IPA
n. uncountablen. Stands for International Phonetic Alphabet. A system of symbols used to show exactly how to pronounce words in any language. Each symbol represents one specific sound.
n. Abbreviation for International Phonetic Alphabet. A standardized system of phonetic notation designed to represent the sounds of spoken language accurately. When used in dictionaries, it typically appears between slashes or square brackets.
The dictionary shows the IPA for every word.
Language teachers often use the IPA to help students master difficult vowel sounds that do not exist in their native tongue.
While the Latin alphabet is insufficient for capturing the nuances of regional accents, the IPA provides a rigorous framework for transcribing every phonetic variation found in human speech.
Often used with the definite article ('the IPA'); when referring to the beer style, it is countable.
The IPA of 'cat' is /kat/.The IPA transcription of 'cat' is /kæt/.IPA refers to the alphabet system itself; use 'transcription' or 'notation' when referring to the specific symbols for a word.