Near-close near-front rounded vowel
Vowel sound represented by ⟨ʏ⟩ in IPA
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Legend: unrounded • rounded
The near-close near-front rounded vowel, or near-high near-front 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 ⟨⟩ (a small capital Latin letter Y).
The Handbook of the International Phonetic Association defines as a mid-centralized (lowered and centralized) close front rounded vowel (transcribed or ), and the current official IPA name of the vowel transcribed with the symbol ⟨⟩ is a near-close near-front rounded vowel.
However, some languages have a vowel that is somewhat lower than the canonical value of , though it still fits the definition of a mid-centralized . It occurs in German Standard German as well as some dialects of English (such as Estuary). It can be narrowly transcribed with (a lowered ⟨⟩), (a backed ⟨⟩), or (a fronted ⟨⟩). For precision, this can be described as a close-mid near-front rounded vowel.
Additionally, in many languages that contrast close, near-close, and close-mid front rounded vowels, there is no appreciable difference in backness between them. In some transcriptions, the vowel is transcribed with ⟨⟩ or ⟨⟩. When that is the case, this article uses the narrow transcriptions (a lowered ⟨⟩) and (a raised ⟨⟩), respectively. For precision, this can be described as a near-close front rounded vowel, or near-high front rounded vowel, which may also be represented with (a fronted ⟨⟩). Some phoneticians argue that all lip position inverses of the primary cardinal vowels are centralized (with the exception of ⟨⟩) based on formant acoustics, so that there may be no substantial difference between a near-close near-front rounded vowel and its fully front counterpart .
⟨⟩ implies too weak a rounding in some cases (specifically in the case of the vowels that are described as tense in Germanic languages, which are typically transcribed with ), which would have to be specified as . In most languages, the rounded vowel is pronounced with compressed lips (in an exolabial manner). However, in a few cases, the lips are protruded (in an endolabial manner), such as in Swedish, which contrasts the two types of rounding.
Transcription
The near-close front rounded vowel is transcribed with ⟨⟩, ⟨⟩ and ⟨⟩ in world's languages. However, when the Latin ⟨⟩ or ⟨⟩ are used for this vowel, ⟨⟩ may still be used for phonological reasons for a vowel that is lower than near-close, potentially leading to confusion. This is the case in several Germanic language varieties, as well as in some transcriptions of Shanghainese.
In the following table, the difference between compressed and protruded vowels is ignored, except in the case of Swedish. Short vowels transcribed with ⟨⟩, ⟨⟩, ⟨⟩ and ⟨⟩ in broad transcription are assumed to have a weak rounding in most cases.
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Near-close front compressed vowel
The near-close front compressed vowel is typically transcribed in IPA simply as ⟨⟩, and that is the convention used in this article. There is no dedicated diacritic for compression in the IPA. However, the compression of the lips can be shown with the letter ⟨⟩ as ⟨⟩ (simultaneous and labial compression) or ⟨⟩ ( modified with labial compression). The spread-lip diacritic ⟨⟩ may also be used with a rounded vowel letter ⟨⟩ as an ad hoc symbol, though technically 'spread' means unrounded.
The close-mid front compressed vowel can be transcribed ⟨⟩, ⟨⟩ or ⟨⟩.
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 front, which means the tongue is positioned forward in the mouth without creating a constriction that would be classified as a consonant. Rounded front vowels are often centralized, which means that often they are in fact near-front.
- 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. The prototypical has a weak compressed rounding, more like than the neighboring cardinal vowels.
Occurrence
Because front rounded vowels are assumed to have compression, and few descriptions cover the distinction, some of the following may actually have protrusion. Vowels transcribed with ⟨⟩ and ⟨⟩ may have a stronger rounding than the prototypical value of ⟨⟩.
Near-close front protruded vowel
Catford notes that most languages with rounded front and back vowels use distinct types of labialization, protruded back vowels and compressed front vowels. However, a few languages, such as Scandinavian languages, have protruded front vowels. One of them, Swedish, even contrasts the two types of rounding in front vowels as well as height and duration.
As there are no diacritics in the IPA to distinguish protruded and compressed rounding, the old diacritic for labialization, ⟨⟩, will be used here as an ad hoc symbol for protruded front vowels. Another possible transcription is or (a near-close front vowel modified by endolabialization), but that could be misread as a diphthong.
A close-mid (near-)front protruded vowel may be narrowly transcribed with , , or . For the fully front variant of this vowel transcribed with ⟨⟩, see the close-mid front protruded vowel.
Acoustically, this sound is "between" the more typical compressed near-close front vowel and the unrounded near-close front vowel .
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 front, which means the tongue is positioned forward in the mouth without creating a constriction that would be classified as a consonant. Rounded front vowels are often centralized, which means that often they are in fact near-front.
- Its roundedness is protruded, which means that the corners of the lips are drawn together, and the inner surfaces exposed. The prototypical has a weak rounding (though it is compressed, rather than protruded), more like than the neighboring cardinal vowels.