurse [n3:s] (RP) or [n3`s] (Gen.Am.)
3\ ɞ File:Xsampa-3slash.png open-mid central rounded vowel Irish tomhail[t3\:l']
4 ɾ File:Xsampa-4.png alveolar flap Spanish pero ["pe4o], American English better ["bE4@`]
5 ɫ File:Xsampa-l eor5.png velarized alveolar lateral approximant; also see _e English milk [mI5k]
6 ɐ File:Xsampa-6.png near-open central vowel German besser ["bEs6], Australian English mud [m6d]
7 ɤ File:Xsampa-7.png close-mid back unrounded vowel Estonian kõik [k7ik], Vietnamese mơ [m7_M]
8 ɵ File:Xsampa-8.png close-mid central rounded vowel Swedish buss [b8s]
9 œ File:Xsampa-9.png open-mid front rounded vowel French neuf [n9f], Danish drømme [dR9m@]
& ɶ File:Xsampa-amper.png open front rounded vowel Swedish skörd [x\&d`]
? ʔ File:Xsampa-questionmark.png glottal stop Danish stød [sd2?], Cockney English bottle ["bQ?l]
?\ ʕ File:Xsampa-qmarkslash.png voiced pharyngeal fricative Arabic ع‎ (`ayn) [?\Ajn]
*   undefined escape character, SAMPA's "conjunctor"  
/   indeterminacy in French vowels  
<   begin nonsegmental notation (e.g., SAMPROSA)  
<\ ʢ File:Xsampa-lessthanslash.png voiced epiglottal fricative  
>   end nonsegmental notation  
>\ ʡ File:Xsampa-greaterthanslash.png epiglottal plosive  
^ File:Xsampa-hat.png upstep  
! File:Xsampa-exclamation.png downstep  
!\ ǃ File:Xsampa-exclamationslash.png postalveolar click  
| File:Xsampa-bar.png minor (foot) group  
\ ǀ File:Xsampa-barslash.png dental click  
File:Xsampa-doublebar.png major (intonation) group  
\|\ ǁ File:Xsampa-doublebarslash.png alveolar lateral click  
=\ ǂ File:Xsampa-equalsslash.png palatal click  
-\ File:Xsampa-dashslash.png linking mark  

Diacritics[]

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

Charts[]

Consonants[]

Consonants (pulmonic)
Place of articulation Labial Coronal Dorsal Radical (none)
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\    *    *    *    
  • Daggers (†) mark IPA symbols that have recently been added to Unicode. Since April 2008, this is the case of the labiodental flap, symbolized by a right-hook v in the IPA: Labiodental flap A dedicated symbol for the labiodental flap does not yet exist in X-SAMPA.
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
! 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 Near-front Central Near-back Back
Close
File:Blank vowel trapezoid.svg
i • y
1 • }
M • u
I • Y
I\ • U\
• U
e • 2
@\ • 8
7 • o
@
E • 9
3 • 3\
V • O
{ •
6
a • &
A • Q
Near‑close
Close‑mid
Mid
Open‑mid
Near‑open
Open

See also[]

References[]


External links[]


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