One alphabet was built so any speech sound in any language gets exactly one symbol

In 1888, a group of European language teachers published the International Phonetic Alphabet to give every distinct sound in human speech its own unique symbol, independent of any single language's spelling. Linguists still use it to transcribe pronunciation precisely, from English 'th' to clicks in Zulu.

— International Phonetic Association, International Phonetic Alphabet — First published 1888