Mid vowel
Nowadays, Mid vowel is a topic of great importance that generates great interest in society. Since its origins, Mid vowel has been the subject of study and debate, attracting the attention of specialists, researchers and people interested in understanding its implications and repercussions. As time progresses, Mid vowel has been evolving and adapting to changes in the environment, always remaining present on the public agenda. In this article, we will explore different perspectives and approaches related to Mid vowel, analyzing its impact on different aspects of everyday life.
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Legend: unrounded • rounded |
A mid vowel (or a true-mid vowel) is any in a class of vowel sounds used in some spoken languages. The defining characteristic of a mid vowel is that the tongue is positioned midway between an open vowel and a close vowel.
Other names for a mid vowel are lowered close-mid vowel and raised open-mid vowel, though the former phrase may also be used to describe a vowel that is as low as open-mid; likewise, the latter phrase may also be used to describe a vowel that is as high as close-mid.
Vowels
The only mid vowel with a dedicated symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet is the mid central vowel with ambiguous rounding .
The IPA divides the vowel space into thirds, with the close-mid vowels such as or and the open-mid vowels such as or equidistant in formant space between open or and close or . Thus a true mid front unrounded vowel can be transcribed as either a lowered ⟨e̞⟩ (with a lowering diacritic) or as a raised ⟨ɛ̝⟩ (with a raising diacritic). Typical truly mid vowels are thus:
- mid front unrounded vowel or
- mid front rounded vowel or
- mid central unrounded vowel or (most commonly written ⟨ə⟩)
- mid central protruded vowel or (most commonly written ⟨ɵ⟩ as if it were close-mid)
- mid central compressed vowel
- mid back unrounded vowel or
- mid back rounded vowel or
Languages
Few languages contrast all three heights of mid vowel, because it is rare for a language to distinguish more than four heights of true front or back vowels.
The Kensiu language spoken in Malaysia and Thailand is highly unusual in that it phonemically contrasts true-mid vowels with close-mid and open-mid vowels without differences in other parameters such as backness or roundedness.
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References
- ^ Wayland, Ratree (2018). Phonetics: A Practical Introduction. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p. 26. ISBN 978-1-10841-834-8.
- ^ Rogers, Henry (2000). The Sounds of Language: An Introduction to Phonetics. Harrow: Longman. p. 9. ISBN 978-1-31787-775-2.