The spelling of the word "gava" can be explained using the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) phonetic transcription system. The first two letters, "ga", are pronounced with a hard "g" sound, represented in IPA as /ɡ/. The final two letters, "va", are pronounced with a "v" sound, represented in IPA as /v/. The vowel in the middle of the word, "a", is pronounced with a short "a" sound, represented in IPA as /æ/. Therefore, the IPA transcription of "gava" is /ˈɡævə/.