# Conlang/Appendix/CXS

CXS, or Conlang X-SAMPA, is an encoding of the International Phonetic Alphabet into 7-bit ASCII. CXS is a slightly modifed form of X-SAMPA, an encoding proposed in 1995 by a British phonetician, John C. Wells; the modifications have been devised by and for the members of the CONLANG mailing list — whose name gave rise to the word conlang used in this book, and thus indirectly to all the other uses of prefix con- in the Conworld series of wikibooks.

## Sounds

Click on the name of a sound in these tables to hear the sound. If a sound isn't available here, its name is shown in red. If the sound files don't play on your computer, see w:Wikipedia:Media help.
You may notice that many of the red links have long names. A design priority for the CXS encoding is to give the shortest names to the most commonly encoded sounds — which means that the most unusual sounds, most likely not to have sound files available here, are also most likely to have longer names.

### Consonant sounds

In the table of pulmonic consonants, for each place and manner of articulation (column and row), there may be an unvoiced consonant and a voiced consonant. Unvoiced consonants appear on the left side of that cell in the table, voiced consonants on the right.
Consonants (pulmonic) :
| Place of articulation → | Labial | Labial | Coronal | Coronal | Coronal | Coronal | Dorsal | Dorsal | Dorsal | Dorsal | Radical | Radical | Radical | Radical | (none) | (none) |
| Manner of articulation ↓ | Bi­la­bial | La­bio- den­tal | Den­tal | Al­veo­lar | Post- al­veo­lar | Re­tro- flex | Pa­la­tal | Ve­lar | Uvu­lar | Uvu­lar | Pha­ryn- geal | Pha­ryn- geal | Epi- glot­tal | Epi- glot­tal | Glot­tal | Glot­tal |
| Nasal | m | F | n | n | n | n` | J | N | N\ | N\ | | | | | | |
| Plosive | p b | p_d b_d | t d | t d | t d | t` d` | c J\ | k g | q G\ | q G\ | | | | | ? | |
| Fricative | p\ B | f v | T D | s z | S Z | s` z` | C j\ | x G | X | R | X\ | ?\ | H\ | <\ | h h\ | h h\ |
| Approx­imant | B_o | P | r\ | r\ | r\ | r\` | j | M\ | | R | | ?\ | | <\ | h h\ | h h\ |
| Trill | B\ | | r | r | r | r`r) | | | R\ | R\ | | | >\: | >\: | | |
| Tap or Flap | v_X_+ | v_X | 4 | 4 | 4 | r` | | | | | | | >\_X | >\_X | | |
| Lateral Fricative | | | K K\ | K K\ | K K\ | K` | L_0_r | L\_0_r | | | | | | | | |
| Lateral Approx­imant | | | l | l | l | l` | L | L\ | | | | | | | | |
| Lateral Flap | | | l\ | l\ | l\ | l\` | L_X | L\_X | | | | | | | | |
Alternative notation v\ can be used for P (the labiodental approximant).
Coarticulated :
| W | Voiceless labialized velar approximant |
| w | Voiced labialized velar approximant |
| | Voiced labialized palatal approximant |
| s\ | Voiceless palatalized postalveolar (alveolo-palatal) fricative |
| z\ | Voiced palatalized postalveolar (alveolo-palatal) fricative |
| x\ | Voiceless "palatal-velar" fricative |
Affricates and double articulation :
| ts | voiceless alveolar affricate |
| dz | voiced alveolar affricate |
| tS | voiceless postalveolar affricate |
| dZ | voiced postalveolar affricate |
| ts\ | voiceless alveolo-palatal affricate |
| dz\ | voiced alveolo-palatal affricate |
| tK | voiceless alveolar lateral affricate |
| kp | voiceless labial-velar plosive |
| gb | voiced labial-velar plosive |
| Nm | labial-velar nasal stop |
The joining of the two sounds in an affricate or double articulation can be notated explicitly by following the second with a right paren, as in /tS)/.
Consonants (non-pulmonic) :
| Clicks | Clicks | Implosives | Implosives | Ejectives | Ejectives |
| O\ | Bilabial | b_< | Bilabial | _> | For example: |
| |\ | Laminal alveolar ("dental") | d_< | Alveolar | p_> | Bilabial |
| !\ | Apical (post-) alveolar ("retroflex") | J\_< | Palatal | t_> | Alveolar |
| =\ | Laminal postalveolar ("palatal") | g_< | Velar | k_> | Velar |
| |\|\ | Lateral coronal ("lateral") | G\_< | Uvular | s_> | Alveolar fricative |

### Vowel sounds

At each point in the chart, the vowel to the left of the "•" is unrounded, the vowel to the right is rounded. The symbols for the mid central and near-open central vowels do not distinguish between rounded and unrounded forms.

## Diacritics and suprasegmentals

A diacritic is a modifier added to a sound symbol to either alter or more specifically describe the sound. In CXS, all diacritics are suffixes after the symbol. All but four of the CXS diacritics are sequences of two or more characters starting with underscore (the other four being the single-character diacritics ~ = ; and `).
A suprasegmental is a symbol that describes a feature of language sound above the level of consonants and vowels, such as prosody, tone, length, or stress.
Syllabicity diacritics :
| = | Syllabic | _^ | Non-syllabic |
| Consonant-release diacritics ||||
| _h | Aspirated | _} | No audible release |
| _n | Nasal release | _l | Lateral release |
| Phonation diacritics ||||
| _0 | Voiceless | _v | Voiced |
| _t | Breathy voiced | _k | Creaky voiced |
| Articulation diacritics ||||
| _d | Dental | _N | Linguolabial |
| _a | Apical | _m | Laminal |
| _+ | Advanced | _- | Retracted |
| _" | Centralized | _x | Mid-centralized |
| _r | Raised | _o | Lowered |
| Co-articulation diacritics ||||
| _O | More rounded | _c | Less rounded |
| _w | Labialized or labio-velarized | ; | Palatalized |
| _G | Velarized | _?\ | Pharyngealized |
| _e | Velarized or pharyngealized | Velarized or pharyngealized | Velarized or pharyngealized |
| _A | Advanced tongue root | _q | Retracted tongue root |
| ~ | Nasalized | Nasalized | Nasalized |
| ` | Retroflex (consonants), rhotacized (vowels) | Retroflex (consonants), rhotacized (vowels) | Retroflex (consonants), rhotacized (vowels) |
Some conlangers use _j for palatalization instead of ;.
Length, stress, and rhythm :
| ' | Primary stress (symbol goes before stressed syllable) | , | Secondary stress (symbol goes before stressed syllable) |
| : | Long (long vowel or geminate consonant) | :\ | Half-long |
| _X | Extra-short | Extra-short | Extra-short |
| . | Syllable break | -\ | Linking (absence of a break) |
| Intonation (prosody) ||||
| | | Minor (foot) break | || | Major (intonation) break |
| <R> | Global rise | <F> | Global fall |
| Tone diacritics and tone letters ||||
| _T | Extra high tone | ^ | Upstep |
| _H | High tone | _R | Rising tone |
| _M | Mid | | |
| _L | Low tone | _F | Falling tone |
| _B | Extra low / bottom | ! | Downstep |
Some conlangers use " for primary stress and % for secondary stress, instead of ' and ,.

## Data tables

Here are tables of detailed data on CXS symbols and other notations, arranged alphabetically by CXS coding. The tables include translations of each notation to IPA; descriptions of the notations' meanings, with links to associated Wikipedia articles; and examples of words using the notations.
For high-level explanations, and charts arranged by how the sounds are pronounced, see the next section.

### Sounds

These sequences represent sounds. All CXS sequences starting with a letter or digit are here.
| CXS | X-SAMPA (if different) | IPA | IPA web markup (using only ASCII) | Description (linked to Wikipedia article, if any) | Examples |
| a | | a | a | open front unrounded vowel | French dame [dam], Spanish padre ['paD4e] |
| A | | ɑ | &#x251; | open back unrounded vowel | English father ['fA:D@(r\)] (RP and Gen.American) |
| b | | b | b | voiced bilabial plosive | English bed [bEd], French bon [bO~] |
| b_d | | b̪ | b&#x32A; | voiced labiodental plosive | |
| b_< | | ɓ | &#x253; | voiced bilabial implosive | Sindhi ɓarʊ [b_<arU] |
| B | | β | &#x3B2; | voiced bilabial fricative | Spanish lavar [la'Ba4] |
| B\ | | ʙ | &#x299; | bilabial trill | Reminiscent of shivering ("brrr") |
| B_o | | β̞ | &#x3B2;&#x31E; | bilabial approximant | Spanish lava ['lB_oa] |
| c | | c | c | voiceless palatal plosive | Hungarian latyak ['lQcQk] |
| C | | ç | &#xE7; | voiceless palatal fricative | German ich [IC], English human ['Cjum@n] (broad transcription uses [hj-]) |
| d | | d | d | voiced alveolar plosive | English dig [dIg], French doigt [dwa] |
| dz) | | d͡z or ʣ | d&#x361;z or &#x2A3; | voiced alveolar affricate | |
| dz\) | | d͡ʑ or ʥ | d&#x361;&#x291; or &#x2A5; | voiced alveolo-palatal affricate | |
| dZ) | | d͡ʒ or ʤ | d&#x361;&#x292; or &#x2A4; | voiced postalveolar affricate | English jest [dZ)est]< |
| d` | | ɖ | &#x256; | voiced retroflex plosive | Swedish hord [hu:d`] |
| d_< | | ɗ | &#x257; | voiced alveolar implosive | Sindhi ɗarʊ [d_<arU] |
| D | | ð | &#xF0; | voiced dental fricative | English then [DEn] |
| e | | e | e | close-mid front unrounded vowel | French ses [se], English met [met] (Australian and New Zealand English) |
| E | | ɛ | &#x25B; | open-mid front unrounded vowel | French même [mEm], English met [mEt] (RP and Gen.American) |
| f | | f | f | voiceless labiodental fricative | English five [faIv], French femme [fam] |
| F | | ɱ | &#x271; | labiodental nasal | English emphasis ['EFf@sIs] (spoken quickly, otherwise uses [Emf-]) |
| g | | ɡ | &#x261; | voiced velar plosive | English game [geIm], French longue [lO~g] |
| gb) | | g͡b | g&#x361;b | voiced labial-velar plosive | |
| g_< | | ɠ | &#x260; | voiced velar implosive | Sindhi ɠƏro [g_<@ro] |
| G | | ɣ | &#x263; | voiced velar fricative | Greek γωνίa [Go'nia], Danish vælge ['vElG@] |
| G\ | | ɢ | &#x262; | voiced uvular plosive | Inuktitut nirivvik [niG\ivvik] |
| G\_< | | ʛ | &#x29B; | voiced uvular implosive | Mam ʛa [G\_<a] |
| h | | h | h | voiceless glottal fricative | English house [haUs] |
| h\ | | ɦ | &#x266; | voiced glottal fricative | Czech hrad [h\rat] |
| H | | ɥ | &#x265; | labial-palatal approximant | French huit [Hit] |
| H\ | | ʜ | &#x29C; | voiceless epiglottal fricative | Agul [mEH\] |
| i | | i | i | close front unrounded vowel | English be [bi:], French oui [wi], Spanish si [si] |
| i\ (or 1) | 1 | Ɨ | &#x187; | close central unrounded vowel | Welsh tu [ti\], American English rose's ['r\oUzi\z] |
| I | | ɪ | &#x26A; | near-close near-front unrounded vowel | English kit [kIt] |
| I\ | | ɪ¨ | &#x26A;&#xA8; | Near-close central unrounded vowel | Polish ryba [rI\bA] |
| j | | j | j | palatal approximant | English yes [jEs], French yeux [j2] |
| j\ | | ʝ | &#x29D; | voiced palatal fricative | Greek γειά [j\a] |
| J | | ɲ | &#x272; | palatal nasal | Spanish año ['aJo], English canyon ['k&J@n] (broad transcription uses [-nj-]) |
| J\ | | ɟ | &#x25F; | voiced palatal plosive | Hungarian egy [EJ\] |
| J\_< | | ʄ | &#x284; | voiced palatal implosive | Sindhi ʄaro [J\_<aro] |
| k | | k | k | voiceless velar plosive | English scat [sk&t], Spanish carro ['kar:o] |
| kp) | | k͡p | k&#x361;p | voiceless labial-velar plosive | |
| k_> | | kʼ | k&#x2BC; | velar ejective plosive | |
| K | | ɬ | &#x26C; | voiceless alveolar lateral fricative | Welsh llaw [KaU] |
| K` | | ɬ̢ | &#x26C;&#x322; | voiceless retroflex lateral fricative | |
| K\ | | ɮ | &#x26E; | voiced alveolar lateral fricative | Mongolian долоо [tOK\O:] |
| l | | l | l | alveolar lateral approximant | English lay [leI], French mal [mal] |
| l` | | ɭ | &#x26D; | retroflex lateral approximant | Svealand Swedish sorl [so:l`] |
| l\ | | ɺ | &#x27A; | alveolar lateral flap | Japanese phoneme /r/ |
| l\` | | ɺ̢ | &#x27A;&#x322; | retroflex lateral flap | Pashto دنوړ [l\`und] |
| L | | ʎ | &#x28E; | palatal lateral approximant | Italian famiglia [fa'miLa], Castilian llamar [La'mar], English million ['mIL@n] (broad transcription uses [-lj-]) |
| L\ | | ʟ | &#x29F; | velar lateral approximant | |
| L_0_r | | ʎ̥˔ | &#x28E;&#x325;&#x2D4; | voiceless palatal lateral fricative | Hadza [cL_0_ra?a] |
| L\_0_r | | ʟ̝̊ | &#x29F;&#x31D;&#x30A; | voiceless velar lateral fricative | |
| L_X | | ʎ̯ | &#x28E;&#x32F; | palatal lateral flap | |
| L\_X | | ʟ̆ | &#x29F;&#x306; | velar lateral flap | |
| m | | m | m | bilabial nasal | English mouse [maUs], French homme [Om] |
| M | | ɯ | &#x26F; | close back unrounded vowel | Korean 으 (eu) |
| M\ | | ɰ | &#x270; | velar approximant | Spanish fuego ['fweM\o] |
| n | | n | n | alveolar nasal | English nap [n&p], French non [nO~] |
| n` | | ɳ | &#x273; | retroflex nasal | Swedish hörn [h2:n`] |
| N | | ŋ | &#x14B; | velar nasal | English thing [TIN] |
| Nm) | | ŋ͡m | &#x14B;&#x361;m | labial-velar nasal stop | |
| N\ | | ɴ | &#x274; | uvular nasal | Japanese san [saN\] |
| o | | o | o | close-mid back rounded vowel | French gros [gRo] |
| O | | ɔ | &#x254; | open-mid back rounded vowel | British English thought [TO:t], American English off [O:f] |
| O\ | | ʘ | &#x298; | bilabial click | |
| p | | p | p | voiceless bilabial plosive | English speak [spik], French pose [poz], Spanish perro ['per:o] |
| p\ | | ɸ | &#x278; | voiceless bilabial fricative | Japanese fuku [p\M_0kM] |
| p_d | | p̪ | p&#x32A; | voiceless labiodental plosive | Greek σάπφειρος ['sap_dfiro_os] |
| p_> | | pʼ | p&#x2BC; | bilabial ejective plosive | |
| P (or v\) | | ʋ | &#x28B; | labiodental approximant | Dutch west [PEst]/[v\Est], allophone of English phoneme /r\/ |
| q | | q | q | voiceless uvular plosive | Arabic qasbah ['qQs_Gba] |
| Q | | ɒ | &#x252; | open back rounded vowel | British English lot [lQt] |
| r | | r | r | alveolar trill | Spanish perro ['per:o] |
| r` | | ɽ | &#x27D; | retroflex flap | American English hurting ['h3`r`IN] |
| r`r) | | ɽ͡r | &#x27D;&#x361;r | retroflex trill | |
| r\ | | ɹ | &#x279; | alveolar approximant | English red [r\Ed] |
| r\` | | ɻ | &#x27B; | retroflex approximant | Malayalam വഴി ['v6r\`i] |
| R | | ʁ | &#x281; | voiced uvular fricative | German rein [RaIn] |
| R\ | | ʀ | &#x280; | uvular trill | French roi [R\wa] |
| s | | s | s | voiceless alveolar fricative | English seem [si:m], French session [se'sjO~] |
| s` | | ʂ | &#x282; | voiceless retroflex fricative | Swedish mars [mas`] |
| s\ | | ɕ | &#x255; | voiceless alveolo-palatal fricative | Polish swierszcz [s\v;ers`ts`] |
| s_> | | sʼ | s&#x2BC; | alveolar ejective fricative | |
| S | | ʃ | &#x283; | voiceless postalveolar fricative | English ship [SIp] |
| t | | t | t | voiceless alveolar plosive | English stew [stju:], French raté [Ra'te], Spanish tuyo ['tujo] |
| ts) | | t͡s or ʦ | t&#x361;s or &#x2A6; | voiceless alveolar affricate | Japanese tsunami [ts)Mnam;i] |
| ts\) | | t͡ɕ or ʨ | t&#x361;&#x255; or &#x2A8; | voiceless alveolo-palatal affricate | |
| tK) | | t͡ɬ | t&#x361;&#x26C; | voiceless alveolar lateral affricate | Nahuatl Nahuatl ['na:.watK)] |
| tS) | | t͡ʃ or ʧ | t&#x361;&#x283; or &#x2A7; | voiceless postalveolar affricate | English chat [tS)&t] |
| t` | | ʈ | &#x288; | voiceless retroflex plosive | Swedish mört [m2t`] |
| t_> | | tʼ | p&#x2BC; | alveolar ejective plosive | |
| T | | θ | &#x3B8; | voiceless dental fricative | English thin [TIn] |
| u | | u | u | close back rounded vowel | English boom [bu:m], Spanish su [su] |
| u\ | } | ʉ | &#x289; | close central rounded vowel | Swedish sju [{x\u\:]; AuE/NZE boot [bu\:t] |
| U | | ʊ | &#x28A; | near-close near-back rounded vowel | English foot [fUt] |
| U\ | | ʊ¨ | &#x28A;&#xA8; | Near-close central rounded vowel | |
| v | | v | v | voiced labiodental fricative | English vest [vEst], French voix [vwa] |
| v\ (or P) | | see P | see P | see P | see P |
| v_X | | v̆ | v&#x306; | labiodental flap | Sika v̆oːtɛr [v_Xo:tEr] |
| v_X_+ | | v̟̆ | v&#x31F;&#x306; | bilabial flap | |
| V | | ʌ | &#x28C; | open-mid back unrounded vowel | RP English strut [str\Vt] |
| w | | w | w | labial-velar approximant | English west [wEst], French oui [wi] |
| W | | ʍ | &#x28D; | voiceless labial-velar fricative | Scots when [WEn] |
| x | | x | x | voiceless velar fricative | Scots loch [lQx]; German Loch, Dach; Spanish caja, gestión |
| x\ | | ɧ | &#x267; | voiceless palatal-velar fricative | Swedish sjal [x\A:l] |
| X | | χ | &#x3C7; | voiceless uvular fricative | Klallam sχaʔqʷaʔ [sXa?q_wa?] |
| X\ | | ħ | &#x127; | voiceless pharyngeal fricative | Arabic <ح>ha’ [X\A:] |
| y | | y | y | close front rounded vowel | French tu [ty] German über ['y:b6] |
| Y | | ʏ | &#x28F; | near-close near-front rounded vowel | German hübsch [hYpS] |
| z | | z | z | voiced alveolar fricative | English zoo [zu:], French azote [a'zOt] |
| z` | | ʐ | &#x290; | voiced retroflex fricative | Mandarin Chinese rang [z`aN], Polish żart [z`a4t] |
| z\ | | ʑ | &#x291; | voiced alveolo-palatal fricative | Polish źrebak ['z\rEbak], Japanese gaikokujin [gaikokMz\i~N\] |
| Z | | ʒ | &#x292; | voiced postalveolar fricative | English vision ['vIZ@n] |
| 1 (or i\) | 1 (only) | see i\ | see i\ | see i\ | see i\ |
| 2 | | ø | &#xF8; | close-mid front rounded vowel | Danish købe ['k2:b@], French deux [d2] |
| 3 | | ɜ | &#x25C; | open-mid central unrounded vowel | English nurse [n3:s] (RP) or [n3`s] (Gen.Am.) |
| 3\ | | ɞ | &#x25E; | open-mid central rounded vowel | Irish tomhail [t3\:l;] |
| 4 | | ɾ | &#x27E; | alveolar flap | Spanish pero ['pe4o], American English better ['bE4@`] |
| 5 | | ɫ | &#x26B; | velarized alveolar lateral approximant; also see _e | English milk [mI5k] |
| 6 | | ɐ | &#x250; | near-open central vowel | German besser ['bEs6], Australian English mud [m6d] |
| 7 | | ɤ | &#x264; | close-mid back unrounded vowel | Estonian kõik [k7ik], Vietnamese mo [m7_M] |
| 8 | | ɵ | &#x275; | close-mid central rounded vowel | Swedish buss [b8s] |
| 9 | | œ | &#x153; | open-mid front rounded vowel | French neuf [n9f], Danish drømme [dR9m@] |
| !\ | | ! | ! | postalveolar click | |
| & | { | æ | &#xE6; | near-open front unrounded vowel | English trap [tr\&p] |
| &\ | & | ɶ | &#x276; | open front rounded vowel | Swedish skörd [x\&\d`] |
| <\ | | ʢ | &#x2A2; | voiced epiglottal fricative | |
| =\ | | ǂ | &#x1C2; | palatal click | |
| >\ | | ʡ | &#x2A1; | epiglottal plosive | |
| >\: | | Я | &#x42F; | epiglottal trill | |
| >\_X | | ʡ̯ | &#x2A1;&#x32F; | epiglottal flap | |
| ? | | ʔ | &#x294; | glottal stop | Danish stød [sd2?], Cockney English bottle ['bQ?l] |
| ?\ | | ʕ | &#x295; | voiced pharyngeal fricative | Arabic ع (`ayn) [?\Ajn] |
| @ | | Ə | &#x18F; | schwa | English arena [@'r\i:n@] |
| @\ | | ɘ | &#x258; | close-mid central unrounded vowel | Paici kɘ̄ɾɘ [k@\_M4@\_M] |
| |\ | | ǀ | &#x1C0; | dental click | |
| |\|\ | | ǁ | &#x1C1; | alveolar lateral click | |

### Diacritics and suprasegmentals

These notations represent diacritics and other information (suprasegmentals). They are ordered by primary character — which is often the first character in the sequence, but is the second character if the sequence begins with an underscore (such as _F) or is an angle-bracketed letter (such as <F>). Letters are listed first, then digits, then non-alphanumerics.
| CXS | X-SAMPA (if different) | IPA | IPA web markup (using only ASCII) | Description (linked to Wikipedia article, if any) | Examples |
| _a | | ̺ | &#x33A; | apical | |
| _A | | ̘ | &#x318; | advanced tongue root | |
| _B | | ̏ (or ˩) | &#x30F; (or &#x2E9;) | extra low tone | |
| _B_L | | ˩˧ | &#x2E9&#x2E7; | low rising tone | |
| _c | | ̜ | &#x31C; | less rounded | |
| _d | | ̪ | &#x32A; | dental | |
| _e | | ̴ | &#x334; | velarized or pharyngealized; also see 5 | |
| <F> | | ↘ | &#x2198; | global fall | |
| _F | | ̂ | &#x302; | falling tone | |
| _G | | ˠ | &#x2E0; | velarized | |
| _h | | ʰ | &#x2B0; | aspirated | |
| _H | | ́ (or ˦) | &#x301; (or &#x2E6;) | high tone | |
| _H_T | | ˧˥ | &#x2E7;&#x2E5; | high rising tone | |
| _j (or ;) | | see ; | see ; | see ; | see ; |
| _k | | ̰ | &#x330; | creaky voice | |
| _l | | ˡ | &#x2E1; | lateral release | |
| _L | | ̀ (or ˨) | &#x300; (or &#x2E8;) | low tone | |
| _m | | ̻ | &#x33B; | laminal | |
| _M | | ̄ (or ˧) | &#x304; (or &#x2E7;) | mid tone | |
| _n | | ⁿ | &#x207F; | nasal release | |
| _N | | ̼ | &#x33C; | linguolabial | |
| _o | | ̞ | &#x31E; | lowered | |
| _O | | ̹ | &#x339; | more rounded | |
| _q | | ̙ | &#x319; | retracted tongue root | |
| <R> | | ↗ | &#x2197; | global rise | |
| _r | | ̝ | &#x31D; | raised | |
| _R | | ˇ | &#x2C7; | rising tone | |
| _R_F | | ˧˥˧ | &#x2E7;&#x2E5;&#x2E7; | rising falling tone | |
| _t | | ̤ | &#x324; | breathy voice | |
| _T | | ̋ (or ˥) | &#x30B; (or &#x2E5;) | extra high tone | |
| _v | | ̭ | &#x32D; | voiced | |
| _w | | ʷ | &#x2B7; | labialized | |
| _x | | ̽ | &#x33D; | mid-centralized | |
| _X | | ̆ | &#x306; | extra-short | |
| _0 | | ̥ | &#x325; | voiceless | |
| _\ | | ˆ | &#x2C6; | falling tone | |
| ! | | ↓ | &#x2193; | downstep | |
| " (or ') | " (only) | see ' | see ' | see ' | see ' |
| _" | | ̈ | &#x308; | centralized | |
| % (or ,) | % (only) | see , | see , | see , | see , |
| ' (or ") | " | ˈ | &#x2C8; | primary stress | |
| * | | | | undefined escape character, SAMPA's "conjunctor" | |
| _+ | | ̟ | &#x31F; | advanced | |
| , (or %) | % | ˌ | &#x2CC; | secondary stress | |
| - | | | | separator | |
| -\ | | ‿ | &#x203F; | linking mark | |
| _- | | ̠ | &#x320; | retracted | |
| . | | . | . | syllable break | |
| / | | | | indeterminacy in French vowels | |
| : | | ː | &#x2D0; | long | |
| :\ | | ˑ | &#x2D1; | half long | Estonian differentiates three vowel lengths |
| ; (or _j) | ' (or _j) | ʲ | &#x2B2; | palatalized | |
| < | | | | begin nonsegmental notation (e.g., SAMPROSA) | |
| _< | | | | implosive (IPA uses separate symbols for implosives) | |
| = (or _=) | | ̩ | &#x329; | syllabic | |
| > | | | | end nonsegmental notation | |
| _> | | ʼ | &#x2BC; | ejective | |
| _?\ | | ˤ | &#x2E4; | pharyngealized | |
| ^ | | ↑ | &#x2191; | upstep | |
| _^ | | ̯ | &#x32F; | non-syllabic | |
| ` | | ˞ | &#x2DE; | rhotacization in vowels, retroflexion in consonants (IPA uses separate symbols for consonants, see t` for an example) | |
| | | | | | &#x7C; | minor (foot) group | |
| || | | ‖ | &#x2016; | major (intonation) group | |
| _} | | ̚ | &#x31A; | no audible release | |
| ~ (or _~) | | ̃ | &#x303; | nasalization | |

## Comparison between CXS and IPA

IPA symbols that are ordinary lower-case letters are the same in CXS as in the IPA, and vice versa.
CXS uses a following backslash as an escape character to create a new symbol. Often the new symbol is similar to the old in some way or other, as with the velar nasal N and uvular nasal N\, but sometimes they have nothing to do with each other, as with the open-mid back rounded vowel O versus the bilabial click O\.
IPA consonant symbols that are ordinary (small) upper-case letters are named in CXS by adding a backslash to the IPA symbol. IPA vowel symbols of this type (ordinary upper-case letters) are the same in CXS as in the IPA (no backslash added).

### Consonants

Consonants (pulmonic) :
| Place of articulation → | Labial | Labial | Coronal | Coronal | Coronal | Coronal | Dorsal | Dorsal | Dorsal | Dorsal | Radical | Radical | Radical | Radical | (none) | (none) |
| Manner of articulation ↓ | Bi­la­bial | La­bio- den­tal | Den­tal | Al­veo­lar | Post- al­veo­lar | Re­tro- flex | Pa­la­tal | Ve­lar | Uvu­lar | Uvu­lar | Pha­ryn- geal | Pha­ryn- geal | Epi- glot­tal | Epi- glot­tal | Glot­tal | Glot­tal |
| Nasal | m m | F ɱ | n n | n n | n n | n` ɳ | J ɲ | N ŋ | N\ ɴ | N\ ɴ | | | | | | |
| Plosive | p b p b | p_d b_d p̪ b̪ | t d t d | t d t d | t d t d | t` d` ʈ ɖ | c J\ c ɟ | k g k ɡ | q G\ q ɢ | q G\ q ɢ | | | >\ ʡ | >\ ʡ | ? ʔ | |
| Fricative | p\ B ɸ β | f v f v | T D θ ð | s z s z | S Z ʃ ʒ | s` z` ʂ ʐ | C j\ ç ʝ | x G x ɣ | X χ | R ʁ | X\ ħ | ?\ ʕ | H\ ʜ | <\ ʢ | h h\ h ɦ | h h\ h ɦ |
| Approx­imant | B_o β̞ | P ʋ | r\ ɹ | r\ ɹ | r\ ɹ | r\` ɻ | j j | M\ ɰ | | R ʁ | | ?\ ʕ | | <\ ʢ | h h\ h ɦ | h h\ h ɦ |
| Trill | B\ ʙ | | r r | r r | r r | r`r) ɽ͡r | | | R\ ʀ | R\ ʀ | | | >\: Я | >\: Я | | |
| Tap or Flap | v_X_+ v̟̆ | v_X v̆ | 4 ɾ | 4 ɾ | 4 ɾ | r` ɽ | | | | | | | >\_X ʡ̯ | >\_X ʡ̯ | | |
| Lateral Fricative | | | K K\ ɬ ɮ | K K\ ɬ ɮ | K K\ ɬ ɮ | K` ɬ̢ | L_0_r ʎ̥˔ | L\_0_r ʟ̝̊ | | | | | | | | |
| Lateral Approx­imant | | | l l | l l | l l | l` ɭ | L ʎ | L\ ʟ | | | | | | | | |
| Lateral Flap | | | l\ ɺ | l\ ɺ | l\ ɺ | l\` ɺ̢ | L_X ʎ̯ | L\_X ʟ̆ | | | | | | | | |
Alternative notation v\ can be used for P (the labiodental approximant).
Coarticulated :
| W ʍ | Voiceless labialized velar approximant |
| w w | Voiced labialized velar approximant |
| H ɥ | Voiced labialized palatal approximant |
| s\ ɕ | Voiceless palatalized postalveolar (alveolo-palatal) fricative |
| z\ ʑ | Voiced palatalized postalveolar (alveolo-palatal) fricative |
| x\ ɧ | Voiceless "palatal-velar" fricative |
Affricates and double articulation :
| ts t͡s | voiceless alveolar affricate |
| dz d͡z | voiced alveolar affricate |
| tS t͡ʃ | voiceless postalveolar affricate |
| dZ d͡ʒ | voiced postalveolar affricate |
| ts\ t͡ɕ | voiceless alveolo-palatal affricate |
| dz\ d͡ʑ | voiced alveolo-palatal affricate |
| tK t͡ɬ | voiceless alveolar lateral affricate |
| kp k͡p | voiceless labial-velar plosive |
| gb ɡ͡b | voiced labial-velar plosive |
| Nm ŋ͡m | labial-velar nasal stop |
The joining of the two sounds in an affricate or double articulation can be notated explicitly by following the second with a right paren, as in /tS)/.
Consonants (non-pulmonic) :
| Clicks | Clicks | Implosives | Implosives | Ejectives | Ejectives |
| O\ ʘ | Bilabial | b_< ɓ | Bilabial | _> ʼ | For example: |
| |\ ǀ | Laminal alveolar ("dental") | d_< ɗ | Alveolar | p_> pʼ | Bilabial |
| !\ ! | Apical (post-) alveolar ("retroflex") | J\_< ʄ | Palatal | t_> tʼ | Alveolar |
| =\ ǂ | Laminal postalveolar ("palatal") | g_< ɠ | Velar | k_> kʼ | Velar |
| |\|\ ǁ | Lateral coronal ("lateral") | G\_< ʛ | Uvular | s_> sʼ | Alveolar fricative |

### Vowels

At each point in the chart, the vowel to the left of the "•" is unrounded, the vowel to the right is rounded. The symbols for the mid central and near-open central vowels do not distinguish between rounded and unrounded forms.

### Diacritics and suprasegmentals

Syllabicity diacritics :
| = ̩ | Syllabic | _^ ̯ | Non-syllabic |
| Consonant-release diacritics ||||
| _h ʰ | Aspirated | _} ̚ | No audible release |
| _n ⁿ | Nasal release | _l ˡ | Lateral release |
| Phonation diacritics ||||
| _0 ̥ | Voiceless | _v ̭ | Voiced |
| _t ̤ | Breathy voiced | _k ̰ | Creaky voiced |
| Articulation diacritics ||||
| _d ̪ | Dental | _N ̼ | Linguolabial |
| _a ̺ | Apical | _m ̻ | Laminal |
| _+ ̟ | Advanced | _- ̠ | Retracted |
| _" ̈ | Centralized | _x ̽ | Mid-centralized |
| _r ̝ | Raised | _o ̞ | Lowered |
| Co-articulation diacritics ||||
| _O ̹ | More rounded | _c ̜ | Less rounded |
| _w ʷ | Labialized or labio-velarized | ; ʲ | Palatalized |
| _G ˠ | Velarized | _?\ ˤ | Pharyngealized |
| _e ̴ | Velarized or pharyngealized | Velarized or pharyngealized | Velarized or pharyngealized |
| _A ̘ | Advanced tongue root | _q ̙ | Retracted tongue root |
| ~ ̃ | Nasalized | Nasalized | Nasalized |
| ` ˞ | Retroflex (consonants), rhotacized (vowels) | Retroflex (consonants), rhotacized (vowels) | Retroflex (consonants), rhotacized (vowels) |
Some conlangers use _j for palatalization instead of ;.
Length, stress, and rhythm :
| ' ˈ | Primary stress (symbol goes before stressed syllable) | , ˌ | Secondary stress (symbol goes before stressed syllable) |
| : ː | Long (long vowel or geminate consonant) | :\ ˑ | Half-long |
| _X ̆ | Extra-short | Extra-short | Extra-short |
| . . | Syllable break | -\ ‿ | Linking (absence of a break) |
| Intonation (prosody) ||||
| | | | Minor (foot) break | || ‖ | Major (intonation) break |
| <R> ↗ | Global rise | <F> ↘ | Global fall |
| Tone diacritics and tone letters ||||
| _T ̋ (or ˥) | Extra high tone | ^ ↑ | Upstep |
| _H ́ (or ˦) | High tone | _R ˇ | Rising tone |
| _M ̄ (or ˧) | Mid tone | | |
| _L ̀ (or ˨) | Low tone | _F ̂ | Falling tone |
| _B ̏ (or ˩) | Extra low / bottom | ! ↓ | Downstep |
Some conlangers use " for primary stress and % for secondary stress, instead of ' and ,.