Near-close near-back unrounded vowel
| Near-close near-back unrounded vowel | |
|---|---|
| ɯ̽ | |
| ɯ̞̈ | |
| ʊ̜ | |
| ω |
The near-close near-back unrounded vowel or near-high near-back unrounded vowel, is a type of a vowel sound, used in a few spoken languages. The International Phonetic Alphabet can represent this sound in a number of ways (see the box on the right), but arguably the most common symbol is ⟨ɯ̽⟩ (mid-centralized [ɯ]), a symbol equivalent to a more complex ⟨ɯ̞̈⟩ (lowered and centralized [ɯ]), or sometimes with the old convention of ⟨ω⟩.[1]
Theoretically, it can also be represented in the IPA as ⟨ʊ̜⟩ (less rounded [ʊ]), but because [ʊ] is defined by the Handbook of the International Phonetic Association as rounded (rather than unspecified for rounding as [ə] and [ɐ]),[2] the symbol ⟨ʊ̜⟩ can also signify a weakly rounded [ʊ], rather than a fully unrounded vowel that is described in this article.
The near-close back unrounded vowel, which differs from its near-back counterpart in that it is a lowered, but not centralized close back unrounded vowel has not been reported to occur in any language, but it can be transcribed in the IPA as ⟨ɯ̞⟩ or ⟨ɤ̝⟩, or sometimes with the old convention of ⟨ω̠⟩.
The only languages in which it is phonemic are Korean and European Portuguese, although in the latter it appears only in unstressed syllables.
Features
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- Its vowel height is near-close, also known as near-high, which means the tongue is not quite so constricted as a close vowel (high vowel).
- Its vowel backness is near-back, also known as back-central or centralized back, which means the tongue is positioned as in a back vowel, but slightly further forward in the mouth.
- It is unrounded, which means that the lips are not rounded.
Occurrence
| Language | Word | IPA | Meaning | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| English | California[3] | hook | [hɯ̽k] | 'hook' | Local realization of /ʊ/; often pronounced with spread lips.[3] See English phonology |
| Tidewater[4] | May be rounded [ʊ] instead.[4] | ||||
| Irish | Ulster[5] | Allophone of /ɪ/.[5] | |||
| Korean[6] | 어른/eoreun | [ɘːɾɯ̽n] | 'seniors' | Typically transcribed in IPA with ⟨ɯ⟩. See Korean phonology | |
| Mirandese | cebada | [s̪ɯ̽ˈβ̞äð̞ə] | 'barley' | Unstressed vowel; typically transcribed in IPA with ⟨ɨ⟩. | |
| Portuguese | European[7] | pegar | [pɯ̽ˈɣäɾ] | 'to hold' | Unstressed vowel;[7] most often transcribed in IPA with ⟨ɨ⟩, ⟨ɯ⟩ or ⟨ə⟩. See Portuguese phonology |
| Turkish | acı | [äˈd͡ʒɯ̽] | 'spicy' | Allophone of /ɯ/ in final open syllable of a phrase. See Turkish phonology | |
| Vietnamese | Hanoi[8] | từ | [t̻ɯ̽˧˨] | 'word' | Common allophone of /ɯ/.[8] See Vietnamese phonology |
References
- ↑ e.g. by Wells (1982).
- ↑ International Phonetic Association (1999:180)
- 1 2 Ladefoged (1999:42–43)
- 1 2 Wells (1982:536)
- 1 2 Ní Chasaide (1999:114)
- ↑ Lee (1999:121)
- 1 2 Cruz-Ferreira (1995:91)
- 1 2 Kirby (2011:384)
Bibliography
- Cruz-Ferreira, Madalena (1995), "European Portuguese", Journal of the International Phonetic Association, 25 (2): 90–94, doi:10.1017/S0025100300005223
- International Phonetic Association (1999), Handbook of the International Phonetic Association: A guide to the use of the International Phonetic Alphabet, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, ISBN 0-521-65236-7
- Kirby, James P. (2011), "Vietnamese (Hanoi Vietnamese)" (PDF), Journal of the International Phonetic Association, 41 (3): 381–392, doi:10.1017/S0025100311000181
- Ladefoged, Peter (1999), "American English", Handbook of the International Phonetic Association, Cambridge University Press, pp. 41–44
- Lee, Hyun Bok (1999), "Korean", Handbook of the International Phonetic Association, Cambridge University Press, pp. 120–122, ISBN 0-521-63751-1
- Ní Chasaide, Ailbhe (1999), "Irish", Handbook of the International Phonetic Association, Cambridge University Press, pp. 111–16, ISBN 0-521-63751-1
- Wells, John C. (1982), Accents of English, 3: Beyond the British Isles, Cambridge University Press, ISBN 0-521-24225-8