Open back rounded vowel
Vowel sound represented by ⟨ɒ⟩ in IPA
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Legend: unrounded • rounded
The open back rounded vowel, or low back 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 ⟨⟩. Latin turned alpha a ⟨⟩ has its linear stroke on the left, whereas Latin alpha a ⟨⟩ (for its unrounded counterpart) has its linear stroke on the right.
Features
- Its vowel height is open, also known as low, which means the tongue is positioned far from the roof of the mouth – that is, low in the mouth.
- Its vowel backness is back, which means the tongue is positioned back in the mouth without creating a constriction that would be classified as a consonant.
- Its place of articulation is pharyngeal, which means it is articulated with the tongue root against the back of the throat (the pharynx).
- It is rounded, which means that the lips are rounded rather than spread or relaxed.
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Occurrence
Near-open back rounded vowel
In some languages there is the near-open back rounded vowel (a sound between cardinal ⟨⟩ and ⟨⟩), which can be transcribed in IPA with or .
Features
- Its vowel height is near-open, also known as near-low, which means the tongue is positioned similarly to an open vowel, but is slightly more constricted – that is, the tongue is positioned similarly to a low vowel, but slightly higher.
- Its vowel backness is back, which means the tongue is positioned back in the mouth without creating a constriction that would be classified as a consonant.
- Its place of articulation is pharyngeal, which means it is articulated with the tongue root against the back of the throat (the pharynx).
- It is rounded, which means that the lips are rounded rather than spread or relaxed.
Occurrence
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