IPA – number 317
IPA – text ɨ
Entity ɨ
X-SAMPA 1
Kirshenbaum i"
Sound sample (help·info)

The close central 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 ɨ, and the equivalent X-SAMPA symbol is 1. The IPA symbol is the letter i with a horizontal bar. Both the symbol and the sound are commonly referred to as "barred-i".

There is also a near-close central unrounded vowel in some languages.

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 central, which means the tongue is positioned halfway between a front vowel and a back vowel.
• Its vowel roundedness is unrounded, which means that the lips are spread.

Occurrence

/ɨ/ is a rare phoneme in most Indo-European languages. However, it is very common as a separate phoneme in the indigenous languages of the Americas and is often in phonemic contrast with other close vowels such as /i/ and /u/ both in modern living languages as well as reconstructed proto-languages (e.g. proto-Uto-Aztecan). Campbell, Kaufman & Smith-Stark (1986) identify the presence of this vowel phoneme as an areal feature of a Mesoamerican Sprachbund (although this is not a defining feature of the entire area).

Language Word IPA Meaning Notes
Amharic ሥር [sɨr] 'root' Often transcribed as <ə>
Angor hüfı [xɨβə] 'hot'
English roses [ˈɹoʊzɨz] 'roses' Reduced vowel in some dialects; corresponds to unstressed [ɪ] in other dialects. See English phonology.
Guaraní yvy [ɨʋɨ] 'earth'
Irish saol [sɨɫ] 'life' See Irish phonology
Kaingang fy [ɸɨ] 'seed'
Mapudungun trukür [tʴuˈkɨɹ] 'fog' See Mapudungun phonology
Polish[1] mysz [mɨʂ] (help·info) 'mouse' See Polish phonology
Romanian înot [ɨˈnot] 'I swim' See Romanian phonology
Russian[2] ты [tɨ] 'you' (singular) Only occurs after unpalatalized consonants. See Russian phonology
Sahaptin[3] [kʼsɨt] 'cold' Epenthetic; no lengthened equivalent.
Sirionó[4] [eˈsɨ] 'dry wood'
Swedish bi [bɨ:] 'bee' Found in dialects in Närke and Bohuslän and in sociolects in Stockholm and Gothenburg.
Tupi yby [ɨβɨ] 'earth'
Võro sysar [sɨsarʲ] 'sister'
Welsh Northern dialects[5] llun [ɬɨːn] 'picture' See Welsh phonology

References

Bibliography

• Gómez, Paula. (1999). Huichol de San Andrés Cohamiata, Jalisco. Archivo de lenguas indígenas de México. México: El Colegio de México, Centro de Estudios.
• Koehn, Edward; & Koehn, Sally. (1986). Apalai. In D. C. Derbyshire & G. K. Pullum (Eds.), Handbook of Amazonian linguistics (Vol. 1, pp. 33-127). Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter.
• Payne, Doris L.; & Payne, Thomas E. (1990). Yagua. In D. C. Derbyshire & G. K. Pullum (Eds.), Handbook of Amazonian linguistics (Vol. 2, pp. 252-474). Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter.