Mid vowel

Template:Short description Template:IPA vowels Template:IPA notice A mid vowel (or a true-mid vowel) is any in a class of vowel sounds used in some spoken languages. The defining characteristic of a mid vowel is that the tongue is positioned approximately midway between an open vowel and a close vowel.

Other names for a mid vowel are lowered close-mid vowel and raised open-mid vowel, though the former phrase may also be used to describe a vowel that is as low as open-mid; likewise, the latter phrase may also be used to describe a vowel that is as high as close-mid.

Vowels

The only mid vowel with a dedicated symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet is the mid central vowel with ambiguous rounding Template:IPA.

The IPA divides the vowel space into thirds, with the close-mid vowels such as Template:IPA or Template:IPA and the open-mid vowels such as Template:IPA or Template:IPA equidistant in formant space between open Template:IPA or Template:IPA and close Template:IPA or Template:IPA. Thus a true mid front unrounded vowel can be transcribed as either a lowered Template:Angbr IPA (with a lowering diacritic) or as a raised Template:Angbr IPA (with a raising diacritic).<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Typical truly mid vowels are thus:

• mid front unrounded vowel Template:IPA or Template:IPA
• mid front rounded vowel Template:IPA or Template:IPA
• mid central unrounded vowel Template:IPA or Template:IPA (most commonly written Template:Angbr IPA)
• mid central protruded vowel Template:IPA or Template:IPA (most commonly written Template:Angbr IPA as if it were close-mid)
• mid central compressed vowel Template:IPA
• mid back unrounded vowel Template:IPA or Template:IPA
• mid back rounded vowel Template:IPA or Template:IPA

Languages

Few languages contrast all three heights of mid vowel, because it is rare for a language to distinguish more than four heights of true front or back vowels.

The Kensiu language spoken in Malaysia and Thailand is highly unusual in that it phonemically contrasts true-mid vowels with close-mid and open-mid vowels without differences in other parameters such as backness or roundedness.

Kensiu oral vowels

	Front	Central	Back
Close	Template:IPA	Template:IPA	Template:IPA
Near-close	Template:IPA
Close-mid	Template:IPA	Template:IPA	Template:IPA
Mid	Template:IPA	Template:IPA	Template:IPA
Open-mid	Template:IPA	Template:IPA	Template:IPA
Open		Template:IPA
Diphthongs	Template:Not a typo

Kensiu nasal vowels

	Front	Central	Back
Close	Template:IPA	Template:IPA	Template:IPA
Near-close	Template:IPA
Close-mid	Template:IPA		Template:IPA
Mid	Template:IPA		Template:IPA
Open-mid	Template:IPA	Template:IPA	Template:IPA
Open		Template:IPA
Diphthongs	Template:IPA