Screenshots

No special keyboard or font needed—just start typing.

IPAScript works with all current versions of Internet Explorer, Mozilla and Netscape (unfortunately for technical reasons it will not work with Netscape 4).

IPAScript (IPA JavaScript) is a program for generating IPA symbols immediately from SAMPA keystrokes—which can be typed on a standard European or American keyboard (for example QWERTY or AZERTY).

[SAMPA is an internationally recognized format, and is widely used in e-mail and on newsgroups because until recently only the standard ASCII characters would reliably get through to all recipients and readers, whatever their operating system.

For example, the broad phonemic pronunciation of the English word thing would be indicated by typing /TIN/, where uppercase T, I and N stand for the IPA symbols θ, ɪ and ŋ.]

• pasted into a word-processor document for further formatting, or

• saved as HTML for inclusion in a webpage.

Most computer systems are now supplied with fonts (eg Lucida Sans Unicode or Arial Unicode MS) capable of displaying IPA symbols. Please check that you can read the word ˈdʒʌmpɪŋ = "jumping".
[Information on downloading fonts]

Major IPAScript features include:

• uses widely-available fonts: neither you nor your audience (reading your webpages or word-processor documents) need to use specialist phonetic fonts

• intuitive input: IPA symbols for all major European languages are typed with SAMPA (standard keyboard) codes: eg T for the th sound (IPA θ) and S for the sh sound (IPA ʃ).
  
  The remaining IPA symbols are typed using X-SAMPA codes (eg ?\ for the pharyngeal ʕ and r\` for the retroflex ɻ). No symbols are typed with code numbers.
  As an example, you can try typing the word photolithography in IPA(ˌfəʊtəʊlɪˈθɒgrəfi) in these boxes.

  To run these demonstrations you must enable JavaScript in your browser. [How to enable JavaScript (opens a new window)]

  The normal SAMPA encoding is %f@Ut@UlI"TQgr@fi. You can type it here:

     

  Using speed-typing you can type it in modified SAMPA using repeated lower-case letters (55f''uut''uulii22ttqqgr''fi) in the next box. [Note that the codes 2 and 5 reflect the layout of the UK keyboard.]

     

• graphical interface: if you prefer, you can click on an IPA chart to insert a symbol in your text

• the speed-typing option allows you to avoid constant use of the Shift key by typing double letters instead: eg type ddiis rather than DIs for ðɪs ("this")

• shorthand input: sometimes you may find it quicker to type the initial letters of an IPA symbol's description (for example ccr for "close central rounded" (vowel) [IPA ʉ])

• sortable tables to help you find symbols rapidly. For example, consonants can be arranged by their place or manner of articulation, or "pseudo-alphabetically" by the shape of their IPA symbols.