Definitions for "International Phonetic Alphabet"
A system of words identifying the letters of the alphabet and numbers. The system was reached through international agreement, and uses words chosen for their ease of pronunciation by people of all language backgrounds.
A set of phonetic symbols for international use introduced in the late 19th Century, constructed on the basis of the Roman and Greek alphabets with the addition of special symbols and diacritics to indicate fine distinctions in sounds, e.g. nasalisation of vowels, lengths, stress and tones.
(IPA). A set of symbols and modifying signs defined by the International Phonetic Association to provide a consistent and universally understood system for transcribing the speech sounds of any language.