Mid central vowel

Mid central vowel
ə
IPA number 322
Encoding
Entity (decimal) ə
Unicode (hex) U+0259
X-SAMPA @
Kirshenbaum @
Braille ⠢ (braille pattern dots-26)
Listen
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IPA vowel chart
Front Near-​front Central Near-​back Back
Close
i • y
ɨ • ʉ
ɯ • u
ɪ • ʏ
ɪ̈ • ʊ̈
ɯ̽ • ʊ
e • ø
ɘ • ɵ
ɤ • o
e̞ • ø̞
ə • ɵ̞
ɤ̞ • o̞
ɛ • œ
ɜ • ɞ
ʌ • ɔ
æ • 
ɐ • ɞ̞
a • ɶ
ä • ɒ̈
ɑ • ɒ
Near-close
Close-mid
Mid
Open-mid
Near-open
Open
Paired vowels are: unrounded • rounded
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The mid central vowel (also known as schwa) is a type of vowel sound, used in some spoken languages. The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet that represents this sound is ⟨ə⟩, a rotated lowercase letter e.

While the Handbook of the International Phonetic Association does not define the roundedness of [ə],[1] it is more often unrounded than rounded. The phonetician Jane Setter describes the pronunciation of the unrounded variant as follows: "[ə] is a sound which can be produced by basically relaxing the articulators in the oral cavity and vocalising."[2] To produce the rounded variant, all that needs to be done in addition to that is to round the lips.

Afrikaans contrasts unrounded and rounded mid central vowels; the latter is usually transcribed with ⟨œ⟩. The contrast is not very stable, and many speakers use an unrounded vowel in both cases.[3]

Some languages, such as Danish[4] and Luxembourgish,[5] have a mid central vowel that is variably rounded. In some other languages, things are more complicated, as the change in rounding is accompanied with the change in height and/or backness. For instance, in Dutch, the unrounded allophone of /ə/ is mid central unrounded [ə], but its word-final rounded allophone is close-mid near-front rounded [ʏ̞], practically the same as the main allophone of /ʏ/.[6]

The symbol ⟨ə⟩ is often used for any unstressed obscure vowel, regardless of its precise quality. For instance, the English vowel transcribed ⟨ə⟩ is a central unrounded vowel that can be close-mid [ɘ], mid [ə] or open-mid [ɜ], depending on the environment.[7]

Mid central unrounded vowel

The mid central unrounded vowel is frequently written with the symbol [ə]. If greater precision is desired, the symbol for the close-mid central unrounded vowel may be used with a lowering diacritic, [ɘ̞]. Another possibility is using the symbol for the open-mid central unrounded vowel with a raising diacritic, [ɜ̝].

Features

Occurrence

Language Word IPA Meaning Notes
Afrikaans Standard[3] lig [ləχ] 'light' Also described as open-mid [ɜ].[8] See Afrikaans phonology
Many speakers[3] lug 'air' Many speakers merge /œ/ with /ə/, even in formal speech.[3] See Afrikaans phonology
Bulgarian[9] пара [ˈparə] 'steam' Possible realization of unstressed /ɤ/ and /a/ in post-stressed syllables.[9] See Bulgarian phonology
Catalan Eastern Catalan[10] amb [əm(b)] 'with' Reduced vowel. It can be raised, lowered, advanced, retracted or rounded.[11] See Catalan phonology
Some Western accents[12]
Central Valencian[13] poc [ˈpɔ̞kːə̆] 'little' Vocalic release found in final consonants. It may vary in quality.
Chinese Mandarin[14] 根 / gēn  [kən˥]  'root' See Standard Chinese phonology
Shanghainese[15] [kəŋ¹] 'to follow' Allophone of /ə/ before nasals.[15]
Danish Standard[16][17] hoppe [ˈhɒ̜̽b̥ə] 'mare' Sometimes realized as rounded [ɵ̞].[4] See Danish phonology
Dutch Standard[6] renner [ˈrɛnər] 'runner' The backness varies between near-front and central, whereas the height varies between close-mid and open-mid. Many speakers feel that this vowel is simply an unstressed allophone of /ʏ/.[6] See Dutch phonology
English Most dialects[7][18] Tina [ˈtʰiːnə] 'Tina' Reduced vowel; varies in height between close-mid and open-mid. Word-final /ə/ can be as low as [ɐ].[7][18] See English phonology
Cultivated South African[19] bird [bəːd] 'bird' May be transcribed in IPA with ⟨ɜː⟩. Other South African varieties use a higher, more front and rounded vowel [øː~ ø̈ː]. See South African English phonology
Norfolk[20]
Received Pronunciation[21] Often transcribed in IPA with ⟨ɜː⟩. It is sulcalized, which means the tongue is grooved like in [ɹ]. 'Upper Crust RP' speakers pronounce a near-open vowel [ɐː], but for some other speakers it may actually be open-mid [ɜː]. This vowel corresponds to rhotacized [ɝ] in rhotic dialects.
Indian[22] bust [bəst] 'bust' May be lower. Some Indian varieties merge /ʌ/ and /ə/ like Welsh English.
Wales[23] May also be further back; it corresponds to /ʌ/ in other dialects.
Yorkshire[24] Middle class pronunciation. Other speakers use [ʊ]. Corresponds to /ʌ/ in other dialects.
Faroese[25] vildi [ˈvɪltə] 'wanted' Unstressed allophone of certain short vowels.[25] See Faroese phonology
Garhwali Standard[26]
 कूड़ा [kuɽə] 'houses'
German Standard[27][28] bitte [ˈbɪtə] 'please' Also described as close-mid [ɘ].[29] See Standard German phonology
Southern German accents[30] oder [ˈoːdə] 'or' Used instead of [ɐ].[30] See Standard German phonology
Inuit West Greenlandic[31] Allophone of /i/ before and especially between uvulars.[31] See Inuit phonology
Kensiu[32] [təh] 'to be bald'
Limburgish[33][34] besjeemp [bəˈʃeːmp] 'embarrassed' Occurs only in unstressed syllables.[35][36] The example word is from the Maastrichtian dialect.
Luxembourgish[5] dënn [d̥ən] 'thin' More often realized as slightly rounded [ɵ̞].[5] See Luxembourgish phonology
Norwegian Urban East[37] sterkeste [²stæɾkəstə] 'the strongest' Also described as close-mid [ɘ];[38] occurs only in unstressed syllables. Some dialects (e.g. Trondheimsk) lack this sound.[39] See Norwegian phonology
Plautdietsch[40] bediedt [bəˈdit] 'means' The example word is from the Canadian Old Colony variety, in which the vowel is somewhat fronted [ə̟].[40]
Portuguese European[41] pagar [pəˈɣäɾ] 'to pay' Often corresponds to a near-open [ɐ] in Brazilian Portuguese.[42] See Portuguese phonology
São Paulo[43] cama [ˈkəmɐ] 'bed' Shorter nasal resonance or complete oral vowel in São Paulo and Southern Brazil, while nasal vowel in many other Portuguese dialects.
Some speakers[44] conviver [kũviˈveə̯ɾ] 'to coexist'
Sema[45] akütsü [ɐ˩ kə t͡sɨ̞] 'black' Possible word-medial allophone of /ɨ/.[45]
Serbo-Croatian[46] vrt / врт [ʋə̂rt̪] 'garden' [ər] is a possible phonetic realization of the syllabic trill /r̩/ when it occurs between consonants.[46] See Serbo-Croatian phonology
Swedish Central Standard[47] bädd [ˈbɛ̝dːə̆] 'bed' An epenthetic vowel frequently inserted after word-final lenis stops.[48] See Swedish phonology
Southern[49] vante [²väntə] 'mitten' Corresponds to a slightly retracted front vowel [ɛ̠] in Central Standard Swedish.[49] See Swedish phonology
Vastese[50]
West Frisian[51] sinne [ˈsɪnə] 'sun' Occurs only in unstressed syllables.[51] See West Frisian phonology

Mid central rounded vowel

Mid central rounded vowel
ɵ̞
ə̹
ɞ̝

Languages may have a mid central rounded vowel (a rounded [ə]), distinct from both the close-mid and open-mid vowels. However, since no language is known to distinguish all three, there is no separate IPA symbol for the mid vowel, and the symbol [ɵ] for the close-mid central rounded vowel is generally used instead. If precision is desired, the lowering diacritic can be used: [ɵ̞]. This vowel can also be represented by adding the more rounded diacritic to the schwa symbol, or by combining the raising diacritic with the open-mid central rounded vowel symbol, although it is rare to use such symbols.

Features

Occurrence

Language Word IPA Meaning Notes
Afrikaans Standard[3] lug [lɞ̝χ] 'air' Also described as open-mid [ɞ],[8] typically transcribed in IPA with ⟨œ⟩. Many speakers merge /œ/ and /ə/, even in formal speech.[3] See Afrikaans phonology
Cipu Tirisino dialect[52] [dò̞sɵ̞̀nũ̂] 'swim!' Allophone of /o/ in casual speech that occurs when the next syllable contains one of the close vowels /i, u/.[52]
Danish Standard[4] hoppe [ˈhɒ̜̽b̥ɵ̞] 'mare' Possible realization of /ə/.[4] See Danish phonology
Dutch Standard Belgian[53] neus [nɵ̞ːs] 'nose' Also described as close-mid near-front [ø̠ː]; usually transcribed in IPA with ⟨øː⟩. Diphthongized to [ø̠ʏ̯] in the Standard Northern accent.[54][55] See Dutch phonology
English New England English[56] most [mɵ̞st] 'most' Some speakers. Diphthongized to [ɵ̞ə̯] before /n, t, d/; many speakers tend to merge it with /oʊ/.[56] See English phonology
French[57][58] je [ʒɵ̞] 'I' Only somewhat rounded;[57] may be transcribed in IPA with ⟨ɵ⟩ or ⟨ə⟩. May be more front for a number of speakers. See French phonology
German Chemnitz dialect[59] Wonne [ˈʋɞ̝n̪ə] 'bliss' Typically transcribed in IPA with ⟨ɞ⟩.[59] See Chemnitz dialect phonology
Irish Munster[60] scoil [skɞ̝lʲ] 'school' Allophone of /ɔ/ between a broad and a slender consonant.[60] See Irish phonology
Luxembourgish[5] dënn [d̥ɵ̞n] 'thin' Slightly rounded; less often realized as unrounded [ə].[5] See Luxembourgish phonology
Plautdietsch Canadian Old Colony[61] butzt [bɵ̞t͡st] 'bumps' Mid-centralized from [ʊ], to which it corresponds in other dialects.[61]
Romanian[62] chemin de fer [ʃɵ̞ˌme̞n̪ d̪ɵ̞ ˈfe̞r] 'chemin de fer' Found only in loanwords.[62] See Romanian phonology
Swedish Central Standard[63][64] full  [fɵ̞lː]  'full' Pronounced with compressed lips, more closely transcribed [ɵ̞ᵝ] or [ɘ̞ᵝ]. See Swedish phonology

See also

References

  1. ↑ International Phonetic Association (1999), p. 167.
  2. ↑ "A World of Englishes: Is /ə/ "real"?". Retrieved 8 March 2016.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Wissing (2016), section "The rounded and unrounded mid-central vowels".
  4. 1 2 3 4 Basbøll (2005), p. 143.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 Gilles & Trouvain (2013), p. 70.
  6. 1 2 3 Collins & Mees (2003), p. 129.
  7. 1 2 3 Wells (2008), p. XXV.
  8. 1 2 Wissing (2012), p. 711.
  9. 1 2 Ternes & Vladimirova-Buhtz (1999), p. 56.
  10. ↑ Recasens (1996), pp. 59–60, 104–105.
  11. ↑ Recasens (1996), p. 106.
  12. ↑ Recasens (1996), p. 98.
  13. ↑ Saborit (2009), p. 11.
  14. ↑ Lee & Zee (2003), p. 110.
  15. 1 2 Chen & Gussenhoven (2015), p. 328.
  16. ↑ Allan, Holmes & Lundskær-Nielsen (2011), p. 2.
  17. ↑ Basbøll (2005), pp. 57, 143.
  18. 1 2 Gimson (2014), p. 138.
  19. ↑ Lass (2002), p. 116.
  20. ↑ Lodge (2009), p. 168.
  21. ↑ Roach (2004), p. 242.
  22. ↑ Sailaja (2009), pp. 24–25.
  23. ↑ Wells (1982a), pp. 380–381.
  24. ↑ Stoddart, Upton & Widdowson (1999), pp. 74, 76.
  25. 1 2 Árnason (2011), pp. 89, 94.
  26. ↑ Chandola, Anoop Chandra (1963-01-01). "Animal Commands of Garhwali and their Linguistic Implications". WORD. 19 (2): 203–207. ISSN 0043-7956. doi:10.1080/00437956.1963.11659795.
  27. ↑ Kohler (1999), p. 87.
  28. ↑ Lodge (2009), p. 87.
  29. ↑ Collins & Mees (2013), p. 234.
  30. 1 2 Dudenredaktion, Kleiner & Knöbl (2015), p. 40.
  31. 1 2 Fortescue (1990), p. 317.
  32. ↑ Bishop (1996), p. 230.
  33. ↑ Gussenhoven & Aarts (1999), pp. 157, 159.
  34. ↑ Peters (2006), pp. 118–119.
  35. ↑ Gussenhoven & Aarts (1999), p. 157.
  36. ↑ Peters (2006), p. 118.
  37. ↑ Vanvik (1979), pp. 13, 20.
  38. ↑ Popperwell (2010), p. 16, 31–32.
  39. ↑ Vanvik (1979), p. 21.
  40. 1 2 Cox, Driedger & Tucker (2013), p. 224.
  41. ↑ Cruz-Ferreira (1995), p. 91.
  42. ↑ Barbosa & Albano (2004), p. 229.
  43. ↑ Produção da Fala. Marchal, Alain & Reis, César. p. 169.
  44. ↑ Lista das marcas dialetais e ouros fenómenos de variação (fonética e fonológica) identificados nas amostras do Arquivo Dialetal do CLUP (in Portuguese)
  45. 1 2 Teo (2012), p. 369.
  46. 1 2 Landau et al. (1999), p. 67.
  47. ↑ Riad (2014), pp. 48–49.
  48. ↑ Riad (2014), p. 48.
  49. 1 2 Riad (2014), p. 22.
  50. ↑ "Vastesi Language - Vastesi in the World". Vastesi in the World. Retrieved 21 November 2016.
  51. 1 2 Tiersma (1999), p. 11.
  52. 1 2 McGill (2014), pp. 308–309.
  53. ↑ Verhoeven (2005), p. 245.
  54. ↑ Collins & Mees (2003), pp. 133–135.
  55. ↑ Gussenhoven (1992), p. 47.
  56. 1 2 Wells (1982b), p. 525.
  57. 1 2 Fougeron & Smith (1993), p. 73.
  58. ↑ Lodge (2009), p. 84.
  59. 1 2 Khan & Weise (2013), p. 236.
  60. 1 2 Ó Sé (2000), p. ?.
  61. 1 2 Cox, Driedger & Tucker (2013), pp. 224–225.
  62. 1 2 Romanian Academy (2005), p. ?.
  63. ↑ Engstrand (1999), p. 140.
  64. ↑ Rosenqvist (2007), p. 9.

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