There are many layers to a language, some of these include: morphology, syntax and phonetics. It is phonology that helps us understand the sounds we produce. It isn't just the alphabet we know.
These symbols are called IPA symbols - IPA stands for International Phonetic Alphabet. IPA charts are the same across the globe and include all sounds used in every language - not all the sounds are used in each language though.
Phonology helps us understand how we produce sounds. The diagram below shows vowels (yes, there are more than five when we consider vowel sounds) - where the vowels are in the diagram shows where our tongue is in our mouths when we speak.
If we look at the simple /i/ (which is pronounced as "e") then we can tell that the tongue is at the front and top of the mouth. Front and back does what it says on the tin; however, open and close discuss whether the tongue is at the bottom of the mouth or close to the roof of the mouth.
As well as vowels, we can also look at consonants:
This is not as straight for ward to explain, but most of the English alphabet is there. Other IPA symbols, like /ʃ/, represent other sounds we use - in this case "sh" as it is a common sound. My favourite IPA is /ʔ/ as this symbol represents where we omit /t/ in our language. So, when you say "butter" without the "tt", the /ʔ/ symbol will be put in its place.
Phonology seems more scientific now doesn't it? An easier way to explain what all this means is though is... you know the slashes next to words you search in Wikipedia? Yeah, that's the IPA symbols I've just spoken about.
