Close central rounded vowel
Vowel sound represented by ⟨ʉ⟩ in IPA
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Legend: unrounded • rounded
The close central rounded vowel, or high central 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 ⟨⟩. 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 .
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 ⟨⟩, 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, ⟨⟩, can be used as an ad hoc symbol ⟨⟩ for the close central protruded vowel. Another possible transcription is ⟨⟩ or ⟨⟩ (a close central vowel modified by endolabialization), but this could be misread as a diphthong.
Features
- Its vowel height is close, also known as high, which means the tongue is positioned close 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 roundedness is protruded, which means that the corners of the lips are drawn together, and the inner surfaces exposed.
Occurrence
Because central rounded vowels are assumed to have protrusion, and few descriptions cover the distinction, some of the following may actually have compression.
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Close central compressed vowel
As there are no diacritics in the IPA to distinguish protruded and compressed rounding, an old diacritic for labialization, ⟨⟩ (the opposite of ⟨⟩), will be used here as an ad hoc symbol for compressed central vowels. It was only added to Unicode in 2025, however, and it may take some time for font support to catch up. Another attested transcription is ⟨⟩ ( modified with labial compression), though this may imply that the vowel is a diphthong (as indeed it is in Swedish).
The central-vowel stroke of ⟨⟩ may also be used with the front compressed vowel to create the ad hoc symbol ⟨⟩, or the diacritic for centralization to create ⟨⟩.
Features
- Its vowel height is close, also known as high, which means the tongue is positioned close 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 roundedness is compressed, which means that the margins of the lips are tense and drawn together in such a way that the inner surfaces are not exposed.
Occurrence
This vowel is typically transcribed in IPA with ⟨⟩. 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 where the corners of the mouth are not drawn together.
Near-close central protruded vowel
Some languages feature the near-close central rounded vowel, which is slightly lower than a typical . It is most often transcribed in IPA with ⟨⟩, ⟨⟩ and ⟨⟩, but ⟨⟩ is also a possible transcription. The symbol ⟨⟩, a conflation of ⟨⟩ and ⟨⟩, 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.
Features
- Its vowel height is near-close, also known as near-high, which means the tongue is not quite so constricted as a close vowel (high vowel).
- Its vowel backness is central, which means the tongue is positioned halfway between a front vowel and a back vowel.
- Its roundedness is protruded, which means that the corners of the lips are drawn together, and the inner surfaces exposed.
Occurrence
Near-close central compressed vowel
As there are no diacritics in the IPA to distinguish protruded and compressed rounding, an old diacritic for labialization, ⟨⟩ (the opposite of ⟨⟩), will be used here as an ad hoc symbol for compressed central vowels. It was only added to Unicode in 2025, however, and it may take some time for font support to catch up.
The central-vowel stroke of ⟨⟩ may also be used with the front compressed vowel to create the ad hoc symbol ⟨⟩, or the diacritic for centralization to create ⟨⟩.
Features
- Its vowel height is near-close, also known as near-high, which means the tongue is not quite so constricted as a close vowel (high vowel).
- Its vowel backness is central, which means the tongue is positioned halfway between a front vowel and a back vowel.
- Its roundedness is compressed, which means that the margins of the lips are tense and drawn together in such a way that the inner surfaces are not exposed.