Mid_central_vowel

Mid central rounded vowel
Mid central rounded vowel
ɵ̞
ə̹
ɞ̝
Audio sample
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Mid central vowel
Mid central vowel
ə
IPA Number	322
Audio sample
	source · help
Encoding
Entity (decimal)	ə
Unicode (hex)	U+0259
X-SAMPA	@
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Mid central vowel

Vowel sound represented by the schwa, ⟨ə⟩

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, which is called a "schwa".

Quick Facts ə, IPA Number ...

More information IPA: Vowels, Front ...

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: "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]

Danish^[4] and Luxembourgish^[5] have a mid central vowel that is variably rounded. In other languages, 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 front rounded [ø̜], close to 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 rounded vowel

Quick Facts ɵ̞, ə̹ ...

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.

References

Allan, Robin; Holmes, Philip; Lundskær-Nielsen, Tom (2011) [First published 2000], Danish: An Essential Grammar (2nd ed.), Abingdon: Routledge, ISBN 978-0-203-87800-2
Andersson, Erik (2002), "Swedish", in König, Ekkehard; van der Auwera, Johan (eds.), The Germanic Languages, Routledge language family descriptions, Routledge, pp. 271–312, ISBN 0-415-28079-6
Barbosa, Plínio A.; Albano, Eleonora C. (2004), "Brazilian Portuguese", Journal of the International Phonetic Association, 34 (2): 227–232, doi:10.1017/S0025100304001756
Basbøll, Hans (2005), The Phonology of Danish, Taylor & Francis, ISBN 0-203-97876-5
Bishop, Nancy (1996), "A preliminary description of Kensiu (Maniq) phonology" (PDF), Mon–Khmer Studies Journal, 25
Collins, Beverley; Mees, Inger M. (2003) [First published 1981], The Phonetics of English and Dutch (5th ed.), Leiden: Brill Publishers, ISBN 9004103406
Cox, Cristopher; Driedger, Jacob M.; Tucker, Benjamin V. (2013), "Mennonite Plautdietsch (Canadian Old Colony)", Journal of the International Phonetic Association, 43 (2): 221–229, doi:10.1017/S0025100313000121
Dudenredaktion; Kleiner, Stefan; Knöbl, Ralf (2015) [First published 1962], Das Aussprachewörterbuch (in German) (7th ed.), Berlin: Dudenverlag, ISBN 978-3-411-04067-4
Engstrand, Olle (1999), "Swedish", Handbook of the International Phonetic Association: A Guide to the usage of the International Phonetic Alphabet., Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp. 140–142, ISBN 0-521-63751-1
Fougeron, Cecile; Smith, Caroline L (1993), "French", Journal of the International Phonetic Association, 23 (2): 73–76, doi:10.1017/S0025100300004874, S2CID 249404451
Gilles, Peter; Trouvain, Jürgen (2013), "Luxembourgish" (PDF), Journal of the International Phonetic Association, 43 (1): 67–74, doi:10.1017/S0025100312000278
Gimson, Alfred Charles (2014), Cruttenden, Alan (ed.), Gimson's Pronunciation of English (8th ed.), Routledge, ISBN 9781444183092
Gussenhoven, Carlos (1992), "Dutch", Journal of the International Phonetic Association, 22 (2): 45–47, doi:10.1017/S002510030000459X, S2CID 243772965
International Phonetic Association (1999), Handbook of the International Phonetic Association: A guide to the use of the International Phonetic Alphabet, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, ISBN 0-521-65236-7
Khan, Sameer ud Dowla; Weise, Constanze (2013), "Upper Saxon (Chemnitz dialect)" (PDF), Journal of the International Phonetic Association, 43 (2): 231–241, doi:10.1017/S0025100313000145
Krech, Eva Maria; Stock, Eberhard; Hirschfeld, Ursula; Anders, Lutz-Christian (2009), Deutsches Aussprachewörterbuch, Berlin, New York: Walter de Gruyter, ISBN 978-3-11-018202-6
Kristoffersen, Gjert (2000), The Phonology of Norwegian, Oxford University Press, ISBN 978-0-19-823765-5
Kvifte, Bjørn; Gude-Husken, Verena (2005) [First published 1997], Praktische Grammatik der norwegischen Sprache (3rd ed.), Gottfried Egert Verlag, ISBN 3-926972-54-8
Landau, Ernestina; Lončarić, Mijo; Horga, Damir; Škarić, Ivo (1999), "Croatian", Handbook of the International Phonetic Association: A guide to the use of the International Phonetic Alphabet, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp. 66–69, ISBN 0-521-65236-7
Lass, Roger (2002), "South African English", in Mesthrie, Rajend (ed.), Language in South Africa, Cambridge University Press, ISBN 9780521791052
Lee, Wai-Sum; Zee, Eric (2003), "Standard Chinese (Beijing)", Journal of the International Phonetic Association, 33 (1): 109–112, doi:10.1017/S0025100303001208
Lodge, Ken (2009), A Critical Introduction to Phonetics, Continuum International Publishing Group, ISBN 978-0-8264-8873-2
Ó Sé, Diarmuid (2000), Gaeilge Chorca Dhuibhne (in Irish), Dublin: Institiúid Teangeolaíochta Éireann, ISBN 0-946452-97-0
Recasens, Daniel (1996), Fonètica descriptiva del català (in Catalan), Barcelona: Institut d'Estudis Catalans, ISBN 84-7283-312-7
Riad, Tomas (2014), The Phonology of Swedish, Oxford University Press, ISBN 978-0-19-954357-1
Roach, Peter (2004), "British English: Received Pronunciation", Journal of the International Phonetic Association, 34 (2): 239–245, doi:10.1017/S0025100304001768
Rosenqvist, Håkan (2007), Uttalsboken: svenskt uttal i praktik och teori, Stockholm: Natur & Kultur, ISBN 978-91-27-40645-2
Rothe-Neves, Rui; Valentim, Hellen (1996), "On the duration of nasal vowels in Brazilian Portuguese", Diadorim, 12, doi:10.35520/diadorim.2012.v12n0a3974
Sailaja, Pingali (2009), Indian English, Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press Ltd, pp. 17–38, ISBN 978-0-7486-2594-9
Stoddart, Jana; Upton, Clive; Widdowson, J.D.A. (1999), "Sheffield dialect in the 1990s: revisiting the concept of NORMs", Urban Voices, London: Arnold, pp. 72–89
van Heuven, Vincent J.; Genet, Roos (2002). Wat is het beste IPA-symbool voor de u van put?. Dag van de Fonetiek. Utrecht. A summary of the presentation can be found here.
Vanvik, Arne (1979), Norsk fonetikk, Oslo: Universitetet i Oslo, ISBN 82-990584-0-6
Verhoeven, Jo (2005), "Belgian Standard Dutch", Journal of the International Phonetic Association, 35 (2): 245, doi:10.1017/S0025100305002173
Wells, John C. (1982). Accents of English. Vol. 2: The British Isles (pp. i–xx, 279–466), Vol. 3: Beyond the British Isles (pp. i–xx, 467–674). Cambridge University Press. doi:10.1017/CBO9780511611759, 10.1017/CBO9780511611766. ISBN 0-52128540-2, 0-52128541-0.
Wells, J.C. (2008), Longman Pronunciation Dictionary (3rd ed.), Longman, ISBN 9781405881180
Wissing, Daan (2012), "Integrasie van artikulatoriese en akoestiese eienskappe van vokale: 'n beskrywingsraamwerk", LitNet Akademies (in Afrikaans), 9 (2), Stellenbosch: LitNet: 701–743, ISSN 1995-5928, archived from the original on 15 April 2017, retrieved 16 April 2017
Wissing, Daan (2016). "Afrikaans phonology – segment inventory". Taalportaal. Archived from the original on 15 April 2017. Retrieved 16 April 2017.

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[FOOTNOTEInternational_Phonetic_Association1999167-1] [1]
International Phonetic Association (1999), p. 167.

[2] [2]
"A World of Englishes: Is /ə/ "real"?". 19 June 2013. Retrieved 8 March 2016.

[FOOTNOTEWissing2016section_"The_rounded_and_unrounded_mid-central_vowels"-3] [3]
Wissing (2016), section "The rounded and unrounded mid-central vowels".

[FOOTNOTEBasbøll2005143-4] [4]
Basbøll (2005), p. 143.

[FOOTNOTEGillesTrouvain201370-5] [5]
Gilles & Trouvain (2013), p. 70.

[FOOTNOTECollinsMees2003129-6] [6]
Collins & Mees (2003), p. 129.

[FOOTNOTEWells2008XXV-7] [7]
Wells (2008), p. XXV.

[FOOTNOTEWissing2012711-8] [8]
Wissing (2012), p. 711.

[FOOTNOTERecasens199659–60,_104–105-9] [9]
Recasens (1996), pp. 59–60, 104–105.

[FOOTNOTERecasens1996106-10] [10]
Recasens (1996), p. 106.

[FOOTNOTERecasens199698-11] [11]
Recasens (1996), p. 98.

[FOOTNOTEAllanHolmesLundskær-Nielsen20112-12] [12]
Allan, Holmes & Lundskær-Nielsen (2011), p. 2.

[FOOTNOTEBasbøll200557,_143-13] [13]
Basbøll (2005), pp. 57, 143.

[FOOTNOTEGimson2014138-14] [14]
Gimson (2014), p. 138.

[FOOTNOTELass2002116-15] [15]
Lass (2002), p. 116.

[FOOTNOTELodge2009168-16] [16]
Lodge (2009), p. 168.

[FOOTNOTERoach2004242-17] [17]
Roach (2004), p. 242.

[FOOTNOTEWattAllen2003268-18] [18]
Watt & Allen (2003), p. 268.

[FOOTNOTESailaja200924–25-19] [19]
Sailaja (2009), pp. 24–25.

[FOOTNOTEWells1982380–381-20] [20]
Wells (1982), pp. 380–381.

[FOOTNOTEStoddartUptonWiddowson199974,_76-21] [21]
Stoddart, Upton & Widdowson (1999), pp. 74, 76.

[FOOTNOTEKrech_et_al.200969-22] [22]
Krech et al. (2009), p. 69.

[FOOTNOTEDudenredaktionKleinerKnöbl201540-23] [23]
Dudenredaktion, Kleiner & Knöbl (2015), p. 40.

[24] [24]
McCoy, Priscilla (1999), Harmony and Sonority in Georgian (PDF)

[FOOTNOTEBishop1996230-25] [25]
Bishop (1996), p. 230.

[FOOTNOTEVanvik197913,_20-26] [26]
Vanvik (1979), pp. 13, 20.

[FOOTNOTEVanvik197921-27] [27]
Vanvik (1979), p. 21.

[FOOTNOTECoxDriedgerTucker2013224-28] [28]
Cox, Driedger & Tucker (2013), p. 224.

[29] [29]
Battisti, Elisa; Gomes de Oliveira, Samuel (2019). "Elevação da vogal /a/ em contexto nasal em português brasileiro: estudo preliminar". Lingüística. 35 (1): 36. doi:10.5935/2079-312x.20190003. hdl:10183/197298. ISSN 2079-312X.

[FOOTNOTERothe-NevesValentim1996112-30] [30]
Rothe-Neves & Valentim (1996), p. 112.

[Harvcoltxt|Chițoran|2001|p=7-31] [31]
Chițoran (2001:7)

[FOOTNOTELandauLončarićHorgaŠkarić199967-32] [32]
Landau et al. (1999), p. 67.

[FOOTNOTERiad201422-33] [33]
Riad (2014), p. 22.

[cm-34] [34]
Collins & Mees (2003:128, 131). The source describes the Standard Dutch vowel as front-central [ɵ̟], but more sources (e.g. van Heuven & Genet (2002) and Verhoeven (2005)) describe it as central [ɵ]. As far as the lowered varieties of this vowel are concerned, Collins and Mees do not describe their exact backness.

[eckert-35] [35]
Eckert, Penelope. "Vowel Shifts in California and the Detroit Suburbs". Stanford University.

[FOOTNOTEFougeronSmith199373-36] [36]
Fougeron & Smith (1993), p. 73.

[FOOTNOTELodge200984-37] [37]
Lodge (2009), p. 84.

[38] [38]
"english speech services | Le FOOT vowel". 15 January 2012. Retrieved 20 October 2018.

[FOOTNOTEKhanWeise2013236-39] [39]
Khan & Weise (2013), p. 236.

[FOOTNOTEÓ_Sé2000?-40] [40]
Ó Sé (2000), p. ?.

[FOOTNOTEKristoffersen200016–17-41] [41]
Kristoffersen (2000), pp. 16–17.

[FOOTNOTEKvifteGude-Husken20052-42] [42]
Kvifte & Gude-Husken (2005), p. 2.

[FOOTNOTECoxDriedgerTucker2013224–225-43] [43]
Cox, Driedger & Tucker (2013), pp. 224–225.

[FOOTNOTEEngstrand1999140-44] [44]
Engstrand (1999), p. 140.

[FOOTNOTERosenqvist20079-45] [45]
Rosenqvist (2007), p. 9.

[FOOTNOTEAndersson2002272-46] [46]
Andersson (2002), p. 272.

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Language		Word	IPA	Meaning	Notes
Albanian		një	[ɲə]	'one'
Afrikaans	Standard^[3]	lig	[ləχ]	'light'	Also described as open-mid [ɜ].^[8] See Afrikaans phonology
Afrikaans	Many speakers^[3]	lug	[ləχ]	'air'	Many speakers merge /œ/ with /ə/, even in formal speech.^[3] See Afrikaans phonology
Bhojpuri		कर	[kər]	'to do'
Catalan	Balearic	sec	[ˈsək]	'dry'	Stressable schwa that corresponds to the open-mid [ɛ] in Eastern dialects and the close-mid [e] in Western dialects. See Catalan phonology
	Eastern^[9]	amb	[əm(b)]	'with'	Reduced vowel. The exact height, backness and rounding are variable.^[10] See Catalan phonology
	Some Western accents^[11]	amb	[əm(b)]	'with'
Chinese	Hokkien	lêr (螺)	[lə˧˥]	'snail'
Chuvash		ăман	[əm'an]	'worm'
Danish	Standard^[12]^[13]	hoppe	[ˈhʌ̹pə]	'mare'	Sometimes realized as rounded [ə̹].^[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]^[14]	Tina	[ˈtʰiːnə]	'Tina'	Reduced vowel; varies in height between close-mid and open-mid. Word-final /ə/ can be as low as [ɐ].^[7]^[14] See English phonology
	Cultivated South African^[15]	bird	[bɜ̝ːd]	'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^[16]
	Received Pronunciation^[17]				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.
	Geordie^[18]	bust	[bəst]	'bust'	Spoken by some middle class speakers, mostly female; other speakers use [ʊ]. Corresponds to /ɜ/ or /ʌ/ in other dialects.
	Indian^[19]				May be lower. Some Indian varieties merge /ɜ/ or /ʌ/ with /ə/ like Welsh English.
	Wales^[20]				May also be further back; it corresponds to /ɜ/ or /ʌ/ in other dialects.
	Yorkshire^[21]				Middle class pronunciation. Other speakers use [ʊ]. Corresponds to /ɜ/ or /ʌ/ in other dialects.
Faroese	Tórshavn	vátur	[ˈvɔaːtəɹ]	'yellow'	See Faroese phonology
Faroese	Northeastern dialects	vátur	[ˈvaːtəɹ]	'yellow'	See Faroese phonology
Galician	Some dialects	leite	[ˈlejtə]	'milk'	Alternative realization of final unstressed /e/ or /ɛ/ (normally [i~ɪ~e̝])
Galician	Some dialects	fenecer	[fənəˈs̪eɾ]	'to die'	Alternative realization of unstressed /e/ or /ɛ/ in any position
German	Standard^[22]	Beschlag	[b̥əˈʃläːk]^ⓘ	'fitting'	See Standard German phonology
German	Southern German accents^[23]	oder	[ˈoːdə]	'or'	Used instead of [ɐ].^[23] See Standard German phonology
Georgian^[24]		დგას/dgas	[dəɡas]	1st person singular 'to stand'	Phonetically inserted to break up consonant clusters. See Georgian phonology
Kashmiri		کٔژ	[kət͡s]	'how many'
Kensiu^[25]		[təh]		'to be bald'	Contrasts with a rhotacized close-mid [ɚ̝].^[25]
Khmer		ដឹក dœ̆k	[ɗək]	'to transport'	See Khmer phonology
Kurdish	Sorani (Central)	شه‌و/şew	[ʃəw]	'night'	See Kurdish phonology
Kurdish	Palewani (Southern)	شه‌و/şew	[ʃəw]	'night'	See Kurdish phonology
Luxembourgish^[5]		dënn	[d̥ən]	'thin'	More often realized as slightly rounded [ə̹].^[5] See Luxembourgish phonology
Malay	Standard Indonesian	lelah	[lə.lah]	'tired'	See Malay phonology
	Standard Malaysian	pengadil	[pə.ŋä.dɪl]	'referee'	See Malay phonology
	Johor-Riau	apa	[ä.pə]	'what'	Common realization of /a/ at the end of words and before /h/. See Malay phonology
	Terengganu	apa	[ä.pə]	'what'	Common realization of /a/ at the end of words and before /h/. See Terengganu Malay
	Jakartan dialect	datang	[da.təŋ]	'to come'	Usually occurs around Jakarta. If the letter /a/ is located in the last syllable between consonants, the sound changes from [a] to [ə]. For the dialects in Sumatra in which the /a/ letter ([a]) in the last syllable changes to an [ə] sound, see Malay phonology.
Moksha		търва	[tərvaˑ]	'lip'	See Moksha phonology
Norwegian	Many dialects^[26]	sterkeste	[²stæɾkəstə]	'the strongest'	Occurs only in unstressed syllables. The example word is from Urban East Norwegian. Some dialects (e.g. Trondheimsk) lack this sound.^[27] See Norwegian phonology
Plautdietsch^[28]		bediedt	[bəˈdit]	'means'	The example word is from the Canadian Old Colony variety, in which the vowel is somewhat fronted [ə̟].^[28]
Portuguese	Brazilian^[29]	maçã	[maˈsə̃ᵑ]	'apple'	Possible realization of final stressed /ɐ̃/. Also can be open-mid [ɜ̃].^[30]
Romanian^[31]		păros	[pəˈros]	'hairy'	See Romanian phonology
Serbo-Croatian^[32]		vrt	[ʋə̂rt̪]	'garden'	[ər] is a possible phonetic realization of the syllabic trill /r̩/ when it occurs between consonants.^[32] See Serbo-Croatian phonology
Swedish	Southern^[33]	vante	[²väntə]	'mitten'	Corresponds to a slightly retracted front vowel [ɛ̠] in Central Standard Swedish.^[33] See Swedish phonology
Tyap		a̠tan	[ətan]	'ɡood'
Welsh		mynydd	[mənɪð]	'mountain'	See Welsh phonology

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
Danish	Standard^[4]	hoppe	[ˈhʌ̹pə̹]	'mare'	Possible realization of /ə/.^[4] See Danish phonology
Dutch	Southern^[34]	hut	[ɦɵ̞t]	'hut'	Found in certain accents, e.g. in Bruges. Close-mid [ɵ] in Standard Dutch.^[34] See Dutch phonology
English	California^[35]	foot	[fɵ̞ʔt]	'foot'	Part of the California vowel shift.^[35]^{[failed verification]} Typically transcribed in IPA with ⟨ʊ⟩.
French^[36]^[37]		je	[ʒə̹]^ⓘ	'I'	Only somewhat rounded;^[36] may be transcribed in IPA with ⟨ə⟩ or ⟨ɵ⟩. Also described as close-mid [ɵ].^[38] May be more front for a number of speakers. See French phonology
German	Chemnitz dialect^[39]	Wonne	[ˈv̞ɞ̝nə]	'bliss'	Typically transcribed in IPA with ⟨ɞ⟩.^[39]
Irish	Munster^[40]	scoil	[skɞ̝lʲ]	'school'	Allophone of /ɔ/ between a broad and a slender consonant.^[40] See Irish phonology
Luxembourgish^[5]		dënn	[d̥ə̹n]	'thin'	Only slightly rounded; less often realized as unrounded [ə̜].^[5] See Luxembourgish phonology
Norwegian	Urban East^[41]	nøtt	[nɞ̝tː]	'nut'	Also described as open-mid front [œʷ];^[26]^[42] typically transcribed in IPA with ⟨œ⟩ or ⟨ø⟩. See Norwegian phonology
Plautdietsch	Canadian Old Colony^[43]	butzt	[bɵ̞t͡st]	'bumps'	Mid-centralized from [ʊ], to which it corresponds in other dialects.^[43]
Swedish	Central Standard^[44]^[45]	full	[fɵ̞lː]^ⓘ	'full'	Pronounced with compressed lips, more closely transcribed [ɵ̞ᵝ] or [ɘ̞ᵝ]. Less often described as close-mid [ø̈].^[46] See Swedish phonology
Tajik	Northern dialects	кӯҳ/kūh	[kɵ̞h]	'mountain'	Typically described as close-mid [ɵ]. See Tajik phonology

Mid_central_vowel

Mid central vowel

Mid central unrounded vowel

Features

Occurrence

Mid central rounded vowel

Features

Occurrence

See also

Notes

References

External links

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