X-SAMPA

The 'Extended SAM 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 was 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 recasting of the IPA into 7-bit ASCII.

Contents

Summary

Notes

Lowercase symbols

Uppercase symbols

Other symbols

Diacritics

See also

External links

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 a following backslash as an escape character to create a new symbol. For example 'O' is a distinct sound from 'O', to which it bears no relation.

★ 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.

Lowercase symbols

{| class="wikitable"
! XS !! IPA !! IPA image!! Description !! Examples
|-
| a || || || open front unrounded vowel || French d'a'me [dam], Spanish p'a'dre ["paD4e]
|-
| b || || || voiced bilabial plosive || English 'b'ed [bEd], French 'b'on [bO~]
|-
| b_< || || || voiced bilabial implosive || Sindhi [b_]
|-
| c || ||

Xsampa-c.png

|| voiceless palatal plosive || Hungarian la'ty'ak ["lAcAk]
|-
| d || ||

Xsampa-d.png

|| voiced alveolar plosive || English 'd'ig [dIg], French 'd'oigt [dwa]
|-
| d` || ||

Xsampa-d'.png

|| voiced retroflex plosive || Swedish ho'rd' [hu:d`]
|-
| d_< || ||

Xsampa-d lessthan.png

|| voiced alveolar implosive || Sindhi [d_]
|-
| e || ||

Xsampa-e.png

|| close-mid front unrounded vowel || French s'e's [se], English m'e't [met] (AusE and NZE)
|-
| f || ||

Xsampa-f2.png

|| voiceless labiodental fricative || English 'f'ive [faIv], French 'f'emme [fam]
|-
| g || ||

Xsampa-g.png

|| voiced velar plosive || English 'g'ame [geIm], French lon'gu'e [lO~g]
|-
| g_< || ||

Xsampa-g lessthan.png

|| voiced velar implosive || Sindhi [g_<@ro]
|-
| h || ||

Xsampa-h.png

|| voiceless glottal fricative || English 'h'ouse [haUs]
|-
| h || ||

Xsampa-hslash.png

|| voiced glottal fricative || Czech hrad [h
at]
|-
| i || ||

Xsampa-i.png

|| close front unrounded vowel || English b'e' [bi:], French ou'i' [wi], Spanish s'i' [si]
|-
| j || ||

Xsampa-j2.png

|| palatal approximant || English 'y'es [jEs], French 'y'eux [j2]
|-
| j || ||

Xsampa-jslash2.png

|| voiced palatal fricative || Greek 'γ'ειά [j]
|-
| k || ||

Xsampa-k.png

|| voiceless velar plosive || English s'c'at [sk{t], Spanish 'c'arro ["kar:o]
|-
| l || ||

Xsampa-l.png

|| alveolar lateral approximant || English 'l'ay [leI], French ma'l' [mal]
|-
| l` || ||

Xsampa-l'.png

|| retroflex lateral approximant || Svealand Swedish so'rl' [so:l`]
|-
| l || ||

Xsampa-lslash.png

|| alveolar lateral flap || Japanese phoneme /r/
|-
| m || ||

Xsampa-m.png

|| bilabial nasal || English 'm'ouse [maUs], French ho'mm'e [Om]
|-
| n || ||

Xsampa-n.png

|| alveolar nasal || English 'n'ap [n{p], French 'n'on [nO~]
|-
| n` || ||

Xsampa-n'.png

|| retroflex nasal || Swedish hö'rn' [h2:n`]
|-
| o || ||

Xsampa-o.png

|| close-mid back rounded vowel || French gr'o's [gRo]
|-
| p || ||

Xsampa-p.png

|| voiceless bilabial plosive || English s'p'eak [spik], French 'p'ose [poz], Spanish 'p'erro ["per:o]
|-
| p || ||

Xsampa-pslash.png

|| voiceless bilabial fricative || Japanese 'f'uku [pM_0kM]
|-
| q || ||

Xsampa-q.png

|| voiceless uvular plosive || Arabic 'q'asbah ["qQs_Gba]
|-
| r || ||

Xsampa-r.png

|| alveolar trill || Spanish pe'rr'o ["per:o]
|-
| r` || ||

Xsampa-r'.png

|| retroflex flap ||  
|-
| r || ||

Xsampa-rslash2.png

|| alveolar approximant || English 'r'ed [rEd]
|-
| r` || ||

Xsampa-rslash'.png

|| retroflex approximant || Malayalam വഴി ["v6r`i]
|-
| s || ||

Xsampa-s.png

|| voiceless alveolar fricative || English 's'eem [si:m], French 's'e'ss'ion [se"sjO~]
|-
| s` || ||

Xsampa-s'.png

|| voiceless retroflex fricative || Swedish ma'rs' [mas`]
|-
| s || ||

Xsampa-sslash.png

|| voiceless alveolo-palatal fricative || Polish 'ś'wierszcz [s'erStS]
|-
| t || ||

Xsampa-t.png

|| voiceless alveolar plosive || English s't'ew [stju:], French ra't'é [Ra"te], Spanish 't'uyo ["tujo]
|-
| t` || ||

Xsampa-t'.png

|| voiceless retroflex plosive || Swedish mö'rt' [m2t`]
|-
| u || ||

Xsampa-u.png

|| close back rounded vowel || English b'oo'm [bu:m], Spanish s'u' [su]
|-
| v || ||

Xsampa-v.png

|| voiced labiodental fricative || English 'v'est [vEst], French 'v'oix [vwa]
|-
| v (or P) || ||

Xsampa-Porvslash.png

|| labiodental approximant || Dutch 'w'est [vEst]/[PEst]
|-
| w || ||

Xsampa-w2.png

|| labial-velar approximant || English 'w'est [wEst], French 'ou'i [wi]
|-
| x || ||

Xsampa-x.png

|| voiceless velar fricative || Scots lo'ch' [lQx]; German Lo'ch', Da'ch'; Spanish ca'j'a, 'g'estión
|-
| x || ||

Xsampa-xslash2.png

|| voiceless palatal-velar fricative || Swedish 'sj'al [xA:l]
|-
| y || ||

Xsampa-y.png

|| close front rounded vowel || French t'u' [ty] German 'ü'ber ["y:b6]
|-
| z || ||

Xsampa-z.png

|| voiced alveolar fricative || English 'z'oo [zu:], French a'z'ote [a"zOt]
|-
| z` || ||

Xsampa-z'.png

|| voiced retroflex fricative || Mandarin Chinese 'r'ang [z`aN]
|-
| z || ||

Xsampa-zslash.png

|| voiced alveolo-palatal fricative || Polish 'ź'rebak ["z
Ebak]
|}

Uppercase symbols

{| class="wikitable"
! XS !! IPA !! IPA image !! Description !! Example
|-
| A || ||

Xsampa-A2.png

|| open back unrounded vowel || English f'a'ther ["fA:D@(r)] (RP and Gen.Am.)
|-
| B || ||

Xsampa-B2.png

|| voiced bilabial fricative || Spanish la'v'ar [la"Ba4]
|-
| B || ||

Xsampa-Bslash.png

|| bilabial trill || Reminiscent of shivering ("brrr")
|-
| C || ||

Xsampa-C2.png

|| voiceless palatal fricative || German i'ch' [IC], English 'h'uman ["Cjum@n] (broad transcription uses [hj-])
|-
| D || ||

Xsampa-D2.png

|| voiced dental fricative || English 'th'en [DEn]
|-
| E || ||

Xsampa-E2.png

|| open-mid front unrounded vowel || French m'ê'me [mEm], English m'e't [mEt] (RP and Gen.Am.)
|-
| F || ||

Xsampa-F.png

|| labiodental nasal || English e'm'phasis ["EFf@sIs] (spoken quickly, otherwise uses [Emf-])
|-
| G || ||

Xsampa-G2.png

|| voiced velar fricative || Greek 'γ'ωνία [Go"nia], Danish væl'g'e ["vElG@]
|-
| G || ||

Xsampa-Gslash.png

|| voiced uvular plosive || Inuktitut ni'r'ivvik [niGivvik]
|-
| G_< || ||

Xsampa-Gslash lessthan.png

|| voiced uvular implosive || Mam [G_]
|-
| H || ||

Xsampa-H.png

|| labial-palatal approximant || French h'u'it [Hit]
|-
| H || ||

Xsampa-Hslash.png

|| voiceless epiglottal fricative ||  
|-
| I || ||

Xsampa-I2.png

|| near-close near-front unrounded vowel || English k'i't [kIt]
|-
| I || ||

Xsampa-Islash.png

|| central lax close unrounded vowel, ''not in IPA'' || Polish r'y'ba [rIA] 
|-
| J || ||

Xsampa-J.png

|| palatal nasal || Spanish a'ñ'o ["aJo], English ca'ny'on ["k{J@n] (broad transcription uses [-nj-])
|-
| J || ||

Xsampa-Jslash.png

|| voiced palatal plosive || Hungarian e'gy' [EJ]
|-
| J_< || ||

Xsampa-Jslash lessthan.png

|| voiced palatal implosive || Sindhi [J_]
|-
| K || ||

Xsampa-K2.png

|| voiceless alveolar lateral fricative || Welsh 'll'aw [KaU]
|-
| K || ||

Xsampa-Kslash.png

|| voiced alveolar lateral fricative ||  
|-
| L || ||

Xsampa-L2.png

|| palatal lateral approximant || Italian fami'gli'a [fa"miLa], Castilian 'll'amar [La"mar], English mi'lli'on ["mIL@n] (broad transcription uses [-lj-])
|-
| L || ||

Xsampa-Lslash.png

|| velar lateral approximant ||
|-
| M || ||

Xsampa-M.png

|| close back unrounded vowel || Korean '으' (eu)
|-
| M || ||

Xsampa-Mslash.png

|| velar approximant || Spanish fue'g'o ["fweMo]
|-
| N || ||

Xsampa-N2.png

|| velar nasal || English thi'ng' [TIN]
|-
| N || ||

Xsampa-Nslash.png

|| uvular nasal || Japanese sa'n' [saN]
|-
| O || ||

Xsampa-O2.png

|| open-mid back rounded vowel || British English th'ou'ght [TO:t], American English 'o'ff [O:f]
|-
| O || ||

Xsampa-Oslash.png

|| bilabial click ||  
|-
| P (or v) || ||

Xsampa-Porvslash.png

|| labiodental approximant || Dutch 'w'est [PEst]/[vEst], allophone of English phoneme /r/
|-
| Q || ||

Xsampa-Q.png

|| open back rounded vowel || British English l'o't [lQt]
|-
| R || ||

Xsampa-R2.png

|| voiced uvular fricative || German 'r'ein [RaIn]
|-
| R || ||

Xsampa-Rslash.png

|| uvular trill || French 'r'oi [Rwa]
|-
| S || ||

Xsampa-S2.png

|| voiceless postalveolar fricative || English 'sh'ip [SIp]
|-
| T || ||

Xsampa-T2.png

|| voiceless dental fricative || English 'th'in [TIn]
|-
| U || ||

Xsampa-U2.png

|| near-close near-back rounded vowel || English f'oo't [fUt]
|-
| U || ||

Xsampa-Uslash.png

|| central lax close rounded vowel, ''not in IPA'' ||  
|-
| V || ||

Xsampa-V.png

|| open-mid back unrounded vowel || RP English str'u't [strVt]
|-
| W || ||

Xsampa-X.png

|| voiceless labial-velar fricative || Scots 'wh'en [WEn]
|-
| X || ||

Xsampa-x2.png

|| voiceless uvular fricative || Klallam [sXa?q_wa?]
|-
| X || ||

Xsampa-Xslash.png

|| voiceless pharyngeal fricative || Arabic <ح>'h'a’ [XA:]
|-
| Y || ||

Xsampa-Y2.png

|| near-close near-front rounded vowel || German h'ü'bsch [hYpS]
|-
| Z || ||

Xsampa-Z2.png

|| voiced postalveolar fricative || English vi's'ion ["vIZ@n]
|}

Other symbols

{| class="wikitable"
! XS !! IPA !! IPA image !! Description !! Example
|-
| . || ||

Xsampa-fullstop.png

|| syllable break ||  
|-
| " || ||

Xsampa-doublequotes.png

|| primary stress ||  
|-
| % || ||

Xsampa-percentage.png

|| secondary stress ||  
|-
| ' (or _j) || ||

Xsampa-'or j.png

|| palatalized ||  
|-
| : || ||

Xsampa-colon.png

|| long ||  
|-
| : || ||

Xsampa-colonslash.png

|| half long || Estonian differentiates three vowel lengths
|-
| - || ||   || separator ||  
|-
| @ || ||

Xsampa-at.png

|| schwa || English 'a'ren'a' [@"ri:n@]
|-
| @ || ||

Xsampa-atslash.png

|| close-mid central unrounded vowel || Paicĩ [k@_M4@_M]
|-
| { || ||

|| near-open front unrounded vowel || English tr'a'p [tr{p]
|-
| } || ||

|| close central rounded vowel || Swedish sj'u' [x}:]; AuE/NZE b'oo't [b}:t]
|-
| 1 || ||

Xsampa-1.png

|| close central unrounded vowel || Welsh t'u' [t1], American English ros'e''s ["roUz1z]
|-
| 2 || ||

Xsampa-2.png

|| close-mid front rounded vowel || Danish købe ["k2:b@], French d'eu'x [d2]
|-
| 3 || ||

Xsampa-3.png

|| open-mid central unrounded vowel || English n'ur'se [n3:s] (RP) or [n3`s] (Gen.Am.)
|-
| 3 || ||

Xsampa-3slash.png

|| open-mid central rounded vowel || Irish t'omha'il[t3:l']
|-
| 4 || ||

Xsampa-4.png

|| alveolar flap || Spanish pe'r'o ["pe4o], American English be'tt'er ["bE4@`]
|-
| 5 || ||

Xsampa-l_eor5.png

|| velarized alveolar lateral approximant; also see _e || English mi'l'k [mI5k]
|-
| 6 || ||

Xsampa-6.png

|| near-open central vowel || German bess'er' ["bEs6], Australian English m'u'd [m6d]
|-
| 7 || ||

Xsampa-7.png

|| close-mid back unrounded vowel || Estonian k'õ'ik [k7ik], Occurs in Vietnamese
|-
| 8 || ||

Xsampa-8.png

|| close-mid central rounded vowel || Swedish b'u'ss [b8s]
|-
| 9 || ||

Xsampa-9.png

|| open-mid front rounded vowel || French n'eu'f [n9f], Danish dr'ø'mme [dR9m@]
|-
| & || ||

Xsampa-amper.png

|| open front rounded vowel || Swedish sk'ö'rd [x&d`]
|-
| ? || ||

Xsampa-questionmark.png

|| glottal stop || Danish stø'd' [sd2?], Cockney English bo'tt'le ["bQ?l]
|-
| ? || ||

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) ||  
|-
| < || ||

Xsampa-lessthanslash.png

|| voiced epiglottal fricative ||  
|-
| > || ||   || end nonsegmental notation ||  
|-
| > || ||

Xsampa-greaterthanslash.png

|| epiglottal plosive ||  
|-
| ^ || ||

Xsampa-hat.png

|| upstep ||  
|-
| ! || ||

Xsampa-exclamation.png

|| downstep ||  
|-
| ! || ||

Xsampa-exclamationslash.png

|| postalveolar click ||  
|-
| | || ||

Xsampa-bar.png

|| minor (foot) group ||  
|-
| | || ||

Xsampa-barslash.png

|| dental click ||  
|-
| || || ||

Xsampa-doublebar.png

|| major (intonation) group ||  
|-
| || || ||

Xsampa-doublebarslash.png

|| lateral alveolar click ||  
|-
| = || ||

Xsampa-equalsslash.png

|| palatal click ||  
|-
| - || ||

Xsampa-dashslash.png

|| linking mark ||  
|}

Diacritics

{| class="wikitable"
! XS !! IPA !! IPA image !! Description
|-
| _" || ||

Xsampa-_doublequotes.png

|| centralized
|-
| _+ || ||

Xsampa-_plus.png

|| advanced
|-
| _- || ||

Xsampa-_minus.png

|| retracted
|-
| _/ || ||   || rising tone
|-
| _0 || ||

Xsampa-_0.png

|| voiceless
|-
| _< || ||   || implosive (IPA uses separate symbols for implosives)
|-
| = (or _=) || ||

Xsampa-equalsor_equals.png

|| syllabic
|-
| _> || ||

Xsampa-_greaterthan.png

|| ejective
|-
| _? || ||

Xsampa-_questionslash.png

|| pharyngealized
|-
| _ || ||   || falling tone
|-
| _^ || ||

Xsampa-_hat.png

|| non-syllabic
|-
| _} || ||

|| no audible release
|-
| ` || ||

Xsampa-'rhino.png

|| 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 || ||

Xsampa-_G.png

|| velarized
|-
| _H || ||

Xsampa-_H.png

|| high tone
|-
| _H_T || ||

Xsampa-_H_T.png

|| high rising tone
|-
| _h || ||

Xsampa-_h.png

|| aspirated
|-
| _j (or ') || ||

Xsampa-'or_j.png

|| palatalized
|-
| _k || ||

Xsampa-_k.png

|| creaky voice
|-
| _L || ||

Xsampa-_L.png

|| low tone
|-
| _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 || ||

Xsampa-_w.png

|| labialized
|-
| _X || ||

Xsampa-_X.png

|| extra-short
|-
| _x || ||

Xsampa-_x.png

|| mid-centralized
|}

See also

★ International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)

★ International Phonetic Alphabet for English

★ SAMPA, a language-specific predecessor of X-SAMPA.

★ CXS, an unofficial, extended version of X-SAMPA used for language construction

★ SAMPA chart for English

★ Kirshenbaum, a similar system.

★ List of phonetics topics

External links

★ Computer-coding the IPA: A proposed extension of SAMPA

★ Online converter between IPA and X-Sampa

★ Web-based translator for X-SAMPA documents. Produces Unicode text, XML text, PostScript, PDF, or LaTeX TIPA.