Close central rounded vowel

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IPA – number	318
IPA – text	ʉ
IPA – image
Entity	ʉ
X-SAMPA	}
Kirshenbaum	u"
Sound sample (help·info)

The close 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 ʉ, and the equivalent X-SAMPA symbol is }. The IPA symbol is the letter u with a horizontal bar. Both the symbol and the sound are commonly referred to as "barred-u".

There is also a close central compressed vowel which contrasts with both the rounded and unrounded close central vowels.

Contents 1 Close central rounded vowel 1.1 Features 1.2 Occurrence 2 Near-close central rounded vowel 2.1 Features 2.2 Occurrence 3 References 4 Bibliography

[edit] Close central rounded vowel

[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 central, which means the tongue is positioned halfway between a front vowel and a back vowel.
• Its vowel roundedness is rounded, which means that the lips are rounded and protrude and the inner surfaces are exposed.

[edit] Occurrence

Language		Word	IPA	Meaning	Notes
English	Australian	boot	[bʉ̟ːt]	'boot'	See Australian English phonology
	New Zealand
	Cockney[1]		[bʉːt]		corresponds to /uː/ in other dialects. See English phonology
	Estuary[2]
	Scouse[3]
Irish		ciúin	[cʉ̠ːnʲ]	'quiet'	Allophone of /uː/ and /u/. See Irish phonology
Norwegian		hus	[hʉːs]	'house'	See Norwegian phonology
Russian		кюрий[4]	[ˈkʲʉrʲɪj]	'curium'	Occurs only between palatalized consonants. See Russian phonology
Swedish		ful	[fʉ̟ːl] (help·info)	'ugly'	See Swedish phonology

[edit] Near-close central rounded vowel

The near-close central rounded vowel is a type of vowel sound, used in some spoken languages. The International Phonetic Alphabet can represent this sound as < ʊ̈ > (centralized ʊ) or < ʉ̞ > (lowered ʉ). Recently the OED has adopted an unofficial extension of the IPA, ʊ̵, that is a conflation of ʊ and ʉ, for this sound or for free variation between [ʊ] and [ə].

[edit] Features

• Its vowel height is near-close, which means the tongue is positioned similarly to a close vowel, but slightly less constricted.
• Its vowel backness is central, which means the tongue is positioned halfway between a front vowel and a back vowel.
• Its vowel roundedness is rounded, which means that the lips are rounded.

[edit] Occurrence

Language		Word	IPA	Meaning	Notes
English		euphoria	[jʊ̈ˈfɔəɹiə]	'euphoria'	See English phonology. Reduced form of the vowel /uː/.
Russian[5]		ютиться	[jʉ̞ˈtʲit͡sə]	'to huddle'	Only occurs between palatalized consonants and in unstressed syllables. See Russian phonology

[edit] References

[edit] Bibliography

• Jones, Daniel & Ward Dennis (1969), The Phonetics of Russian, Cambridge University Press
• Matthews, William (1938), written at Detroit, Cockney, Past and Present: a Short History of the Dialect of London, Gale Research Company
• Przedlacka, Joanna (2001), "Estuary English and RP: Some Recent Findings", Studia Anglica Posnaniensia 36: 35-50
• Watson, Kevin (2007), "Liverpool English", Journal of the International Phonetic Association 37 (3): 351-360