A central vowel, formerly also known as a mixed vowel, is any in a class of

vowel A vowel is a speech sound pronounced without any stricture in the vocal tract, forming the nucleus of a syllable. Vowels are one of the two principal classes of speech sounds, the other being the consonant. Vowels vary in quality, in loudness a ...

sound used in some spoken

language Language is a structured system of communication that consists of grammar and vocabulary. It is the primary means by which humans convey meaning, both in spoken and signed language, signed forms, and may also be conveyed through writing syste ...

s. The defining characteristic of a central vowel is that the tongue is positioned approximately halfway between a

front vowel A front vowel is a class of vowel sounds used in some spoken languages, its defining characteristic being that the highest point of the tongue is positioned approximately as far forward as possible in the mouth without creating a constriction th ...

and a

back vowel A back vowel is any in a class of vowel sound used in spoken languages. The defining characteristic of a back vowel is that the highest point of the tongue is positioned relatively back in the mouth without creating a constriction that would be c ...

. (In practice, unrounded central vowels tend to be further forward and rounded central vowels further back.)

List

The central vowels that have dedicated symbols 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 standard written representation ...

are: *

close central unrounded vowel The close central unrounded vowel, or high central unrounded vowel, is a type of vowel sound used in some languages. The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet that represents this sound is , namely the lower-case I, letter ''i'' with ...

close central protruded vowel } The close central rounded vowel, or high central 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 , and the equivalent X-SAMPA symbol is }. ...

close-mid central unrounded vowel The close-mid central unrounded vowel, or high-mid central unrounded vowel, is a type of vowel sound used in some spoken languages. The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet The International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) is an alphabe ...

(older publications may use ) *

close-mid central rounded vowel The close-mid central rounded vowel, or high-mid central rounded vowel, is a type of vowel sound. The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet that represents this sound is , a lowercase barred letter o. The value was specified only in ...

(older publications may use ) *

mid central vowel The mid central vowel is a type of vowel sound, used in some spoken languages. A reduced mid central vowel is known as a schwa. The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet that represents either sound is , a rotated lowercase letter e. ...

with ambiguous rounding *

open-mid central unrounded vowel The open-mid central unrounded vowel, or low-mid central 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 (formerly ). The IPA symbol is n ...

(older publications may use ) *

open-mid central rounded vowel The open-mid central rounded vowel, or low-mid central rounded vowel, is a vowel sound, used in some spoken languages. The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet that represents this sound is , and the equivalent X-SAMPA symbol is 3\. ...

(older publications may use ) *

near-open central vowel The near-open central vowel, or near-low central vowel, is a type of vowel sound, used in some spoken languages. The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet that represents this sound is , a rotated lowercase double-story a. In English ...

with ambiguous rounding (typically used for an unrounded vowel; if precision is desired, may be used for an unrounded vowel and for a rounded vowel) There also are central vowels that do not have dedicated symbols in the IPA: *

close central compressed vowel } The close central rounded vowel, or high central 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 , and the equivalent X-SAMPA symbol is }. ...

* near-close central unrounded vowel , , or (unofficial symbol: ) * near-close central protruded vowel , , or (unofficial symbol: ) * near-close central compressed vowel *

mid central unrounded vowel The mid central vowel is a type of vowel sound, used in some spoken languages. A reduced mid central vowel is known as a schwa. The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet that represents either sound is , a rotated lowercase letter e. ...

or (commonly written ) *

mid central protruded vowel The mid central vowel is a type of vowel sound, used in some spoken languages. A reduced mid central vowel is known as a schwa. The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet that represents either sound is , a rotated lowercase letter e. ...

or (commonly written as if it were close-mid) *

mid central compressed vowel The mid central vowel is a type of vowel sound, used in some spoken languages. A reduced mid central vowel is known as a schwa. The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet that represents either sound is , a rotated lowercase letter e. ...

open central unrounded vowel The open central unrounded vowel, or low central unrounded vowel, is a type of vowel sound, used in several spoken languages. While the International Phonetic Alphabet officially has no dedicated letter for this sound between front and back , ...

(commonly written as if it were front) * open central rounded vowel

Bibliography

* Vowels by backness {{phonetics-stub

List

See also

Bibliography