Close-mid front rounded vowel - Definition and Overview

IPA - Unicode	ø
IPA - image
X-SAMPA	2
Kirshenbaum	Y
Sound sample

The close-mid 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 ø, and the equivalent X-SAMPA symbol is 2. The symbol ø is a lowercase letter o with a diagonal stroke through it, derived from the Danish, Faroese, and Norwegian alphabets, which also use this symbol to represent this sound.

Features of this vowel:

• Its vowel height is close-mid, which means the tongue is positioned halfway between close vowel and a mid vowel.
• Its vowel backness is front, which means the tongue is positioned as far forward as possible in the mouth without creating a constriction that would be classified as a consonant.
• Its vowel roundedness is rounded, which means that the lips are rounded.