Thenear-close near-back rounded vowel, ornear-high near-back rounded vowel,[1] is a type ofvowel sound, used in somespokenlanguages. The symbol in theInternational Phonetic Alphabet that represents this sound is ⟨ʊ⟩ (aLatin upsilon, sometimes informally referred to as "horseshoe U"). Prior to 1989, there was analternate IPA symbol for this sound, ⟨ɷ⟩ (a closed small letterLatin omega); use of this symbol is no longer sanctioned by the IPA.[2] InAmericanist phonetic notation, the symbol ⟨ᴜ⟩ (a small capital U) is used, which was also the original symbol for the vowel used by the IPA in 1900.[3]
TheHandbook of the International Phonetic Association defines[ʊ] as amid-centralized (lowered andcentralized)close back rounded vowel (transcribed[u̽] or[ü̞]), and the current official IPA name of the vowel transcribed with the symbol ⟨ʊ⟩ is anear-close near-back rounded vowel.[4]
However, some languages have a vowel that is somewhat lower than the canonical value of[ʊ], though it still fits the definition of a mid-centralized[u]. It occurs in some dialects of English (such asGeneral American andGeordie),[5][6] as well as some other languages (such asMaastrichtian Limburgish).[7] It can be narrowly transcribed with[ʊ̞] (a lowered ⟨ʊ⟩) or[o̟] (afronted ⟨o⟩). For precision, this can be described as aclose-mid near-back rounded vowel.
Additionally, in some languages (such asBengali andLuxembourgish),[8][9] as well as some dialects of English (such asScottish),[10][11] there is a fully back near-close rounded vowel (a sound between cardinal ⟨u⟩ and ⟨o⟩), which can be transcribed in IPA with[ʊ̠],[u̞] or[o̝]. For precision, this can be described as anear-close back rounded vowel, ornear-high back rounded vowel.
Thenear-close back protruded vowel is typically transcribed in IPA simply as ⟨ʊ⟩, and that is the convention used in this article. As there is no dedicateddiacritic for protrusion in the IPA, symbol for the near-close back rounded vowel with an old diacritic for labialization, ⟨ ̫⟩, can be used as anad hoc symbol ⟨ʊ̫⟩ for the near-close back protruded vowel. Another possible transcription is ⟨ʊʷ⟩ or ⟨ɯ̽ʷ⟩ (a near-close back vowel modified by endolabialization), but this could be misread as a diphthong.
The close-mid near-back protruded vowel can be transcribed ⟨ʊ̞ʷ⟩ or ⟨ʊ̫˕⟩, whereas the fully back near-close protruded vowel can be transcribed ⟨u̞ʷ⟩, ⟨ɯ̞ʷ⟩ or ⟨u̫˕⟩.
Itsvowel backness isback, which means the tongue is positioned back in the mouth without creating a constriction that would be classified as aconsonant. The prototypical[ʊ] is somewhat further front (near-back) than the neighboring cardinal vowels.
Itsroundedness is protruded, which means that the corners of the lips are drawn together, and the inner surfaces exposed. The prototypical[ʊ] has a weak protruded rounding, more like[ɔ] than the neighboring cardinal vowels.
Sagittal section of a vocal tract pronouncing the IPA soundʊ. Note that a wavyglottis in this diagram indicates a voiced sound.
Because back rounded vowels are assumed to have protrusion, and few descriptions cover the distinction, some of the following may actually have compression. In the table below, vowels transcribed with ⟨o̝⟩ have a considerably stronger rounding than the prototypical value of ⟨ʊ⟩.
Close-mid. Allophone of/ʊə/ in less stressed words, in stressed syllables of polysyllabic words and word-finally when unstressed. In the second case, it is in free variation with the diphthongal realization[ʊə̯~ʊ̯ə~ʊə].[12] SeeAfrikaans phonology
The height varies from near-close to close-mid. The innovative General New Zealand variant is fronted and unrounded to[ɪ̈~ɘ].[28][29] SeeNew Zealand English phonology
The quality has been variously described as near-close back[ʊ̠][43] and close-mid near-back[ʊ̞].[45] For some speakers, it may be as high as[u].[46] SeeStandard German phonology
Phonetic realization of/oː/ and/ʊ/. Near-close back[o̝ː] in the former case, close-mid near-back[ʊ̞] in the latter. Phonetically, the latter is nearly identical to/ɔː/ ([o̟ː]).[57]
Some languages, such as Norwegian, are found with a near-close back vowel that has a distincttype of rounding, calledcompressed orexolabial.
As there are no diacritics in the IPA to distinguish protruded and compressed rounding, an old diacritic for labialization, ⟨◌⟩ (the opposite of ⟨◌̫⟩), will be used here as anad hoc symbol for compressed back vowels. It was only added to Unicode in 2025, however, and it may take some time for font support to catch up. Compression of the lips can be shown with the letter ⟨β̞⟩ as ⟨ɯ̽͡β̞⟩ (simultaneous[ɯ̽] and labial compression) or ⟨ɯ̽ᵝ⟩ ([ɯ̽] modified with labial compression), though that can suggest that the vowel is a diphthong.
Only theShanghainese dialect is known to contrast this with the more typicalprotruded (endolabial) near-close back vowel, although the height of both of these vowels varies from close to close-mid.[18]
The fully back variant of the near-close compressed vowel can be transcribed ⟨ɯ̞͡β̞⟩, ⟨ɯ̞ᵝ⟩ or ⟨u̞⟩.
Itsvowel backness isback, which means the tongue is positioned back in the mouth without creating a constriction that would be classified as aconsonant.
Itsroundedness is compressed, which means that the margins of the lips are tense and drawn together in such a way that the inner surfaces are not exposed. The prototypical[ʊ] has a weak rounding (though it is protruded, rather than compressed), more like[ɔ] than the neighboring cardinal vowels.
^WhileVanvik (1979) does not describe the exact type of rounding of this vowel, some other sources (e.g.Haugen (1974:40) andKristoffersen (2000:16)) state explicitly that it is compressed.
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