Editing International Phonetic Alphabet (section)

=== Typography and iconicity ===
The International Phonetic Alphabet is based on the [[Latin script]], and uses as few non-Latin letters as possible.<ref name = IPA194-196 /> The Association created the IPA so that the sound values of most letters would correspond to "international usage" (approximately [[Classical Latin]]).<ref name=IPA194-196 /> Hence, the consonant letters {{angbr IPA|b}}, {{angbr IPA|d}}, {{angbr IPA|f}}, {{angbr IPA|ɡ}}, {{angbr IPA|h}}, {{angbr IPA|k}}, {{angbr IPA|l}}, {{angbr IPA|m}}, {{angbr IPA|n}}, {{angbr IPA|p}}, {{angbr IPA|s}}, {{angbr IPA|t}}, {{angbr IPA|v}}, {{angbr IPA|w}}, and {{angbr IPA|z}} have more or less their word-initial values in English (''g'' as in ''gill'', ''h'' as in ''hill'', though ''p t k'' are unaspirated as in ''spill, still, skill''); and the vowel letters {{angbr IPA|a}}, {{angbr IPA|e}}, {{angbr IPA|i}}, {{angbr IPA|o}}, {{angbr IPA|u}} correspond to the (long) sound values of Latin: {{IPA|[i]}} is like the vowel in ''mach{{strong|i}}ne'', {{IPA|[u]}} is as in ''r{{strong|u}}le'', etc. Other Latin letters, particularly {{angbr IPA|j}}, {{angbr IPA|r}} and {{angbr IPA|y}}, differ from English, but have their IPA values in Latin or other European languages.

This basic Latin inventory was extended by adding small-capital and cursive forms, diacritics and rotation. The sound values of these letters are related to those of the original letters, and their derivation may be iconic.{{NoteTag|"The new letters should be suggestive of the sounds they represent, by their resemblance to the old ones."<ref>{{harvnb|International Phonetic Association|1999|p=196}}</ref>}} For example, letters with a rightward-facing hook at the bottom represent [[retroflex]] equivalents of the source letters, and small capital letters usually represent [[uvular]] equivalents of their source letters.

There are also several letters from the Greek alphabet, though their sound values may differ from Greek. For most Greek letters, subtly different [[glyph]] shapes have been devised for the IPA, specifically {{angbr IPA|ɑ}}, {{angbr IPA|ꞵ}}, {{angbr IPA|ɣ}}, {{angbr IPA|ɛ}}, {{angbr IPA|ɸ}}, {{angbr IPA|ꭓ}} and {{angbr IPA|ʋ}}, which are encoded in [[Unicode]] separately from their parent Greek letters. One, however – {{angbr IPA|θ}} – has only its Greek form, while for {{angbr IPA|ꞵ ~ β}} and {{angbr IPA|ꭓ ~ χ}}, both Greek and Latin forms are in common use.<ref>Cf. the notes at the [[Unicode]] [http://unicode.org/charts/PDF/U0250.pdf#3 IPA EXTENSIONS code chart] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190805153401/http://unicode.org/charts/PDF/U0250.pdf#3 |date=5 August 2019 }} as well as blogs by [http://evertype.com/blog/blog/category/unicode/ Michael Everson] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171010200655/http://evertype.com/blog/blog/category/unicode/ |date=10 October 2017 }} and John Wells [http://phonetic-blog.blogspot.com/2010/07/disunification-1.html here] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190602114843/http://phonetic-blog.blogspot.com/2010/07/disunification-1.html |date=2 June 2019 }} and [http://phonetic-blog.blogspot.com/2010/07/disunification-2.html here] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190602114835/http://phonetic-blog.blogspot.com/2010/07/disunification-2.html |date=2 June 2019 }}.{{Clarify|reason=What exactly did this reference want to say? The blogs seem to be from before chi and beta were disunified.|date=May 2023}}</ref>
The [[tone letter#IPA|tone letters]] are not derived from an alphabet, but from a [[pitch trace]] on a [[musical scale]].

Beyond the letters themselves, there are a variety of secondary symbols which aid in transcription. [[Diacritic]] marks can be combined with the letters to add tone and phonetic detail such as [[secondary articulation]]. There are also special symbols for prosodic features such as stress and intonation.