Near-close back unrounded vowel

Near-close back unrounded vowel
ɯ̞
ɤ̝
Near-close near-back unrounded vowel
ɯ̽
ɯ̞̈
ʊ̜
ω
Audio sample
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The near-close back unrounded vowel, or near-high back unrounded vowel,[1] is a type of a vowel sound, used in a few spoken languages. The International Phonetic Alphabet can represent this sound as [ɯ̞] (loweredɯ⟩) or as [ɤ̝] (raisedɤ⟩).

By analogy to ⟨ʊ⟩, a near-close near-back unrounded vowel or near-high near-back unrounded vowel may also be described, and can be represented in the IPA as [ɯ̽] (mid-centralizedɯ⟩) or [ɯ̞̈] (lowered and centralizedɯ⟩). It may also be transcribed as [ʊ̜] (less roundedʊ⟩), but because ⟨ʊ⟩ is defined by the Handbook of the International Phonetic Association as rounded (whereas ⟨ə⟩ and ⟨ɐ⟩ do not specify rounding),[2] the symbol [ʊ̜] can also signify a weakly rounded [ʊ], rather than the fully unrounded vowel that is described in this article. In his Accents of English, John C. Wells transcribes this vowel with the para-IPA symbol ⟨ω⟩,[3] though Sinological phonetic notation uses this symbol for a different vowel.

Some phoneticians argue that all lip position inverses of the primary cardinal vowels are centralized (with the exception of ⟨ɒ⟩) based on formant acoustics,[4] so that there may be no substantial difference between a near-close back unrounded vowel [ɯ̞] and its near-back counterpart [ɯ̽].

Features

Occurrence

Language Word IPA Meaning Notes
English African-American[5] hook [hɯ̞k] 'hook' Possible realization of /ʊ/.[5]
California[6] Often pronounced with spread lips. Corresponds to /ʊ/ in other accents.[6] See English phonology
Tidewater[7] May be rounded [ʊ] instead.[7]
Cardiff[8] [ɯ̞k] Also described as close-mid central [ɘ ~ ɵ].[9]
New Zealand[10][11] treacle [ˈtɹ̝̊iːkɯ̞] 'treacle' Possible realization of the unstressed vowel /ɯ/, which is variable in rounding and ranges from central to (more often) back and close to close-mid.[10][11] It corresponds to /əl/ in other accents. See New Zealand English phonology
Some Philadelphia speakers[12] plus [pɫ̥ɯ̞s] 'plus' Used particularly by male speakers; can be lower [ʌ̝ ~ ʌ] instead.[12] It corresponds to [ʌ] in other accents. See English phonology
South African[13] pill [pʰɯ̞ɫ] 'pill' Possible allophone of /ɪ/ before the velarised allophone of /l/.[13] Also described as close-mid [ɤ].[14] See South African English phonology
Irish Ulster[15] ag gail ˈɡɯ̞lˠ] 'boiling' Allophone of /ɪ/.[15] See Irish phonology
Korean[16] 어른/eoreun [ə̝ːɾɯ̞n] 'seniors' Typically transcribed in IPA with ⟨ɯ⟩. See Korean phonology
Portuguese European[17] pegar [pɯ̞ˈɣäɾ] 'to grab' Typically transcribed in IPA with ⟨ɨ⟩ or ⟨ə⟩. Appears only in unstressed syllables.[17] See Portuguese phonology
Turkish Standard[18] sığ [sɯ̞ː] 'shallow' Also described as close back [ɯ] and close central [ɨ].[19] See Turkish phonology
Vietnamese Hanoi[20] t [t̻ɯ̞˧˨] 'word' Common allophone of /ɯ/.[20] See Vietnamese phonology
Yine[21] [tɯ̞wɯ̞] 'salt' Typically transcribed in IPA with ⟨ɯ⟩.[21]

Notes

  1. ^ While the International Phonetic Association prefers the terms "close" and "open" for vowel height, many linguists use "high" and "low".
  2. ^ International Phonetic Association (1999), p. 180.
  3. ^ Wells (1982:xvii)
  4. ^ Geoff Lindsey (2013) The vowel space, Speech Talk
  5. ^ a b Wells (1982), p. 557.
  6. ^ a b Ladefoged (1999), pp. 42–43.
  7. ^ a b Wells (1982), p. 536.
  8. ^ Wells (1982), p. 386.
  9. ^ Collins & Mees (1990), pp. 92, 94.
  10. ^ a b "NZE Phonology" (PDF). Victoria University of Wellington. p. 3.
  11. ^ a b Bauer & Warren (2004), p. 585.
  12. ^ a b Gordon (2004), p. 290.
  13. ^ a b Bowerman (2004), p. 936.
  14. ^ Wells (1982), p. 617.
  15. ^ a b Ní Chasaide (1999), p. 114.
  16. ^ Lee (1999), p. 121.
  17. ^ a b Cruz-Ferreira (1995), p. 91.
  18. ^ Kılıç & Öğüt (2004)
  19. ^ Zimmer & Orgun (1999), p. 155.
  20. ^ a b Kirby (2011), p. 384.
  21. ^ a b Urquía Sebastián & Marlett (2008), p. 366.

References

  • Bauer, Laurie; Warren, Paul (2004), "New Zealand English: phonology", in Schneider, Edgar W.; Burridge, Kate; Kortmann, Bernd; Mesthrie, Rajend; Upton, Clive (eds.), A handbook of varieties of English, vol. 1: Phonology, Mouton de Gruyter, pp. 580–602, ISBN 3-11-017532-0
  • Bowerman, Sean (2004), "White South African English: phonology", in Schneider, Edgar W.; Burridge, Kate; Kortmann, Bernd; Mesthrie, Rajend; Upton, Clive (eds.), A handbook of varieties of English, vol. 1: Phonology, Mouton de Gruyter, pp. 931–942, ISBN 3-11-017532-0
  • Collins, Beverley; Mees, Inger M. (1990), "The Phonetics of Cardiff English", in Coupland, Nikolas; Thomas, Alan Richard (eds.), English in Wales: Diversity, Conflict, and Change, Multilingual Matters Ltd., pp. 87–103, ISBN 1-85359-032-0
  • Cruz-Ferreira, Madalena (1995), "European Portuguese", Journal of the International Phonetic Association, 25 (2): 90–94, doi:10.1017/S0025100300005223
  • Göksel, Asli; Kerslake, Celia (2005), Turkish: a comprehensive grammar (PDF), Routledge, ISBN 978-0415114943, archived from the original (PDF) on 26 November 2014
  • Gordon, Matthew J. (2004), "New York, Philadelphia, and other northern cities: phonology", in Schneider, Edgar W.; Burridge, Kate; Kortmann, Bernd; Mesthrie, Rajend; Upton, Clive (eds.), A handbook of varieties of English, vol. 1: Phonology, Mouton de Gruyter, pp. 282–299, ISBN 3-11-017532-0
  • 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
  • Urquía Sebastián, Rittma; Marlett, Stephen A. (2008), "Yine", Journal of the International Phonetic Association, 38 (3): 365–369, doi:10.1017/S0025100308003356
  • Wells, John C. (1982). Accents of English. Vol. 2: The British Isles (pp. i–xx, 279–466), Vol. 3: Beyond the British Isles (pp. i–xx, 467–674). Cambridge University Press. doi:10.1017/CBO9780511611759, doi:10.1017/CBO9780511611766. ISBN 0-52128540-2 , 0-52128541-0 .
  • Zimmer, Karl; Orgun, Orhan (1999), "Turkish" (PDF), Handbook of the International Phonetic Association: A guide to the use of the International Phonetic Alphabet, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp. 154–158, ISBN 0-521-65236-7, archived from the original (PDF) on 2018-07-25, retrieved 2018-11-09