Close central rounded vowel
Vowel sound represented by ⟨ʉ⟩ in IPA
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The close central rounded vowel, or high central rounded vowel,[1] is a type of vowel sound used in some spoken languages. The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet that represents this sound is ⟨ʉ⟩. The sound is also commonly referred to by the name of its symbol, "barred u".
| Close central rounded vowel | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| ʉ | |||
| IPA number | 318 | ||
| Audio sample | |||
| Encoding | |||
| Entity (decimal) | ʉ | ||
| Unicode (hex) | U+0289 | ||
| X-SAMPA | } | ||
| Braille |   | ||
| |||
The close central rounded vowel is the vocalic equivalent of the rare labialized post-palatal approximant [ẅ].[2]
In most languages this rounded vowel is pronounced with protruded lips (endolabial). However, in a few cases the lips are compressed (exolabial).
Close central protruded vowel
The close central protruded vowel is typically transcribed in IPA simply as ⟨ʉ⟩, and that is the convention used in this article. As there is no dedicated diacritic for protrusion in the IPA, symbol for the close central rounded vowel with an old diacritic for labialization, ⟨ ̫⟩, can be used as an ad hoc symbol ⟨ʉ̫⟩ for the close central protruded vowel. Another possible transcription is ⟨ʉʷ⟩ or ⟨ɨʷ⟩ (a close central vowel modified by endolabialization), but this could be misread as a diphthong.
Features
- Its vowel height is close, also known as high, which means the tongue is positioned close to the roof of the mouth without creating a constriction that would be classified as a consonant.
- Its vowel backness is central, which means the tongue is positioned halfway between a front vowel and a back vowel.
- Its roundedness is protruded, which means that the corners of the lips are drawn together, and the inner surfaces exposed.
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Occurrence
Because central rounded vowels are assumed to have protrusion, and few descriptions cover the distinction, some of the following may actually have compression.
| Language | Word | IPA | Meaning | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Angami | Khonoma[3] | su | [sʉ˦] | 'deep' | Allophone of /u/ after /s/.[3] |
| Armenian | Some Eastern dialects[4] | յուղ/yowġ | [jʉʁ] | 'oil' | Allophone of /u/ after /j/. |
| Berber | Ayt Seghrouchen[5] | ⵍⵍⴰⵢⴳⴳⵓⵔ/llayggur | [lːæjˈɡːʉɾ] | 'he goes' | Allophone of /u/ after velar consonants. |
| Dutch | Standard Northern[6] | nu | [nʉ] | 'now' | Typically transcribed in IPA with ⟨y⟩; also described as close front [y][7] and near-close front [y˕].[8] See Dutch phonology |
| English | Australian[9] | goose | [ɡʉːs] | 'goose' | See Australian English phonology |
| New Zealand[10] | See New Zealand English phonology | ||||
| Modern Received Pronunciation[11] | Realized as back [uː] in the conservative variety.[11] | ||||
| Scouse[12] | May (less commonly) be fully front [yː] instead.[12] | ||||
| South African[13] | Realized as back [uː] in the conservative variety and in many Black and Indian varieties.[13] See South African English phonology | ||||
| General American[14] | [ɡʉs] | Can be back [u] instead.[14] | |||
| German | Upper Saxon[15] | Buden | [ˈb̥ʉːd̥n̩] | 'booths' | The example word is from the Chemnitz dialect. |
| Hausa[16] | [example needed] | Allophone of /u/.[16] | |||
| Ibibio | Dialect of the Uruan area and Uyo[17] | fuuk | [fʉ́ʉk] | 'cover many things/times' | Allophone of /u/ between consonants.[17] |
| Some dialects[17] | [example needed] | Phonemic; contrasts with /u/.[17] | |||
| Irish | Munster[18] | ciúin | [cʉːnʲ] | 'quiet' | Allophone of /u/ between slender consonants.[18] See Irish phonology |
| Ulster[19] | úllaí | [ˈʉ̜l̪ˠi] | 'apples' | Often only weakly rounded;[19] may be transcribed in IPA with ⟨u⟩. | |
| Irula[20] | [mʉːj] | "to surround" | Has other centralized vowels. | ||
| Kurdish | Southern[21] | müçig | [mʉːˈt͡ʃɯɡ] | 'dust' | See Kurdish phonology |
| Limburgish | Some dialects[22][23] | bruudsje | [ˈbʀ̝ʉtʃə] | 'breadroll' | Close [ʉ][22] or near-close [ʉ̞],[23] depending on the dialect. Close front [y] in other dialects.[24] Typically transcribed in IPA with ⟨y⟩. The example word is from the Maastrichtian dialect, in which the vowel is close. |
| Lüsu[25] | [lʉ˥zʉ˥˧] | 'Lüsu' | |||
| Russian[26] | кюрий/kyuriy/kjurij | [ˈkʲʉrʲɪj] | 'curium' | Allophone of /u/ between palatalized consonants. Near-close when unstressed.[26] See Russian phonology | |
| Scots[27] | buit | [bʉt] | 'boot' | May be more front [ʏ] instead.[27] | |
| Scottish Gaelic | older Lewis speakers[28] | co-dhiù | [kʰɔˈjʉː] | 'anyway' | Normal allophone of [uː]. Fronted as [yː] among younger speakers. |
| Wester Ross and Lochalsh[29] | Normal allophone of [uː]. | ||||
| Swedish | Bohuslän[30] | yla | [²ʉᶻːlä] | 'howl' | A fricated vowel that corresponds to [y̫ː] in Central Standard Swedish.[30] See Swedish phonology |
| Närke[30] | |||||
| Tamil[31] | வால் | [väːlʉ] | 'tail' | Epenthetic vowel inserted in colloquial speech after word-final liquids; can be unrounded [ɨ] instead.[31] See Tamil phonology | |
Close central compressed vowel
| Close central compressed vowel | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| ʉ | |||
| ɨᵝ | |||
| |||
As there are no diacritics in the IPA to distinguish protruded and compressed rounding, an old diacritic for labialization, ⟨◌⟩ (the opposite of ⟨◌̫⟩), will be used here as an ad hoc symbol for compressed central vowels. It was only added to Unicode in 2025, however, and it may take some time for font support to catch up. Another attested transcription is ⟨ɨᵝ⟩ ([ɨ] modified with labial compression),[32] though this may imply that the vowel is a diphthong (as indeed it is in Swedish).
The central-vowel stroke of ⟨ɨ ɵ ʉ⟩ may also be used with the front compressed vowel [y] to create the ad hoc symbol ⟨ɏ⟩, or the diacritic for centralization to create ⟨ÿ⟩.
Features
- Its vowel height is close, also known as high, which means the tongue is positioned close to the roof of the mouth without creating a constriction that would be classified as a consonant.
- Its vowel backness is central, which means the tongue is positioned halfway between a front vowel and a back vowel.
- 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.
Occurrence
This vowel is typically transcribed in IPA with ⟨ʉ⟩. It occurs in some dialects of Swedish, but see also close front compressed vowel. The close back vowels of Norwegian and Swedish are also compressed. See close back compressed vowel. It also occurs in Japanese as an allophone. Medumba has a compressed central vowel [ɨᵝ] where the corners of the mouth are not drawn together.[33]
| Language | Word | IPA | Meaning | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Norwegian | Urban East[34][35] | hus | [hʉːs] | 'house' | Typically transcribed in IPA with ⟨ʉː⟩. Also described as front [yː].[36] See Norwegian phonology |
| Swedish | Some dialects | ful | [fʉːl] | 'ugly' | More front [yː ~ ʏː] in Central Standard Swedish; typically transcribed in IPA as ⟨ʉː⟩. See Swedish phonology |
Near-close central protruded vowel
Some languages feature the near-close central rounded vowel, which is slightly lower than a typical [ʉ]. It is most often transcribed in IPA with ⟨ʉ̞⟩, ⟨ʊ̈⟩ and ⟨ʊ̟⟩, but ⟨ɵ̝⟩ is also a possible transcription. The symbol ⟨ᵿ⟩, a conflation of ⟨ʊ⟩ and ⟨ʉ⟩, is used as an unofficial extension of the IPA to represent this sound by a number of publications, such as Accents of English by John C. Wells.
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 central, which means the tongue is positioned halfway between a front vowel and a back vowel.
- Its roundedness is protruded, which means that the corners of the lips are drawn together, and the inner surfaces exposed.
Occurrence
| Language | Word | IPA | Meaning | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dutch | Randstad[37] | hut | [ɦɵ̝t] | 'hut' | Found in Amsterdam, Rotterdam and The Hague. Lower [ɵ] in Standard Dutch.[37] See Dutch phonology |
| English | Estuary[38] | foot | [fʉ̞ʔt] | 'foot' | The exact height, backness and roundedness is variable.[38] |
| Cockney[39] | good | [ɡʊ̈d] | 'good' | Only in some words, particularly good, otherwise realized as near-back [ʊ].[39] | |
| Rural white Southern American[40] | Can be front [ʏ] instead.[40] | ||||
| Southeastern English[41] | May be unrounded [ɪ̈] instead;[41] it corresponds to [ʊ] in other dialects. See English phonology | ||||
| Ulster[42] | Short allophone of /u/.[42] | ||||
| Shetland[43] | strut | [stɹʊ̈t] | 'strut' | Can be [ɔ̟] or [ʌ] instead.[43] | |
Near-close central compressed vowel
| Near-close central compressed vowel | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| ʉ̞ | |||
| |||
As there are no diacritics in the IPA to distinguish protruded and compressed rounding, an old diacritic for labialization, ⟨◌⟩ (the opposite of ⟨◌̫⟩), will be used here as an ad hoc symbol for compressed central vowels. It was only added to Unicode in 2025, however, and it may take some time for font support to catch up.
The central-vowel stroke of ⟨ɨ ɵ ʉ⟩ may also be used with the front compressed vowel [ʏ] to create the ad hoc symbol ⟨ʏ̵⟩, or the diacritic for centralization to create ⟨ʏ̈⟩.
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 central, which means the tongue is positioned halfway between a front vowel and a back vowel.
- 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.