The close back rounded vowel, or high back rounded vowel,[1] is a type of vowel sound used in many spoken languages. The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet that represents this sound is ⟨u⟩, and the equivalent X-SAMPA symbol is u.
In most languages, this rounded vowel is pronounced with protruded lips ('endolabial'). However, in a few cases the lips are compressed ('exolabial').
The close back protruded vowel is the most common variant of the close back rounded vowel. It is typically transcribed in IPA simply as ⟨u⟩ (the convention used in this article). As there is no dedicated IPA diacritic for protrusion, the symbol for the close back rounded vowel with an old diacritic for labialization, ⟨ ̫⟩, can be used as an ad hoc symbol ⟨u̫⟩. Another possible transcription is ⟨uʷ⟩ or ⟨ɯʷ⟩ (a close back vowel modified by endolabialization), but that could be misread as a diphthong.
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.
Its roundedness is protruded, which means that the corners of the lips are drawn together, and the inner surfaces exposed.
Sagittal section of a vocal tract pronouncing ⟨u⟩. Note that a wavy glottis in this diagram indicates a voiced sound.
Occurrence
Close back compressed vowel
Some languages, such as Japanese and Swedish, have a close back vowel that has a distinct type of rounding, called compressed or exolabial.[77] Only Shanghainese is known to contrast it with the more typical protruded (endolabial) close back vowel, but the height of both vowels varies from close to close-mid.[12]
There is no dedicated diacritic for compression in the IPA. However, compression of the lips can be shown with the letter ⟨β̞⟩ as ⟨ɯ͡β̞⟩ (simultaneous [ɯ] and labial compression) or ⟨ɯᵝ⟩ ([ɯ] modified with labial compression). The spread-lip diacritic ⟨ ͍ ⟩ may also be used with a rounded vowel letter ⟨u͍⟩ as an ad hoc symbol, but 'spread' technically means unrounded.
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.
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.
^ a bTraunmüller (1982), cited in Ladefoged & Maddieson (1996:290)
^Ternes & Vladimirova-Buhtz (1999), p. 56.
^Carbonell & Llisterri (1992), p. 54.
^Lee & Zee (2003), pp. 110–111.
^Duanmu (2007), pp. 35–36.
^Zee (1999), pp. 59–60.
^ a b c d eChen & Gussenhoven (2015), pp. 328–329.
^Grønnum (1998), p. 100.
^Basbøll (2005), p. 46.
^Gussenhoven (1992), p. 47.
^ a bVerhoeven (2005), p. 245.
^Cox & Palethorpe (2007), p. 344.
^Cox & Fletcher (2017), p. 65.
^ a bFinn (2004), p. 970.
^Lass (2002), p. 116.
^Mannell, Cox & Harrington (2009).
^Watt & Allen (2003), p. 268.
^Cruttenden (2014), p. 91.
^Roach (2004), p. 242.
^Collins & Mees (1990), p. 95.
^Connolly (1990), p. 125.
^Tench (1990), p. 135.
^Mahboob & Ahmar (2004), p. 1007.
^Labov, William; Ash, Sharon; Boberg, Charles (2006). The Atlas of North American English. chpt. 17
^ a b"NZE Phonology" (PDF). Victoria University of Wellington. p. 3.
^ a bBauer & Warren (2004), p. 585.
^Asu & Teras (2009), p. 368.
^Iivonen & Harnud (2005), pp. 60, 66.
^Suomi, Toivanen & Ylitalo (2008), p. 21.
^Árnason (2011), pp. 68, 74.
^Fougeron & Smith (1993), p. 73.
^Collins & Mees (2013), p. 225.
^Shosted & Chikovani (2006), pp. 261–262.
^Hall (2003), pp. 87, 107.
^Dudenredaktion, Kleiner & Knöbl (2015), p. 34.
^ a bDudenredaktion, Kleiner & Knöbl (2015), p. 64.
^Arvaniti (2007), p. 28.
^Trudgill (2009), p. 81.
^Szende (1994), p. 92.
^Árnason (2011), p. 60.
^Einarsson (1945:10), cited in Gussmann (2011:73)
^"Indonesian Alphabet and Pronunciation". mylanguages.org. Retrieved 2021-05-17.
^Rogers & d'Arcangeli (2004), p. 119.
^Jolkesky (2009), pp. 676–677, 682.
^Thackston (2006a), p. 1.
^Khan & Lescot (1970), pp. 8–16.
^Fattah describes the sound as being voyelle longue centrale arrondie (p. 116).
^Wheelock's Latin (1956).
^ a bGussenhoven & Aarts (1999), p. 159.
^ a bPeters (2006), p. 119.
^ a bStone (2002), p. 600.
^Gilles & Trouvain (2013), p. 70.
^Iivonen & Harnud (2005), pp. 62, 66–67.
^Jassem (2003), p. 105.
^Cruz-Ferreira (1995), p. 91.
^Sarlin (2014), p. 18.
^Jones & Ward (1969), p. 67.
^"Aspiration". Scottish Gaelic Dialect Survey. Archived from the original on 2021-04-24. Retrieved 2021-04-23.
^Oftedal (1956), p. 75–76.
^Landau et al. (1999), p. 67.
^Fast Mowitz (1975), p. 2.
^Martínez-Celdrán, Fernández-Planas & Carrera-Sabaté (2003), p. 256.
^ a bDoke & Mofokeng (1974), p. ?.
^Tingsabadh & Abramson (1993), p. 24.
^Zimmer & Orgun (1999), p. 155.
^Göksel & Kerslake (2005), p. 11.
^Iivonen & Harnud (2005), pp. 64, 68.
^Danyenko & Vakulenko (1995), p. 4.
^Šewc-Schuster (1984), p. 20.
^Bamgboṣe (1966), p. 166.
^Merrill (2008), p. 109.
^Ladefoged & Maddieson (1996), p. 295.
^ a bOkada (1999), p. 118.
^ a bChirkova & Chen (2013), p. 78.
^Vanvik (1979), pp. 13, 17.
^While Vanvik (1979) does not describe the exact type of rounding of this vowel, some other sources (e.g. Haugen (1974:40) and Kristoffersen (2000:16)) state explicitly that it is compressed.
^Vanvik (1979), p. 17.
^ a bEngstrand (1999), p. 140.
^Rosenqvist (2007), p. 9.
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