Set of symbols intended as a universal system for transcribing speech sounds.
The promulgation and updating of the IPA has been a principal aim of the International Phonetic Association (Association Phonétique Internationale), founded in Paris in 1886. The first IPA chart was published in 1888. IPA symbols are based on an extended version of the Latin alphabet , with modifications of some letters and the use of additional symbols, some of which had been used in earlier phonetic alphabet s. Diacritics are used primarily to show various kinds of secondary articulation .