International Phonetic Alphabet

What is an international phonetic alphabet?
➧ The International Phonetic Alphabet | IPA | is a system of symbols used to show exactly how words are pronounced.
➧ Each symbol represents one specific sound, making it easier to learn pronunciation in English and other languages.
➧ For example, the word "cat" is written as /kæt/ in the IPA.
➧ The IPA is widely used in phonics, dictionaries, and language learning.

Consonant Symbols
➧ show consonant sounds such as /b/ | /m/ | /s/ | /ʃ/.
➧ ship = /ʃɪp/

Vowel Symbols
➧ show vowel sounds such as /æ/ | /iː/ | /ʊ/ | /ɔː/
➧ cat = /kæt/

Diphthong Symbols
➧ show two vowel sounds that glide together.
➧ boy = /bɔɪ/ | cow = /kaʊ/

Suprasegmental Symbols
➧ show stress, rhythm, and intonation.
➧ /ˈ/ = primary stress
➧ /ˌ/ = secondary stress

Diacritics
➧ small marks added to symbols to change or clarify the sound.
➧ /n̩/ shows that the "n" forms its own syllable.

Tone and Intonation Symbols
➧ used to show pitch changes in speech, especially in tonal languages.