}
The close central rounded vowel, or high central rounded vowel, is a type of
vowel
A vowel is a syllabic speech sound pronounced without any stricture in the vocal tract. Vowels are one of the two principal classes of speech sounds, the other being the consonant. Vowels vary in quality, in loudness and also in quantity (len ...
sound used in some spoken
language
Language is a structured system of communication. The structure of a language is its grammar and the free components are its vocabulary. Languages are the primary means by which humans communicate, and may be conveyed through a variety of ...
s. The symbol in the
International Phonetic Alphabet
The International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) is an alphabetic system of phonetic notation based primarily on the Latin script. It was devised by the International Phonetic Association in the late 19th century as a standardized representation ...
that represents this sound is , and the equivalent
X-SAMPA
The Extended Speech Assessment Methods Phonetic Alphabet (X-SAMPA) is a variant of SAMPA developed in 1995 by John C. Wells, professor of phonetics at University College London. It is designed to unify the individual language SAMPA alphabets, a ...
symbol is
}. Both the symbol and the sound are commonly referred to as "barred u".
The close central rounded vowel is the vocalic equivalent of the rare
labialized post-palatal approximant .
In most languages this rounded vowel is pronounced with
protruded lips (''endolabial''). However, in a few cases the lips are compressed (''exolabial'').
Some languages feature the near-close central rounded vowel, which is slightly lower. It is most often transcribed in IPA with , and , but is also a possible transcription. The symbol , a conflation of and , is used as an unofficial extension of the IPA to represent this sound by a number of publications, such as ''Accents of English'' by
John C. Wells. In the third edition of the ''
Oxford English Dictionary
The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' (''OED'') is the first and foundational historical dictionary of the English language, published by Oxford University Press (OUP). It traces the historical development of the English language, providing a c ...
'', represents
free variation
In linguistics, free variation is the phenomenon of two (or more) sounds or forms appearing in the same environment without a change in meaning and without being considered incorrect by native speakers.
Sociolinguists argue that describing such ...
between and .
Close central protruded vowel
The close central protruded vowel is typically transcribed in IPA simply as , and that is the convention used in this article. As there is no dedicated
diacritic
A diacritic (also diacritical mark, diacritical point, diacritical sign, or accent) is a glyph added to a letter or to a basic glyph. The term derives from the Ancient Greek (, "distinguishing"), from (, "to distinguish"). The word ''diacrit ...
for protrusion in the IPA, symbol for the close central rounded vowel with an old diacritic for labialization, , can be used as an ''ad hoc'' symbol for the close central protruded vowel. Another possible transcription is or (a close central vowel modified by endolabialization), but this could be misread as a diphthong.
Features
Occurrence
Because central rounded vowels are assumed to have protrusion, and few descriptions cover the distinction, some of the following may actually have compression.
Close central compressed vowel
As there is no official diacritic for compression in the IPA, the centering diacritic is used with the front rounded vowel , which is normally compressed. Other possible transcriptions are (simultaneous and labial compression) and ( modified with labial compression).
Features
Occurrence
This vowel is typically transcribed in IPA with . It occurs in some dialects of
Swedish, but see also
close front compressed vowel
The close front rounded vowel, or high front rounded vowel, is a type of vowel sound, used in some spoken languages. The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet that represents this sound is /y/, and the equivalent X-SAMPA symbol is y. Ac ...
. The close back vowels of Norwegian and Swedish are also compressed. See
close back compressed vowel. It also occurs in
Japanese as an
allophone
In phonology, an allophone (; from the Greek , , 'other' and , , 'voice, sound') is a set of multiple possible spoken soundsor ''phones''or signs used to pronounce a single phoneme in a particular language. For example, in English, (as in '' ...
.
Medumba has a compressed central vowel where the corners of the mouth are not drawn together.
See also
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Close back compressed vowel
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Close front protruded vowel
The close front rounded vowel, or high front rounded vowel, is a type of vowel sound, used in some spoken languages. The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet that represents this sound is /y/, and the equivalent X-SAMPA symbol is y. Ac ...
Notes
References
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* A summary of the presentation can be foun
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External links
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{{IPA navigation
Close vowels
Central vowels
Rounded vowels