Near-close near-back unrounded vowel

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Near-close near-back unrounded vowel
ɯ̽
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Near-close back unrounded vowel
ɯ̞
ɤ̝

The near-close near-back unrounded vowel, or near-high near-back unrounded vowel, [1] is a type of a vowel sound used in a few spoken languages.

Contents

The International Phonetic Alphabet has no dedicated symbol for this sound, but it may be represented as [ɯ̽] (mid-centralized ⟨ɯ⟩) or [ɯ̞̈] (lowered and centralized ⟨ɯ⟩). It may also be transcribed as [ʊ̜] (less rounded ⟨ ʊ ⟩), 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. John C. Wells transcribes this vowel with the para-IPA symbol ⟨ω⟩ in his Accents of English, [3] though Sinological phonetic notation uses this symbol instead for a near-open back rounded vowel [ɒ̝]. John Esling uses ⟨ᵻ⟩ to represent this sound in his iPA Phonetics mobile application, [4] though this is more typically used to represent a near-close central unrounded vowel [ɪ̈].

For precision, the near-close back unrounded vowel, or near-high back unrounded vowel, may also be described, and is attested in a few spoken languages. The International Phonetic Alphabet can represent this sound as [ɯ̞] (lowered ⟨ ɯ ⟩) or as [ɤ̝] (raised ⟨ ɤ ⟩). However, some phoneticians argue that all lip position inverses of the primary cardinal vowels are centralized (with the exception of ⟨ ɒ ⟩) based on formant acoustics, [5] so that there may be no substantial difference between a near-close near-back unrounded vowel [ɯ̽] and its fully back counterpart [ɯ̞].

Features

Occurrence

LanguageWord IPA MeaningNotes
English African-American [6] hook [hɯ̽k]'hook'Possible realization of /ʊ/. [6]
California [7] Often pronounced with spread lips. Corresponds to /ʊ/ in other accents. [7] See English phonology
Tidewater [8] May be rounded [ ʊ ] instead. [8]
Cardiff [9] [ɯ̽k]Also described as close-mid central [ɘ ~ ɵ]. [10]
New Zealand [11] [12] 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. [11] [12] It corresponds to /əl/ in other accents. See New Zealand English phonology
Some Philadelphia speakers [13] plus [pɫ̥ɯ̞s]'plus'Used particularly by male speakers; can be lower [ʌ̝ ~ ʌ] instead. [13] It corresponds to [ ʌ ] in other accents. See English phonology
South African [14] pill [pʰɯ̽ɫ]'pill'Possible allophone of /ɪ/ before the velarised allophone of /l/. [14] Also described as close-mid [ ɤ ]. [15] See South African English phonology
Irish Ulster [16] ag gail [əˈɡɯ̽lˠ]'boiling'Allophone of /ɪ/. [16] See Irish phonology
Korean [17] 어른 / eoreun [ə̝ːɾɯ̞n]'seniors'Typically transcribed in IPA with ⟨ɯ⟩. See Korean phonology
Portuguese European [18] pegar [pɯ̽ˈɣäɾ] ⓘ 'to grab'Typically transcribed in IPA with ⟨ɨ⟩ or ⟨ə⟩. Appears only in unstressed syllables. [18] See Portuguese phonology
Turkish Standard [19] sığ [sɯ̽ː]'shallow'Also described as close back [ ɯ ] and close central [ ɨ ]. [20] See Turkish phonology
Vietnamese Hanoi [21] từ [t̻ɯ̽˧˨] ⓘ 'word'Common allophone of /ɯ/. [21] See Vietnamese phonology
Yine [22] [tɯ̽wɯ̽]'salt'Typically transcribed in IPA with ⟨ɯ⟩. [22]

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. ↑ Esling, John H.; Moisik, Scott R.; Coey, Christopher (2015). iPA Phonetics: Multimodal iOS application for phonetics instruction and practice (PDF). 18th International Congress of Phonetic Sciences (ICPhS XVIII). ISSN   2412-0669.
  5. ↑ Geoff Lindsey (2013) The vowel space, Speech Talk
  6. 1 2 Wells (1982), p. 557.
  7. 1 2 Ladefoged (1999), pp. 42–43.
  8. 1 2 Wells (1982), p. 536.
  9. ↑ Wells (1982), p. 386.
  10. ↑ Collins & Mees (1990), pp. 92, 94.
  11. 1 2 "NZE Phonology" (PDF). Victoria University of Wellington. p. 3.
  12. 1 2 Bauer & Warren (2004), p. 585.
  13. 1 2 Gordon (2004), p. 290.
  14. 1 2 Bowerman (2004), p. 936.
  15. ↑ Wells (1982), p. 617.
  16. 1 2 Ní Chasaide (1999), p. 114.
  17. ↑ Lee (1999), p. 121.
  18. 1 2 Cruz-Ferreira (1995), p. 91.
  19. ↑ Kılıç & Öğüt (2004)
  20. ↑ Zimmer & Orgun (1999), p. 155.
  21. 1 2 Kirby (2011), p. 384.
  22. 1 2 Urquía Sebastián & Marlett (2008), p. 366.

References

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