Handwritten IPA

Letters of the International Phonetic Alphabet have handwritten forms designed for use in manuscripts and when taking field notes; they are occasionally seen in print publications when the printer did not have fonts that supported IPA, and the IPA was therefore filled in by hand. However, cursive IPA is no longer taught, and is no longer included in the IPA handbook.

Development

The cursive forms of the IPA presented in the 1912 edition of The principles of the International Phonetic Association. Two of these letters are obsolete: ⟨ǥ⟩ is now ⟨ɣ⟩, and ⟨ꜰ⟩ is now ⟨ɸ⟩.

The cursive forms of the IPA presented in the 1949 edition. Several new letters have been introduced. Long-legged ⟨ƞ⟩ and ⟨ɼ⟩ are obsolete, as are the click letters ⟨ʇ ʖ ʗ⟩, the lax vowels ⟨ɩ ɷ⟩ (modern ⟨ɪ ʊ⟩), and the ogonek for nasal ⟨ą ɔ̨ ə̨⟩.
Hover over the image to see modern printed letters. Click on any letter for a link to the corresponding article.

Example

The following passage is from the 1912 handbook:

The North Wind and the Sun spoken in 'Northern English'

ðə nɔɹθ wind ænd ðə sʌn wɛɹ dis′pjuːtiŋ hwitʃ wɔz ðə strɔŋɡəɹ, hwɛn ə travləɹ keːm ə′lɔŋ rapt in ə wɔɹm kloːk. ðeː ə′ɡriːd ðət ðə wʌn huː fəɹst meːd ðə travləɹ teːk ɔf hiz kloːk ʃud bi kon′sidəɹd strɔŋɡəɹ ðən ði ʌðər. ðɛn ðə nɔɹθ wind bluː wiθ ɔːl hiz mait, bʌt ðə mɔːɹ hiː bluː, ðə mɔːɹ kloːsli did ðə travləɹ foːld hiz kloːk ə′raund him; ənd ət last ðə nɔɹθ wind ɡeːv ʌp ði ə′tɛmpt. ðɛn ðə sʌn ʃɔn aut wɔːrmli, ənd i′miːdjətli ðə travləɹ tuk ɔf hiz kloːk; ənd soː ðə nɔrθ wind wəz ɔ′blaidʒd tu kon′fɛs ðət ðə sʌn wəz ðə strɔŋɡəɹ əv ðə tuː. Note: stress signs (') have been added in the transcription.

The north wind and the sun were disputing which was the stronger, when a traveler came along wrapped in a warm cloak. They agreed that the one who first made the traveler take off his cloak should be considered stronger than the other. Then the north wind blew with all his might, but the more he blew, the more closely did the traveler fold his cloak around him; and at last the north wind gave up the attempt. Then the sun shone out warmly, and immediately the traveler took off his cloak; and so the north wind was obliged to confess that the sun was the stronger of the two.

See also

• History of the International Phonetic Alphabet