The near-close front unrounded vowel, or near-high front unrounded 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 , i.e. a
small capital
In typography, small caps (short for "small capitals") are characters typeset with glyphs that resemble uppercase letters (capitals) but reduced in height and weight close to the surrounding lowercase letters or text figures. This is technicall ...
letter ''i''. The
International Phonetic Association
The International Phonetic Association (IPA; French: ', ''API'') is an organization that promotes the scientific study of phonetics and the various practical applications of that science. The IPA's major contribution to phonetics is the Inter ...
advises
serif
In typography, a serif () is a small line or stroke regularly attached to the end of a larger stroke in a letter or symbol within a particular font or family of fonts. A typeface or "font family" making use of serifs is called a serif typeface ...
s on the symbol's ends. Some
sans-serif
In typography and lettering, a sans-serif, sans serif, gothic, or simply sans letterform is one that does not have extending features called " serifs" at the end of strokes. Sans-serif typefaces tend to have less stroke width variation than s ...
fonts do meet this typographic specification. Prior to 1989, there was an
alternate symbol for this sound: , the use of which is no longer sanctioned by the IPA. Despite that, some modern writings still use it.
''Handbook of the International Phonetic Association'' defines as a
mid-centralized (
lowered and
centralized
Centralisation or centralization (see spelling differences) is the process by which the activities of an organisation, particularly those regarding planning and decision-making, framing strategy and policies become concentrated within a particu ...
) close front unrounded vowel (transcribed or ), and the current official IPA name of the vowel transcribed with the symbol is a ''near-close near-front unrounded vowel''. However, some languages have the ''close-mid near-front unrounded vowel'', a vowel that is somewhat lower than the canonical value of , though it still fits the definition of a mid-centralized . It occurs in some dialects of English (such as
Californian,
General American
General American English or General American (abbreviated GA or GenAm) is the umbrella accent of American English spoken by a majority of Americans. In the United States it is often perceived as lacking any distinctly regional, ethnic, or so ...
and modern
Received Pronunciation
Received Pronunciation (RP) is the accent traditionally regarded as the standard and most prestigious form of spoken British English. For over a century, there has been argument over such questions as the definition of RP, whether it is geo ...
) as well as some other languages (such as
Icelandic),
[, cited in ] and it can be transcribed with the symbol (a lowered ) in narrow transcription. Certain sources
[Such as .] may even use for the close-mid ''front'' unrounded vowel, but that is rare. For the close-mid (near-)front unrounded vowel that is not usually transcribed with the symbol (or ), see
close-mid front unrounded vowel
The close-mid front unrounded vowel, or high-mid front unrounded vowel, is a type of vowel sound, used in some spoken languages. The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet that represents this sound is .
For the close-mid front unrounde ...
.
In some other languages (such as
Danish,
Luxembourgish
Luxembourgish ( ; also ''Luxemburgish'', ''Luxembourgian'', ''Letzebu(e)rgesch''; Luxembourgish: ) is a West Germanic language that is spoken mainly in Luxembourg. About 400,000 people speak Luxembourgish worldwide.
As a standard form of th ...
and
Sotho) there is a fully front near-close unrounded vowel (a sound between cardinal and ), which can be transcribed in IPA with , or . There may be phonological reasons not to transcribe the fully front variant with the symbol , which may incorrectly imply a relation to the close .
Sometimes, especially in
broad transcription
Phonetic transcription (also known as phonetic script or phonetic notation) is the visual representation of speech sounds (or ''phones'') by means of symbols. The most common type of phonetic transcription uses a phonetic alphabet, such as the ...
, this vowel is transcribed with a simpler symbol , which technically represents the
close front unrounded vowel
The close front unrounded vowel, or high front unrounded vowel, is a type of vowel sound that occurs in most spoken languages, represented in the International Phonetic Alphabet by the symbol i. It is similar to the vowel sound in the English wo ...
.
Features
The prototypical is somewhat further back (near-front) than the neighboring cardinal vowels.
Occurrence
Notes
References
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External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Near-Close Front Unrounded Vowel
Near-close vowels
Front vowels
Unrounded vowels