Propuesta_Símbolos_Transcripción_Fonética_Aprobado

Universidad de Costa Rica
Facultad de Letras

Escuela de Lenguas Modernas
Sección de Cursos Orales

Symbols for Phonetic Transcription in the Oral Courses Section1

A B C D E
Symbol IPA Description2 IPA Name Other Name(s)3 Sample Words4
Mid central vowel Schwa Unstressed schwa above, photograph, sofa
/ə/ Open mid back unrounded vowel Turned V Stressed schwa, Caret us, come
/ʌ/ Close front unrounded vowel Lower-case I Tense or long i eat, need, she
Near-close near-front unrounded vowel Small capital I Lax or short i is, give
/i/ Open-mid front unrounded vowel Epsilon any, bed
/ɪ/ Near-open front unrounded vowel Ash Diagraph apple, bad
/ɛ/ Open back unrounded vowel Script a Latin a arm, hot
Open-mid back rounded vowel Open o Open o all, song, draw
/æ/ Near-close near-back rounded vowel Upsilon Lax u, short u good, should
/ɑ/ High back rounded vowel Lower-case u Tense or long u ooh, food, do
/ɔ/ Diphthong eɪ eight, same, way
/ʊ/ Diphthong ɑɪ ice, five, my
Diphthong oʊ old, boat, toe
/u/ Diphthong ɑʊ out, down, now
/eɪ/5 Diphthong ɔɪ oil, avoid, boy
/ɑɪ/ Schwar, unstressed schwa plus /r/ butterfly, mirror
/oʊ/ Stressed schwa plus /r/ early, bird, her
/ɑʊ/
/ɔɪ/
/ɚ/
/ɝ/

1 Approved in session CCO-007-2022 of the Oral Courses Section of the School of Modern Languages, dated February 28, 2022.
2 Columns B y C present the International Phonetic Association’s (IPA) (1) description of the sound represented with each symbol, and (2) name of the symbol. The IPA does not provide any description or

name for diphthongs and rhotic vowels. Visit the following IPA websites for more information: https://www.internationalphoneticassociation.org/IPAcharts/inter_chart_2018/IPA_2018.html
https://www.internationalphoneticassociation.org/sites/default/files/phonsymbol.pdf
3 Column D presents other names that instructors in the Oral Courses Section have traditionally used to talk about these symbols and the sounds they represent. Use of the name provided by the IPA is

encouraged.
4 Column E presents sample words containing the sound at stake in initial, medial, and final position (when applicable). For diacritic and suprasegmental symbols, sample words are provided in phonetic

transcription.
5 See the IPA Handbook, pp.42-43 for more information on English diphthongs.

1

Universidad de Costa Rica
Facultad de Letras

Escuela de Lenguas Modernas
Sección de Cursos Orales

A B C D E
Symbol IPA Description IPA Name Other Name(s) Sample Words
Voiceless bilabial plosive6 Lower-case P Pee pen, paper, shop
/p/ Voiced bilabial plosive Lower-case B Bee be robot, job
/b/ Voiceless alveolar plosive Lower-case T Tee ten, attend, ate
/t/ Voiced alveolar plosive Lower-case D Dee day, adopt, bread
/d/ Voiceless velar plosive Lower-case K Kay cover, because, break
/k/ Voiced velar plosive Opentail G Gee get, target, flag
/g/ Glottal plosive Glottal stop Gelded question mark cotton, mountain, uh-oh
/ʔ/ Voiceless labiodental fricative Lower-case F Eff photo, before, laugh
/f/ Voiced labiodental fricative Lower-case V Vee very, convince, live
/v/ Voiceless dental7 fricative Theta think, birthday, health
/θ/ Voiced dental fricative Eth Es this, other, bathe
/ð/ Voiceless alveolar fricative Lower-case S Zee scene, lesson, face
/s/ Voiced alveolar fricative Lower-case Z zoom, cousin, use
/z/ Voiceless postalveolar8 fricative Esh Voiceless affricate show, social, cash
/ʃ/ Voiced postalveolar fricative Ezh Voiced affricate genre, usual, beige
/ʒ/ Voiceless postalveolar affricate Tee-Esh Bilabial nasal child, future, speech
/tʃ/ Voiced postalveolar affricate Dee-Ezh Alveolar nasal gym, danger, age
/dʒ/ Voiced bilabial nasal Lower-case M Velar n media, compare, come
/m/ Voiced alveolar nasal Lower-case N Yod news, enter, campaign
/n/ Voiced velar nasal Eng Double u angry, sing, going
/ŋ/ Voiced palatal approximant Lower-case J Aitch young, unusual
/j/ Voiced labial-velar approximant Lower-case W El, lateral liquid weak, always
/w/ Voiceless glottal fricative Lower-case H Ar, central liquid high, ahead
/h/ Voiced alveolar lateral approximant Lower-case L life, salad, bill
/l/ Voiced alveolar approximant Lower-case R red, sorry, are
/r/
2
6 For all plosives, the term “stop” is traditionally used in the Oral Courses Section (e.g., voiceless bilabial stop).

7 For Theta and Eth, the terms “voiceless interdental fricative” and “voiced interdental fricative” are traditionally used in the Oral Courses Section.
8 Note that descriptors such as “alveopalatal” and “palato-alveolar” are often used to talk about Esh, Ezh, and the affricate sounds.

Universidad de Costa Rica
Facultad de Letras

Escuela de Lenguas Modernas
Sección de Cursos Orales

A B C D E
Symbol IPA Description IPA Name Other Name(s) Sample Words

/ ɾ / Voiced alveolar tap Fish-hook R Tap or flap media, water, better
ʰ Aspirated Superscript H Aspiration [pʰɑɪ] [əˈkʰɑʊnt] [kʌt(ʰ)9]
ː Long Length mark Lengthening [bɛːd] [tʰi:]
̥ Voiceless Under ring Voiceless diacritic [tʰr̥ i:]
ˈ Primary stress Vertical stroke Primary stress mark [ˈpʰeɪ.pɚ]
ˌ Secondary stress Vertical stroke (inferior) Secondary stress mark /dɪˌskrɪ.mɪˈneɪ.ʃən/
̩ Syllabic Syllabicity mark Syllabic [eɪbl̩ ] [bʌʔn̩ ]
Corner Unreleased mark [nɑɪt̚ ]
No audible release
̚ Period Linking mark /dɪˌskrɪ.mɪˈneɪ.ʃən/
Bottom tie bar [fɔr͜əˈweɪ] “for a way”
. Syllable break
͜ Linking (absence of break) [ˈpʰɑɪ]
/pɑɪ/
[ ] Phonetic (detailed) transcription Square brackets [əm lʊkɪŋ | fɔr͜əˈweɪ]
[ˈɛvədən(t)s]
/ / Phonological/phonemic (broad) transcription Slashes or slant lines Slant lines

| Minor (foot) group Thick vertical line Vertical line

( ) Optional Round brackets Parenthesis

9 Aspiration of /p,k,t/ word-finally is optional, hence the parenthesis around the aspiration diacritic.

3