Phonetic symbols in Unicode

Unicode supports several phonetic scripts and notations through the existing writing systems and the addition of extra blocks with phonetic characters. These phonetic extras are derived of an existing script, usually Latin, Greek or Cyrillic. In Unicode there is no "IPA script". Apart from IPA, these blocks also contain Uralic Phonetic Alphabet characters.

Apart from regular Latin and Greek characters like m and ɛ, these symbols are in special phonetics blocks:

Contents

Phonetic scripts

Phonetic scripts, such as the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) make use of letters from other writing systems: most notably Latin, Greek and Cyrillic. Combining diacritics also adds meaning to the phonetic text. Finally, these phonetic alphabets make use of modifier letters. A "modifier letter" is strictly intended not as an independent grapheme but as a modification of the preceding character[1] resulting in a distinct grapheme, notably in the context of the International Phonetic Alphabet. For example, ʰ should not occur on its own but modifies the preceding or following symbol. Thus, tʰ is a single IPA symbol, distinct from t. In practice, however, several of these "modifier letters" are also used as full graphemes, e.g. ʿ as transliterating Semitic ayin or Hawaiian okina, or ˚ transliterating Abkhaz ә.

From Unicode blocks to scripts

Phonetical scripts are encoded in six Unicode blocks.

IPA Extensions (U+0250–02AF)

Not to be confused with Extensions to the IPA.
Main article: IPA Extensions (Unicode block)
IPA Extensions[1]
Unicode.org chart (PDF)
  0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 A B C D E F
U+025x ɐ ɑ ɒ ɓ ɔ ɕ ɖ ɗ ɘ ə ɚ ɛ ɜ ɝ ɞ ɟ
U+026x ɠ ɡ ɢ ɣ ɤ ɥ ɦ ɧ ɨ ɩ ɪ ɫ ɬ ɭ ɮ ɯ
U+027x ɰ ɱ ɲ ɳ ɴ ɵ ɶ ɷ ɸ ɹ ɺ ɻ ɼ ɽ ɾ ɿ
U+028x ʀ ʁ ʂ ʃ ʄ ʅ ʆ ʇ ʈ ʉ ʊ ʋ ʌ ʍ ʎ ʏ
U+029x ʐ ʑ ʒ ʓ ʔ ʕ ʖ ʗ ʘ ʙ ʚ ʛ ʜ ʝ ʞ ʟ
U+02Ax ʠ ʡ ʢ ʣ ʤ ʥ ʦ ʧ ʨ ʩ ʪ ʫ ʬ ʭ ʮ ʯ
Notes
1.^ As of Unicode version 6.0

Spacing Modifier Letters (U+02B0–02FF)

The characters in the "Spacing Modifier Letters" block are intended as forming a unity with the preceding letter (which they "modify"). E.g. the character U+02B0 ʰ modifier letter small h isn't intended simply as a superscript h (h), but as the mark of aspiration placed after the letter being aspirated, as in pʰ "aspirated voiceless bilabial plosive". The block contains:

Spacing Modifier Letters[1]
Unicode.org chart (PDF)
  0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 A B C D E F
U+02Bx ʰ ʱ ʲ ʳ ʴ ʵ ʶ ʷ ʸ ʹ ʺ ʻ ʼ ʽ ʾ ʿ
U+02Cx ˀ ˁ ˂ ˃ ˄ ˅ ˆ ˇ ˈ ˉ ˊ ˋ ˌ ˍ ˎ ˏ
U+02Dx ː ˑ ˒ ˓ ˔ ˕ ˖ ˗ ˘ ˙ ˚ ˛ ˜ ˝ ˞ ˟
U+02Ex ˠ ˡ ˢ ˣ ˤ ˥ ˦ ˧ ˨ ˩ ˪ ˫ ˬ ˭ ˮ ˯
U+02Fx ˰ ˱ ˲ ˳ ˴ ˵ ˶ ˷ ˸ ˹ ˺ ˻ ˼ ˽ ˾ ˿
Notes
1.^ As of Unicode version 6.0

Phonetic Extensions (U+1D00–1D7F)

This block, together with Phonetic Extensions Supplement below, contains:

Phonetic Extensions[1]
Unicode.org chart (PDF)
  0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 A B C D E F
U+1D0x ᴀ ᴁ ᴂ ᴃ ᴄ ᴅ ᴆ ᴇ ᴈ ᴉ ᴊ ᴋ ᴌ ᴍ ᴎ ᴏ
U+1D1x ᴐ ᴑ ᴒ ᴓ ᴔ ᴕ ᴖ ᴗ ᴘ ᴙ ᴚ ᴛ ᴜ ᴝ ᴞ ᴟ
U+1D2x ᴠ ᴡ ᴢ ᴣ ᴤ ᴥ ᴦ ᴧ ᴨ ᴩ ᴪ ᴫ ᴬ ᴭ ᴮ ᴯ
U+1D3x ᴰ ᴱ ᴲ ᴳ ᴴ ᴵ ᴶ ᴷ ᴸ ᴹ ᴺ ᴻ ᴼ ᴽ ᴾ ᴿ
U+1D4x ᵀ ᵁ ᵂ ᵃ ᵄ ᵅ ᵆ ᵇ ᵈ ᵉ ᵊ ᵋ ᵌ ᵍ ᵎ ᵏ
U+1D5x ᵐ ᵑ ᵒ ᵓ ᵔ ᵕ ᵖ ᵗ ᵘ ᵙ ᵚ ᵛ ᵜ ᵝ ᵞ ᵟ
U+1D6x ᵠ ᵡ ᵢ ᵣ ᵤ ᵥ ᵦ ᵧ ᵨ ᵩ ᵪ ᵫ ᵬ ᵭ ᵮ ᵯ
U+1D7x ᵰ ᵱ ᵲ ᵳ ᵴ ᵵ ᵶ ᵷ ᵸ ᵹ ᵺ ᵻ ᵼ ᵽ ᵾ ᵿ
Notes
1.^ As of Unicode version 6.0

Phonetic Extensions Supplement (U+1D80–1DBF)

Phonetic Extensions Supplement[1]
Unicode.org chart (PDF)
  0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 A B C D E F
U+1D8x ᶀ ᶁ ᶂ ᶃ ᶄ ᶅ ᶆ ᶇ ᶈ ᶉ ᶊ ᶋ ᶌ ᶍ ᶎ ᶏ
U+1D9x ᶐ ᶑ ᶒ ᶓ ᶔ ᶕ ᶖ ᶗ ᶘ ᶙ ᶚ ᶛ ᶜ ᶝ ᶞ ᶟ
U+1DAx ᶠ ᶡ ᶢ ᶣ ᶤ ᶥ ᶦ ᶧ ᶨ ᶩ ᶪ ᶫ ᶬ ᶭ ᶮ ᶯ
U+1DBx ᶰ ᶱ ᶲ ᶳ ᶴ ᶵ ᶶ ᶷ ᶸ ᶹ ᶺ ᶻ ᶼ ᶽ ᶾ ᶿ
Notes
1.^ As of Unicode version 6.0

Modifier Tone Letters (U+A700–A71F)

Modifier Tone Letters[1]
Unicode.org chart (PDF)
  0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 A B C D E F
U+A70x ꜀ ꜁ ꜂ ꜃ ꜄ ꜅ ꜆ ꜇ ꜈ ꜉ ꜊ ꜋ ꜌ ꜍ ꜎ ꜏
U+A71x ꜐ ꜑ ꜒ ꜓ ꜔ ꜕ ꜖ ꜗ ꜘ ꜙ ꜚ ꜛ ꜜ ꜝ ꜞ ꜟ
Notes
1.^ As of Unicode version 6.0

Superscripts and Subscripts (U+2070–209F)

Superscripts and Subscripts[1]
Unicode.org chart (PDF)
  0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 A B C D E F
U+207x ⁰ ⁱ ⁴ ⁵ ⁶ ⁷ ⁸ ⁹ ⁺ ⁻ ⁼ ⁽ ⁾ ⁿ
U+208x ₀ ₁ ₂ ₃ ₄ ₅ ₆ ₇ ₈ ₉ ₊ ₋ ₌ ₍ ₎
U+209x ₐ ₑ ₒ ₓ ₔ ₕ ₖ ₗ ₘ ₙ ₚ ₛ ₜ
Notes
1.^ As of Unicode version 6.0

Semantic phonemes and character names

Unicode includes letters and marks from the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) and those supporting other phonetic writing systems too. Essentially these characters are used as graphemes for phonemes. In terms of script or writing system, these phonetic alphabets are basically one writing system. What distinguishes the various phonetic alphabets are their glyphs. However, as with numerals, the UCS often focus more on the presentational forms or glyphs given to these phonemes by the various phonetic alphabets. This is in contrast to the alternate names of these characters provided by Unicode NamesList property which typically reflects the common phoneme semantics shared by those various writing systems regardless of the glyphs used. So these differences manifest in the alternate names given to these characters: the canonical UCS name and the NamesList property names. Similarly, Unicode assignees the value of “Latin” to the script property of many of these characters. However, the primary purpose for these characters inclusion in the character set is to support the various phonetic writing systems. These phonetic writing system, in many ways, constitute a single unified writing system on its own: despite borrowing glyphs from other Latin, Greek and Cyrillic scripts.

This possibly results in a larger than necessary allocation of characters, but it is likely due to the practice where the UCS often inherits character distinctions from other legacy character sets. However, this practice also raises other complications because the vast majority of changes in phonetic alphabets is in altering slightly or even completely changing glyphs. Seldom do these phonetic alphabets alter or change the underlying phonemes those glyphs represent. Such glyph changes would be better handled through font updates than through changes to the UCS and Unicode. The semantic phonemes have been fairly stable for decades: especially in the theoretically potential phonemes from our understanding of human aural anatomy. The phonemes have names like “labiodental flap” while the glyph character might be called “right-hook” in IPA informal usage (“v”). For example, the UCS name for character U+1D18, is a “Latin Letter Small Capital P” while the semantic phoneme name added by Unicode is a “semi-voiced [p]”.

The alternate names provided by UCS and Unicode provide an excellent example of the motivation and benefits of semantic unification like that used for Unihan characters. If the phonemes themselves were semantically encoded in Unicode rather than the glyphs used in one or several semantic alphabets, the text processing would occur independent of its visual presentation. One person could view phoneme writing using a font created with IPA glyphs while another could read the same text with a font created for Americanist phonetic notation glyphs. In performing searches, sorting text and the like, the glyphs representing the phonemes would be independent of the characters. When the various phonetic associations alter the glyphs for a phoneme grapheme, the updates can take place in the fonts used to display the text and not in the underling characters. Archived text would display with the new glyphs simply by selecting the updated font for display.

From IPA to Unicode

Main article: International Phonetic Alphabet

Consonants

The following tables indicates the Unicode code point sequences for phonemes as used in the International Phonetic Alphabet. A bold code point indicates that the Unicode chart provides an application note such as "voiced retroflex lateral" for U+026D ɭ latin small letter l with retroflex hook (HTML: ɭ ). An entry in bold italics indicates the character name itself refers to a phoneme such as U+0298 ʘ latin letter bilabial click (HTML: ʘ )

Bilabial Labiodental Dental Alveolar Postalveolar Retroflex Labial-palatal
Plosive p 0070 b 0062 p̪ 0070 032A b̪ 0062 032A t̪ 0074 032A d̪ 0064 032A t
0074		 d 0064 ʈ 0288 ɖ 0256
Implosive ɓ̥ 0253 0325 ɓ 0253 ɗ̪ 0257 032A ɗ 0257 *
Ejective pʼ 0070 02BC t̪ʼ 0074 032A 02BC tʼ 0074 02BC ʈʼ 0288 02BC
Nasal m̥ 006D 0325 m 006D ɱ̊ 0271 030A ɱ 0271 n̪̊ 006E 032A 030A n̪ 006E 032A n̥ 006E 0325 n 006E ɳ̊ 0273 030A ɳ 0273
Trill ʙ 0299 r̥ 0072 0325 r 0072 *
Tap or Flap * * ɾ 027E ɽ 027D
Lateral flap ɺ 027A *
Fricative ɸ 0278 β 03B2 f
0066		 v 0076 θ 03B8 ð 00F0 s 0073 z 007A ʃ 0283 ʒ 0292 ʂ 0282 ʐ 0290
Lateral fricative ɬ 026C ɮ 026E *
Ejective fricative sʼ 0073 02BC ʃʼ 0283 02BC
Ejective lateral fricative ɬʼ 026C 02BC
Percussive ʬ
02AC		 ʭ
02AD
Approximant β̞̊ 03B2 031E 030A β̞ 03B2 031E ʋ̥ 028B 0325 ʋ 028B ð̞ 00F0 031E ɹ̥ 0279 0325 ɹ 0279 ɻ̊ 027B 030A ɻ 027B ɥ̊ 0265 030A ɥ 0265
Lateral approximant l̥ 006C 0325 l 006C ɭ 026D
Click consonant ʘ
0298		 ǀ
01C0		 ǃ
01C3		 ǃ / ǂ
01C3 / 01C2
Lateral click * ǁ
01C1
Alveolo-palatal Palatal Labial-velar Velar Uvular Pharyngeal Epiglottal Glottal
Plosive ȶ 0236 ȡ 0221 c 0063 ɟ 025F k͡p 006B 0361 0070 ɡ͡b 0261 0361 0062 k 006B g 0261 q 0071 ɢ 0262 ʡ 02A1 ʔ 0294
Implosive ʄ 0284 ɠ 0260 ʛ 029B
Ejective cʼ 0063 02BC kʼ 006B 02BC qʼ 0071 02BC
Nasal ȵ 0235 ɲ 0272 ŋ͡m 014B 0361 006D ŋ 014B ɴ 0274
Trill ʀ 0280 *
Tap or Flap *
Lateral flap * *
Fricative ɕ 0255 ʑ 0291 ç 0063 0327 ʝ 029D x 0078 ɣ 0263 χ 03C7 ʁ 0281 ħ 0127 ʕ 0295 ʜ 029C ʢ 02A2 h 0068 ɦ 0266
Approximant j 006A ʍ 028D w 0077 ɰ 0270
Lateral approximant ȴ 0234 ʎ 028E ʟ 029F

Vowels

The following figures depict the phonetic vowels and their Unicode / UCS code points. Vowels appearing in pairs in the figure to the right indicate rounded and unrounded variations respectively. Again, characters with Unicode names referring to phonemes are indicated by bold text. Those with explicit application notes are indicated by bold italic text. Those from borrowed unchanged from another script (Latin,, Greek or Cyrillic) are indicated by italics.

Unicode code points for phonetic vowels
This table represents the phonetic vowel trapezium

Before and after a bullet are the unrounded · rounded vowels
Close i · y
0069 0079		 ɨ · ʉ
0268 0289		 ɯ · u
026F 0075
Near-close ɪ · ʏ
026A 028F		 ɪ̈ · ʊ̈
026A 0308 · 028A 0308		  · ʊ
028A
Close-mid e · ø
0065 00F8		 ɘ · ɵ
0258 0275		 ɤ · o
0264 006F
Mid ə
0259
Open-mid ɛ · œ
025B 0153		 ɜ · ɞ
025C 025E		 ʌ · ɔ
028C 0254
Near-open æ ·
00E6		 ɐ
0250
Open a · ɶ
0061 0276		 ɑ · ɒ
0251 0252
Vowel length marker ː
02D0

See also

References

  1. ^ http://everything2.com/index.pl?node=Spacing%20Modifier%20Letters

External links