Close back unrounded vowel

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See also: IPA, Consonants
Edit - 2× Front Near-front Central Near-back Back
Close
i • y
ɨ • ʉ
ɯ • u
ɪ • ʏ
• ʊ
e • ø
ɘ • ɵ
ɤ • o
ɛ • œ
ɜ • ɞ
ʌ • ɔ
a • ɶ
ɑ • ɒ
Near‑close
Close‑mid
Mid
Open‑mid
Near‑open
Open
Where symbols appear in pairs, the one to the right
represents a rounded vowel.
IPA – number 316
IPA – text ɯ
IPA – image {{{imagesize}}}
Entity ɯ
X-SAMPA M
Kirshenbaum u-
Sound sample (help·info)

The close back 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 ɯ, and the equivalent X-SAMPA symbol is M. The IPA symbol is a turned letter m, although given its relation to the sound represented by the letter u, it can be considered a u with an extra "bowl". The sound is sometimes referred to as "unrounded u".

Contents

[edit] Features

  • Its vowel height is close, which means the tongue is positioned as close as possible to the roof of the mouth without creating a constriction that would be classified as a consonant.
  • Its vowel backness is back, which means the tongue is positioned as far back as possible in the mouth without creating a constriction that would be classified as a consonant.
  • Its vowel roundedness is unrounded, which means that the lips are spread.

[edit] Occurrence

Language Word IPA Meaning Notes
Alekano hanuva [hɑnɯβɑ] 'nothing'
Azeri qırx [ɡɯrx] 'forty'
Crimean Tatar canım [dʒanɯm] 'please'
Korean[1] 금 (金) / geum [kɯm] 'gold' See Korean phonology
Scottish Gaelic caol [kɯːl] 'strait'
Turkish ılık [ɯˈɫɯk] 'mild' See Turkish phonology
Vietnamese tư [tɯ̄] 'fourth' See Vietnamese phonology

[edit] Close back compressed vowel

The close back compressed vowel is a type of vowel sound, used in some spoken languages. There is no symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet that represents this sound.

[edit] Features

  • Its vowel height is close, which means the tongue is positioned as close as possible to the roof of the mouth without creating a constriction that would be classified as a consonant.
  • Its vowel backness is back, which means the tongue is positioned as far back as possible in the mouth without creating a constriction that would be classified as a consonant.
  • Its vowel roundedness is compressed, which means the corners of the mouth are drawn slightly together and the lips may be compressed horizontally, but do not protrude.

[edit] Occurrence

As there is no official diacritic for compression in the IPA, the old diacritic for labialization, [  ̫], will be used here as an ad hoc symbol.

Language Word IPA Meaning Notes
Japanese 空気/kuuki [kɯ̫ːki] 'air' See Japanese phonology
Swedish oro [ɯ̫̀β̞rɯ̫β̞] (help·info) 'unease' Contrasts with a close central and close front compressed vowel. See Swedish phonology

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ Lee (1999:122)

[edit] Bibliography

  • Lee, Hyun Bok (1999), "Korean", Handbook of the International Phonetic Association:A Guide to the Use of the International Phonetic Alphabet, Cambridge University Press, 120-123, ISBN 0-521-63751-1