Close back unrounded vowel

Vowel sound represented by ⟨ɯ⟩ in IPA

Close back unrounded vowel
ɯ
IPA Number316
Audio sample
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Encoding
Entity (decimal)ɯ
Unicode (hex)U+026F
X-SAMPAM
Braille⠲ (braille pattern dots-256)⠥ (braille pattern dots-136)
Image
IPA: Vowels
Front Central Back
Close
•
ɯ
•
Near-close
Close-mid
•
•
Mid
Open-mid
Near-open
•
Open
•
•

Legend: unrounded • rounded

Spectrogram of /ɯ/

The close back unrounded vowel, or high back unrounded vowel,[1] 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⟩.

The close back unrounded vowel can in many cases be considered the vocalic equivalent of the voiced velar approximant [ɰ].

Features

  • Its vowel height is close, also known as high, which means the tongue is positioned close 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 back in the mouth without creating a constriction that would be classified as a consonant. Unrounded back vowels tend to be centralized, which means that often they are in fact near-back.
  • It is unrounded, which means that the lips are not rounded.

Occurrence

Language Word IPA Meaning Notes
Acehnese[2] eu [ɯ] 'see' Also described as closer to [ɨ].[3][4]
Arara[5] îput [ɯput̚] 'my skin' Frequent realisation of /ɨ/.[5]
Azerbaijani bahalı [bɑhɑˈɫɯ] 'expensive' Closer to an [ɘ][6]
Bashkir ҡыҙ / qıď [qɯð] 'girl'
Chinese Mandarin 刺 / cì [t͡sʰɯ˥˩] 'thorn'
Some Wu dialects 父 / vu [vɯ] 'father'
Xiang 火 / xu [xɯ] 'fire'
Chuvash ыхра/ıxra [ɯɣra] 'garlic'
Crimean Tatar джаным/canım [dʒanɯm] 'please'
English African-American[7] hook [hɯ̞k] 'hook' Near-close; possible realization of /ʊ/.[7]
Tidewater[8] Near-close; may be rounded [ʊ] instead.[8]
Some California speakers[9] goose [ɡɯˑs] 'goose' Corresponds to [uː] in other dialects.
New Zealand[10][11] treacle [ˈtɹ̝̊iːkɯ] '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.[10][11] Corresponds to /əl/ in other accents. Develops from dark L; See New Zealand English phonology
Some Philadelphia speakers[12] plus [pɫ̥ɯs] 'plus' Used by some speakers; the exact height and backness is variable.[12] It corresponds to [ʌ] in other accents. See English phonology
South African[13] pill [pʰɯ̞ɫ] 'pill' Near-close; possible allophone of /ɪ/ before the velarised allophone of /l/.[13] See South African English phonology
Estonian[14] kõrv [kɯrv] 'ear' Typically transcribed in IPA with ⟨ɤ⟩; can be close-mid central [ɘ] or close-mid back [ɤ] instead, depending on the speaker.[14] See Estonian phonology
Irish Ulster caol [kʰɯːl̪ˠ] 'narrow' See Irish phonology
Japanese[15] 空気 / kūki [kɯːki]ⓘ 'air' May be compressed [ɯᵝ].[16] See Japanese phonology
Katukina[17] [babɯˈdʒɯ] 'oscar (fish)'
Kazakh қыс/qys [qɯs] 'winter' May be pronounced as [qəs]
Korean[18] 음식 飮食 / eumsik [ɯːmɕ͈ik̚] 'food' See Korean phonology
Kurdish Kurmanji (Northern) tirş [tˤɯɾʃ] 'sour' See Kurdish phonology. The "i" after "t" always uses this sound if the "t" is "tˤ". However, it can also appear at other places.
Sorani (Central) ترش / tirş
Kyrgyz кыз / qyz [qɯz] 'girl' See Kyrgyz phonology
Panará[19] [tɯˈsəʰ] 'to breathe'
Portuguese European[20] pegar [pɯ̞ˈɣäɾ]ⓘ 'to grab' Reduced vowel. Near-close.[20] Typically transcribed in IPA with ⟨ɨ⟩. See Portuguese phonology
Romanian Some speakers când [kɯnd] 'when' Typically described as /ɨ/. See Romanian phonology
Scottish Gaelic caol [kʰɯːl̪ˠ] 'thin' See Scottish Gaelic phonology
Sop düm [dɯm] 'tree' See Sop language
Tamil அழகு / aḻagu [əɻəɣɯ] 'beauty'
Thai Standard[21] ขึ้น / khuen/khîn [kʰɯn˥˩] 'to go up'
Turkish[22] sığ [sɯː] 'shallow' Described variously as close back [ɯ],[22] near-close near-back [ɯ̞][23] and close central [ɨ].[24] See Turkish phonology
Turkmen ýaşyl [jɑːˈʃɯl] 'green'
Uyghur تىلىم/tılım / tilim [tɯlɯm] 'my language' In complementary distribution with /ɪ/. See Uyghur phonology
Vietnamese tư [tɯ] 'fourth' See Vietnamese phonology

See also

Notes

  1. ^ While the International Phonetic Association prefers the terms "close" and "open" for vowel height, many linguists use "high" and "low".
  2. ^ Durie, Mark (1990). "Proto-Chamic and Acehnese Mid Vowels: Towards Proto-Aceh-Chamic" (PDF). Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London. LII, Part 1: 100–111. doi:10.1017/S0041977X00021297. S2CID 162224060. Archived from the original (PDF) on 14 July 2010.
  3. ^ Asyik, Abdul Gani. "The Agreement System in Acehnese" (PDF). Mon-Khmer Studies. XI: 1–33. Archived from the original (PDF) on 30 July 2009. Retrieved 21 May 2012.
  4. ^ Al-Harbi, Awwad Ahmad Al-Ahmadi (January 2003). "Acehnese Coda Condition: An Optimality-Theoretic Account" (PDF). Umm Al-Qura University Journal of Educational and Social Sciences and Humanities. 15 (1): 9–28.
  5. ^ a b Alves (2013), p. 269.
  6. ^ Ghaffarvand-Mokari & Werner 2016, p. 514.
  7. ^ a b Wells (1982), p. 557.
  8. ^ a b Wells (1982), p. 536.
  9. ^ Ladefoged (1999), pp. 42–43.
  10. ^ a b Warren, Paul. NZE Phonology (PDF) (Report). Victoria University of Wellington. p. 3. Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 January 2024.
  11. ^ a b Bauer & Warren (2004), p. 585.
  12. ^ a b Gordon (2004), p. 290.
  13. ^ a b Bowerman (2004), p. 936.
  14. ^ a b Asu & Teras (2009), p. 369.
  15. ^ Labrune (2012), p. 25.
  16. ^ Okada (1999), p. 118.
  17. ^ dos Anjos (2012), p. 129.
  18. ^ Lee (1999), p. 122.
  19. ^ Vasconcelos (2013), p. 182.
  20. ^ a b Cruz-Ferreira (1995), p. 91.
  21. ^ Tingsabadh & Abramson (1993), p. 24.
  22. ^ a b Göksel & Kerslake (2005:10)
  23. ^ Kılıç & Öğüt (2004)
  24. ^ Zimmer & Orgun (1999:155)

References

  • Alves, Ana Carolina Ferreira (2013). "Aspectos do sistema fonológico de Arara (Karib)" (PDF). Boletim do Museu Paraense Emílio Goeldi. Ciências Humanas. 8 (2): 265–277. doi:10.1590/S1981-81222013000200003.
  • Asu, Eva Liina; Teras, Pire (2009). "Estonian". Journal of the International Phonetic Association. 39 (3): 367–372. doi:10.1017/s002510030999017x.
  • Bauer, Laurie; Warren, Paul (2004), "New Zealand English: phonology", in Schneider, Edgar W.; Burridge, Kate; Kortmann, Bernd; Mesthrie, Rajend; Upton, Clive (eds.), A handbook of varieties of English, vol. 1: Phonology, Mouton de Gruyter, pp. 580–602, ISBN 3-11-017532-0
  • Bowerman, Sean (2004), "White South African English: phonology", in Schneider, Edgar W.; Burridge, Kate; Kortmann, Bernd; Mesthrie, Rajend; Upton, Clive (eds.), A handbook of varieties of English, vol. 1: Phonology, Mouton de Gruyter, pp. 931–942, ISBN 3-11-017532-0
  • Cruz-Ferreira, Madalena (1995), "European Portuguese", Journal of the International Phonetic Association, 25 (2): 90–94, doi:10.1017/S0025100300005223, S2CID 249414876
  • dos Anjos, Zoraide (2012). "Fonologia Katukina-Kanamari". LIAMES: Línguas Indígenas Americanas. 12 (1): 123–156. doi:10.20396/liames.v0i12.1486.
  • Ghaffarvand-Mokari, Payam; Werner, Stefan (2016), "An acoustic description of spectral and temporal characteristics of Azerbaijani vowels", Poznań Studies in Contemporary Linguistics, 52 (3), doi:10.1515/psicl-2016-0019, S2CID 151826061
  • Göksel, Asli; Kerslake, Celia (2005), Turkish: a comprehensive grammar, Routledge, ISBN 978-0415114943
  • Gordon, Matthew J. (2004), "New York, Philadelphia, and other northern cities: phonology", in Schneider, Edgar W.; Burridge, Kate; Kortmann, Bernd; Mesthrie, Rajend; Upton, Clive (eds.), A handbook of varieties of English, vol. 1: Phonology, Mouton de Gruyter, pp. 282–299, ISBN 3-11-017532-0
  • International Phonetic Association (1999), Handbook of the International Phonetic Association: A guide to the use of the International Phonetic Alphabet, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, ISBN 0-521-65236-7
  • Kılıç, Mehmet Akif; Öğüt, Fatih (2004). "A high unrounded vowel in Turkish: is it a central or back vowel?" (PDF). Speech Communication. 43 (1–2): 143–154. doi:10.1016/j.specom.2004.03.001 – via Elsevier ScienceDirect.
  • Labrune, Laurence (2012), The Phonology of Japanese, Oxford, England: Oxford University Press, ISBN 978-0-19-954583-4
  • Ladefoged, Peter (1999), "American English", Handbook of the International Phonetic Association, Cambridge University Press, pp. 41–44
  • 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
  • Okada, Hideo (1999), "Japanese", in International Phonetic Association (ed.), Handbook of the International Phonetic Association: A Guide to the Use of the International Phonetic Alphabet, Cambridge University Press, pp. 117–119, ISBN 978-0-52163751-0
  • Tingsabadh, M.R. Kalaya; Abramson, Arthur S. (1993). "Thai". Journal of the International Phonetic Association. 23 (1): 24–26. doi:10.1017/S0025100300004746. S2CID 242001518.
  • Vasconcelos, Eduardo A. (2013). Investigando a hipótese Cayapó do Sul-Panará (PhD). Campinas: University of Campinas. doi:10.47749/T/UNICAMP.2013.929939. hdl:20.500.12733/1622968.
  • Wells, John C. (1982). Accents of English. Vol. 3: Beyond the British Isles (pp. i–xx, 467–674). Cambridge University Press. doi:10.1017/CBO9780511611766. ISBN 0-52128541-0 .
  • Zimmer, Karl; Orgun, Orhan (1999), "Turkish" (PDF), Handbook of the International Phonetic Association: A guide to the use of the International Phonetic Alphabet, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp. 154–158, ISBN 0-521-65236-7, archived from the original (PDF) on 25 July 2018, retrieved 20 November 2015

External links

  • List of languages with [ɯ] on PHOIBLE
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IPA topics
IPA
Special topics
Encodings
Pulmonic consonants
Place → Labial Coronal Dorsal Laryngeal
Manner ↓ Bi­labial Labio­dental Linguo­labial Dental Alveolar Post­alveolar Retro­flex Palatal Velar Uvular Pharyn­geal/epi­glottal Glottal
Nasal m̥ m ɱ̊ ɱ n̼ n̥ n ɳ̊ ɳ ɲ̊ ɲ ŋ̊ ŋ ɴ̥ ɴ
Plosive p b p̪ b̪ t̼ d̼ t d ʈ ɖ c ɟ k ɡ q ɢ ʡ ʔ
Sibilant affricate ts dz t̠ʃ d̠ʒ tʂ dʐ tɕ dʑ
Non-sibilant affricate pɸ bβ p̪f b̪v t̪θ d̪ð tɹ̝̊ dɹ̝ t̠ɹ̠̊˔ d̠ɹ̠˔ cç ɟʝ kx ɡɣ qχ ɢʁ ʡʜ ʡʢ ʔh
Sibilant fricative s z ʃ ʒ ʂ ʐ ɕ ʑ
Non-sibilant fricative ɸ β f v θ̼ ð̼ θ ð θ̠ ð̠ ɹ̠̊˔ ɹ̠˔ ɻ̊˔ ɻ˔ ç ʝ x ɣ χ ʁ ħ ʕ h ɦ
Approximant ʋ ɹ ɻ j ɰ ʔ̞
Tap/flap ⱱ̟ ⱱ ɾ̼ ɾ̥ ɾ ɽ̊ ɽ ɢ̆ ʡ̆
Trill ʙ̥ ʙ r̥ r ɽ̊r̥ ɽr ʀ̥ ʀ ʜ ʢ
Lateral affricate tɬ dɮ tꞎ d𝼅 c𝼆 ɟʎ̝ k𝼄 ɡʟ̝
Lateral fricative ɬ ɮ ꞎ 𝼅 𝼆 ʎ̝ 𝼄 ʟ̝
Lateral approximant l ɭ ʎ ʟ ʟ̠
Lateral tap/flap ɺ̥ ɺ 𝼈̥ 𝼈 ʎ̆ ʟ̆

Symbols to the right in a cell are voiced, to the left are voiceless. Shaded areas denote articulations judged impossible.

Non-pulmonic consonants
BL LD D A PA RF P V U EG
Ejective Stop pʼ tʼ ʈʼ cʼ kʼ qʼ ʡʼ
Affricate p̪fʼ t̪θʼ tsʼ t̠ʃʼ tʂʼ tɕʼ kxʼ qχʼ
Fricative ɸʼ fʼ θʼ sʼ ʃʼ ʂʼ ɕʼ xʼ χʼ
Lateral affricate tɬʼ c𝼆ʼ k𝼄ʼ q𝼄ʼ
Lateral fricative ɬʼ
Click
(top: velar;
bottom: uvular) 		Tenuis kʘ
qʘ 		kǀ
qǀ 		kǃ
qǃ 		k𝼊
q𝼊 		kǂ
qǂ
Voiced ɡʘ
ɢʘ 		ɡǀ
ɢǀ 		ɡǃ
ɢǃ 		ɡ𝼊
ɢ𝼊 		ɡǂ
ɢǂ
Nasal ŋʘ
ɴʘ 		ŋǀ
ɴǀ 		ŋǃ
ɴǃ 		ŋ𝼊
ɴ𝼊 		ŋǂ
ɴǂ 		ʞ
 
Tenuis lateral kǁ
qǁ
Voiced lateral ɡǁ
ɢǁ
Nasal lateral ŋǁ
ɴǁ
Implosive Voiced ɓ ɗ ᶑ ʄ ɠ ʛ
Voiceless ɓ̥ ɗ̥ ᶑ̊ ʄ̊ ɠ̊ ʛ̥
Co-articulated consonants
Labial–velar
ɧ
Sj-sound (variable)
Lateral approximant
Velarized alveolar
Labial–velar
Labial–alveolar
Other
Front Central Back
Close
•
ɯ
•
Near-close
Close-mid
•
•
Mid
Open-mid
Near-open
•
Open
•
•

Legend: unrounded • rounded