- Close back unrounded vowel
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Not to be confused with the Armenian letter ա.
Close back unrounded vowel ɯ Image 
IPA number 316 Encoding Entity (decimal) ɯUnicode (hex) U+026F X-SAMPA MKirshenbaum u-Sound
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 a turned letter m, 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".
The IPA prefers terms "close" and "open" for vowels, and the name of the article follows this. However, a large number of linguists, perhaps a majority, prefer the terms "high" and "low", and these are the only terms found in introductory textbooks on phonetics such as those by Peter Ladefoged.
Contents
Features
IPA vowel chart Front Near-front Central Near-back Back Close 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 •
chart with audio • view- Its vowel height is close, also known as high, 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 not rounded.
Occurrence
Language Word IPA Meaning Notes Alekano hanuva [hɑnɯβɑ] 'nothing' Azeri qırx [ɡɯrx] 'forty' Bashkir ҡыҙ [qɯð] 'girl' Chinese Wu 父 [vɯ] 'father' Min Nan 豬 [tɯ] 'pig' Crimean Tatar canım [dʒanɯm] 'please' Irish Ulster caol [kʰɯːl̪ˠ] 'narrow' See Irish phonology Korean[1] 금 (金) / geum [kɯm] 'gold' See Korean phonology Kyrgyz кыз [qɯz] 'girl' Ongota [kuˈbuːɯ] 'dry' Portuguese[2] European pegar [pɯ̟ˈɣaɾ] 'to take' Occurs in unstressed syllables. More commonly transcribed as /ɨ/. See Portuguese phonology Sakha тыл [tɯl] 'tongue' Scottish Gaelic caol [kʰɯːl̪ˠ] 'thin' See Scottish Gaelic phonology Sundanese meunang [mɯnaŋ] 'get' Thai[3] ขึ้น[4] [kʰɯn˥˩] 'to go up' Turkish ılık [ɯˈɫɯk] 'warm' See Turkish phonology Vietnamese tư [tɯ] '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
- ^ Lee (1999:122)
- ^ Cruz-Ferreira (1995:91)
- ^ Tingsabadh & Abramson (1993:24)
- ^ Dictionary entry for ขึ้น (kheun) (thai-language.com)
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, doi:10.1017/S0025100300004746
International Phonetic Alphabet IPA topics IPA International Phonetic Association · History of the IPA · Kiel convention (1989) · Journal of the IPA (JIPA) · Naming conventionsPhonetics Special topics Encodings Consonants IPA pulmonic consonants chartchart image • audioPlace → Labial Coronal Dorsal Radical Glottal ↓ Manner Bilabial Labiodental Dental Alveolar Postalv. Retroflex Palatal Velar Uvular Pharyngeal Epiglottal Glottal Nasal m ɱ n̪ n ɳ ɲ ŋ ɴ Plosive p b p̪ b̪ t̪ d̪ t d ʈ ɖ c ɟ k ɡ q ɢ ʡ ʔ Fricative ɸ β f v θ ð s z ʃ ʒ ʂ ʐ ç ʝ x ɣ χ ʁ ħ ʕ ʜ ʢ h ɦ Approximant ʋ ɹ ɻ j ɰ Trill ʙ r ɽ͡r ʀ я * Flap or tap ⱱ̟ ⱱ ɾ ɽ ɢ̆ ʡ̯ Lateral Fric. ɬ ɮ ɭ˔̊ ʎ̥˔ ʟ̝̊ Lateral Appr. l ɭ ʎ ʟ Lateral flap ɺ ɺ̠ ʎ̯ Non-pulmonic consonants Clicks ʘ ǀ ǃ ǂ ǁ Implosives ɓ ɗ ʄ ᶑ ɠ ʛ Ejectives pʼ tʼ cʼ ʈʼ kʼ qʼ fʼ θʼ sʼ ɬʼ xʼ χʼ tsʼ tɬʼ cʎ̝̥ʼ tʃʼ ʈʂʼ kxʼ kʟ̝̊ʼ Affricates p̪f ts dz tʃ dʒ tɕ dʑ ʈʂ ɖʐ tɬ dɮ cç ɟʝ Co-articulated consonants Fricatives ɕ ʑ ɧ Approximants ʍ w ɥ ɫ Stops k͡p ɡ͡b ŋ͡m These tables contain phonetic symbols, which may not display correctly in some browsers. [Help] Where symbols appear in pairs, left—right represent the voiceless—voiced consonants. Shaded areas denote pulmonic articulations judged to be impossible. * Symbol not defined in IPA. Chart image Vowels Vowels: IPA help • chart • chart with audio • viewCategories:- Vowels
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