# RFE Phonetic Alphabet

The RFE Phonetic Alphabet, named for a journal of philology, the Revista de Filología Española, 'Review of Spanish Philology' (RFE), is a phonetic alphabet originally developed in 1915 for the languages and dialects of Iberian origin, primarily Spanish. The alphabet was proposed by Tomás Navarro Tomás and adopted by the Centro de Estudios Históricos, 'Center of Historical Studies' in Madrid for the RFE and by the Instituto de Filología de Buenos Aires, 'Institute of Philology of Buenos Aires'. It is used solely in works based on Hispanic themes, such as the Atlas Lingüístico de la Península Ibérica, 'Linguistic Atlas of the Iberian Peninsula' (ALPI), as well as phonetics manuals. Additionally, this phonetic alphabet is taught at the universities of Spanish-speaking countries such as Mexico.

## Symbols

Bilabial consonants :
| RFE | Example | Transcription | Consonant | IPA |
| b | bondad | bon̹dáđ̥ | Voiced bilabial stop | b |
| p | padre | páđre | Voiceless bilabial stop | p |
| m | amar | amár | Voiced bilabial nasal | m |
| m̥ | mismo (And.) | mím̥mo | Voiceless bilabial nasal | m̥ |
| ƀ | haba | áƀa | Voiced bilabial fricative | β |
| ƀ̥ | las botas (And.) | la ƀ̥ótah | Voiceless bilabial fricative | ɸ |
Labiodental consonants :
| RFE | Example | Transcription | Consonant | IPA |
| m̭ | confuso | kom̭fúṡo | Labiodental nasal | ɱ |
| f | fácil | fáθįl | Voiceless labiodental fricative | f |
| v | vida (emphatic) | víđa | Voiced labiodental fricative | v |
Interdental consonants :
| RFE | Example | Transcription | Consonant | IPA |
| ḍ | cruz divina (emphatic) | krúẓ ḍiƀína | Voiced interdental stop | d̪͆ |
| ṭ | hazte acá | áθṭe aká | Voiceless interdental stop | t̪͆ |
| ṇ | onza | óṇθa | Interdental nasal | n̪͆ |
| ẓ | juzgar | xųẓǥár |
| θ | mozo | móθo | Voiceless interdental fricative | θ̪͆ |
| đ | rueda | r̄wéđa | Voiced interdental fricative | ð̪͆ |
| $_đ$ | tomado | tomá$_đ$o | Interdental approximant | ð̞ |
| $_{đ̥}$ | verdad | bęrđá$_{đ̥}$ | Voiceless interdental approximant | θ̞ |
| ḷ | calzado | kaḷθa$_đ$o | Voiceless interdental lateral | l̪͆ |
Dental consonants :
| RFE | Example | Transcription | Consonant | IPA |
| d | ducho | dúĉo | Voiced dental stop | d̪ |
| t | tomar | tomáɹ | Voiceless dental stop | t̪ |
| n̹ | monte | món̹te | Dental nasal | n̪ |
| z̹ | desde | déz̹đe | Voiced dental fricative | ð |
| s̹ | hasta | ás̹ta | Voiceless dental fricative | θ |
| l̹ | falda | fál̹da | Dental lateral approximant | l̪ |
Alveolar consonants :
| RFE | Example | Transcription | Consonant | IPA |
| n | mano | mã́no | Alveolar nasal | n |
| n̥ | asno (And.) | án̥no | Voiceless alveolar nasal | n̥ |
| ŝ | chobu (W.Ast.) | ŝóƀu | Voiceless alveolar affricate | ʦ |
| z | los días (Mex.) | lo zíah |
| s | rosa (And.) | r̄osa |
| ż | rasgar | r̄ażǥáɹ | Voiced alveolar fricative | z |
| ṡ | casa | káṡa | Voiceless alveolar fricative | s |
| l | luna | lúna | Alveolar lateral approximant | l |
| l̥ | muslo (And.) | mųl̥lo | Voiceless alveolar lateral approximant | l̥ |
| r | hora | ǫ́ra | Alveolar flap | ɾ |
| r̥ | multitud | mųr̥titú | Voiceless alveolar flap | ɾ̥ |
| r̄ | carro | kár̄o | Alveolar trill | r |
| ɹ | color | kolǫ́ɹ | Alveolar approximant | ɹ |
| ɹ̊ | trigo (Mex.) | tɹ̊íǥo | Voiceless alveolar approximant | ɹ̥ |
| ɹ̱ | honra (Chil.), pondré (Mex.) | ónɹ̱a, põɹ̱é | Geminated voiced alveolar approximant | [ɹː] |
| ɹ̱̊ | perro (Chil.) | pę́ɹ̱̊o / pę́ɹ̱o | Geminated voiceless alveolar approximant | [ɹ̥ː] |
Prepalatal consonant :
| RFE | Example | Transcription | Consonant | IPA |
| n̮ | año | án̮o | Palatal nasal | ɲ |
| ŷ | yugo | ŷúǥo | Voiced palatal affricate | ɟ͡ʝ |
| ĉ | mucho | múĉo | Voiceless postalveolar affricate | ʧ |
| ž | mayo (Arg.) | mažo | Voiced postalveolar fricative | ʒ |
| š | rexa (Ast.) | r̄eša | Voiceless postalveolar fricative | ʃ |
| y | mayo | máyo | Voiced palatal fricative | ʝ |
| ẙ | jefe (Chil.) | ẙefe / ẙjéfe |
| j | nieto | njéto | Palatal approximant | j |
| j̊ | inquieto | iŋ́ḱj̊éto / iŋ́ḱj̊eto |
| l̮ | castillo | kas̹tíl̮o | Palatal lateral approximant | ʎ |
| ÿ | subyugar | sųƀÿuǥáɹ |
Pospalatal consonants :
| RFE | Example | Transcription |
| ǵ | guitarra | ǵitár̄a |
| ḱ | quimera | ḱiméra |
| ŋ́ | inquirir | iŋ́ḱirír |
| ǥ́ | seguir | ṡeǥ́iɹ |
| x́ | regir | r̄ex́ír |
Velar consonants :
| RFE | Example | Transcription | Consonant | IPA |
| g | gustar | gųs̹táɹ | Voiced velar stop | g |
| k | casa | káṡa | Voiceless velar stop | k |
| ŋ | nunca | nṹŋka | Velar nasal | ŋ |
| ǥ | rogar | r̄oǥár | Voiced velar fricative | ɣ |
| x | jamás | xamás | Voiceless velar fricative | x |
| ł | malalt (Cat.) | məlạł | Velarized alveolar lateral approximant | ɫ |
| w | hueso | wéṡo | Voiced labio-velar approximant | w |
| w̥ | fuera (esp. enf.) | fw̥éra | Voiceless labio-velar approximant | ʍ |
Uvular consonants :
| RFE | Example | Transcription |
| ŋ̇ | don Juan | doŋ̇ ẋwán |
| ǥ̇ | aguja | aǥ̇úxa |
| ẋ | enjuagar | eŋ̇ẋwaǥár |
Laryngeal consonants :
| RFE | Example | Transcription | Consonant | IPA |
| h | horno (And.) | hǫ́rno | Voiceless glottal fricative | h |
Vowels :
| RFE | Description |
| į ę ǫ ų | Lowered |
| i e a o u | Unmarked vowels |
| ẹ ọ | Raised |
| ą | Fronted a |
| ạ | Backed a |
| ǫ̈ | Labialized ę |
| ö | Labialized e |
| ų̈ | Labialized į |
| ü | Labialized i |
| ə | Schwa |
| ĩ ã ũ õ, etc. | Nasalized vowels |
| á ó ę́ ã́ | Vowels with stress marker |
| aː oː lː sː mː nː, etc. | Long (Vowel Length or Gemination) |
| $_đ$ $_{đ̥}$, etc. | Reduced sounds |

## Sources

* RFE (1915) "Alfabeto fonético de la revista de filología española"; Revista de Filología Española 2: 374-376.
* Navarro Tomás, Tomás (1966) "El alfabeto fonético de la Revista de Filología Española"; Anuario de Letras 6: 5-19.