X-SAMPA

The SAM Extended Phonetic Alphabet (X-SAMPA) is a variant of SAMPA developed in 1995 by John Christopher Wells, Professor of Phonetics at the University of London. This variant was designed with the aim of unifying the different SAMPA alphabets and extending them to cover all the features now covered by the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA).

The result has been a phonetic alphabet inspired by SAMPA that uses only basic characters of the ASCII code (those that only need 7 bits).

• The symbols AFI that are ordinary tiny letters have the same value in X-SAMPA and in AFI.
• In X-SAMPA the reverse bar is used as an escape character to create a new symbol. For example O It's a different sound. O.with which he has no relationship.
• The X-SAMPA diacritics are later placed on the symbol they modify. Except in the case of ~ for nasalization, = for consonant silabica, and ` for backs and backs rhoticity. The diacritics join the symbol to which they modify by an underlined line _.
• Numbers from _1 to _6 are used for diacritics who denote the tone number in a given expression.

Lowercase letters

X-SAMPA	AFI	AFI	Description	Examples
a	a		open vowel low front non rounded	French dame. [dam], Spanish padre [paD4e]
b	b		oclusiva bilabial sonora	English bed [bEd], French bon [bO~]
b_			bilabial implosive sound
c	c		occlusive palatal sorda	Hungarian thetyak [lAcAk]
d	d		oclusiva alveolar sonora	English dog [dQg], French doigt [dwa]
d`			occlusive retroflex
d_			oral/alveolar implosive sound
e	e		front vowel, not rounded, half closed	French ses [sighs]
f	f		deaf cold	Spanish fin [fin]
g	g		oclusive watch sound	English gor [g@U], French longue [lO~g]
g_			to watch implosive sound
h	h		Sorda fricative	English house [haUs]
h	▪		glotal sounding
i	i		front, closed, tense, not rounded	Spanish si [yes]
j	j		Approximate palatal	Spanish haand [aj], English andThat's it. [jEs], French andeux [j2]
j			sounding cold palatal
k	k		watch occlusive deaf	Spanish crice [karo]
l	l		approximate lateral alveolar	Spanish lHey. [bleep]
l`			approximate lateral backrest
I			simple vibrating side alveolar sound
m	m		nasal bib	Spanish mThat's it. [months]
n	n		nasal alveolar	Spanish nor [no]
-			nasal backfly	Swedish hörn [chuckles]h2:n`]
or	or		medium closed, posterior, rounded	Spanish orjor [oxo]
p	p		occlusive bilabial sorda	Spanish perro [but]
P	φ		bilabial fricative sorda	Japanese fu
q	q		uvular oclusiva sorda
r	r		multiple vibrant	Spanish perror [but]
r`			simple vibrant backrest
r	♫		(post-)sometime sounding
r'			approximate backset
s	s		sorda	Spanish sI [yes]
s`			sorda retrofleja fricativa
S			alveolopalatal fricative sorda
t	t		alveolar oclusiva sorda	Spanish tu [your]
t`			sorda oclusiva retrofleja
u	u		vowel rounded back closed tense	Spanish su
v	v		lipdental sound cold	English vest [vEst], French voix [vwa]
v (or P)			approximate lipdental
w	w		Approximate biovelar	Spanish buEno [bweno], English west [wEst], French oui [wi]
x	x		watch deaf fricative	Spanish ♪ja [kaxa]
x			postalveolar and ensure deaf fricative
and	and		rounded front vowel Tense	French tu [ty]
z	z		sounding	English zoo oo [zu:], French azote [azOt]
z`			cold backfleja sound
z			alveolopalatal fricative sonora

Capital letters

X-SAMPA	AFI	AFI	Description	Example
A			non-rounded posterior open vowel	English start [stA:rt]
B	β		bilabial sounding
B			vibrating bilabial sound	evokes the “brrr” intersection (to feel chill)
C	ç		sorda fricative palatal	German ich [iC] or welche [vElC@]; English human [Cjum@n] (although English transcripts use "[hj]" instead of "[j]")
D	ð		Dental sound	English thin [DEn]
E	‐		mid-open front vowel not rounded	French même. [mEm]
F			lipdental nasal	English emphasis ["EFf@sIs] (in quick speech, if not ["Emf@sIs])
G	γ		guarding sounding	Greek gloves
G			uvular oclusiva sonora
G_			uvular implosive sound
H			semivocal lip-palatal	French huit [Hi]
H			sorda fricative epiglotal
I	.		vocal Lax non-rounded front	English kit [kIt]
I			Central vocal Lax not rounded, does not appear in AFI
J			nasal palatal	Spanish añor [aJo]
J.			occlusive sound palatal	Hungarian egy [EJ]
J_			palatal implosive sonora
K			side winged sorda	Welsh llaw
K			side alveolar sounding
L			lateral palatal	Spanish llbird [LaBe] (no yeism), Italian famiglia
L			lateral sound
M			posterior closed vowel not rounded	Korean u
M			approaching	Spanish It wasgor [fweMo]
N	Русский		Nose watch	English thing [TIN]
N			nasal tissue	Japanese san [SAN]
O			vowel rounded half-open later	British thought [TO:t]
O.			bilabial click
P (or v)			approximate lipdental
Q	▪		posterior rounded vowel	British lort [lQt]
R			uvular sounding	French roi [Rwa]
R			Vibrant sonic uvular
S	MIN		sorda fricative palatoalveolar	English ship [SIp]
T	θ		sorda	Spanish Go.z (without thirst), English thin [TIn]
U	♫		vowel rounded back closed lax	English foo oot [fUt]
U			Central Lax rounded, does not appear in AFI
V	.		non-rounded half-open vowel	English strut [strVt]
W			labial-velar cold sorda	Scotch Whin
X	χ		uvular fricative sorda	Welsh bach
X			Faringeal fricative sorda	Arabic ha’
And			vocal Lax rounded front	German hübsch [hYpS]
Z	♫		palatoalveolar sound cold	English Measure ["mEZ.U@]

Other symbols

X-SAMPA	AFI	AFI	Description	Example
.			Poor silicon
"	.		Primary
%	▪		Secondary
"			rounded frontal open vocal	Danish drømm
' (or _j)	j		palate
♪			indefinite symbol, SAMPA's “conjunctor”
-			separator
/			indetermination in French vowels
{	æ		Front vowel not rounded almost open	English trap [tr{p]
!			rounded central closed vowel	Swedish sju
1			not rounded central closed vowel	Welsh tu
2	ø		medium closed, frontal, rounded	French deux [d2]
3	Русский		long central vocal	British nur♪ [n3:s]
3			mid-open, central, rounded
4	♥		vibrating alveolar simple	Spanish perorAmerican English Bett♪
5			dark lsee also _e	English mylk [mI5k]
6			schwa open	of the German bess♪ [bEs6]
7			vowel non-rounded half closed
8			non-rounded mid closed	of the Swedish buss
9	What?		rounded mid-open front vowel	Frencheuf [n9f]
:	▪		long
♪			medium	the Estonian differentiates three different vocabulary extensions
.			non segmental notation start (e.g.: SAMPROSA)
.			sonic cold epiglotal
▪			non segmental notation end
			occlusive epiglotal
?	.		glotal stop	German Verein [fE6?aIn], also Danish stød
?			fryingeal sound	Arab ‘ayn
@	♫		schwa	English banana [b@"nA:n@] (britanic) [b@"n{n@] (American)
@			middle closed vowel not rounded
^	↑		Upstep
!	↓		Downstep
!			retrofit click
			minor (foot) group
	Manifesto		Dental click
				major (intonation) group
ATA			side
♪			alveolar click
-			linking mark

Diacritics

X-SAMPA	AFI	AFI	Description
_	!		centralized
_+			advanced
_	♫		retracted
_/	!		ascent
_0			sorda
_			implosive
= (or _=)			silabica
_	.		ejectiva
_			Faringealized
_	.		descending tone
_^			Not silabica
_			inaudible realization
`			vocal roticity, consonant retroflection (AFI uses different symbols for consonants, see t` as an example)
~ (or _~~)	~		nasalization
_A			root of the advanced language
_			apical
_B			extra bass tone
_B_L			tone under ascending
_c			little round
_d			dental
_	~		guarded or phonyed; see also 5
▪			global fall
_F	^		descending tone
_G	▪		Monitoring
_H			high tone
_H_T			tone high ascendant
_h	h		vacuum
_j (or ')	j		palate
_k			Sparkling voice
_	`		low tone
_	l		side
_M	!		medium tone
_			laminal
_N			linguolabial
_	n		Nose
_			rounded
_			descended
_q			root of the retracted language
▪			global ascension
_R	!		ascending tone
_R_F			descending tone
_r			ascent
_T	Å		extra high tone
_t			voice veiled
_v			Sonora
_	w		labialized
_X	♥		extra-breve
_			medium-centralized