Close front rounded vowel

Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia - Cite This Source

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.

There is also a close front compressed vowel, which contrasts with both the rounded and unrounded close front vowels.

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 vowel roundedness is rounded, which means that the lips are rounded and protrude, and the inner surfaces are exposed.

Occurrence

Language		Word	IPA	Meaning	Notes
Albanian		dy		'two'
Azeri		güllə		'bullet'
Cantonese		書/syu1		'book'	See Standard Cantonese
Chechen		уьш/üş		'they'
Danish		yde''	[ˈyːðə]	'to supply'	See Danish phonology
Dutch		fuut		'grebe'	See Dutch phonology
English	Scottish	food	[fyd]	'food'	Some dialects. Corresponds to /u/ or /ʉ/ in other dialects. See English phonology
Estonian		üks		'one'
Finnish		yksi		'one'	See Finnish phonology
French		chute		'fall'	See French phonology
German		Blüte		'blossom'	See German phonology
Hungarian		tű		'pin'	See Hungarian phonology
Korean		위 wi		'top'	May be diphthongized to [wi] by younger speakers
Mandarin		绿/lü		'green'	See Standard Mandarin
Norwegian		syd		'south'	See Norwegian phonology
Occitan	Gascon	lua		'moon'
	Languedocien	luna	[ˈlyno]
	Provençal	luna	[ˈlyno]
Swedish		yla		'howl'	See Swedish phonology
Turkish		güneş	[ɟyˈneʃ]	'sun'	See Turkish phonology

Close front rounded vowel

Features

Occurrence

Close front compressed vowel

See also