X-SAMPA

This article containsphonetic transcriptionsin theInternational Phonetic Alphabet(IPA).For an introductory guide on IPA symbols, seeHelp:IPA.For the distinction between[ ],/ /and ⟨⟩, seeIPA § Brackets and transcription delimiters.

TheExtended Speech Assessment Methods Phonetic Alphabet(X-SAMPA) is a variant ofSAMPAdeveloped in 1995 byJohn C. Wells,professor ofphoneticsatUniversity College London.^[1]It is designed to unify the individual language SAMPA Alpha bets, and extend SAMPA to cover the entire range of characters in the 1993 version ofInternational Phonetic Alphabet(IPA). The result is a SAMPA-inspired remapping of the IPA into 7-bitASCII.

SAMPA was devised as ahackto work around the inability oftext encodingsto represent IPA symbols. Later, asUnicodesupport 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 aninput methodfor true IPA.

Summary[edit]

Notes[edit]

The IPA symbols that are ordinary lower case letters have the same value in X-SAMPA as they do in the IPA.
X-SAMPA usesbackslashesas modifying suffixes to create new symbols. For example,Ois a distinct sound fromO\,to which it bears no relation. Such use of the backslash character can be a problem, since many programs interpret it as anescape characterfor the character following it. For example, such X-SAMPA symbols do not work inEMU,so backslashes must be replaced with some other symbol (e.g., anasterisk:'*') when adding phonemic transcription to an EMU speech database. The backslash has no fixed meaning.
X-SAMPA diacritics follow the symbols they modify. Except for~fornasalization,=forsyllabicity,and`forretroflexionandrhotacization,diacritics are joined to the character with the underscore character_.
The underscore character is also used to encode the IPAtiebar:k_pcodes for/k͡p/.
The numbers_1to_6are reserved diacritics as shorthand for language-specific tone numbers.
TheIETF language tagsregistry has assignedfonxsampas the subtag for text transcribed in X-SAMPA.^[2]

Lower-case symbols[edit]

X-SAMPA	IPA	Description	Examples
`a`	a	open front unrounded vowel	Frenchdame`[dam]`
`b`	b	voiced bilabial plosive	Englishbed`[bEd]`,Frenchbon`[bO~]`
`b_<`	ɓ	voiced bilabial implosive	Sindhiɓarʊ[`b_<arU`]
`c`	c	voiceless palatal plosive	Hungarianlatyak`[ "lQcQk]`
`d`	d	voiced alveolar plosive	Englishdig`[dIg]`,Frenchdoigt`[dwa]`
d`	ɖ	voiced retroflex plosive	Swedishhord[hu:d`]
`d_<`	ɗ	voiced alveolar implosive	Sindhiɗarʊ[`d_<arU`]
`e`	e	close-mid front unrounded vowel	Frenchblé`[ble]`
`f`	f	voiceless labiodental fricative	Englishfive`[faIv]`,Frenchfemme`[fam]`
`g`	ɡ	voiced velar plosive	Englishgame`[geIm]`,Frenchlongue`[lO~g]`
`g_<`	ɠ	voiced velar implosive	Sindhiɠəro[`g_<@ro`]
`h`	h	voiceless glottal fricative	Englishhouse`[haUs]`
`h\`	ɦ	voiced glottal fricative	Czechhrad`[h\rat]`
`i`	i	close front unrounded vowel	Englishbe`[bi:]`,Frenchoui`[wi]`,Spanishsi`[si]`
`j`	j	palatal approximant	Englishyes`[jEs]`,Frenchyeux`[j2]`
`j\`	ʝ	voiced palatal fricative	Greekγειά`[j\a]`
`k`	k	voiceless velar plosive	Englishskip`[skIp]`,Spanishcarro`[ "karo]`
`l`	l	alveolar lateral approximant	Englishlay`[leI]`,Frenchmal`[mal]`
l`	ɭ	retroflex lateral approximant	Svealand Swedishsorl[so:l`]
`l\`	ɺ	alveolar lateral flap	Wayuupüülükü`[pM:l\MkM]`
`m`	m	bilabial nasal	Englishmouse`[maUs]`,Frenchhomme`[Om]`
`n`	n	alveolar nasal	Englishnap`[n{p]`,Frenchnon`[nO~]`
n`	ɳ	retroflex nasal	Swedishhörn[h2:n`]
`o`	o	close-mid back rounded vowel	Frenchveau`[vo]`
`p`	p	voiceless bilabial plosive	Englishspeak`[spik]`,Frenchpose`[poz]`,Spanishperro`[ "pero]`
`p\`	ɸ	voiceless bilabial fricative	Japanesefuku`[p\M_0kM]`
`q`	q	voiceless uvular plosive	Arabicqasbah`[ "qQs_Gba]`
`r`	r	alveolar trill	Spanishperro`[ "pero]`
r`	ɽ	retroflex flap	Bengaligari[gar`i:]
`r\`	ɹ	alveolar approximant	Englishred`[r\Ed]`
r\`	ɻ	retroflex approximant	Malayalamവഴി[ "v@r\`i]
`s`	s	voiceless alveolar fricative	Englishseem`[si:m]`,Frenchsession`[sE "sjO~]`
s`	ʂ	voiceless retroflex fricative	Swedishmars[mas`]
`s\`	ɕ	voiceless alveolo-palatal fricative	Polishświerszcz[s\v'ers`ts`]
`t`	t	voiceless alveolar plosive	Englishstew`[stju:]`,Frenchraté`[Ra "te]`
t`	ʈ	voiceless retroflex plosive	Swedishmört[m2t`]
`u`	u	close back rounded vowel	Englishboom`[bu:m]`,Spanishsu`[su]`
`v`	v	voiced labiodental fricative	Englishvest`[vEst]`,Frenchvoix`[vwa]`
`v\`(or`P`)	ʋ	labiodental approximant	Dutchwest`[v\Est]`/`[PEst]`
`w`	w	labial-velar approximant	Englishwest`[wEst]`,Frenchoui`[wi]`
`x`	x	voiceless velar fricative	Scotsloch`[lOx]`or`[5Ox]`;GermanBuch,Dach;Spanishcaja,gestión
`x\`	ɧ	voiceless palatal-velar fricative	Swedishsjal`[x\A:l]`
`y`	y	close front rounded vowel	Frenchtu`[ty]`Germanüber`[ "y:b6]`
`z`	z	voiced alveolar fricative	Englishzoo`[zu:]`,Frenchazote`[a "zOt]`
z`	ʐ	voiced retroflex fricative	Mandarin Chineserang[z`aN]
`z\`	ʑ	voiced alveolo-palatal fricative	Polishźrebak`[ "z\rEbak]`

Capital symbols[edit]

X-SAMPA	IPA	Description	Example
`A`	ɑ	open back unrounded vowel	Englishfather[`"fA:D@`(`r\`)] (RP and Gen.Am.)
`B`	β	voiced bilabial fricative	Spanishlavar`[la "Ba4]`
`B\`	ʙ	bilabial trill	Reminiscent of shivering ( "brrr" )
`C`	ç	voiceless palatal fricative	Germanich`[IC]`,Englishhuman`[ "Cjum@n]`(broad transcription uses [`hj`-])
`D`	ð	voiced dental fricative	Englishthen`[DEn]`
`E`	ɛ	open-mid front unrounded vowel	Frenchmême`[mE:m]`,Englishmet`[mEt]`(RP and Gen.Am.)
`F`	ɱ	labiodental nasal	Englishemphasis`[ "EFf@sIs]`(spoken quickly, otherwise uses [`Emf`-])
`G`	ɣ	voiced velar fricative	Greekγωνία`[Go "nia]`
`G\`	ɢ	voiced uvular plosive	Inuktitutnirivvik`[niG\ivvik]`
`G\_<`	ʛ	voiced uvular implosive	Mamʛa[`G\_<a`]
`H`	ɥ	labial-palatal approximant	Frenchhuit`[Hit]`
`H\`	ʜ	voiceless epiglottal fricative	AgulмехӀ`[mEH\]`
`I`	ɪ	near-close front unrounded vowel	Englishkit`[kIt]`
`I\`	ᵻ	near-close central unrounded vowel(non-IPA)	Polishryba`[rI\bA]`
`J`	ɲ	palatal nasal	Spanishaño`[ "aJo]`,Englishcanyon`[ "k{J@n]`(broad transcription uses [-`nj`-])
`J\`	ɟ	voiced palatal plosive	Hungarianegy`[EJ\]`
`J\_<`	ʄ	voiced palatal implosive	Sindhiʄaro[`J\_<aro`]
`K`	ɬ	voiceless alveolar lateral fricative	Welshllaw`[KaU]`
`K\`	ɮ	voiced alveolar lateral fricative	Mongolianдолоо`[tOK\O:]`
`L`	ʎ	palatal lateral approximant	Italianfamiglia`[fa "miLLa]`,Castilian:llamar`[La "mar]`
`L\`	ʟ	velar lateral approximant	Korean달구지`[t6L\gudz\i]`
`M`	ɯ	close back unrounded vowel	Korean음식`[M:ms\_hik_}]`
`M\`	ɰ	velar approximant	Spanishfuego`[ "fweM\o]`
`N`	ŋ	velar nasal	Englishthing`[TIN]`
`N\`	ɴ	uvular nasal	Japaneseさんsan`[saN\]`
`O`	ɔ	open-mid back rounded vowel	American Englishoff`[O:f]`
`O\`	ʘ	bilabial click
`P`(or`v\`)	ʋ	labiodental approximant	Dutchwest`[PEst]`/`[v\Est]`,allophone of English phoneme`/r\/`
`Q`	ɒ	open back rounded vowel	RPlot`[lQt]`
`R`	ʁ	voiced uvular fricative	Germanrein`[RaIn]`
`R\`	ʀ	uvular trill	Frenchroi`[R\wa]`
`S`	ʃ	voiceless postalveolar fricative	Englishship`[SIp]`
`T`	θ	voiceless dental fricative	Englishthin`[TIn]`
`U`	ʊ	near-close back rounded vowel	Englishfoot`[fUt]`
`U\`	ᵿ	near-close central rounded vowel(non-IPA)	Englisheuphoria`[jU\ "fO@r\i@]`
`V`	ʌ	open-mid back unrounded vowel	Scottish Englishstrut`[str\Vt]`
`W`	ʍ	voiceless labial-velar fricative	Scotswhen`[WEn]`
`X`	χ	voiceless uvular fricative	Klallamsχaʔqʷaʔ`[sXa?q_wa?]`
`X\`	ħ	voiceless pharyngeal fricative	Arabicحḥāʾ`[X\A:]`
`Y`	ʏ	near-close front rounded vowel	Germanhübsch`[hYpS]`
`Z`	ʒ	voiced postalveolar fricative	Englishvision`[ "vIZ@n]`

Other symbols[edit]

X-SAMPA	IPA	Description	Example
`.`	.	syllable break
`"`	ˈ	primarystress
`%`	ˌ	secondary stress	American Englishpronunciation`[pr\@%nVn.si. "eI.S@n]`
`'`(or`_j`)	ʲ	palatalized	RussianЗемля(Earth)`[z'I "ml'a]`or`[z_jI "ml_ja]`
`:`	ː	long
`:\`	ˑ	half long	Estonian differentiates threevowel lengths
`-`		separator	Polishtrzy`[t-S1]`vs.czy`[tS1]`(affricate)
`@`	ə	schwa	Englisharena`[@ "r\i:n@]`
`@\`	ɘ	close-mid central unrounded vowel	Paicĩkɘ̄ɾɘ`[k@\_M4@\_M]`
@`	ɚ	r-coloured schwa	American Englishcolor[ "kVl@`]
`{`	æ	near-open front unrounded vowel	Englishtrap`[tr\{p]`
`}`	ʉ	close central rounded vowel	Swedishsju`[x\}:]`;AuE/NZEboot`[b}:t]`
`1`	ɨ	close central unrounded vowel	Welshtu`[t1]`,American Englishrose's`[ "r\oUz1z]`
`2`	ø	close-mid front rounded vowel	Danishkøbe`[ "k2:b@]`,Frenchdeux`[d2]`
`3`	ɜ	open-mid central unrounded vowel	Englishnurse`[n3:s]`(RP) or[n3`s](Gen.Am.)
`3\`	ɞ	open-mid central rounded vowel	Irishtomhail`[t3\:l']`
`4`	ɾ	alveolar flap	Spanishpero`[ "pe4o]`,American Englishbetter[ "bE4@`]
`5`	ɫ	velarized alveolar lateral approximant;also see`_e`	Englishmilk`[mI5k]`,Portugueselivro`[ "5iv4u]`
`6`	ɐ	near-open central vowel	Germanbesser`[ "bEs6]`,Australian Englishmud`[m6d]`
`7`	ɤ	close-mid back unrounded vowel	Estoniankõik`[k7ik]`,Vietnamesemơ`[m7_M]`
`8`	ɵ	close-mid central rounded vowel	Swedishbuss`[b8s]`
`9`	œ	open-mid front rounded vowel	Frenchneuf`[n9f]`,Danishdrømme`[dR9m@]`
`&`	ɶ	open front rounded vowel	Swedishskörd[x\&d`]
`?`	ʔ	glottal stop	Cockney Englishbottle`[ "bQ?o]`
`?\`	ʕ	voiced pharyngeal fricative	Arabicعʿayn`[?\Ajn]`
`*`		undefined escape character, SAMPA's "conjunctor"
`/`	/	(a) French vowelarchiphonemesor indeterminacies (b) delimiter ofphonemictranscriptions	maison`/mE/zO~/`
`<`	⟨	begin nonsegmental notation, e.g.,SAMPROSA^[3]
`<\`	ʢ	voiced epiglottal fricative	Siwiarˤbˤəʢa(four)`[ar_?\b_?\@<\a]`
`>`	⟩	end nonsegmental notation
`>\`	ʡ	epiglottal plosive	ArchiгӀарз (complaint)`[>\arz]`
`^`	ꜛ	upstep
`!`	ꜜ	downstep
`!\`	ǃ	postalveolar click	Zuluiqaqa(polecat)`[i:!\a:!\a]`
`\|`	\|	minor (foot) group
`\|\`	ǀ	dental click	Zuluicici(earring)`[i:\|\i:\|\i]`
`\|\|`	‖	major (intonation) group
`\|\\|\`	ǁ	alveolar lateral click	Zuluxoxa(to converse)`[\|\\|\O:\|\\|\a]`
`=\`	ǂ	palatal click
`-\`	‿	linking mark

Diacritics[edit]

X-SAMPA	IPA	Description
`_ "`	̈	centralized
`_+`	̟	advanced
`_-`	̠	retracted
`_/`	̌	rising tone
`_0`	̥	voiceless
`_<`		implosive(IPA uses separate symbols for implosives)
`=`(or`_=`)	̩	syllabic
`_>`	ʼ	ejective
`_?\`	ˤ	pharyngealized
`_\`	̂	falling tone
`_^`	̯	non-syllabic
`_}`	̚	no audible release
`	˞	rhotacizationin vowels, retroflexion in consonants (IPA uses separate symbols for consonants, seet`for an example)
`~`(or`_~`)	̃	nasalization
`_A`	̘	advanced tongue root
`_a`	̺	apical
`_B`	̏	extra low tone
`_B_L`	᷅	low rising tone
`_c`	̜	less rounded
`_d`	̪	dental
`_e`	̴	velarized or pharyngealized; also see`5`
`<F>`	↘	global fall
`_F`	̂	falling tone
`_G`	ˠ	velarized
`_H`	́	high tone
`_H_T`	᷄	high rising tone
`_h`	ʰ	aspirated
`_j`(or`'`)	ʲ	palatalized
`_k`	̰	creaky voice
`_L`	̀	low tone
`_l`	ˡ	lateral release
`_M`	̄	mid tone
`_m`	̻	laminal
`_N`	̼	linguolabial
`_n`	ⁿ	nasal release
`_O`	̹	more rounded
`_o`	̞	lowered
`_q`	̙	retracted tongue root
`<R>`	↗	global rise
`_R`	̌	rising tone
`_R_F`	᷈	rising falling tone
`_r`	̝	raised
`_T`	̋	extra high tone
`_t`	̤	breathy voice
`_v`	̬	voiced
`_w`	ʷ	labialized
`_X`	̆	extra-short
`_x`	̽	mid-centralized

Charts[edit]

Consonants[edit]

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	`pb`	`p_db_d`	`td`			t`d`	`cJ\`	`kg`	`qG\`				`>\`		`?`
Fricative	`p\B`	`fv`	`TD`	`sz`	`SZ`	s`z`	`Cj\`	`xG`	`X`	`R`	`X\`	`?\`	`H\`	`<\`	`hh\`
Approximant	`B_o`	`v\`	`r\`			r\`	`j`	`M\`		`R`		`?\`		`<\`	`hh\`
Trill	`B\`		`r`			*			`R\`				*
Tap or Flap	*^†	*^†	`4`			r`							*
Lateral Fricative			`KK\`			*	*	*
Lateral Approximant			`l`			l`	`L`	`L\`
Lateral Flap			`l\`			*	*	*

Asterisks (*) mark sounds that do not have X-SAMPA symbols. Daggers (†) mark IPA symbols that have recently been added toUnicode.Since April 2008, the latter is the case of thelabiodental flap,symbolized by a right-hookvin the IPA:.A convention 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[edit]

Front

Central

Back

Close

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_ "

A•Q

Near‑close

Close‑mid

Mid

Open‑mid

Near‑open

Open

References[edit]

^Wells, J.C."Computer-coding the IPA: a proposed extension of SAMPA"(PDF).UCL Phonetics and Linguistics.University College London.Retrieved16 March2016.
^"Language Subtag Registry"(text).IETF. 2022-08-08.Retrieved12 November2022.
^For a summary ofSAMPROSA,seeWells, J.C. (19 September 1995)."SAMPROSA (SAM Prosodic Transcription)".UCL Phonetics and Linguistics.University College London.Retrieved23 October2021.

External links[edit]

Computer-coding the IPA: A proposed extension of SAMPA
X-SAMPA to IPA to CXS converter
Web-based translator for X-SAMPA documents.Produces Unicode text, XML text, PostScript, PDF, or LaTeX TIPA.
Z-SAMPA,a backward-compatible extension of X-SAMPA sometimes used forconlangs

[SAMPA-PDF-1] Wells, J.C."Computer-coding the IPA: a proposed extension of SAMPA"(PDF).UCL Phonetics and Linguistics.University College London.Retrieved16 March2016.

[IETF-2] "Language Subtag Registry"(text).IETF. 2022-08-08.Retrieved12 November2022.

[3] For a summary ofSAMPROSA,seeWells, J.C. (19 September 1995)."SAMPROSA (SAM Prosodic Transcription)".UCL Phonetics and Linguistics.University College London.Retrieved23 October2021.

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