Close central rounded vowel

File:Spectrogram of close central rounded vowel (IPA ʉ).png

A spectrogram of

The close central rounded vowel, or high central rounded vowel, is a type of vowel sound used in some spoken languages. The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet that represents this sound is Template:Angbr IPA, and the equivalent X-SAMPA symbol is }. The sound is also commonly referred to by the name of its symbol, "barred u".

The close central rounded vowel is the vocalic equivalent of the rare labialized post-palatal approximant .

In most languages this rounded vowel is pronounced with protruded lips (endolabial). However, in a few cases the lips are compressed (exolabial).

Some languages feature the near-close central rounded vowel ({{errorTemplate:Main other|Audio file "Near-close central rounded vowel2.ogg" not found}}Template:Category handler), which is slightly lower. It is most often transcribed in IPA with Template:Angbr IPA, Template:Angbr IPA and Template:Angbr IPA, but Template:Angbr IPA is also a possible transcription. The symbol Template:Angbr IPA, a conflation of Template:Angbr IPA and Template:Angbr IPA, is used as an unofficial extension of the IPA to represent this sound by a number of publications, such as Accents of English by John C. Wells. In the third edition of the Oxford English Dictionary, Template:Angbr IPA represents free variation between and .

Close central protruded vowel

The close central protruded vowel is typically transcribed in IPA simply as Template:Angbr IPA, and that is the convention used in this article. As there is no dedicated diacritic for protrusion in the IPA, symbol for the close central rounded vowel with an old diacritic for labialization, Template:Angbr IPA, can be used as an ad hoc symbol Template:Angbr IPA for the close central protruded vowel. Another possible transcription is Template:Angbr IPA or Template:Angbr IPA (a close central vowel modified by endolabialization), but this could be misread as a diphthong.

Occurrence

Because central rounded vowels are assumed to have protrusion, and few descriptions cover the distinction, some of the following may actually have compression.

Language		Word	IPA	Meaning	Notes
Angami	KhonomaTemplate:Sfnp			'deep'	Allophone of after .Template:Sfnp
Armenian	Some Eastern dialectsTemplate:Sfnp	/yowġ		'oil'	Allophone of after .
Berber	Ayt SeghrouchenTemplate:Sfnp	ⵍⵍⴰⵢⴳⴳⵓⵔ/llayggur		'he goes'	Allophone of after velar consonants.
Dutch	Standard NorthernTemplate:Sfnp			'now'	Typically transcribed in IPA with Template:Angbr IPA; also described as close front Template:IPAblinkTemplate:Sfnp and near-close front Template:IPAblink.Template:Sfnp See Dutch phonology
	Randstad			'hut'	Found in Amsterdam, Rotterdam and The Hague. Lower Template:IPAblink in Standard Dutch. See Dutch phonology
English	AustralianTemplate:Sfnp			'goose'	See Australian English phonology
	New ZealandTemplate:Sfnp				See New Zealand English phonology
	Modern Received PronunciationTemplate:Sfnp				Realized as back Template:IPAblink in the conservative variety.Template:Sfnp
	Scouse				May (less commonly) be fully front Template:IPAblink instead.
	South AfricanTemplate:Sfnp				Realized as back Template:IPAblink in the conservative variety and in many Black and Indian varieties.Template:Sfnp See South African English phonology
	General AmericanTemplate:Sfnp				Can be back Template:IPAblink instead.Template:Sfnp
	EstuaryTemplate:Sfnp			'foot'	The exact height, backness and roundedness is variable.Template:Sfnp
	CockneyTemplate:Sfnp	good		'good'	Only in some words, particularly good, otherwise realized as near-back Template:IPAblink.Template:Sfnp
	Rural white Southern AmericanTemplate:Sfnp				Can be front Template:IPAblink instead.Template:Sfnp
	Southeastern EnglishTemplate:Sfnp				May be unrounded Template:IPAblink instead;Template:Sfnp it corresponds to Template:IPAblink in other dialects. See English phonology
	Ulster				Short allophone of .
	ShetlandTemplate:Sfnp	strut		'strut'	Can be Template:IPAblink or Template:IPAblink instead.Template:Sfnp
German	Upper SaxonTemplate:Sfnp			'booths'	The example word is from the Chemnitz dialect.
HausaTemplate:Sfnp		Template:Example needed			Allophone of .Template:Sfnp
Ibibio	Dialect of the Uruan area and UyoTemplate:Sfnp	fuuk		'cover many things/times'	Allophone of between consonants.Template:Sfnp
	Some dialectsTemplate:Sfnp	Template:Example needed			Phonemic; contrasts with .Template:Sfnp
Irish	MunsterTemplate:Sfnp	ciúin		'quiet'	Allophone of between slender consonants.Template:Sfnp See Irish phonology
	UlsterTemplate:Sfnp	úllaí		'apples'	Often only weakly rounded;Template:Sfnp may be transcribed in IPA with Template:Angbr IPA.
IrulaTemplate:Sfnp				"to surround"	Has other centralized vowels.
Kurdish	SouthernTemplate:Sfnp	müçig		'dust'	See Kurdish phonology
Limburgish	Some dialectsTemplate:SfnpTemplate:Sfnp			'breadroll'	Close Template:Sfnp or near-close ,Template:Sfnp depending on the dialect. Close front Template:IPAblink in other dialects.Template:Sfnp Typically transcribed in IPA with Template:Angbr IPA. The example word is from the Maastrichtian dialect, in which the vowel is close.
LüsuTemplate:Sfnp				'Lüsu'
RussianTemplate:Sfnp		/kyuriy/kjurij		'curium'	Allophone of between palatalized consonants. Near-close when unstressed.Template:Sfnp See Russian phonology
ScotsTemplate:Sfnp				'boot'	May be more front Template:IPAblink instead.Template:Sfnp
Scottish Gaelic	older Lewis speakersTemplate:Sfnp	co-dhiù		'anyway'	Normal allophone of Template:IPAblink. Fronted as Template:IPAblink among younger speakers.
	Wester Ross and Lochalsh			Normal allophone of Template:IPAblink.
Swedish	BohuslänTemplate:Sfnp			'howl'	A fricated vowel that corresponds to Template:IPAblink in Central Standard Swedish.Template:Sfnp See Swedish phonology
	NärkeTemplate:Sfnp
TamilTemplate:Sfnp				'tail'	Epenthetic vowel inserted in colloquial speech after word-final liquids; can be unrounded Template:IPAblink instead.Template:Sfnp See Tamil phonology

Close central compressed vowel

As there is no official diacritic for compression in the IPA, the centering diacritic is used with the front rounded vowel , which is normally compressed. Other possible transcriptions are Template:Angbr IPA (simultaneous and labial compression) and Template:Angbr IPA ( modified with labial compression).

Occurrence

This vowel is typically transcribed in IPA with Template:Angbr IPA. It occurs in some dialects of Swedish, but see also close front compressed vowel. The close back vowels of Norwegian and Swedish are also compressed. See close back compressed vowel. It also occurs in Japanese as an allophone. Medumba has a compressed central vowel where the corners of the mouth are not drawn together.

Language		Word	IPA	Meaning	Notes
Japanese	Some younger speakersTemplate:Sfnp	/ Template:Transliteration		'air'	Near-back Template:IPAblink for other speakers.Template:Sfnp
	Standard Tokyo pronunciation	/ Template:Transliteration		'sushi'	Allophone of after and palatalized consonants. See Japanese phonology
Norwegian	Urban EastTemplate:SfnpTemplate:Sfnp			'house'	Typically transcribed in IPA with Template:Angbr IPA. Also described as front Template:IPAblink.Template:Sfnp See Norwegian phonology
Swedish	Some dialects			'ugly'	More front in Central Standard Swedish; typically transcribed in IPA as Template:Angbr IPA. See Swedish phonology

See also

• Close back compressed vowel
• Close front protruded vowel

References

• Template:Dead link
• A summary of the presentation can be found here Template:Webarchive.
• Template:Accents of English

External links

• Template:Phoible