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 Portuguese (the European variety), although in the latter it appears only in unstressed syllables.

Features

IPA vowel chart
Front Near-front Central Near-back Back
Close
iy
ɨʉ
ɯu
ɪʏ
eø
ɘɵ
ɤo
ɛœ
ɜɞ
ʌɔ
æ
aɶ
ɑɒ
Near-close
Close-mid
Mid
Open-mid
Near-open
Open
Paired vowels are: unrounded  rounded
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IPA help  IPA key  chart   chart with audio  view

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
Irish Ulster[4] Allophone of /ɪ/.[4]
Korean[5] 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[6] pegar [pɯ̽ˈɣäɾ] 'to hold' Unstressed vowel;[6] 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[7] t [t̻ɯ̽˧˨] 'word' Common allophone of /ɯ/.[7] See Vietnamese phonology

References

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, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press 
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