Linguistics & Grammar vocabulary · Phonetics and Phonology
IPA
Meaning in linguistics & grammar, with examples
/ˌaɪ piː ˈeɪ/abbreviationCore term
In linguistics & grammar, IPA means: Short for International Phonetic Alphabet: a set of symbols in which each symbol stands for one speech sound, used to write down pronunciation in any language.
In Turkish: Uluslararası Fonetik Alfabe, UFA
How it is used
Learner dictionaries give pronunciations in IPA, and teachers use IPA charts in class. Phonemic transcription goes between slashes (/ʃɪp/), detailed phonetic transcription between square brackets.
Example sentences
If you can read IPA, you can check the pronunciation of any word in the dictionary.
Transcribe these ten words in IPA before next week's seminar.
Common collocations
IPA symbol
IPA chart
transcribe in IPA
IPA transcription
Related terms
phoneticsThe branch of linguistics that studies speech sounds as physical events: how the mouth and throat produce them, how they travel and how the ear perceives them.
phonemeThe smallest unit of sound that can change meaning in a particular language, such as /p/ and /b/, which make pin and bin different words in English.
vowelA speech sound made with the air flowing freely through the mouth, without the tongue or lips blocking it, such as the sounds in see, cat and boot.
consonantA speech sound made by partly or completely blocking the air in the mouth or throat, such as /p/, /s/ or /m/; also a letter that usually spells such a sound.
