IPA symbol source

• Jun 12, 2020 - 15:58

i found the IPA symbols on Musescore. Can someone tell me what is the source that was used for these symbols? The iPA has different sets of fonts and also has revised these over time. See https://www.internationalphoneticassociation.org/IPAcharts/IPA_charts_2…. thank you.


Comments

Depends on where in MuseScore you are looking. If you are on the Unicode tab, under IPA Extensions, there come from whatever font you happen to be using at the time (the default is FreeSerif). You are welcome to use the Inspector and/or Format / Style / Text Style to change to a different font for the type of text you are using (presumably lyrics).

In reply to by Philip Ellis Foster

No, it's definitely all about the font. There is no "MuseScore system" here - these totally depend on the font. If these are standard Unicode symbols, then some font somewhere provides them. It's just a question of figuring out which, and making sure you use that. Actually, even if they are not standard Unicode symbols, probably some font contains them, but it might be harder to find one.

In reply to by Philip Ellis Foster

Again, if they are not there in FreeSerif, that's not MuseScore's fault, it just means FreeSerif doesn't provide that particular symbol. Try another font and go back to that same dialog and you may find additional symbols - again, if they are part of the Unicode standard. If they are not part of the standard then you will need to find a specialty font that includes those symbols, but presumably one exists somewhere.

In reply to by Philip Ellis Foster

As I said, FreeSerif is the name of the font that MuseScore provides and uses by default. The symbols you see in that dialog are the symbols provide by FreeSerif. If you need more symbols, simply find a font that has them. Like, do a web search for “font with IPA symbols” and see what you find. Then download and install it, and use it in your score instead of FreeSerif as I explained.

In reply to by Philip Ellis Foster

Once again, it absolutely has everything to do with the fonts. If FreeSerif doesn’t provide the symbol, it doesn’t appear in MuseScore. So simply try a different font. If the font you choose includes the symbol, MuseScore can use it. It really as simple as that, I don’t k ow how I can explain it more clearly. Did you try, for instance, Times New Roman? Use the Inspector or Style dialog to set your lyrics font to that, then go back to Special Characters. If the font has the symbol, it will appear. If it doesn’t, it won’t. Please try it.

In reply to by Philip Ellis Foster

Well, i highlighted a note, then CTR+L and the lyrics box appeared and then i looked on the tool bar on the bottom and it said i could change the font, so i went to Times Roman, which i imagine is the same as what you suggested, then i went to the IPS extensions and they were all the same symbols just in a different font, i.e. Times New Roman. I imagine when you added the IPA extensions they are all for the same extensions regardless of font . So what else can i try to do now?

In reply to by Marc Sabatella

there are specifically two marks i need, which i think i also mentioned: one is the small vertical line which goes beneath such letters as n, and the other is the raised h which can go after letters like t. If anyone can tell me step by step how to find them on musescore that would be wonderful.

As mentioned, i found the IPAa extensions bu clicking on the funny letter a, first on the left end, in the toolbar on the bottom which appears when cTRL+L is pressed.

In reply to by Philip Ellis Foster

Step 1: do a web search or consult a forum where people have expertise in IPA to find out which Unicode code block the symbols you want can be found, and where within the block it can be found.

Step 2: in MuseScore, select that code block in this very same dialog (Special Characters / Unicode Symbols). Again, as I have explained, if the symbol is part of the Unicode standard and the font you are using includes that symbol, it absolutely positively will appear in this dialog, you just need to know where to look. That is why it is vital you follow step 1 above first, Most likely everything is within the IPA Extensions or the various Combing Diacritical Marks blocks, but I am not familiar enough with IPA to know exactly which symbol is in exactly which block. That's something you can find out by following step 1, above.

In reply to by Philip Ellis Foster

They are certainly not part of MuseScore. They are part of a text font. Or not. Nothing to do with MuseScore, everything with fonts
MuseScore just shows what the font has to offer.
See https://www.internationalphoneticassociation.org/content/ipa-fonts :
The best Windows fonts for general use appear to be Times New Roman, Arial, Courier New, and Segoe UI. The versions supplied with Windows 7 and 8 include all the symbols on the IPA Chart. Other useful fonts are available for free download from www.sil.org.

So don't use the Free Serif that comes with MuseScore, but use any of those listed above instead

In reply to by Philip Ellis Foster

As I keep saying, on one of the the Combining Diacritical Marks pages. Look at the long list of pages at the left of that dialog. There are several pages whose names start with "Combing Diacritical Marks". I don't know which page might have the specific symbol you are asking for. That is why I am urging you do to some online research - web search, consulting IPA-specific forums on other sites - to learn more about where the symbols you need are. We don't know the answer to those questions about where in a font to find the symbols you seek. We can only tell you how to find those pages, once you know what you are looking for. So, please follow my "Step 1" above to try to learn where those symbols can be found in Unicode.

In reply to by Philip Ellis Foster

All MuseScore shows you is the contents of the font file according to Unicode groupings. As many others have told you, MuseScore does not provide these fonts/symbols themselves and you'll need to figure out where those symbols are located into your font.

Finding the Diacritical Pages within the dialog in MuseScore is done just like you found the IPA category:

306646-special-characters-in-font.gif

In reply to by jeetee

Nice video! The key is, the Combining Diacritical Marks are, as I said, listed on the left side of that dialog. You found the IPA Exntensions in that same list, now just scroll up to find the others. The video shows many of the characters being blank because the font used doesn't include them. That's why it is so crucial to understand which fonts support the specific characters you need. And once again, the web is your friend. Please follow my "Step 1" above to learn what you need to about the IPA character set, the Unicode standard, and which fonts support this best. Then you can come to MuseScore and select that font and find the necessary characters in the right places.

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