Close back unrounded vowel

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Vowels
See also: IPA, Consonants
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Blank vowel trapezoid.svg
i · y
ɨ · ʉ
ɯ · u
ɪ · ʏ
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. Vowel length is indicated by appending  
ː
IPA – number 316
IPA – text ɯ
IPA – image {{{imagesize}}}
Entity ɯ
X-SAMPA M
Kirshenbaum u-
About this sound Sound sample

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

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.

Occurrence

Language Word IPA Meaning Notes
Alekano hanuva [hɑnɯβɑ] 'nothing'
Azeri qırx [ɡɯrx] 'forty'
Crimean Tatar canım [dʒanɯm] 'please'
Irish Ulster saol [sɯːl̪ˠ] 'life, world' See Irish phonology
Korean[1] () / geum [kɯm] 'gold' See Korean phonology
Kyrgyz кыз [qɯʒ] 'girl'
Ongota [kuˈbu:ɯ] 'dry'
Portuguese[2] European pegar [pɯ̟ˈɡaɾ] 'to grab' Occurs in unstressed syllables. More commonly transcribed as [ɨ] See Portuguese phonology
Scottish Gaelic caol [kʰɯːl̪ˠ] 'thin'
Thai[3] ? [kʰɯ̂n] 'to go up'
Turkish ılık [ɯˈɫɯk] 'mild' See Turkish phonology
Vietnamese tư [tɯ̄] 'fourth' See Vietnamese phonology

The symbol ɯ is sometimes used for Japanese /u/, but that sound is rounded, albeit with labial compression rather than protrusion. It is more accurately described as an exolabial close back vowel.

See also

References

Bibliography

  • Cruz-Ferreira, Madalena (1995), "European Portuguese", Journal of the International Phonetic Association 25 (2): 90–94, doi:10.1017/S0025100300005223 
  • Lee, Hyun Bok (1999), "Korean", Handbook of the International Phonetic Association:A Guide to the Use of the International Phonetic Alphabet, Cambridge University Press, pp. 120–123, ISBN 0-521-63751-1 
  • Tingsabadh, M.R. Kalaya; Abramson, Arthur S. (1993), "Thai", Journal of the International Phonetic Association 23 (1): 24–26 

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