IPA – number 310
IPA – text ø
Entity ø
X-SAMPA 2
Kirshenbaum Y
Sound sample (help·info)

The close-mid front 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 ø, and the equivalent X-SAMPA symbol is 2. The symbol ø is a lowercase letter o with a diagonal stroke through it, derived from the Danish, Faroese, and Norwegian alphabets, which also use this symbol to represent this sound. This symbol is also commonly referred to as "o, slash".

Features

• Its vowel height is close-mid, which means the tongue is positioned halfway between close vowel and a mid vowel.
• Its vowel backness is front, which means the tongue is positioned as far forward as possible in the mouth without creating a constriction that would be classified as a consonant.
• Its roundedness is endolabial, which means that the lips are rounded but compressed, so that the inner surfaces are not exposed.

Occurrence

Language Word IPA Meaning Notes
Danish købe [ˈkøːb̥ə] 'buy' See Danish phonology
Dutch keuken [køːkən] 'kitchen' See Dutch phonology
Faroese øl [øːl] 'beer'
French[1] peu [pø] 'few' See French phonology
German schön [ʃøːn] 'beautiful' See German phonology
Hungarian nő [nøː] 'woman' See Hungarian phonology
Korean 쇠 soe [søː] 'iron' May be diphthongized to [we] by younger speakers. See Korean phonology
Ngwe Mmockngie dialect [nøɣə̀] 'sun'
Norwegian søt [søːt] 'sweet' See Norwegian phonology
Rotuman mösʻạki [møːsʔɔki] 'to put to bed'
Swedish öl [øːl] (help·info) 'beer' See Swedish phonology
Western Lombard cöör/coeur [kø:r] 'heart'
Estonian köök [kø:k] 'kitchen'

Mid front rounded vowel

Some languages have a mid front rounded vowel, distinct from both the close-mid and open-mid vowels. However, since no language is known to distinguish all three, there is no separate IPA symbol for the mid vowel, and [ø] is generally used. If precision is desired, the lowering diacritic may be used: [ø̞].

Occurrence

In the following transcriptions, the lowering diacritic has been omitted for the sake of simplicity.

Language Word IPA Meaning Notes
English New Zealand[2] bird [bø̈ːd] 'bird' Centralized; may be Open-mid. See English phonology
Finnish rölli [rølːi] 'common bent' See Finnish phonology
Hungarian öl [øl] 'kill' See Hungarian phonology
Turkish göz [ɟøz] 'eye'

References

Bibliography