Close central rounded vowel

The close central rounded vowel, or high central rounded vowel,<ref>Template:Vowel terminology</ref> 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. 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 Template:IPA.<ref>Instead of "post-palatal", it can be called "retracted palatal", "backed palatal", "palato-velar", "pre-velar", "advanced velar", "fronted velar" or "front-velar".</ref>

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

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.

Features

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

Spectrogram of Template:IPA

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	Template:Lang	Template:IPA	'deep'	Allophone of Template:IPA after Template:IPA.Template:Sfnp
Armenian	Some Eastern dialectsTemplate:Sfnp	Template:Lang/yowġ	Template:IPA	'oil'	Allophone of Template:IPA after Template:IPA.
Berber	Ayt SeghrouchenTemplate:Sfnp	ⵍⵍⴰⵢⴳⴳⵓⵔ/llayggur	Template:IPA	'he goes'	Allophone of Template:IPA after velar consonants.
Dutch	Standard NorthernTemplate:Sfnp	Template:Lang	Template:IPA	'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
English	AustralianTemplate:Sfnp	Template:Lang	Template:IPA	'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<ref name=watson>Template:Citation</ref>				May (less commonly) be fully front Template:IPAblink instead.<ref name=watson/>
	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		Template:IPA		Can be back Template:IPAblink instead.Template:Sfnp
German	Upper SaxonTemplate:Sfnp	Template:Lang	Template:IPA	'booths'	The example word is from the Chemnitz dialect.
HausaTemplate:Sfnp		Template:Example needed			Allophone of Template:IPA.Template:Sfnp
Ibibio	Dialect of the Uruan area and UyoTemplate:Sfnp	fuuk	Template:IPA	'cover many things/times'	Allophone of Template:IPA between consonants.Template:Sfnp
	Some dialectsTemplate:Sfnp	Template:Example needed			Phonemic; contrasts with Template:IPA.Template:Sfnp
Irish	MunsterTemplate:Sfnp	ciúin	Template:IPA	'quiet'	Allophone of Template:IPA between slender consonants.Template:Sfnp See Irish phonology
	UlsterTemplate:Sfnp	úllaí	Template:IPA	'apples'	Often only weakly rounded;Template:Sfnp may be transcribed in IPA with Template:Angbr IPA.
IrulaTemplate:Sfnp			Template:IPA	"to surround"	Has other centralized vowels.
Kurdish	SouthernTemplate:Sfnp	müçig	Template:IPA	'dust'	See Kurdish phonology
Limburgish	Some dialectsTemplate:SfnpTemplate:Sfnp	Template:Lang	Template:IPA	'breadroll'	Close Template:IPATemplate:Sfnp or near-close Template:IPA,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		Template:IPA		'Lüsu'
RussianTemplate:Sfnp		Template:Lang/kyuriy/kjurij	Template:IPA	'curium'	Allophone of Template:IPA between palatalized consonants. Near-close when unstressed.Template:Sfnp See Russian phonology
ScotsTemplate:Sfnp		Template:Lang	Template:IPA	'boot'	May be more front Template:IPAblink instead.Template:Sfnp
Scottish Gaelic	older Lewis speakersTemplate:Sfnp	co-dhiù	Template:IPA	'anyway'	Normal allophone of Template:IPAblink. Fronted as Template:IPAblink among younger speakers.
	Wester Ross and Lochalsh<ref name="SGDS">Template:Cite web</ref>			Normal allophone of Template:IPAblink.
Swedish	BohuslänTemplate:Sfnp	Template:Lang	Template:IPA	'howl'	A fricated vowel that corresponds to Template:IPAblink in Central Standard Swedish.Template:Sfnp See Swedish phonology
	NärkeTemplate:Sfnp
TamilTemplate:Sfnp		Template:Lang	Template:IPA	'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 may be used with the front rounded vowel Template:IPAblink, which is normally compressed, to create the ad hoc symbol Template:Angbr IPA. Other possible transcriptions are Template:Angbr IPA (Template:IPA with spread lips) and Template:Angbr IPA (Template:IPA modified with labial compression<ref>e.g. in Flemming (2002) Auditory representations in phonology, p. 83.</ref>).

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 Template:IPA where the corners of the mouth are not drawn together.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

Language		Word	IPA	Meaning	Notes
Norwegian	Urban EastTemplate:SfnpTemplate:Sfnp	Template:Lang	Template:IPA	'house'	Typically transcribed in IPA with Template:Angbr IPA. Also described as front Template:IPAblink.Template:Sfnp See Norwegian phonology
Swedish	Some dialects	Template:Lang	Template:IPA	'ugly'	More front Template:IPA in Central Standard Swedish; typically transcribed in IPA as Template:Angbr IPA. See Swedish phonology

Near-close central rounded vowel

Some languages feature the near-close central rounded vowel, 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 Template:IPA and Template:IPA.

Occurrence

Language		Word	IPA	Meaning	Notes
Dutch	Randstad<ref name="cm">Template:Harvcoltxt. The source describes the Standard Dutch vowel as front-central Template:IPAblink, but more sources (e.g. Template:Harvcoltxt and Template:Harvcoltxt) describe it as central Template:IPAblink. As far as the raised varieties of this vowel are concerned, Collins and Mees do not describe their exact backness.</ref>	Template:Lang	Template:IPA	'hut'	Found in Amsterdam, Rotterdam and The Hague. Lower Template:IPAblink in Standard Dutch.<ref name="cm"/> See Dutch phonology
English	EstuaryTemplate:Sfnp	Template:Lang	Template:IPA	'foot'	The exact height, backness and roundedness is variable.Template:Sfnp
	CockneyTemplate:Sfnp	good	Template:IPA	'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<ref name="ireland">Template:Cite web</ref>				Short allophone of Template:IPA.<ref name="ireland"/>
	ShetlandTemplate:Sfnp	strut	Template:IPA	'strut'	Can be Template:IPAblink or Template:IPAblink instead.Template:Sfnp

Near-close central compressed vowel

As there is no official diacritic for compression in the IPA, the centering diacritic may be used with the front rounded vowel Template:IPAblink, which is normally compressed, to create the ad hoc symbol Template:Angbr IPA. Other possible transcriptions are Template:Angbr IPA (Template:IPA with spread lips) and Template:Angbr IPA (Template:IPA modified with labial compression).

Occurrence

Language		Word	IPA	Meaning	Notes
Japanese	Some younger speakersTemplate:Sfnp	Template:Lang / Template:Transliteration	Template:IPA	'air'	Allophone of Template:IPA; near-back Template:IPAblink for other speakers.Template:Sfnp
	Standard Tokyo pronunciation	Template:Lang / Template:Transliteration	Template:IPA	'sushi'	Allophone of Template:IPA after Template:IPA and palatalized consonants.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> See Japanese phonology

See also

• Close back compressed vowel
• Close front protruded vowel

References

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External links

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