Not to be confused with ա.
See also: IPA, Consonants
Front
Near- front
Central
Near- back
Back
Close
Near-close
Close-mid
Mid
Open-mid
Near-open
Open
Where symbols appear in pairs, the one to the right represents
a rounded vowel. Vowel length is indicated by appending ː
a rounded vowel. Vowel length is indicated by appending ː
IPA – text ɯ
IPA – image
Entity ɯ
X-SAMPA M
Kirshenbaum u-
Sound sample (help·info)
The close back unrounded vowel is a type of vowel sound used in some spoken languages. The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet that represents this sound is ɯ, and the equivalent X-SAMPA symbol is M. The IPA symbol is a turned letter m, although given its relation to the sound represented by the letter u, it can be considered a u with an extra "bowl". The sound is sometimes referred to as "unrounded u".
Features
- Its vowel height is close, which means the tongue is positioned as close as possible 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 as far back as possible in the mouth without creating a constriction that would be classified as a consonant.
- Its vowel roundedness is unrounded, which means that the lips are spread.
Occurrence
Language Word IPA Meaning NotesAlekano hanuva [hɑnɯβɑ] 'nothing'
Azeri qırx [ɡɯrx] 'forty'
Crimean Tatar canım [dʒanɯm] 'please'
Irish Ulster saol [sɯːl̪ˠ] 'life, world' See Irish phonology
Korean[1] 금 (金) / geum [kɯm] 'gold' See Korean phonology
Kyrgyz кыз [qɯʒ] 'girl'
Ongota [kuˈbu:ɯ] 'dry'
Portuguese[2] European pegar [pɯ̟ˈɡaɾ] 'to grab' Occurs in unstressed syllables. More commonly transcribed as [ɨ] See Portuguese phonology
Scottish Gaelic caol [kʰɯːl̪ˠ] 'thin'
Sakha тыл [tɯl] 'tongue, language'
Sundanese meunang [mɯnaŋ] 'get'
Thai[3] ขึ้น[4] [kʰɯ̂n] 'to go up'
Turkish ılık [ɯˈɫɯk] 'mild' See Turkish phonology
Vietnamese tư [tɯ̄] 'fourth' See Vietnamese phonology
The symbol ɯ is sometimes used for Japanese /u/, but that sound is rounded, albeit with labial compression rather than protrusion. It is more accurately described as an exolabial close back vowel.
See also
References
- ^ Lee (1999:122)
- ^ Cruz-Ferreira (1995:91)
- ^ Tingsabadh & Abramson (1993:24)
- ^ Dictionary entry for ขึ้น (kheun) (thai-language.com)
Bibliography
- Cruz-Ferreira, Madalena (1995), "European Portuguese", Journal of the International Phonetic Association 25 (2): 90–94, doi:10.1017/S0025100300005223
- Lee, Hyun Bok (1999), "Korean", Handbook of the International Phonetic Association:A Guide to the Use of the International Phonetic Alphabet, Cambridge University Press, pp. 120–123, ISBN 0-521-63751-1
- Tingsabadh, M.R. Kalaya; Abramson, Arthur S. (1993), "Thai", Journal of the International Phonetic Association 23 (1): 24–26