Po redaktohet International Phonetic Alphabet (paragraf)

== Letters ==
{{See also|International Phonetic Alphabet chart}}
The International Phonetic Association organizes the letters of the IPA into three categories: [[pulmonic]] consonants, non-pulmonic consonants, and vowels.{{NoteTag|"Segments can usefully be divided into two major categories, consonants and vowels."<ref>{{harv|International Phonetic Association|1999|p=3}}</ref>}}<ref>{{harvnb|International Phonetic Association|1999|p=6}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | title=Proposed New Characters: The Pipeline }}{{full citation needed|date=January 2025}}</ref>

Pulmonic consonant letters are arranged singly or in pairs of voiceless ([[tenuis consonant|tenuis]]) and voiced sounds, with these then grouped in columns from front (labial) sounds on the left to back (glottal) sounds on the right. In official publications by the IPA, two columns are omitted to save space, with the letters listed among "other symbols" even though theoretically they belong in the main chart.{{NoteTag|They were moved "for presentational convenience [...] because of [their] rarity and the small number of types of sounds which are found there."<ref>{{harvnb|International Phonetic Association|1999|p=18}}</ref>}} They are arranged in rows from full closure (occlusives: stops and nasals) at top, to brief closure (vibrants: trills and taps), to partial closure (fricatives), and finally minimal closure (approximants) at bottom, again with a row left out to save space. In the table below, a slightly different arrangement is made: All pulmonic consonants are included in the pulmonic-consonant table, and the vibrants and laterals are separated out so that the rows reflect the common [[lenition]] pathway of ''stop → fricative → approximant'', as well as the fact that several letters pull double duty as both fricative and approximant; [[affricate]]s may then be created by joining stops and fricatives from adjacent cells. Shaded cells represent articulations that are judged to be impossible or not distinctive<!--e.g. lateral bilabial fricatives are the norm, but there is no central-lateral distinction.-->.

Vowel letters are also grouped in pairs{{snd}}of unrounded and rounded vowel sounds{{snd}}with these pairs also arranged from front on the left to back on the right, and from maximal closure at top to minimal closure at bottom. No vowel letters are omitted from the chart, though in the past some of the mid central vowels were listed among the "other symbols".

=== Consonants ===
{{See also|IPA consonant chart with audio}}

==== Pulmonic consonants ====
A [[Egressive|pulmonic]] consonant is a consonant made by obstructing the [[glottis]] (the space between the vocal folds) or [[Human mouth|oral cavity]] (the mouth) and either simultaneously or subsequently letting out air from the lungs. Pulmonic consonants make up the majority of consonants in the IPA, as well as in human language. All consonants in English fall into this category.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Fromkin |first=Victoria |author-link=Victoria Fromkin |author2=Rodman, Robert |title=An Introduction to Language |orig-year=1974 |year=1998 |publisher=Harcourt Brace College Publishers |location=Fort Worth, TX |edition=6th |isbn=0-03-018682-X |url=https://archive.org/details/introductiontola00from_1}}</ref>

The pulmonic consonant table, which includes most consonants, is arranged in rows that designate [[manner of articulation]], meaning how the consonant is produced, and columns that designate [[place of articulation]], meaning where in the vocal tract the consonant is produced. The main chart includes only consonants with a single place of articulation.
{{IPA pulmonic consonants|caption=|affricates=no|notes=no}}

'''Notes'''
* In rows where some letters appear in pairs (the ''[[obstruent]]s''), the letter to the right represents a [[voiced consonant]], except [[breathy-voiced]] {{IPA|[ɦ]}}.<ref>{{harvnb|Ladefoged|Maddieson|1996|loc=§&nbsp;2.1.}}</ref> In the other rows (the ''[[sonorant]]s''), the single letter represents a voiced consonant.
* While IPA provides a single letter for the coronal places of articulation (for all consonants but fricatives), these do not always have to be used exactly. When dealing with a particular language, the letters may be treated as specifically dental, alveolar, or post-alveolar, as appropriate for that language, without diacritics.
* Shaded areas indicate articulations judged to be impossible.
* The letters {{IPA|[β, ð, ʁ, ʕ, ʢ]}} are canonically voiced fricatives but may be used for approximants.{{NoteTag|"A symbol such as {{IPA|[β]}}, shown on the chart in the position for a voiced bilabial fricative, can also be used to represent a voiced bilabial approximant if needed."<ref>{{harv|International Phonetic Association|1999|p=9}}</ref>}}
* In many languages, such as English, {{IPA|[h]}} and {{IPA|[ɦ]}} are not actually glottal, fricatives, or approximants. Rather, they are bare [[phonation]].<ref>{{harvnb|Ladefoged|Maddieson|1996|loc=§&nbsp;9.3.}}</ref>
* It is primarily the shape of the tongue rather than its position that distinguishes the fricatives {{IPA|[ʃ ʒ]}}, {{IPA|[ɕ ʑ]}}, and {{IPA|[ʂ ʐ]}}.
* {{IPA|[ʜ, ʢ]}} are defined as epiglottal fricatives under the "Other symbols" section in the official IPA chart, but they may be treated as trills at the same place of articulation as {{IPA|[ħ, ʕ]}} because trilling of the [[aryepiglottic fold]]s typically co-occurs.<ref>{{harvnb|Esling|2010|pp=688–689}}</ref>
* Some listed phones are not known to exist as [[phoneme]]s in any language.

==== Non-pulmonic consonants ====
Non-pulmonic consonants are sounds whose airflow is not dependent on the lungs. These include [[click consonant|clicks]] (found in the [[Khoisan languages]] and some neighboring [[Bantu languages]] of Africa), [[implosives]] (found in languages such as [[Sindhi language|Sindhi]], [[Hausa language|Hausa]], [[Swahili language|Swahili]] and [[Vietnamese language|Vietnamese]]), and [[ejectives]] (found in many [[Indigenous languages of the Americas|Amerindian]] and [[Caucasian languages]]).
{{IPA non-pulmonic consonants|caption=|nonipa=no|affricates=no|notes=no}}

'''Notes'''
* Clicks have traditionally been described as consisting of a forward place of articulation, commonly called the click "type" or historically the "influx", and a rear place of articulation, which when combined with the quality of the click is commonly called the click "accompaniment" or historically the "efflux". The IPA click letters indicate only the click type (forward articulation and release). Therefore, all clicks require two letters for proper notation: {{angbr IPA|k͡ǀ, ɡ͡ǀ, q͡ǀ}}, etc., or with the order reversed if both the forward and rear releases are audible. The letter for the rear articulation is frequently omitted, in which case a {{angbr IPA|k}} may usually be assumed. However, some researchers dispute the idea that clicks should be analyzed as doubly articulated, as the traditional transcription implies, and analyze the rear occlusion as solely a part of the airstream mechanism.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Miller |first1=Amanda L. |last2=Brugman |first2=Johanna |last3=Sands |first3=Bonny |last4=Namaseb |first4=Levi |last5=Exter |first5=Mats |last6=Collins |first6=Chris |date=2009 |title=Differences in airstream and posterior place of articulation among Nǀuu clicks |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S0025100309003867/type/journal_article |journal=Journal of the International Phonetic Association |volume=39 |issue=2 |pages=129–161 |doi=10.1017/S0025100309003867 |s2cid=46194815 |issn=0025-1003 |access-date=24 May 2023 |archive-date=1 July 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230701181158/https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/journal-of-the-international-phonetic-association/article/abs/differences-in-airstream-and-posterior-place-of-articulation-among-nuu-clicks/FA6566F6283D1E42E23C868E91DAFAA8 |url-status=live|url-access=subscription }}</ref> In transcriptions of such approaches, the click letter represents both places of articulation, with the different letters representing the different click types, and diacritics are used for the elements of the accompaniment: {{angbr IPA|ǀ, ǀ̬, ǀ̃}}, etc.
* Letters for the [[voiceless]] implosives {{angbr IPA|ƥ, ƭ, ƈ, ƙ, ʠ}} are no longer supported by the IPA, though they remain in Unicode. Instead, the IPA typically uses the voiced equivalent with a voiceless diacritic: {{angbr IPA|ɓ̥, ɗ̥}}, etc.
* The letter for the [[retroflex implosive]], <span title="U+1D91">{{angbr IPA|ᶑ&thinsp;}}</span>, is not "explicitly IPA approved",<ref>{{harvnb|International Phonetic Association|1999|p=166}}</ref> but the IPA has endorsed the inclusion of {{angbr IPA|ᶑ&thinsp;}} and voiceless {{angbr IPA|𝼉}} into Unicode.{{cn|date=May 2025}}
* The ejective diacritic is placed at the right-hand margin of the consonant, rather than immediately after the letter for the stop: {{angbr IPA|t͜ʃʼ}}, {{angbr IPA|kʷʼ}}. In imprecise transcription, it often stands in for a superscript glottal stop in [[glottalized]] but pulmonic [[sonorant]]s, such as {{IPA|[mˀ]}}, {{IPA|[lˀ]}}, {{IPA|[wˀ]}}, {{IPA|[aˀ]}}{{snd}}also transcribable as creaky {{IPA|[m̰]}}, {{IPA|[l̰]}}, {{IPA|[w̰]}}, {{IPA|[a̰]}}.

==== Affricates ====
[[Affricates]] and [[Doubly articulated consonant|co-articulated]] stops are represented by two letters in sequence. For clarity, this [[Digraph (orthography)|digraph]] may be joined by a tie bar, which may appear either above or below the letters with no difference in meaning.{{NoteTag|It is traditional to place the tie bar above the letters. It may be placed below to avoid overlap with ascenders or diacritic marks, or simply because it is more legible that way, as in Niesler; Louw; Roux (2005). "Phonetic analysis of Afrikaans, English, Xhosa and Zulu using South African speech databases".<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Niesler |first1=Thomas |last2=Louw |first2=Philippa |last3=Roux |first3=Justus |date=2005 |title=Phonetic analysis of Afrikaans, English, Xhosa and Zulu using South African speech databases |url=http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.2989/16073610509486401 |journal=Southern African Linguistics and Applied Language Studies |language=en |volume=23 |issue=4 |pages=459–474 |doi=10.2989/16073610509486401 |s2cid=7138676 |issn=1607-3614 |access-date=24 May 2023 |archive-date=27 May 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230527215149/http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.2989/16073610509486401 |url-status=live|url-access=subscription }}</ref>}} Affricates are optionally represented by [[Typographic ligature|ligatures]]{{snd}}e.g. {{angbr IPA|ʧ, ʤ&thinsp;}}{{snd}}though this is no longer official IPA usage.<ref name="IPA 1999" />  Alternatively, a superscript notation for a consonant release is sometimes used to transcribe affricates, for example {{angbr IPA|tˢ}} for {{IPA|[t͜s]}}, although in precise notation this would indicate a fricative release rather than an affricate. The letters for the palatal plosives {{angbr IPA|c}} and {{angbr IPA|ɟ}} are often used as a convenience for {{IPA|[t͜ʃ]}} and {{IPA|[d͜ʒ]}} or similar affricates<!-- eg 'Curso de fonética y fonología españolas para estudiantes' for English and spanish -->, even in official IPA publications, so they must be interpreted with care.<ref>{{harvnb|International Phonetic Association|1999|p=133}}</ref>

{{IPA affricates|caption=|notes=no}}

Because in a true affricate the plosive element and the fricative element are homorganic, and the place of articulation of an affricate is most audible in the fricative element, the letter for the former will not always be precisely transcribed where such precision would be redundant. For example, while the English ''ch'' sound is {{IPA|[t̠͡ʃ]}} in close transcription, the diacritic is commonly left off, for {{IPA|[t͡ʃ]}}. Similarly, {{IPA|[ʈ͡ʂ]}} and {{IPA|[ɖ͡ʐ]}} are more commonly written {{IPA|[t͡ʂ]}} and {{IPA|[d͡ʐ]}}, and in the ligatures there is only a single retroflex hook.

==== Co-articulated consonants ====
[[Co-articulated consonant]]s are sounds that involve two simultaneous [[places of articulation]] (are pronounced using two parts of the [[vocal tract]]). In English, the {{IPA|[w]}} in "went" is a coarticulated consonant, being pronounced by rounding the lips and raising the back of the tongue. Similar sounds are {{IPA|[ʍ]}} and {{IPA|[ɥ]}}. In some languages, plosives can be double-articulated, for example in the name of [[Laurent Gbagbo]].
{{IPA co-articulated consonants|caption=|notes=no}}

'''Notes'''
* {{IPA|[ɧ]}}, the [[sj-sound|Swedish ''sj''-sound]], is described by the IPA as a "simultaneous {{IPA|[ʃ]}} and {{IPA|[x]}}", but it is unlikely such a simultaneous fricative actually exists in any language.<ref>{{harvnb|Ladefoged|Maddieson|1996|pp=329–330}}</ref>
* Multiple tie bars can be used: {{angbr IPA|a͡b͡c}} or {{angbr IPA|a͜b͜c}}. For instance, a pre-voiced velar affricate may be transcribed as {{angbr IPA|g͡k͡x}}
* If a diacritic needs to be placed on or under a tie bar, the [[combining grapheme joiner]] (U+034F) needs to be used, as in {{IPA|[b͜͏̰də̀bdʊ̀]}} 'chewed' ([[Margi language|Margi]]). Font support is spotty, however.

With the implosives, authors may not bother to redundantly mark both letters as implosive, but instead write them as less-cluttered {{angbr IPA|ɡ͡ɓ}} and even {{angbr IPA|k͜ƥ}}<!-- e.g. Nọlue Emenanjọ [2015] A Grammar of Contemporary Igbo -->.

=== Vowels ===
{{Main|Vowel}}
{{See also|IPA vowel chart with audio}}
[[File:Cardinal vowel tongue position-front.svg|thumb|Tongue positions of [[Cardinal vowel|cardinal]] front vowels, with highest point indicated. The position of the highest point is used to determine vowel height and backness.]]
[[File:Cardinal vowels-Jones x-ray.jpg|thumb|[[Radiography|X-ray photos]] show the sounds {{IPA|[i, u, a, ɑ]}}.]]

The IPA defines a vowel as a sound which occurs at a syllable center.<ref>{{harvnb|International Phonetic Association|1999|p=10}}</ref> Below is a chart depicting the vowels of the IPA. The IPA maps the vowels according to the position of the tongue.
{{IPA vowels|caption=|notes=no}}

The vertical axis of the chart is mapped by [[vowel height]]. Vowels pronounced with the tongue lowered are at the bottom, and vowels pronounced with the tongue raised are at the top. For example, {{IPA|[ɑ]}} (the first vowel in ''father'') is at the bottom because the tongue is lowered in this position. {{IPA|[i]}} (the vowel in "meet") is at the top because the sound is said with the tongue raised to the roof of the mouth.

In a similar fashion, the horizontal axis of the chart is determined by [[vowel backness]]. Vowels with the tongue moved towards the front of the mouth (such as {{IPA|[ɛ]}}, the vowel in "met") are to the left in the chart, while those in which it is moved to the back (such as {{IPA|[ʌ]}}, the vowel in "but") are placed to the right in the chart.

In places where vowels are paired, the right represents a [[rounded vowel]] (in which the lips are rounded) while the left is its unrounded counterpart.

==== Diphthongs ====
[[Diphthong]]s may be written as simple sequences of letters, but for clarity they are commonly specified with a non-syllabic diacritic, as in {{angbr IPA|ui̯}} or {{angbr IPA|u̯i}}, or with a superscript for the on- or off-glide, as in {{angbr IPA|uⁱ}} or {{angbr IPA|ᵘi}}. Sometimes a tie bar is used: {{angbr IPA|u͜i}}, especially when it is difficult to tell if the diphthong is characterized by an on-glide or an off-glide, or when it is variable.

;Notes
* {{angbr IPA|a}} officially represents a front vowel, but there is little if any distinction between front and central open vowels (see {{section link|Vowel#Acoustics}}), and {{angbr IPA|a}} is frequently used for an open central vowel.<ref name="thomason" /> If disambiguation is required, the [[Retraction (phonetics)|retraction diacritic]] or the [[Relative articulation#Centralized vowels|centralized diacritic]] may be added to indicate an open central vowel, as in {{angbr IPA|a̠}} or {{angbr IPA|ä}}.