Close_back_unrounded_vowel Close_back_unrounded_vowel

Close back unrounded vowel - Definition and Overview

Vowels
front near-front central near-back back
close i y ɨ ʉ ɯ u
near-close ɪ ʏ ʊ
close-mid e ø ɘ ɵ ɤ o
mid ə
open-mid ɛ œ ɜ ɞ ʌ ɔ
near-open æ ɐ
open a ɶ ɑ ɒ
Table of vowels
List of vowels
Edit this box (http://en.wikipedia.org/w/wiki.phtml?title=Template:Vowels)
IPA - Unicode ɯ
IPA - image Image:Xsampa-M.png
X-SAMPA M
Kirshenbaum u-
Sound sample

The close back unrounded vowel is a type of vowel sound, used in some spoken languages. The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet that represents this sound is ɯ, and the equivalent X-SAMPA symbol is M. The IPA symbol is a turned letter m, although given its relation to the sound represented by the letter u, it can be considered a u with an extra "bowl". The sound is sometimes referred to as "unrounded u". Features of this vowel:

  • Its vowel height is close, which means the tongue is positioned as close as possible to the roof of the mouth without creating a constriction that would be classified as a consonant.
  • Its vowel backness is back, which means the tongue is positioned as far back as possible in the mouth in the mouth without creating a constriction that would be classified as a consonant.
  • Its vowel roundedness is unrounded, which means that the lips are not rounded.

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