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Near-close near-front rounded vowel

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Near-close near-front rounded vowel
ʏ
IPA Number320
Audio sample
Encoding
Entity(decimal)ʏ
Unicode(hex)U+028F
X-SAMPAY
Braille⠔ (braille pattern dots-35)⠽ (braille pattern dots-13456)
Spectrogram of ʏ

Thenear-close front rounded vowel,ornear-high front rounded vowel,[1]is a type ofvowelsound, used in somespokenlanguages.

The symbol in theInternational Phonetic Alphabetthat represents this sound is ⟨ʏ⟩, asmall capitalversion of the Latin lettery,and the equivalentX-SAMPAsymbol isY.

Handbook of the International Phonetic Associationdefines[ʏ]as amid-centralized(loweredandcentralized) close front rounded vowel (transcribed[y̽]or[ÿ˕]), and the current official IPA name of the vowel transcribed with the symbol ⟨ʏ⟩ isnear-close near-front rounded vowel.[2]However, acoustic analysis of cardinal vowels as produced byDaniel JonesandJohn C. Wellshas shown that basicallyallcardinal front rounded vowels (so not just[y]but also[ø,œ,ɶ]) are near-front (orfront-central) in their articulation, so[ʏ]may be just a lowered cardinal[y]([y˕]), a vowel that is intermediate between cardinal[y]and cardinal[ø].[3]In many languages that contrast close, near-close and close-mid front rounded vowels, there is no appreciable difference in backness between them.[4][5][6][7]In some transcriptions, the vowel is transcribed with ⟨y[8]or ⟨ø⟩.[9]When that is the case, this article transcribes it with the symbols ⟨⟩ (a lowered ⟨y⟩) and ⟨ø̝⟩ (a raised ⟨ø⟩), respectively. ⟨ʏ⟩ implies too weak a rounding in some cases (specifically in the case of the vowels that are described astensein Germanic languages, which are typically transcribed with ⟨øː⟩), which would have to be specified as ⟨ʏ̹⟩.

In some languages, however, ⟨ʏ⟩ is used to transcribe a vowel that is as low as close-mid but still fits the definition of a lowered and centralized (or just lowered) cardinal[y].It occurs inGerman Standard Germanas well as some dialects of English (such asEstuary),[10][11][12]and it can be transcribed with the symbol ⟨ʏ̞⟩ (a lowered ⟨ʏ⟩) in narrow transcription. For the close-mid front rounded vowel that is not usually transcribed with the symbol ⟨ʏ⟩ (or ⟨y⟩), seeclose-mid front rounded vowel.

In most languages, the rounded vowel is pronounced withcompressedlips (in anexolabialmanner). However, in a few cases, the lips are protruded (in anendolabialmanner), such as inSwedish,which contrasts the two types of rounding.

Transcription[edit]

The near-close front rounded vowel is transcribed with ⟨y⟩, ⟨ʏ⟩ and ⟨ø⟩ in world's languages. However, when the Latin ⟨y⟩ or ⟨ø⟩ are used for this vowel, ⟨ʏ⟩ may still be used for phonological reasons for a vowel that islowerthan near-close, potentially leading to confusion. This is the case in several Germanic language varieties, as well as in some transcriptions ofShanghainese.

In the following table, the difference between compressed and protruded vowels is ignored, except in the case of Swedish. Short vowels transcribed with ⟨ʉ⟩, ⟨ʏ⟩, ⟨ɵ⟩ and ⟨œ⟩ in broad transcription are assumed to have a weak rounding in most cases.

Symbol Phonetic values in various language varieties
Dutch Dzongkha Frisian languages German Limburgish Shanghainese Swedish
Fering Saterland Northern Standard Hamont-Achel Maastricht Weert Central Standard
y [y]~[ʏ]~[ʉ] [y] [y] [ʉ̞] [ʉ] [y] same asʏ
[]~[ʏː]~[ʉː] []~[ʏː] [] [] [] [] [ʉː] [] [y̫ː]
ʉ same asʏ [ʉ̞ᵝ]
ʉː [ʏᵝː]~[yᵝː]
ʏ [ɵ] [ʉ̞] [ø] [ø̜] [ɵ] [ɵ] [ɵ] [ø] [ø̫]~[ʏ̫]~[]
ø same asøː [ø̹] same asøː same asøː same asøː [ʏ] same asœ
øː [øʏ]~[øː]~[ɵː] [øː]~[œː] [ʉ̞ː] [ʏː] [ø̹ː] [ɵː] [ɵː]~[ɵʊ̈] [øə] [ø̫ː]
ɵ same asʏ [ɵ̞ᵝ]
œ same asʏ [ɵ] [œ] [œ] [œ] [œ̝] [œ̝] [œ̫˔]
œː [œː] [øː] [œː] [œː] [ɞː] [œ̝ː]

Near-close front compressed vowel[edit]

Thenear-close front compressed vowelis typically transcribed in IPA simply as ⟨ʏ⟩, and that is the convention used in this article. There is no dedicateddiacriticfor compression in the IPA. However, the compression of the lips can be shown with the letter ⟨β̞⟩ as ⟨ɪ͡β̞⟩ (simultaneous[ɪ]and labial compression) or ⟨ɪᵝ⟩ ([ɪ]modified with labial compression). The spread-lip diacritic ⟨͍⟩ may also be used with a rounded vowel letter ⟨ʏ͍⟩ as anad hocsymbol, though technically 'spread' means unrounded.

Theclose-mid front compressed vowelcan be transcribed ⟨ɪ̞͡β̞⟩, ⟨ɪ̞ᵝ⟩ or ⟨ʏ͍˕⟩.

Features[edit]

  • Itsvowel heightisnear-close,also known as near-high, which means the tongue is not quite so constricted as aclose vowel(high vowel).
  • Itsvowel backnessisfront,which means the tongue is positioned forward in the mouth without creating a constriction that would be classified as aconsonant.Rounded front vowels are oftencentralized,which means that often they are in factnear-front.
  • Itsroundednessis 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[ʏ]has a weak compressed rounding, more like[œ]than the neighboring cardinal vowels.

Occurrence[edit]

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 ⟨ø̝⟩ may have a stronger rounding than the prototypical value of ⟨ʏ⟩.

Language Word IPA Meaning Notes
Albanian Gheg yll [ʏɫ] 'star'
Bashkir дүрт/dürt [dʏrt] 'four'
Bavarian Northern[13] vill [v̥ʏl] 'much' Allophone of/i/before/l/.[13]
Buwal[14] [ɗɛ́ɗʏ̄wɛ̄k] 'bitter' Palatalized allophone of/ə/when adjacent to a labialized consonant.[14]
Chinese Shanghainese[15] Gan/koe [kø̝˩] 'liver' Realization of/ø/in open syllables and/ʏ/in closed syllables. Near-close[ø̝]in the former case, close-mid[ʏ̞]in the latter.[15]
Danish Standard[16] købe [ˈkʰø̝ːpə] 'buy' Also described as close-mid[øː].[17]SeeDanish phonology
Dutch Standard[18] nu [ny˕] 'now' Also transcribed as close front[y][19][20]and, in the Standard Northern accent, as close central[ʉ].[21]Typically transcribed in IPA with ⟨y⟩. SeeDutch phonology
English Estuary[22][23] foot [fʏʔt] 'foot' Possible realization of/ʊ/and/uː/.In the former case, the height varies between near-close[ʏ]and close-mid[ʏ̞].[22][24]
Multicultural London[25] Possible realization of/ʊ/.[25]
Rural whiteSouthern American[26] [fʏt̚] Can be central[ʊ̈]instead.[26]
West Country[27] [fʏt] Possible realization of/ʊ/and/uː/.[27]
New Zealand[28][29] nurse [nʏːs] 'nurse' Possible realization of/ɵː/(and also/ʉː/).[28][29][30]SeeNew Zealand English phonology
Ulster[31] mule [mjʏl] 'mule' Short allophone of/u/;occurs only after/j/.[31]SeeEnglish phonology
Multicultural London food [fʏːd] 'food'
Faroese[32] krúss [kɹʏsː] 'mug' SeeFaroese phonology
French Parisian[33] tu [t̪y˕] 'you' Also described as close[y];[34][35]typically transcribed in IPA with ⟨y⟩. SeeFrench phonology
Quebec[36] lune [lʏn] 'moon' Allophone of/y/inclosed syllables.[36]SeeQuebec French phonology
German Standard[10][11] schützen [ˈʃʏ̞t͡sn̩] 'protect' Close-mid; it may be as high as[y]for some speakers.[10][11]SeeStandard German phonology
Some speakers[37] schwimmen [ʃvʏmː] 'to swim' Allophone of/ɪ/before labial consonants. Used by some speakers in Northern and Central Germany.[37]SeeStandard German phonology
Hungarian[4] üt [y˕t̪] 'hit' Typically transcribed in IPA with ⟨y⟩. SeeHungarian phonology
Icelandic[38] vinur [ˈʋɪ̞ːnʏ̞ɾ] 'friend' Close-mid;[38]also described as central[ɵ].[39]SeeIcelandic phonology
Kazakh жүр/jür [ʑʏr] 'go'
Kurdish d [dʏneː] 'yesterday' Allophone of /weː/ before consonant.
Low German[40] lütt/lut [lʏt] 'little'
Norwegian[41] nytt [nʏtː] 'new' The example word is fromUrban East Norwegian,in which the vowel varies between compressed[ʏ]and protruded[ʏ̫].[42]Its height has been variously described as near-close[ʏ][41]and close[y].[43]SeeNorwegian phonology.
Saterland Frisian[7] röögje [ˈʀø̝ːɡjə] 'to rain' Phonetic realization of/øː/and/ʏ/.Near-close[ø̝ː]in the former case, close-mid[ʏ̞]in the latter. Phonetically, the latter is nearly identical to/œː/([øː]).[7]
Scots[44] buit [bʏt] 'boot' May be central[ʉ]instead.[44]
Swedish Central Standard[5][45] ut [ʏːt̪] 'out' Often realized as a sequence[ʏβ̞]or[ʏβ][46][47](hear the word:[ʏβt̪]). The height has been variously described as near-close[ʏː][5][45]and close[].[48]Typically transcribed in IPA with ⟨ʉː⟩; it is central[ʉː]in other dialects. SeeSwedish phonology
Turkish[49] atasözü [ät̪äˈs̪ø̞z̪ʏ] 'proverb' Allophone of/y/described variously as "word-final"[49]and "occurring in final open syllable of a phrase".[50]SeeTurkish phonology
Turkmen[51] Türkmençe [tʏɾkmøntʃø] 'Turkmen'
Wymysorys[52] büwa [ˈbʏvä] 'boys'

Near-close front protruded vowel[edit]

Near-close front protruded vowel
ʏ̫
ʏʷ
ɪʷ

Catford notes[full citation needed]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 asScandinavian 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.[53]

As there are no diacritics in the IPA to distinguish protruded and compressed rounding, the old diacritic for labialization, ⟨◌̫⟩, will be used here as anad hocsymbol for protruded front vowels. Another possible transcription is ⟨ʏʷ⟩ or ⟨ɪʷ⟩ (a near-close front vowel modified by endolabialization), but that could be misread as a diphthong.

Theclose-mid front protruded vowelcan be transcribed ⟨ʏ̫˕⟩, ⟨ʏ̞ʷ⟩ or ⟨ɪ̞ʷ⟩.

For the close-mid front protruded vowel that is not usually transcribed with the symbol ⟨ʏ⟩ (or ⟨y⟩), seeclose-mid front protruded vowel.

Acoustically, this sound is "between" the more typical compressed near-close front vowel[ʏ]and the unrounded near-close front vowel[ɪ].

Features[edit]

  • Itsvowel heightisnear-close,also known as near-high, which means the tongue is not quite so constricted as aclose vowel(high vowel).
  • Itsvowel backnessisfront,which means the tongue is positioned forward in the mouth without creating a constriction that would be classified as aconsonant.Rounded front vowels are oftencentralized,which means that often they are in factnear-front.
  • Itsroundednessis protruded, which means that the corners of the lips are drawn together, and the inner surfaces exposed. The prototypical[ʏ]has a weak rounding (though it is compressed, rather than protruded), more like[œ]than the neighboring cardinal vowels.

Occurrence[edit]

Language Word IPA Meaning Notes
Norwegian[41] nytt [nʏ̫tː] 'new' The example word is fromUrban East Norwegian,in which the vowel varies between protruded[ʏ̫]and compressed[ʏ].[42]Its height has been variously described as near-close[ʏ][41]and close[y].[43]SeeNorwegian phonology.
Swedish Central Standard[5][45] ylle [²ʏ̫lːɛ̝] 'wool' The height has been variously described as close-mid[ʏ̫˕],[5]near-close[ʏ̫][45]and close[].[54]SeeSwedish phonology

References[edit]

  1. ^While theInternational Phonetic Associationprefers the terms "close" and "open" forvowel height,many linguists use "high" and "low".
  2. ^International Phonetic Association (1999),pp. 13, 171, 180.
  3. ^Geoff Lindsey(2013)The vowel space,Speech Talk
  4. ^abSzende (1994),p. 92.
  5. ^abcdeEngstrand (1999),p. 140.
  6. ^Lodge (2009),p. 87.
  7. ^abcPeters (2017),p.?.
  8. ^For example, byCollins & Mees (2013:225) andSzende (1994:92).
  9. ^For example byChen & Gussenhoven (2015:328);Basbøll & Wagner (1985:40), cited inBasbøll (2005:48) andPeters (2017:?).
  10. ^abcHall (2003),pp. 93–94, 107.
  11. ^abcDudenredaktion, Kleiner & Knöbl (2015),pp. 34, 64.
  12. ^Altendorf & Watt (2004),pp. 188, 191.
  13. ^abRowley (1990),p. 422.
  14. ^abViljoen (2013),p. 50.
  15. ^abChen & Gussenhoven (2015),p. 328.
  16. ^Basbøll & Wagner (1985:40), cited inBasbøll (2005:48).
  17. ^Basbøll (2005),p. 46.
  18. ^Collins & Mees (2003),p. 132.
  19. ^Verhoeven (2005),p. 245.
  20. ^Gussenhoven (2007),p. 30.
  21. ^Gussenhoven (1992),p. 47.
  22. ^abPrzedlacka (2001),pp. 42–43.
  23. ^Altendorf & Watt (2004),pp. 188, 190–191.
  24. ^Altendorf & Watt (2004),pp. 188, 190.
  25. ^abCruttenden (2014),p. 91.
  26. ^abThomas (2004),pp. 303, 308.
  27. ^abAltendorf & Watt (2004),p. 200.
  28. ^abBauer et al. (2007),p. 98.
  29. ^abMannell, Cox & Harrington (2009).
  30. ^Bauer & Warren (2004),p. 582.
  31. ^abJilka, Matthias."Irish English and Ulster English"(PDF).Stuttgart: Institut für Linguistik/Anglistik, University of Stuttgart. p. 6. Archived fromthe original(PDF)on 21 April 2014.
  32. ^Peterson (2000),cited inÁrnason (2011:76)
  33. ^Collins & Mees (2013),p. 225.
  34. ^Fougeron & Smith (1993),p. 73.
  35. ^Lodge (2009),p. 84.
  36. ^abWalker (1984),pp. 51–60.
  37. ^abDudenredaktion, Kleiner & Knöbl (2015),p. 65.
  38. ^abÁrnason (2011),p. 60.
  39. ^Einarsson (1945:10), cited inGussmann (2011:73)
  40. ^Prehn (2012),p. 157.
  41. ^abcdVanvik (1979),pp. 13, 20.
  42. ^abKristoffersen (2000),pp. 15–16.
  43. ^abKvifte & Gude-Husken (2005),p. 2.
  44. ^abStuart-Smith (2004),p. 54.
  45. ^abcdBolander (2001),p. 55.
  46. ^Engstrand (1999),p. 141.
  47. ^Riad (2014),p. 28.
  48. ^Riad (2014),pp. 27–28.
  49. ^abGöksel & Kerslake (2005),p. 11.
  50. ^Zimmer & Organ (1999),p. 155.
  51. ^Hoey (2013),p. 6.
  52. ^Jarosław Weckwerth."The pure vowels (monophthongs) of Wilamowicean – spectral characteristics"(PDF).pp. 1–2, 5.
  53. ^Ladefoged & Maddieson (1996),p.?.
  54. ^Dahlstedt (1967),p. 16.

Sources[edit]

External links[edit]