View source for Close back unrounded vowel

{{Short description|Vowel sound represented by ⟨ɯ⟩ in IPA}}
{{for|the letter|Ɯ}}
{{distinguish|text = the Armenian letter [[Ayb (letter)|ա]] (U+0561), the Cyrillic letter [[Sha (Cyrillic)|ш]] (U+0448), or the Tamil letter [[Ya (Indic)|ய]] (U+0BAF)}}
{{more citations needed|date=May 2015}}
{{use dmy dates|date=January 2024}}
{{Infobox IPA
| ipa symbol = ɯ
| ipa number = 316
| decimal = 623
| x-sampa = M
| imagefile = IPA Unicode 0x026F.svg
| imagesize = 150px
| braille = 256
| braille2 = u
}}
{{IPA vowels|class=floatright}}

The '''close back unrounded vowel''', or '''high back unrounded vowel''',<ref>{{Vowel terminology}}</ref> is a type of [[vowel]] sound used in some spoken [[language]]s. The symbol in the [[International Phonetic Alphabet]] that represents this sound is {{angbr IPA|ɯ}}. Typographically, it is a turned letter {{angbr|m}}.

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

[[File:Spectrogram of close back unrounded vowel (IPA ɯ).png|thumb|left|Spectrogram of {{IPA|[ɯ]}}]]

==Features== 
{{close vowel}} 
{{back vowel}} 
{{unrounded vowel}}
{{Clear}}

==Occurrence==
{| class="wikitable" style="clear: both;"
! colspan="2"|Language !! Word !! [[International Phonetic Alphabet|IPA]]!! Meaning !! Notes
|-
| colspan="2" | [[Acehnese language|Acehnese]]<ref>{{cite journal |last=Durie |first=Mark |title=Proto-Chamic and Acehnese Mid Vowels: Towards Proto-Aceh-Chamic |url=http://www.acehinstitute.org/Durie_1990.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100714044202/http://www.acehinstitute.org/Durie_1990.pdf |archive-date=2010-07-14 |pages=100–111 |journal=Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London |volume=LII, Part 1 |year=1990|doi=10.1017/S0041977X00021297 |s2cid=162224060 }}</ref> || {{lang|ace|[[Acehnese language#Writing system|'''eu''']]}} || {{IPA|[ɯ]}} || 'see' || Also described as closer to {{IPAblink|ɨ}}.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Asyik |first=Abdul Gani |journal=[[Mon-Khmer Studies]] |volume=XI |pages=1–33 |url=http://www.lc.mahidol.ac.th/Documents/Publication/MKS/11/abdul1982agreement.pdf |title=The Agreement System in Acehnese |access-date=2012-05-21 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090730145345/http://www.lc.mahidol.ac.th/Documents/Publication/MKS/11/abdul1982agreement.pdf |archive-date=2009-07-30 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |url=http://roa.rutgers.edu/files/594-0403/594-0403-AL-HARBI-0-0.PDF |title=Acehnese Coda Condition: An Optimality-Theoretic Account |journal=Umm Al-Qura University Journal of Educational and Social Sciences and Humanities |first=Awwad Ahmad Al-Ahmadi |last=Al-Harbi |volume=15 |issue=1 |date=January 2003 |pages=9–28}}</ref>
|-
| colspan="2" |[[Pará Arára language|Arara]]{{sfnp|Alves|2013|p=269}} ||îput || {{IPA|[ɯput̚]}} || 'my skin' || Frequent realisation of {{IPA|/ɨ/}}.{{sfnp|Alves|2013|p=269}}
|-
| colspan="2" |[[Arbëresh]] || Arb'''ë'''reshë || {{IPA|[ɑɾbɯɾeʃ]}} || 'Arbëreshë' || {{IPA|/ə/}} in standard [[Albanian language|Albanian]].
|-
| colspan="2" | [[Azerbaijani language|Azerbaijani]] || {{lang|az|[[Azerbaijani alphabet|bahal'''ı''']]}} / {{lang|az-Arab|باهال'''یٛ'''}} || {{IPA|[bɑhɑˈɫɯ]}} || 'expensive' || Closer to an {{IPA|[ɘ]}}.{{sfn|Ghaffarvand-Mokari|Werner|2016|p=514}}
|-
| colspan="2" | [[Bashkir language|Bashkir]] || {{lang|ba-Cyrl|[[Cyrillic script|ҡ'''ы'''ҙ]]}} / {{lang|ba-Arab|ق'''ىُ'''ث}} / {{Lang|ba-Latn|q'''ı'''đ}}|| {{IPA|[qɯð]}} || 'girl' ||
|-
| rowspan="4" | [[Chinese language|Chinese]] || [[Standard Mandarin Chinese|Mandarin]] || {{lang|cmn-Hant|[[Chinese characters|刺]]}} / cì || {{IPA|[t͡sʰɯ˥˩]}} || 'thorn' ||
|- 
| Wuhan dialect, Southwestern Mandarin || {{lang|cmn-Hant|[[Chinese characters|去]]}} / keu ||{{IPA|[kʰɯ]}} || 'to go' ||
|-
| Some [[Wu Chinese|Wu]] dialects || {{lang|wuu-Hani|[[Chinese characters|父]]}} / vu ||{{IPA|[vɯ]}} || 'father' ||
|-
| [[Xiang Chinese|Xiang]] || {{lang|hsn-Hani|[[Chinese characters|火]]}} / xu ||{{IPA|[xɯ]}} || 'fire' ||
|-
| colspan="2" |[[Chuvash language|Chuvash]] || {{lang|cv|[[Cyrillic script|'''ы'''хра/ıxra]]}} || {{IPA|[ɯɣra]}} || 'garlic' ||
|-
| colspan="2" | [[Crimean Tatar language|Crimean Tatar]] || {{lang|crh|[[Crimean Tatar alphabet|джан'''ы'''м/canım]]}} || {{IPA|[dʒanɯm]}} || 'my dear' ||
|-
| rowspan="6" | [[English language|English]] || [[African-American English|African-American]]{{sfnp|Wells|1982|p=557}} || rowspan="2" | ''[[English orthography|h'''oo'''k]]'' || rowspan="2" | {{IPA|[hɯ̞k]}} || rowspan="2" | 'hook' || Near-close; possible realization of {{IPAslink|ʊ}}.{{sfnp|Wells|1982|p=557}}
|-
| [[Tidewater accent|Tidewater]]{{sfnp|Wells|1982|p=536}} || Near-close; may be rounded {{IPAblink|ʊ}} instead.{{sfnp|Wells|1982|p=536}}
|-
| Some [[California English|California]] speakers{{sfnp|Ladefoged|1999|pp=42–43}} || [[English orthography|g'''oo'''se]] || {{IPA|[ɡɯˑs]}} || 'goose' || Corresponds to {{IPAblink|uː}} in other dialects.
|-
| [[New Zealand English|New Zealand]]<ref name="victoriauniv">{{cite report |title=NZE Phonology |page=3|publisher=Victoria University of Wellington |url=https://www.wgtn.ac.nz/lals/research/our-research-areas/new-zealand-english/publications/NZE_PhonologyPW.pdf |last=Warren |first=Paul |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240124222357/https://www.wgtn.ac.nz/lals/research/our-research-areas/new-zealand-english/publications/NZE_PhonologyPW.pdf |archive-date=2024-01-24}}</ref>{{sfnp|Bauer|Warren|2004|p=585}} || ''[[English orthography|treac'''le''']]'' || {{IPA|[ˈtɹ̝̊iːkɯ]}} || 'treacle' || Possible realization of the unstressed vowel {{IPA|/ɯ/}}, which is variable in rounding and ranges from central to (more often) back and close to close-mid.<ref name="victoriauniv"/>{{sfnp|Bauer|Warren|2004|p=585}} Corresponds to {{IPA|/əl/}} in other accents. Develops from [[dark L]]; See [[New Zealand English phonology]]
|-
| Some [[Philadelphia English|Philadelphia]] speakers{{sfnp|Gordon|2004|p=290}} || [[English alphabet|''pl'''u'''s'']] || {{IPA|[pɫ̥ɯs]}} || 'plus' || Used by some speakers; the exact height and backness is variable.{{sfnp|Gordon|2004|p=290}} It corresponds to {{IPAblink|ʌ}} in other accents. See [[English phonology]]
|-
| [[South African English|South African]]{{sfnp|Bowerman|2004|p=936}} || ''[[English orthography|p'''i'''ll]]'' || {{IPA|[pʰɯ̞ɫ]}} || 'pill' || Near-close; possible allophone of {{IPA|/ɪ/}} before the velarised allophone of {{IPA|/l/}}.{{sfnp|Bowerman|2004|p=936}} See [[South African English phonology]]
|-
| colspan="2" | [[Estonian language|Estonian]]{{sfnp|Asu|Teras|2009|p=369}} || {{lang|et|[[Estonian alphabet|k'''õ'''rv]]}} || {{IPA|[kɯrv]}} || 'ear' || Typically transcribed in IPA with {{angbr IPA|ɤ}}; can be close-mid central {{IPAblink|ɘ}} or close-mid back {{IPAblink|ɤ}} instead, depending on the speaker.{{sfnp|Asu|Teras|2009|p=369}} See [[Estonian phonology]]
|-
| [[Irish language|Irish]] || [[Ulster Irish|Ulster]] || {{lang|ga|[[Irish orthography|c'''ao'''l]]}} || {{IPA|[kʰɯːl̪ˠ]}} || 'narrow' || See [[Irish phonology]]
|-
| colspan="2" | [[Japanese language|Japanese]]{{sfnp|Labrune|2012|p=25}} || {{lang|ja|[[Japanese orthography|空気]]}} / {{Transliteration|ja|[[Romanization of Japanese|k'''ū'''ki]]}} || {{Audio-IPA|ja-kuuki.ogg|[kɯːki]|help=no}} || 'air' || May be compressed {{IPAblink|ɯᵝ}}.{{sfnp|Okada|1999|p=118}} See [[Japanese phonology]]
|-
| colspan="2" |[[Katukina]]{{sfnp|dos Anjos|2012|p=129}} || || {{IPA|[babɯˈdʒɯ]}}||'[[oscar (fish)]]'||
|-
| colspan="2" | [[Kazakh language|Kazakh]] || {{lang|kk|[[Kazakh alphabets#Cyrillic script|қ'''ы'''с/qys]]}}/{{lang|kk-Arab|ق'''ى'''س}} || {{IPA|[qɯs]}} || 'winter' || May be pronounced as {{IPA|kk|qəs|}}
|-
| colspan="2" | [[Korean language|Korean]]{{sfnp|Lee|1999|p=122}} || {{lang|ko|[[Hangul|음식]]}} {{nowrap|{{lang|ko-Hani|[[Hanja|飮食]]}}}} / {{lang|ko-Latn|[[Revised Romanization of Korean|'''eu'''msik]]}} || {{IPA|[ɯːmɕ͈ik̚]}}|| 'food' || See [[Korean phonology]] 
|-
| rowspan="2" |[[Kurdish languages|Kurdish]]||[[Kurmanji|Kurmanji (Northern)]] || {{lang|ku|[[Kurmanji alphabet|t'''i'''rş]]}} || rowspan="2" |{{IPA|[tˤɯɾʃ]}} || rowspan="2" |'sour' || rowspan="2" |See [[Kurdish phonology]]. The "i" after "t" always uses this sound if the "t" is "tˤ". However, it can also appear at other places.
|-
|[[Central Kurdish|Sorani (Central)]] || rowspan="1" |{{Lang|ku-Arab|[[Kurdish orthography|ترش]]}} / tirş
|-
| colspan="2" | [[Kyrgyz language|Kyrgyz]] || {{lang|ky|[[Kyrgyz alphabet|к'''ы'''з]]}} / qyz / ق'''ى'''ز ||{{IPA|[qɯz]}} || 'girl' || See [[Kyrgyz phonology]]
|-
| colspan="2" |[[Panará language|Panará]]{{Sfnp|Vasconcelos|2013|p=182}} || || {{IPA|[tɯˈsəʰ]}} || 'to breathe' ||
|-
| [[Portuguese language|Portuguese]] || [[European Portuguese|European]]{{sfnp|Cruz-Ferreira|1995|p=91}} || {{lang|pt|[[Portuguese orthography|p'''e'''gar]]}} || {{Audio-IPA|Pegar_european_pt.wav|[pɯ̞ˈɣäɾ]}} || 'to grab' || Reduced vowel. Near-close.{{sfnp|Cruz-Ferreira|1995|p=91}} Typically transcribed in IPA with {{angbr IPA|ɨ}}. See [[Portuguese phonology]]
|-
| [[Romanian language|Romanian]] || Some speakers || {{lang|ro|[[Romanian orthography|c'''â'''nd]]}} || {{IPA|[kɯnd]}} || 'when' || Typically described as {{angbr IPA|ɨ}}. See [[Romanian phonology]]
|-
| colspan="2" | [[Scottish Gaelic]] || {{lang|gd|[[Scottish Gaelic alphabet|c'''ao'''l]]}} || {{IPA|[kʰɯːl̪ˠ]}} || 'thin' || See [[Scottish Gaelic phonology]]
|-
| colspan="2" | [[Sop language|Sop]] || {{lang|urw|[[Sop language|d'''ü'''m]]}} || {{IPA|[dɯm]}} || 'tree' || See [[Sop language]]
|-
| colspan="2" | [[Tamil language|Tamil]] || {{Lang|ta|[[Tamil script|அழகு]]}} / aḻagu || {{IPA|[əɻəgɯ]}} || 'beauty' ||
|-
| [[Thai language|Thai]] || Standard{{sfnp|Tingsabadh|Abramson|1993|p=24}} || {{lang|th|[[Thai script|ขึ้น]]}} / khuen/khîn ||{{IPA|[kʰɯn˥˩]}} || 'to go up' || 
|-
| colspan="2" | [[Turkish language|Turkish]]<ref name="gk">{{Harvcoltxt|Göksel|Kerslake|2005|p=10}}</ref> || ''{{lang|tr|[[Turkish alphabet|s'''ı'''ğ]]}}'' || {{Audio-IPA| Tr-sığ.ogg|[sɯː]}} || 'shallow' || Described variously as close back {{IPA|[ɯ]}},<ref name="gk"/> near-close near-back {{IPA|[ɯ̞]}}<ref>{{Harvcoltxt|Kiliç|Öğüt|2004}}</ref> and close central {{IPAblink|ɨ}}.<ref>{{Harvcoltxt|Zimmer|Orgun|1999|p=155}}</ref> See [[Turkish phonology]]
|-
| colspan="2" | [[Turkmen language|Turkmen]] || {{lang|tk|[[Turkmen alphabet|ýaş'''y'''l]]}}/{{lang|tk-Arab|یاش'''یٛ'''ل}} || {{IPA|[jɑːˈʃɯl]}} || 'green' ||
|-
| colspan="2" | [[Uyghur language|Uyghur]] || {{lang|ug|[[Uyghur Arabic alphabet|ت'''ى'''ل'''ى'''م/tılım]]}} / tilim||{{IPA|[tɯlɯm]}} || 'my language' || In [[complementary distribution]] with {{IPAslink|ɪ}}. See [[Uyghur phonology]]
|-
| colspan="2" | [[Vietnamese language|Vietnamese]] || {{lang|vi|[[Vietnamese alphabet|t'''ư''']]}} || {{IPA|[tɯ]}} || 'fourth' || See [[Vietnamese phonology]]
|}

==See also==
*[[Index of phonetics articles]]
*[[Ɯ]]

==Notes==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==References==
{{refbegin|30em}}
*{{cite journal
|title=Aspectos do sistema fonológico de Arara (Karib)
|doi=10.1590/S1981-81222013000200003
|year=2013
|journal=Boletim do Museu Paraense Emílio Goeldi. Ciências Humanas
|first=Ana Carolina Ferreira
|last=Alves
|volume=8
|issue=2|pages=265–277
|doi-access=free
|url=https://www.redalyc.org/pdf/3940/394035000003.pdf
}}
* {{cite journal
|last1=Asu
|first1=Eva Liina
|last2=Teras
|first2=Pire
|year=2009
|title=Estonian
|journal=Journal of the International Phonetic Association
|volume=39
|issue=3
|pages=367–372
|doi=10.1017/s002510030999017x
|doi-access=free
}}
* {{citation
|last1=Bauer
|first1=Laurie
|last2=Warren
|first2=Paul
|year=2004
|chapter=New Zealand English: phonology
|editor-last=Schneider
|editor-first=Edgar W.
|editor2-last=Burridge
|editor2-first=Kate
|editor3-last=Kortmann
|editor3-first=Bernd
|editor4-last=Mesthrie
|editor4-first=Rajend
|editor5-last=Upton
|editor5-first=Clive
|title=A handbook of varieties of English
|volume=1: Phonology
|publisher=Mouton de Gruyter
|pages=580–602
|isbn=3-11-017532-0
}}
* {{citation
|last=Bowerman
|first=Sean
|editor-last=Schneider
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|editor2-last=Burridge
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|year=2004
|title=A handbook of varieties of English
|chapter=White South African English: phonology
|volume=1: Phonology
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|pages=931–942
|isbn=3-11-017532-0
}}
* {{citation
|last=Cruz-Ferreira
|first=Madalena
|year=1995
|title=European Portuguese
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|volume=25
|issue=2
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|s2cid=249414876
}}
*{{cite journal|title=Fonologia Katukina-Kanamari|first=Zoraide|last=dos Anjos|year=2012|journal=LIAMES: Línguas Indígenas Americanas|volume=12|issue=1|pages=123–156 |doi=10.20396/liames.v0i12.1486|doi-access=free}}
* {{citation
|last1=Ghaffarvand-Mokari |first1=Payam |last2=Werner |first2=Stefan |year=2016 |title=An acoustic description of spectral and temporal characteristics of Azerbaijani vowels |journal=Poznań Studies in Contemporary Linguistics |volume=52 |issue=3 |doi=10.1515/psicl-2016-0019 |s2cid=151826061 |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/305567394}}
* {{citation
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}}
* {{citation
|last=Gordon
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|year=2004
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|editor5-last=Upton
|editor5-first=Clive
|title=A handbook of varieties of English
|volume=1: Phonology
|publisher=Mouton de Gruyter
|pages=282–299
|isbn=3-11-017532-0
}}
* {{Citation
|author=International Phonetic Association
|year=1999
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}}
* {{cite journal |last1=Kiliç |first1=Mehmet Akif |last2=Öğüt |first2=Fatih |title=A high unrounded vowel in Turkish: is it a central or back vowel? |journal=Speech Communication |date=June 2004 |volume=43 |issue=1–2 |pages=143–154 |doi=10.1016/j.specom.2004.03.001 }}
* {{citation
|last=Labrune
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* {{citation
|last=Ladefoged
|first=Peter
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|year=1999
|chapter=American English
|title=Handbook of the International Phonetic Association
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}}
* {{citation
|last=Lee
|first=Hyun Bok
|year=1999
|chapter=Korean
|title=Handbook of the International Phonetic Association: A Guide to the Use of the International Phonetic Alphabet 
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}}
* {{citation
|last=Okada
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|editor-link=International Phonetic Association
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}}
* {{cite journal
|last1=Tingsabadh
|first1=M.R. Kalaya
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|volume=23
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|s2cid=242001518
}}
*{{cite thesis
|first=Eduardo A.
|last=Vasconcelos
|year=2013
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|type=PhD
|publisher=[[University of Campinas]]
|title=Investigando a hipótese Cayapó do Sul-Panará
|place=Campinas
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* {{Accents of English|hide1=y|hide2=y}}
* {{citation
|last1=Zimmer
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|first2=Orhan
|year=1999
|chapter=Turkish
|title=Handbook of the International Phonetic Association: A guide to the use of the International Phonetic Alphabet
|place=Cambridge
|publisher=Cambridge University Press
|isbn=0-521-65236-7
|pages=154–158
|chapter-url=http://www.uta.edu/faculty/cmfitz/swnal/projects/CoLang/courses/Transcription/rosettaproject_tur_phon-2.pdf
|access-date=2015-11-20
|archive-date=2018-07-25
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180725111322/http://www.uta.edu/faculty/cmfitz/swnal/projects/CoLang/courses/Transcription/rosettaproject_tur_phon-2.pdf
|url-status=dead
}}
{{refend}}

==External links==
* {{phoible|ɯ}}

{{IPA navigation}}

[[Category:Close vowels]]
[[Category:Back vowels]]
[[Category:Unrounded vowels]]