Extended Speech Assessment Methods Phonetic Alphabet

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Language: Linguistics · Semiotics · Speech

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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 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\	ᵻ 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 으 (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
^	ꜛ	File:Xsampa-hat.png	upstep
!	ꜜ	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	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	300px 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

• CXS, an unofficial, extended version of X-SAMPA used for language construction
• International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)
• International Phonetic Alphabet for English
• Kirshenbaum and WorldBet, similar systems.
• List of phonetics topics
• SAMPA, a language-specific predecessor of X-SAMPA.
• SAMPA chart for English
• X-sampa charts

External links

• Computer-coding the IPA: A proposed extension of SAMPA
• Translate English texts into IPA phonetics with PhoTransEdit. This free software tool allows to export transcriptions to X-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.
• Z-SAMPA, an extension of X-SAMPA sometimes used for conlangs