Close front rounded vowel

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IPA – number	309
IPA – text	y
IPA – image
Entity	y
X-SAMPA	y
Kirshenbaum	y
Sound sample (help·info)

The close 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 y, and the equivalent X-SAMPA symbol is y.

In most languages this vowel is exolabial (compressed). However, in a few cases it is endolabial (with protruded lips).

Contents 1 Exolabial (compressed) 1.1 Features 1.2 Occurrence 2 Endolabial (protruded) 2.1 Features 2.2 Occurrence 3 See also 4 References 5 Bibliography

[edit] Exolabial (compressed)

[edit] Features

• 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 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 roundedness is exolabial, which means that the lips are rounded but vertically compressed, so that the inner surfaces are not exposed.

[edit] Occurrence

Note: Since front rounded vowels are assumed to have compression, and few descriptions cover the distinction, some of the following may actually have protrusion.

Language		Word	IPA	Meaning	Notes
Albanian		dy	[dy]	'two'
Azeri		güllə	[ɟylˈlæ]	'bullet'
Chinese	Cantonese	書/syu1	[syː˥]	'book'	See Standard Cantonese
	Mandarin	绿/lǜ	[ly˥˩]	'green'	See Standard Mandarin
Chechen		уьш/üş	[yʃ]	'they'
Danish		yde	[ˈyːðə]	'to supply'	See Danish phonology
Dutch[1]		fuut	[fyˑt]	'grebe'	See Dutch phonology
English	Scottish	food	[fyd]	'food'	Some dialects. Corresponds to /u/ or /ʉ/ in other dialects. See English phonology
Estonian		üks	[yks]	'one'
Finnish		yksi	[ˈyksi]	'one'	See Finnish phonology
French[2]		chute	[ʃyt]	'fall'	See French phonology
German		Blüte	[ˈblyːtə]	'blossom'	See German phonology
Hungarian[3]		tű	[tyː]	'pin'	See Hungarian phonology
Korean		위 wi	[y]	'top'	May be diphthongized to [wi] by younger speakers
Lombard		dü	[dy]	'two'
Occitan	Gascon	lua	[ˈlyo]	'moon'
	Languedocien	luna	[ˈlyno]
	Provençal
Turkish		güneş	[ɟyˈneʃ]	'sun'	See Turkish phonology

[edit] Endolabial (protruded)

Most languages with rounded front and back vowels use distinct types of labialization, endolabial or protruded back vowels, and exolabial or compressed front vowels. However, a few languages, such as Scandinavian, have front vowels with the typically back-vowel form of exolabial rounding. One of these, Swedish, even contrasts the two types of rounding in front vowels. (See Near-close near-front rounded vowel, with Swedish examples of both types of rounding.)

As there are no diacritics in the IPA to distinguish endo- and exo-labial rounding, old diacritic for labialization, [  ̫], will be used here as an ad hoc symbol for endolabial front vowels. (Another possible transcription is [yʷ] or [iʷ] (a close front vowel modified by endolabialization), but this could be misread as a diphthong.)

[edit] Features

• Its vowel height is near-close, which means the tongue is not quite so constricted as a close vowel.
• Its vowel backness is near-front, which means the tongue is positioned almost as far forward as a front vowel.
• Its roundedness is endolabial, which means that the lips protrude, with the inner surfaces exposed.

[edit] Occurrence

Language		Word	IPA	Meaning	Notes
Norwegian		syd	[sy̫ːd]	'south'	See Norwegian phonology
Swedish		yla	[y̫ː(ɥ)la] (help·info)	'howl'	See Swedish phonology

[edit] See also

• List of phonetics topics

[edit] References

[edit] Bibliography

• Fougeron, Cecile & Caroline L Smith (1993), "Illustrations of the IPA:French", Journal of the International Phonetic Association 23 (2): 73-76
• Gussenhoven, Carlos (1992), "Dutch", Journal of the International Phonetic Association 22 (2): 45-47
• Szende, Tamás (1994), "Illustrations of the IPA:Hungarian", Journal of the International Phonetic Alphabet 24 (2): 91-94