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Near-close near-back rounded vowel
Vowel sound represented by ⟨ʊ⟩ in IPA From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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The near-close near-back rounded vowel, or near-high near-back rounded 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 ⟨ʊ⟩ (a Latin upsilon, sometimes informally referred to as "horseshoe U"). Prior to 1989, there was an alternate IPA symbol for this sound, ⟨ɷ⟩ (a closed small letter Latin omega); use of this symbol is no longer sanctioned by the IPA.[2] In Americanist phonetic notation, the symbol ⟨ᴜ⟩ (a small capital U) is used, which was also the original symbol for the vowel used by the IPA in 1900.[3]
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The Handbook of the International Phonetic Association defines [ʊ] as a mid-centralized (lowered and centralized) close back rounded vowel (transcribed [u̽] or [ü̞]), and the current official IPA name of the vowel transcribed with the symbol ⟨ʊ⟩ is a near-close near-back rounded vowel.[4]
However, some languages have a vowel that is somewhat lower than the canonical value of [ʊ], though it still fits the definition of a mid-centralized [u]. It occurs in some dialects of English (such as General American and Geordie),[5][6] as well as some other languages (such as Maastrichtian Limburgish).[7] It can be narrowly transcribed with [ʊ̞] (a lowered ⟨ʊ⟩) or [o̟] (a fronted ⟨o⟩). For precision, this can be described as a close-mid near-back rounded vowel.
Additionally, in some languages (such as Bengali and Luxembourgish),[8][9] as well as some dialects of English (such as Scottish),[10][11] there is a fully back near-close rounded vowel (a sound between cardinal ⟨u⟩ and ⟨o⟩), which can be transcribed in IPA with [ʊ̠], [u̞] or [o̝]. For precision, this can be described as a near-close back rounded vowel, or near-high back rounded vowel.
Sometimes, especially in broad transcription, this vowel is transcribed with a simpler symbol ⟨u⟩, which technically represents the close back rounded vowel.
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Near-close back protruded vowel
Summarize
Perspective
The near-close back protruded vowel is typically transcribed in IPA simply as ⟨ʊ⟩, and that is the convention used in this article. As there is no dedicated diacritic for protrusion in the IPA, symbol for the near-close back rounded vowel with an old diacritic for labialization, ⟨ ̫⟩, can be used as an ad hoc symbol ⟨ʊ̫⟩ for the near-close back protruded vowel. Another possible transcription is ⟨ʊʷ⟩ or ⟨ɯ̽ʷ⟩ (a near-close back vowel modified by endolabialization), but this could be misread as a diphthong.
The close-mid near-back protruded vowel can be transcribed ⟨ʊ̞ʷ⟩ or ⟨ʊ̫˕⟩, whereas the fully back near-close protruded vowel can be transcribed ⟨u̞ʷ⟩, ⟨ɯ̞ʷ⟩ or ⟨u̫˕⟩.
Features
- Its vowel height is near-close, also known as near-high, which means the tongue is not quite so constricted as a close vowel (high vowel).
- 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. The prototypical [ʊ] is somewhat further front (near-back) than the neighboring cardinal vowels.
- Its place of articulation is velar, which means it is articulated with the back of the tongue (the dorsum) at the soft palate.
- Its roundedness is protruded, which means that the corners of the lips are drawn together, and the inner surfaces exposed. The prototypical [ʊ] has a weak protruded rounding, more like [ɔ] than the neighboring cardinal vowels.
Occurrence
Because back rounded vowels are assumed to have protrusion, and few descriptions cover the distinction, some of the following may actually have compression. In the table below, vowels transcribed with ⟨o̝⟩ have a considerably stronger rounding than the prototypical value of ⟨ʊ⟩.
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Near-close near-back compressed vowel
Summarize
Perspective
Some languages, such as Norwegian, are found with a near-close back vowel that has a distinct type of rounding, called compressed or exolabial.
As there are no diacritics in the IPA to distinguish protruded and compressed rounding, an old diacritic for labialization, ⟨◌⟩ (the opposite of ⟨◌̫⟩), will be used here as an ad hoc symbol for compressed back vowels. It was only added to Unicode in 2025, however, and it may take some time for font support to catch up. Compression of the lips can be shown with the letter ⟨β̞⟩ as ⟨ɯ̽͡β̞⟩ (simultaneous [ɯ̽] and labial compression) or ⟨ɯ̽ᵝ⟩ ([ɯ̽] modified with labial compression), though that can suggest that the vowel is a diphthong.
Only the Shanghainese dialect is known to contrast this with the more typical protruded (endolabial) near-close back vowel, although the height of both of these vowels varies from close to close-mid.[18]
The fully back variant of the near-close compressed vowel can be transcribed ⟨ɯ̞͡β̞⟩, ⟨ɯ̞ᵝ⟩ or ⟨u̞⟩.
Features
- Its vowel height is near-close, also known as near-high, which means the tongue is not quite so constricted as a close vowel (high vowel).
- 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.
- Its place of articulation is velar, which means it is articulated with the back of the tongue (the dorsum) at the soft palate.
- Its roundedness is compressed, which means that the margins of the lips are tense and drawn together in such a way that the inner surfaces are not exposed. The prototypical [ʊ] has a weak rounding (though it is protruded, rather than compressed), more like [ɔ] than the neighboring cardinal vowels.
Occurrence
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Notes
References
External links
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