Mid vowel

Mid vowel
IPA vowel chart
Front Near-​front Central Near-​back Back
Close
Blank vowel trapezoid.svg
iy
ɨʉ
ɯu
ɪʏ
ʊ
eø
ɘɵ
ɤo
ɛœ
ɜɞ
ʌɔ
æ
aɶ
ä
ɑɒ
Near-close
Close-mid
Mid
Open-mid
Near-open
Open
Paired vowels are: unrounded • rounded
This table contains phonetic symbols. They may not display correctly in some browsers (Help).

IPA help • IPA key • chart • Loudspeaker.svg chart with audio • view

A mid vowel is a vowel sound used in some spoken languages. The defining characteristic of a mid vowel is that the tongue is positioned mid-way between an open vowel and a close vowel. The only mid vowel with a dedicated symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet is the mid central vowel [ə], a symbol which is also used for the vowel schwa.

The IPA divides the vowel space into thirds, with the close-mid vowels such as [e] or [o] and the open-mid vowels such as [ɛ] or [ɔ] equidistant in formant space between open [a] and close [i] or [u]. Thus a true mid front vowel could be transcribed as either a lowered [e̞] or a raised [ɛ̝].

Few languages contrast all three heights of mid vowel, since it is rare for a language to distinguish more than four heights of true front or back vowels. One, the Amstetten dialect of Austro-Bavarian German, contrasts four heights of front unrounded, front rounded, and back vowels in addition to having an open central vowel. These have been transcribed with the available IPA symbols /i e ɛ æ/, /y ø œ ɶ/, /u o ɔ ɑ/, and /a/.

Amstetten Bavarian
(transcription)
Close i y u
Close-mid e ø o
Open-mid ɛ œ ɔ
Near open æ ɶ̝ ɑ̝
Open a

However, the vowels transcribed /æ ɶ ɑ/ are one-third the distance between open /a/ and close /i y u/, precisely the IPA definition of open-mid vowels [ɛ œ ɔ]. Thus Amstetten Bavarian may be an example of a language that contrasts mid vowels with both open-mid and close-mid vowels.

Amstetten Bavarian
(formant space)
Close i y u
Close-mid e ø o
Mid ø̞
Open-mid ɛ œ ɔ
Open a

See also

  • Lowered (phonetics)
  • Raised (phonetics)

Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем написать курсовую

Look at other dictionaries:

  • mid-vowel — См. mediano 2 …   Пятиязычный словарь лингвистических терминов

  • Close-mid vowel — IPA vowel chart Front Near ​front Central Near ​back …   Wikipedia

  • Open-mid vowel — IPA vowel chart Front Near ​front Central Near ​back …   Wikipedia

  • Mid-central vowel — ə Image …   Wikipedia

  • Mid front unrounded vowel — e̞ IPA number 302 430 Encoding Entity (decimal) #101;​ #798; …   Wikipedia

  • Mid back rounded vowel — o̞ IPA number 307 430 Encoding Entity (decimal) #111;​ #798; …   Wikipedia

  • Mid front rounded vowel — ø̞ IPA number 310 430 Encoding Entity (decimal) #248;​ #798; …   Wikipedia

  • Mid back unrounded vowel — ɤ̞ IPA number 315 430 Encoding Entity (decimal) #612;​ #798; …   Wikipedia

  • MID — or Mid may refer to: Contents 1 Computers and electronics 2 Medicine and biology 3 Military 4 Other Compu …   Wikipedia

  • Vowel — In phonetics, a vowel is a sound in spoken language, such as English ah! IPA| [ɑː] or oh! IPA| [oʊ] , pronounced with an open vocal tract so that there is no build up of air pressure at any point above the glottis. This contrasts with consonants …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”