X-SAMPA explained

pronounced as /notice/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 University College London.^[1] It is designed to unify the individual language SAMPA alphabets, and extend SAMPA to cover the entire range of characters in the 1993 version of 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. However, 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, [[Open-mid back rounded vowel|O]] is a distinct sound from [[Bilabial click|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, such X-SAMPA symbols do not work in EMU, so backslashes must be replaced with some other symbol (e.g., an asterisk: '*') when adding phonemic transcription to an EMU speech database. The backslash has no fixed meaning.
• 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: k_p codes for pronounced as //k͡p//.
• The numbers _1 to _6 are reserved diacritics as shorthand for language-specific tone numbers.
• The IETF language tags registry has assigned as the subtag for text transcribed in X-SAMPA.^[2]

Lower-case symbols

X-SAMPA	IPA	IPA image	Description	Examples
{{lang|und-fonxsamp|a|italic=no}}	pronounced as /a/			French French: d'''a'''me {{lang|fr-fonxsamp|[dam]|italic=no}}
{{lang|und-fonxsamp|b|italic=no}}	pronounced as /b/			English bed {{lang|en-fonxsamp|[bEd]|italic=no}}, French French: '''b'''on {{lang|fr-fonxsamp|[bO~]|italic=no}}
b_<	pronounced as /ɓ/			Sindhi pronounced as /ɓarʊ/ [<code>b_<arU</code>]
c	pronounced as /c/			Hungarian Hungarian: la'''ty'''ak ["lQcQk]
d	pronounced as /d/			English dig [dIg], French French: '''d'''oigt [dwa]
d`	pronounced as /ɖ/			Swedish Swedish: ho'''rd''' [hu:d`]
d_<	pronounced as /ɗ/			Sindhi pronounced as /ɗarʊ/ [<code>d_<arU</code>]
e	pronounced as /e/			French French: bl'''é''' [ble]
f	pronounced as /f/			English five [faIv], French French: '''f'''emme [fam]
g	pronounced as /ɡ/			English game [geIm], French French: lon'''gu'''e [lO~g]
g_<	pronounced as /ɠ/			Sindhi pronounced as /ɠəro/ [<code>g_<@ro</code>]
h	pronounced as /h/			English house [haUs]
h\	pronounced as /ɦ/			Czech Czech: hrad [h\rat]
i	pronounced as /i/			English be [bi:], French French: ou'''i''' [wi], Spanish Spanish; Castilian: s'''i''' [si]
j	pronounced as /j/			English yes [jEs], French French: '''y'''eux [j2]
j\	pronounced as /ʝ/			Greek Greek, Modern (1453-);: '''γ'''ειά [j\a]
k	pronounced as /k/			English skip [skIp], Spanish Spanish; Castilian: '''c'''arro ["karo]
l	pronounced as /l/			English lay [leI], French French: ma'''l''' [mal]
l`	pronounced as /ɭ/			Svealand Swedish Swedish: so'''rl''' [so:l`]
l\	pronounced as /ɺ/			Wayuu püü'''l'''ükü [pM:l\MkM]
m	pronounced as /m/			English mouse [maUs], French French: ho'''mm'''e [Om]
n	pronounced as /n/			English nap [n{p], French French: '''n'''on [nO~]
n`	pronounced as /ɳ/			Swedish Swedish: hö'''rn''' [h2:n`]
o	pronounced as /o/			French French: v'''eau''' [vo]
p	pronounced as /p/			English speak [spik], French French: '''p'''ose [poz], Spanish Spanish; Castilian: '''p'''erro ["pero]
p\	pronounced as /ɸ/			Japanese [p\M_0kM]
q	pronounced as /q/			Arabic ["qQs_Gba]
r	pronounced as /r/			Spanish Spanish; Castilian: pe'''rr'''o ["pero]
r`	pronounced as /ɽ/			Bengali [gar`i:]
r\	pronounced as /ɹ/			English red [r\Ed]
r\`	pronounced as /ɻ/			Malayalam Malayalam: വഴി ["v@r\`i]
s	pronounced as /s/			English seem [si:m], French French: '''s'''e'''ss'''ion [sE"sjO~]
s`	pronounced as /ʂ/			Swedish Swedish: ma'''rs''' [mas`]
s\	pronounced as /ɕ/			Polish Polish: '''ś'''wierszcz [s\v'ers`ts`]
t	pronounced as /t/			English stew [stju:], French French: ra'''t'''é [Ra"te]
t`	pronounced as /ʈ/			Swedish Swedish: mö'''rt''' [m2t`]
u	pronounced as /u/			English boom [bu:m], Spanish Spanish; Castilian: s'''u''' [su]
v	pronounced as /v/			English vest [vEst], French French: '''v'''oix [vwa]
v\ (or P)	pronounced as /ʋ/			Dutch Dutch; Flemish: '''w'''est [v\Est]/[PEst]
w	pronounced as /w/			English west [wEst], French French: '''ou'''i [wi]
x	pronounced as /x/			Scots Scots: lo'''ch''' [lOx] or [5Ox]; German German: Bu'''ch''', German: Da'''ch'''; Spanish Spanish; Castilian: ca'''j'''a, Spanish; Castilian: '''g'''estión
x\	pronounced as /ɧ/			Swedish Swedish: '''sj'''al [x\A:l]
y	pronounced as /y/			French French: t'''u''' [ty] German German: '''ü'''ber ["y:b6]
z	pronounced as /z/			English zoo [zu:], French French: a'''z'''ote [a"zOt]
z`	pronounced as /ʐ/			Mandarin Chinese [z`aN]
z\	pronounced as /ʑ/			Polish Polish: '''ź'''rebak ["z\rEbak]

Capital symbols

X-SAMPA	IPA	IPA image	Description	Example
{{lang|und-fonxsamp|A|italic=no}}	pronounced as /ɑ/			English father [<code>"fA:D@</code>(<code>r\</code>)] (RP and Gen.Am.)
B	pronounced as /β/			Spanish Spanish; Castilian: la'''v'''ar [la"Ba4]
B\	pronounced as /ʙ/			Reminiscent of shivering ("brrr")
C	pronounced as /ç/			German German: i'''ch''' [IC], English human ["Cjum@n] (broad transcription uses [<code>hj</code>-])
D	pronounced as /ð/			English then [DEn]
E	pronounced as /ɛ/			French French: m'''ê'''me [mE:m], English met [mEt] (RP and Gen.Am.)
F	pronounced as /ɱ/			English emphasis ["EFf@sIs] (spoken quickly, otherwise uses [<code>Emf</code>-])
G	pronounced as /ɣ/			Greek Greek, Modern (1453-);: '''γ'''ωνία [Go"nia]
G\	pronounced as /ɢ/			Inuktitut Inuktitut: ni'''r'''ivvik [niG\ivvik]
G\_<	pronounced as /ʛ/			Mam pronounced as /ʛa/ [<code>G\_<a</code>]
H	pronounced as /ɥ/			French French: h'''u'''it [Hit]
H\	pronounced as /ʜ/			Agul ме'''хӀ''' [mEH\]
I	pronounced as /ɪ/			English kit [kIt]
I\	pronounced as /ᵻ/		near-close central unrounded vowel (non-IPA)	Polish Polish: r'''y'''ba [rI\bA]
J	pronounced as /ɲ/			Spanish Spanish; Castilian: a'''ñ'''o ["aJo], English canyon ["k{J@n] (broad transcription uses [-<code>nj</code>-])
J\	pronounced as /ɟ/			Hungarian Hungarian: e'''gy''' [EJ\]
J\_<	pronounced as /ʄ/			Sindhi pronounced as /ʄaro/ [<code>J\_<aro</code>]
K	pronounced as /ɬ/			Welsh Welsh: '''ll'''aw [KaU]
K\	pronounced as /ɮ/			Mongolian Mongolian: до'''л'''оо [tOK\O:]
L	pronounced as /ʎ/			Italian Italian: fami'''gli'''a [fa"miLLa], Castilian: Spanish; Castilian: '''ll'''amar [La"mar]
L\	pronounced as /ʟ/			Korean Korean: '''달'''구지 [t6L\gudz\i]
M	pronounced as /ɯ/			Korean Korean: '''음'''식 [M:ms\_hik_}]
M\	pronounced as /ɰ/			Spanish Spanish; Castilian: fue'''g'''o ["fweM\o]
N	pronounced as /ŋ/			English thing [TIN]
N\	pronounced as /ɴ/			Japanese Japanese: さ'''ん''' [saN\]
O	pronounced as /ɔ/			American English off [O:f]
O\	pronounced as /ʘ/
P (or v\)	pronounced as /ʋ/			Dutch Dutch; Flemish: '''w'''est [PEst]/[v\Est], allophone of English phoneme /r\/
Q	pronounced as /ɒ/			RP lot [lQt]
R	pronounced as /ʁ/			German German: '''r'''ein [RaIn]
R\	pronounced as /ʀ/			French French: '''r'''oi [R\wa]
S	pronounced as /ʃ/			English ship [SIp]
T	pronounced as /θ/			English thin [TIn]
U	pronounced as /ʊ/			English foot [fUt]
U\	pronounced as /ᵿ/		near-close central rounded vowel (non-IPA)	English euphoria [jU\"fO@r\i@]
V	pronounced as /ʌ/			Scottish English strut [str\Vt]
W	pronounced as /ʍ/			Scots Scots: '''wh'''en [WEn]
X	pronounced as /χ/			Klallam pronounced as /sχaʔqʷaʔ/ [sXa?q_wa?]
X\	pronounced as /ħ/			Arabic Arabic: ح [X\A:]
Y	pronounced as /ʏ/			German German: h'''ü'''bsch [hYpS]
Z	pronounced as /ʒ/			English vision ["vIZ@n]

Other symbols

X-SAMPA	IPA	IPA image	Description	Example
.	pronounced as /./		syllable break
"	pronounced as /ˈ/
%	pronounced as /ˌ/			American English pronunciation [pr\@%nVn.si."eI.S@n]
' (or _j)	pronounced as /ʲ/			Russian Russian: Земля (Earth) [z'I"ml'a] or [z_jI"ml_ja]
:	pronounced as /ː/		long
:\	pronounced as /ˑ/		half long	Estonian differentiates three vowel lengths
-			separator	Polish Polish: '''trz'''y [t-S1] vs. Polish: '''cz'''y [tS1] (affricate)
@	pronounced as /ə/			English arena [@"r\i:n@]
@\	pronounced as /ɘ/			Paicĩ pronounced as /kɘ̄ɾɘ/ [k@\_M4@\_M]
@`	pronounced as /ɚ/			American English color ["kVl@`]
{ || pronounced as /æ/ || || near-open front unrounded vowel || English trap [tr\{p]|-| }	pronounced as /ʉ/			Swedish Swedish: sj'''u''' [x\}:]; AuE/NZE boot [b}:t]
1	pronounced as /ɨ/			Welsh Welsh: t'''u''' [t1], American English roses ["r\oUz1z]
2	pronounced as /ø/			Danish Danish: købe ["k2:b@], French French: d'''eu'''x [d2]
3	pronounced as /ɜ/			English nurse [n3:s] (RP) or [n3`s] (Gen.Am.)
3\	pronounced as /ɞ/			Irish Irish: t'''omha'''il [t3\:l']
4	pronounced as /ɾ/			Spanish Spanish; Castilian: pe'''r'''o ["pe4o], American English better ["bE4@`]
5	pronounced as /ɫ/		velarized alveolar lateral approximant also see _e	English milk [mI5k], Portuguese Portuguese: '''l'''ivro ["5iv4u]
6	pronounced as /ɐ/			German German: bess'''er''' ["bEs6], Australian English mud [m6d]
7	pronounced as /ɤ/			Estonian Estonian: k'''õ'''ik [k7ik], Vietnamese Vietnamese: m'''ơ''' [m7_M]
8	pronounced as /ɵ/			Swedish Swedish: b'''u'''ss [b8s]
9	pronounced as /œ/			French French: n'''eu'''f [n9f], Danish Danish: dr'''ø'''mme [dR9m@]
&	pronounced as /ɶ/			Swedish Swedish: sk'''ö'''rd [x\&d`]
?	pronounced as /ʔ/			Cockney English bottle ["bQ?o]
?\	pronounced as /ʕ/			Arabic Arabic: ع [?\Ajn]
*			undefined escape character, SAMPA's "conjunctor"
/	pronounced as ///		(a) French vowel archiphonemes or indeterminacies (b) delimiter of phonemic transcriptions	French: m'''ai'''son /mE/zO~/
<	pronounced as /⟨/		begin nonsegmental notation, e.g., SAMPROSA^[3]
&lt;\	pronounced as /ʢ/			Siwi pronounced as /arˤbˤəʢa/ (four) [ar_?\b_?\@<\a]
&gt;	pronounced as /⟩/		end nonsegmental notation
&gt;\	pronounced as /ʡ/			Archi гӀарз (complaint) [>\arz]
^	pronounced as /ꜛ/
!	pronounced as /ꜜ/
!\	pronounced as /ǃ/			Zulu Zulu: i'''q'''a'''q'''a (polecat) [i:!\a:!\a]
&#124;	pronounced as /&#x7C;}} / Diacritics X-SAMPA IPA IPA image Description {{lang|und-fonxsamp|_"|italic=no}} pronounced as /  ̈/ centralized _+ pronounced as /  ̟/ advanced _- pronounced as /  ̠/ retracted _/ pronounced as /  ̌/ rising tone _0 pronounced as /  ̥/ voiceless _&lt;   implosive (IPA uses separate symbols for implosives) = (or _=) pronounced as /  ̩/ syllabic _&gt; pronounced as /ʼ/ _?\ pronounced as /ˤ/ _\ pronounced as /  ̂/ falling tone _^ pronounced as /  ̯/ non-syllabic _	pronounced as /  ̚/		no audible release
`	pronounced as /&nbsp;˞/		rhotacization in vowels, retroflexion in consonants (IPA uses separate symbols for consonants, see t` for an example)
~ (or _~)	pronounced as /  ̃/
_A	pronounced as /  ̘/
_a	pronounced as /  ̺/
_B	pronounced as /  ̏/		extra low tone
_B_L	pronounced as /&nbsp;᷅/		low rising tone
_c	pronounced as /  ̜/		less rounded
_d	pronounced as /  ̪/
_e	pronounced as /  ̴/		velarized or pharyngealized; also see 5
&lt;F&gt;	pronounced as /↘/		global fall
_F	pronounced as /  ̂/		falling tone
_G	pronounced as /ˠ/
_H	pronounced as /  ́/		high tone
_H_T	pronounced as /&nbsp;᷄/		high rising tone
_h	pronounced as /ʰ/		aspirated
_j (or ')	pronounced as /ʲ/		palatalized
_k	pronounced as /  ̰/
_L	pronounced as /  ̀/		low tone
_l	pronounced as /ˡ/
_M	pronounced as /  ̄/		mid tone
_m	pronounced as /  ̻/
_N	pronounced as /  ̼/		linguolabial
_n	pronounced as /ⁿ/
_O	pronounced as /  ̹/
_o	pronounced as /  ̞/
_q	pronounced as /  ̙/
&lt;R&gt;	pronounced as /↗/
_R	pronounced as /  ̌/		rising tone
_R_F	pronounced as /&nbsp;᷈/		rising falling tone
_r	pronounced as /  ̝/
_T	pronounced as /  ̋/		extra high tone
_t	pronounced as /  ̤/
_v	pronounced as /  ̬/
_w	pronounced as /ʷ/
_X	pronounced as /  ̆/		extra-short
_x	pronounced as /  ̽/		mid-centralized

Charts

Consonants

Consonants (pulmonic)
Place of articulation →	Labial		Coronal				Dorsal				Laryngeal
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\

• Asterisks (*) mark sounds that do not have X-SAMPA symbols. Daggers (†) mark IPA symbols that have recently been added to Unicode. Since April 2008, the latter is the case of the labiodental flap, symbolized by a right-hook v in the IPA: . A convention 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:
&#x7c;\	Laminal alveolar ("dental")	d_<	Alveolar	p_>	Bilabial
!\	Apical (post-) alveolar ("retroflex")	J\_<	Palatal	t_>	Alveolar
=\	Laminal postalveolar ("palatal")	g_<	Velar	k_>	Velar
&#x7c;\&#x7c;\	Lateral coronal ("lateral")	G\_<	Uvular	s_>	Alveolar fricative

Vowels

	Front	Central	Back
Close	< -- CLOSE VOWELS --> i • y 1 • } M • u I • Y I\ • U\ • U e • 2 @\ • 8 7 • o e_o • 2_o @ • o_o E • 9 3 • 3\ V • O {]] • 6 a • & a_" A • Q |}

Notes and References

1. Web site: Wells. J.C.. Computer-coding the IPA: a proposed extension of SAMPA. UCL Phonetics and Linguistics. University College London. 16 March 2016.
2. Web site: Language Subtag Registry . IETF . 12 November 2022 . text . 2022-08-08.
3. For a summary of SAMPROSA, see Web site: Wells. J.C.. SAMPROSA (SAM Prosodic Transcription). UCL Phonetics and Linguistics. University College London. 19 September 1995. 23 October 2021.