Near-close near-front rounded vowel

Last updated
Near-close near-front rounded vowel
ʏ
IPA Number 320
Audio sample
source  · help
Encoding
Entity (decimal)ʏ
Unicode (hex)U+028F
X-SAMPA Y
Braille Braille Asterisk.svg Braille Y.svg
Spectrogram of Y Spectrogram of near-close near-front rounded vowel (IPA Y).png
Spectrogram of ʏ

The near-close front rounded vowel, or near-high front rounded vowel, [1] is a type of vowel sound, used in some spoken languages.

Contents

The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet that represents this sound is ʏ, a small capital version of the Latin letter y, and the equivalent X-SAMPA symbol is Y.

Handbook of the International Phonetic Association defines [ʏ] as a mid-centralized (lowered and centralized) close front rounded vowel (transcribed [y̽] or [ÿ˕]), and the current official IPA name of the vowel transcribed with the symbol ʏ is near-close near-front rounded vowel. [2] However, acoustic analysis of cardinal vowels as produced by Daniel Jones and John C. Wells has shown that basically all cardinal front rounded vowels (so not just [ y ] but also [ø, œ, ɶ]) are near-front (or front-central) in their articulation, so [ʏ] may be just a lowered cardinal [ y ] ([y˕]), a vowel that is intermediate between cardinal [ y ] and cardinal [ ø ]. [3] In many languages that contrast close, near-close and close-mid front rounded vowels, there is no appreciable difference in backness between them. [4] [5] [6] [7] In some transcriptions, the vowel is transcribed with y [8] or ø. [9] When that is the case, this article transcribes it with the symbols (a lowered y) and ø̝ (a raised ø), respectively. ʏ implies too weak a rounding in some cases (specifically in the case of the vowels that are described as tense in Germanic languages, which are typically transcribed with øː), which would have to be specified as ʏ̹.

In some languages, however, ʏ is used to transcribe a vowel that is as low as close-mid but still fits the definition of a lowered and centralized (or just lowered) cardinal [ y ]. It occurs in German Standard German as well as some dialects of English (such as Estuary), [10] [11] [12] and it can be transcribed with the symbol ʏ̞ (a lowered ʏ) in narrow transcription. For the close-mid front rounded vowel that is not usually transcribed with the symbol ʏ (or y), see close-mid front rounded vowel.

In most languages, the rounded vowel is pronounced with compressed lips (in an exolabial manner). However, in a few cases, the lips are protruded (in an endolabial manner), such as in Swedish, which contrasts the two types of rounding.

Transcription

The near-close front rounded vowel is transcribed with y, ʏ and ø in world's languages. However, when the Latin y or ø are used for this vowel, ʏ may still be used for phonological reasons for a vowel that is lower than near-close, potentially leading to confusion. This is the case in several Germanic language varieties, as well as in some transcriptions of Shanghainese.

In the following table, the difference between compressed and protruded vowels is ignored, except in the case of Swedish. Short vowels transcribed with ʉ, ʏ, ɵ and œ in broad transcription are assumed to have a weak rounding in most cases.

SymbolPhonetic values in various language varieties
Dutch Dzongkha Frisian languages German Limburgish Shanghainese Swedish
Fering Saterland Northern Standard Hamont-Achel Maastricht WeertCentral Standard
y[ y ] ~ [ʏ] ~ [ ʉ ][ y ][ y ][ ʉ̞ ][ ʉ ][ y ]same asʏ
[ ] ~ [ʏː] ~ [ ʉː ][ ] ~ [ʏː][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ʉː ][ ][ y̫ː ]
ʉsame asʏ[ ʉ̞ᵝ ]
ʉː[ʏᵝː] ~ [ yᵝː ]
ʏ[ ɵ ][ ʉ̞ ][ ø ][ ø̜ ][ ɵ ][ ɵ ][ ɵ ][ ø ][ ø̫ ] ~ [ʏ̫] ~ [ ]
øsame asøː[ ø̹ ]same asøːsame asøːsame asøː[ʏ]same asœ
øː[øʏ] ~ [ øː ] ~ [ ɵː ][ øː ] ~ [ œː ][ ʉ̞ː ][ʏː][ ø̹ː ][ ɵː ][ ɵː ] ~ [ɵʊ̈][øə][ ø̫ː ]
ɵsame asʏ[ ɵ̞ᵝ ]
œsame asʏ[ ɵ ][ œ ][ œ ][ œ ][ œ̝ ][ œ̝ ][ œ̫˔ ]
œː[ œː ][ øː ][ œː ][ œː ][ ɞː ][ œ̝ː ]

Near-close front compressed vowel

The near-close front compressed vowel is typically transcribed in IPA simply as ʏ, and that is the convention used in this article. There is no dedicated diacritic for compression in the IPA. However, the compression of the lips can be shown with the letter β̞ as ɪ͡β̞ (simultaneous [ɪ] and labial compression) or ɪᵝ ([ɪ] modified with labial compression). The spread-lip diacritic   ͍ may also be used with a rounded vowel letter ʏ͍ as an ad hoc symbol, though technically 'spread' means unrounded.

The close-mid front compressed vowel can be transcribed ɪ̞͡β̞, ɪ̞ᵝ or ʏ͍˕.

Features

Occurrence

Because front rounded vowels are assumed to have compression, and few descriptions cover the distinction, some of the following may actually have protrusion. Vowels transcribed with and ø̝ may have a stronger rounding than the prototypical value of ʏ.

LanguageWord IPA MeaningNotes
Albanian Gheg yll [ʏɫ]'star'
Bashkir дүрт/dürt [dʏrt] 'four'
Bavarian Northern [13] vill[v̥ʏl]'much'Allophone of /i/ before /l/. [13]
Buwal [14] [ɗɛ́ɗʏ̄wɛ̄k]'bitter'Palatalized allophone of /ə/ when adjacent to a labialized consonant. [14]
Chinese Shanghainese [15] / koe[kø̝˩]'liver'Realization of /ø/ in open syllables and /ʏ/ in closed syllables. Near-close [ø̝] in the former case, close-mid [ʏ̞] in the latter. [15]
Danish Standard [16] købe [ˈkʰø̝ːpə]'buy'Also described as close-mid [ øː ]. [17] See Danish phonology
Dutch Standard [18] nu [ny˕]'now'Also transcribed as close front [ y ] [19] [20] and, in the Standard Northern accent, as close central [ ʉ ]. [21] Typically transcribed in IPA with y. See Dutch phonology
English Estuary [22] [23] foot [fʏʔt]'foot'Possible realization of /ʊ/ and /uː/. In the former case, the height varies between near-close [ʏ] and close-mid [ʏ̞]. [22] [24]
Multicultural London [25] Possible realization of /ʊ/. [25]
Rural white Southern American [26] [fʏt̚]Can be central [ ʊ̈ ] instead. [26]
West Country [27] [fʏt]Possible realization of /ʊ/ and /uː/. [27]
New Zealand [28] [29] nurse [nʏːs]'nurse'Possible realization of /ɵː/ (and also /ʉː/). [28] [29] [30] See New Zealand English phonology
Ulster [31] mule [mjʏl]'mule'Short allophone of /u/; occurs only after /j/. [31] See English phonology
Multicultural London food [fʏːd] 'food'
Faroese [32] krúss [kɹʏsː]'mug'See Faroese phonology
French Parisian [33] tu [t̪y˕]'you'Also described as close [ y ]; [34] [35] typically transcribed in IPA with y. See French phonology
Quebec [36] lune [lʏn]'moon'Allophone of /y/ in closed syllables. [36] See Quebec French phonology
German Standard [10] [11] schützen [ˈʃʏ̞t͡sn̩]'protect'Close-mid; it may be as high as [ y ] for some speakers. [10] [11] See Standard German phonology
Some speakers [37] schwimmen [ʃvʏmː]'to swim'Allophone of /ɪ/ before labial consonants. Used by some speakers in Northern and Central Germany. [37] See Standard German phonology
Hungarian [4] üt [y˕t̪] 'hit'Typically transcribed in IPA with y. See Hungarian phonology
Icelandic [38] vinur [ˈʋɪ̞ːnʏ̞ɾ]'friend'Close-mid; [38] also described as central [ ɵ ]. [39] See Icelandic phonology
Kazakh жүр /jür[ʑʏr]'go'
Kurdish d[dʏneː]'yesterday'Allophone of /weː/ before consonant.
Low German [40] lütt / lut[lʏt]'little'
Norwegian [41] nytt [nʏtː]'new'The example word is from Urban East Norwegian, in which the vowel varies between compressed [ʏ] and protruded [ ʏ̫ ]. [42] Its height has been variously described as near-close [ʏ] [41] and close [ y ]. [43] See Norwegian phonology.
Saterland Frisian [7] röögje[ˈʀø̝ːɡjə]'to rain'Phonetic realization of /øː/ and /ʏ/. Near-close [ø̝ː] in the former case, close-mid [ʏ̞] in the latter. Phonetically, the latter is nearly identical to /œː/ ([ øː ]). [7]
Scots [44] buit[bʏt]'boot'May be central [ ʉ ] instead. [44]
Swedish Central Standard [5] [45] ut [ʏːt̪]'out'Often realized as a sequence [ʏβ̞] or [ʏβ] [46] [47] (hear the word: [ʏβt̪] ). The height has been variously described as near-close [ʏː] [5] [45] and close [ ]. [48] Typically transcribed in IPA with ʉː; it is central [ ʉː ] in other dialects. See Swedish phonology
Turkish [49] atasözü [ät̪äˈs̪ø̞z̪ʏ]'proverb'Allophone of /y/ described variously as "word-final" [49] and "occurring in final open syllable of a phrase". [50] See Turkish phonology
Turkmen [51] Türkmençe [tʏɾkmøntʃø]'Turkmen'
Wymysorys [52] büwa[ˈbʏvä]'boys'

Near-close front protruded vowel

Near-close front protruded vowel
ʏ̫
ʏʷ
ɪʷ

Catford notes[ full citation needed ] that most languages with rounded front and back vowels use distinct types of labialization, protruded back vowels and compressed front vowels. However, a few languages, such as Scandinavian languages, have protruded front vowels. One of them, Swedish, even contrasts the two types of rounding in front vowels as well as height and duration. [53]

As there are no diacritics in the IPA to distinguish protruded and compressed rounding, the old diacritic for labialization, ◌̫, will be used here as an ad hoc symbol for protruded front vowels. Another possible transcription is ʏʷ or ɪʷ (a near-close front vowel modified by endolabialization), but that could be misread as a diphthong.

The close-mid front protruded vowel can be transcribed ʏ̫˕, ʏ̞ʷ or ɪ̞ʷ.

For the close-mid front protruded vowel that is not usually transcribed with the symbol ʏ (or y), see close-mid front protruded vowel.

Acoustically, this sound is "between" the more typical compressed near-close front vowel [ʏ] and the unrounded near-close front vowel [ ɪ ].

Features

Occurrence

LanguageWord IPA MeaningNotes
Norwegian [41] nytt [nʏ̫tː]'new'The example word is from Urban East Norwegian, in which the vowel varies between protruded [ʏ̫] and compressed [ ʏ ]. [42] Its height has been variously described as near-close [ʏ] [41] and close [ y ]. [43] See Norwegian phonology.
Swedish Central Standard [5] [45] ylle [²ʏ̫lːɛ̝] 'wool'The height has been variously described as close-mid [ʏ̫˕], [5] near-close [ʏ̫] [45] and close [ ]. [54] See Swedish phonology

Related Research Articles

The voiceless labiodental fricative is a type of consonantal sound used in a number of spoken languages. The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet that represents this sound is ⟨f⟩.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Open front unrounded vowel</span> Vowel sound represented by ⟨a⟩ in IPA

The open front unrounded vowel, or low front unrounded vowel, is a type of vowel sound used in some spoken languages. It is one of the eight primary cardinal vowels, not directly intended to correspond to a vowel sound of a specific language but rather to serve as a fundamental reference point in a phonetic measuring system.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Open front rounded vowel</span> Vowel sound represented by ⟨ɶ⟩ in IPA

The (near) open front rounded vowel, or (near) low front rounded vowel, is a type of vowel sound that has not been confirmed to be phonemic in any spoken language. The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet that represents this sound is ⟨ɶ⟩, and the equivalent X-SAMPA symbol is &. The letter ⟨ɶ⟩ is a small caps rendition of ⟨Œ⟩. ⟨œ⟩, the lowercase version of the ligature, is used for the open-mid front rounded vowel.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Open back rounded vowel</span> Vowel sound represented by ⟨ɒ⟩ in IPA

The open back rounded vowel, or low back 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 ⟨ɒ⟩. It is called Latin turned alpha being a rotated version of Latin alpha. It seems a "turned script a", being a rotated version of "script (cursive) a", which is the variant of a that lacks the extra stroke on top of a "printed a". Latin turned alpha aɒ⟩ has its linear stroke on the left, whereas Latin alpha aɑ⟩ has its linear stroke on the right.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Close front rounded vowel</span> Vowel sound represented by ⟨y⟩ in IPA

The close front rounded vowel, or high front 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 ⟨y⟩, and the equivalent X-SAMPA symbol is y. Across many languages, it is most commonly represented orthographically as ⟨ü⟩ or ⟨y⟩ but also as ⟨u⟩ ; ⟨iu⟩/⟨yu⟩ ; ⟨уь⟩ ; or ⟨ү⟩.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Close back rounded vowel</span> Vowel sound represented by ⟨u⟩ in IPA

The close back rounded vowel, or high back rounded vowel, is a type of vowel sound used in many spoken languages. The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet that represents this sound is ⟨u⟩, and the equivalent X-SAMPA symbol is u.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Close back unrounded vowel</span> Vowel sound represented by ⟨ɯ⟩ in IPA

The close back unrounded vowel, or high 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⟩. Typographically, it is a turned letter ⟨m⟩.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Close central rounded vowel</span> Vowel sound represented by ⟨ʉ⟩ in IPA

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 ⟨ʉ⟩, and the equivalent X-SAMPA symbol is }. The sound is also commonly referred to by the name of its symbol, "barred u".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Close-mid front unrounded vowel</span> Vowel sound represented by ⟨e⟩ in IPA

The close-mid front unrounded vowel, or high-mid front 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 ⟨e⟩.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Close-mid front rounded vowel</span> Vowel sound represented by ⟨ø⟩ in IPA

The close-mid front rounded vowel, or high-mid front rounded vowel, is a type of vowel sound used in some spoken languages.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Close-mid central rounded vowel</span> Vowel sound represented by ⟨ɵ⟩ in IPA

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 ⟨ɵ⟩, a lowercase barred letter o. The value was specified only in 1993; until then, ⟨ɵ⟩ represented the mid central rounded vowel.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Close-mid back rounded vowel</span> Vowel sound represented by ⟨o⟩ in IPA

The close-mid back rounded vowel, or high-mid back 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 ⟨o⟩.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Open-mid back unrounded vowel</span> Vowel sound represented by ⟨ʌ⟩ in IPA

The open-mid back unrounded vowel or low-mid 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 ⟨ʌ⟩, graphically a rotated lowercase "v". Both the symbol and the sound are commonly referred to as a "wedge", "caret" or "hat". In transcriptions for English, this symbol is commonly used for the near-open central unrounded vowel and in transcriptions for Danish, it is used for the open back rounded vowel.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Open-mid front rounded vowel</span> Vowel sound represented by ⟨œ⟩ in IPA

The open-mid front rounded vowel, or low-mid front rounded vowel, is a type of vowel sound, used in some spoken languages. The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet that represents the sound is ⟨œ⟩. The symbol œ is a lowercase ligature of the letters o and e. The letter ⟨ɶ⟩, a small capital version of the ⟨Œ⟩ ligature, is used for a different vowel sound: the open front rounded vowel.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Near-open front unrounded vowel</span> Vowel sound represented by ⟨æ⟩ in IPA

The near-open front unrounded vowel, or near-low front unrounded vowel, is a type of vowel sound. The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet that represents this sound is ⟨æ⟩, a lowercase of the ⟨Æ⟩ ligature. Both the symbol and the sound are commonly referred to as "ash".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Near-open central vowel</span> Vowel sound represented by ⟨ɐ⟩ in IPA

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 ⟨ɐ⟩, a rotated lowercase double-story a.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Near-close near-front unrounded vowel</span> Vowel sound represented by ⟨ɪ⟩ in IPA

The near-close near-front unrounded vowel, or near-high near-front 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 ⟨ɪ⟩, the small capital I. The International Phonetic Association advises serifs on the symbol's ends. Some sans-serif fonts do meet this typographic specification. Prior to 1989, there was an alternate symbol for this sound: ⟨ɩ⟩, the use of which is no longer sanctioned by the IPA. Despite that, some modern writings still use it.

In phonetics, vowel roundedness is the amount of rounding in the lips during the articulation of a vowel. It is labialization of a vowel. When a rounded vowel is pronounced, the lips form a circular opening, and unrounded vowels are pronounced with the lips relaxed. In most languages, front vowels tend to be unrounded, and back vowels tend to be rounded. However, some languages, such as French, German and Icelandic, distinguish rounded and unrounded front vowels of the same height, and Vietnamese distinguishes rounded and unrounded back vowels of the same height. Alekano has only unrounded vowels. In the International Phonetic Alphabet vowel chart, rounded vowels are the ones that appear on the right in each pair of vowels. There are also diacritics, U+0339◌̹COMBINING RIGHT HALF RING BELOW and U+031C◌̜COMBINING LEFT HALF RING BELOW, to indicate greater and lesser degrees of rounding, respectively. Thus has less rounding than cardinal, and has more. These diacritics can also be used with unrounded vowels: is more spread than cardinal, and is less spread than cardinal.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Near-close near-back rounded vowel</span> Vowel sound represented by ⟨ʊ⟩ in IPA

The near-close near-back rounded vowel, or near-high near-back rounded vowel, is a type of vowel sound, used in some spoken languages. The IPA symbol that represents this sound is ⟨ʊ⟩. It is informally called "horseshoe u". Prior to 1989, there was an alternative IPA symbol for this sound, ⟨ɷ⟩, called "closed omega"; use of this symbol is no longer sanctioned by the IPA. In Americanist phonetic notation, the symbol ⟨⟩ is used. Sometimes, especially in broad transcription, this vowel is transcribed with a simpler symbol ⟨u⟩, which technically represents the close back rounded vowel.

The mid front rounded vowel is a type of vowel sound, used in some spoken languages.

References

  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), pp. 13, 171, 180.
  3. Geoff Lindsey (2013) The vowel space, Speech Talk
  4. 1 2 Szende (1994), p. 92.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 Engstrand (1999), p. 140.
  6. Lodge (2009), p. 87.
  7. 1 2 3 Peters (2017), p. ?.
  8. For example, by Collins & Mees (2013 :225) and Szende (1994 :92).
  9. For example by Chen & Gussenhoven (2015 :328); Basbøll & Wagner (1985 :40), cited in Basbøll (2005 :48) and Peters (2017 :?).
  10. 1 2 3 Hall (2003), pp. 93–94, 107.
  11. 1 2 3 Dudenredaktion, Kleiner & Knöbl (2015), pp. 34, 64.
  12. Altendorf & Watt (2004), pp. 188, 191.
  13. 1 2 Rowley (1990), p. 422.
  14. 1 2 Viljoen (2013), p. 50.
  15. 1 2 Chen & Gussenhoven (2015), p. 328.
  16. Basbøll & Wagner (1985 :40), cited in Basbøll (2005 :48).
  17. Basbøll (2005), p. 46.
  18. Collins & Mees (2003), p. 132.
  19. Verhoeven (2005), p. 245.
  20. Gussenhoven (2007), p. 30.
  21. Gussenhoven (1992), p. 47.
  22. 1 2 Przedlacka (2001), pp. 42–43.
  23. Altendorf & Watt (2004), pp. 188, 190–191.
  24. Altendorf & Watt (2004), pp. 188, 190.
  25. 1 2 Cruttenden (2014), p. 91.
  26. 1 2 Thomas (2004), pp. 303, 308.
  27. 1 2 Altendorf & Watt (2004), p. 200.
  28. 1 2 Bauer et al. (2007), p. 98.
  29. 1 2 Mannell, Cox & Harrington (2009).
  30. Bauer & Warren (2004), p. 582.
  31. 1 2 Jilka, Matthias. "Irish English and Ulster English" (PDF). Stuttgart: Institut für Linguistik/Anglistik, University of Stuttgart. p. 6. Archived from the original (PDF) on 21 April 2014.
  32. Peterson (2000), cited in Árnason (2011 :76)
  33. Collins & Mees (2013), p. 225.
  34. Fougeron & Smith (1993), p. 73.
  35. Lodge (2009), p. 84.
  36. 1 2 Walker (1984), pp. 51–60.
  37. 1 2 Dudenredaktion, Kleiner & Knöbl (2015), p. 65.
  38. 1 2 Árnason (2011), p. 60.
  39. Einarsson (1945 :10), cited in Gussmann (2011 :73)
  40. Prehn (2012), p. 157.
  41. 1 2 3 4 Vanvik (1979), pp. 13, 20.
  42. 1 2 Kristoffersen (2000), pp. 15–16.
  43. 1 2 Kvifte & Gude-Husken (2005), p. 2.
  44. 1 2 Stuart-Smith (2004), p. 54.
  45. 1 2 3 4 Bolander (2001), p. 55.
  46. Engstrand (1999), p. 141.
  47. Riad (2014), p. 28.
  48. Riad (2014), pp. 27–28.
  49. 1 2 Göksel & Kerslake (2005), p. 11.
  50. Zimmer & Organ (1999), p. 155.
  51. Hoey (2013), p. 6.
  52. Jarosław Weckwerth. "The pure vowels (monophthongs) of Wilamowicean – spectral characteristics" (PDF). pp. 1–2, 5.
  53. Ladefoged & Maddieson (1996), p. ?.
  54. Dahlstedt (1967), p. 16.

Sources