| Near-close near-front unrounded vowel | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| ɪ | |||
| IPA number | 319 | ||
| Audio sample | |||
| Encoding | |||
| Entity(decimal) | ɪ | ||
| Unicode(hex) | U+026A | ||
| X-SAMPA | I | ||
| Braille |  | ||
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Legend:unrounded • rounded |
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Thenear-close near-front unrounded vowel, ornear-high near-front unrounded vowel,[1] is a type ofvowel sound, used in somespokenlanguages. The symbol in theInternational Phonetic Alphabet that represents this sound is ⟨ɪ⟩ (a Latinsmall capital I). TheInternational Phonetic Association advisesserifs on the symbol's ends.[2] Somesans-serif fonts do meet this typographic specification.[3] Prior to 1989, there was analternate IPA symbol for this sound, ⟨ɩ⟩ (aLatin iota); use of this symbol is no longer sanctioned by the IPA,[4] though it may still be found in some modern writings.[5]
TheHandbook of the International Phonetic Association defines[ɪ] as amid-centralized (lowered andcentralized)close front unrounded vowel (transcribed[i̽] or[ï̞]), and the current official IPA name of the vowel transcribed with the symbol ⟨ɪ⟩ is anear-close near-front unrounded vowel.[6]
However, some languages have a vowel that is somewhat lower than the canonical value of[ɪ], though it still fits the definition of a mid-centralized[i]. It occurs in some dialects of English (such asCalifornian,General American and modernReceived Pronunciation)[7][8][9] as well as some other languages (such asIcelandic),[10][11] and it can be narrowly transcribed with[ɪ̞] (a lowered ⟨ɪ⟩) or[e̠] (abacked ⟨e⟩). For precision, this can be described as aclose-mid near-front unrounded vowel.
Additionally, in some languages (such asDanish,Luxembourgish andSotho),[12][13][14][15] there is a fully front near-close unrounded vowel (a sound between cardinal ⟨i⟩ and ⟨e⟩), which can be transcribed in IPA with[ɪ̟],[i̞] or[e̝]. For precision, this can be described as anear-close front unrounded vowel, ornear-high front unrounded vowel. There may be phonological reasons not to transcribe the fully front variant with the symbol ⟨ɪ⟩, which may incorrectly imply a relation to the close ⟨i⟩.[citation needed]
Sometimes, especially inbroad transcription, this vowel is transcribed with a simpler symbol ⟨i⟩, which technically represents theclose front unrounded vowel.
| Language | Word | IPA | Meaning | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Abenaki | nis | [nɪs] | 'two' | The quality varies between near-close [ɪ] and close [i].[16][17][18] SeeAbenaki phonology | |
| Afrikaans | Standard[19] | meter | [ˈmɪ̞ˑtɐr] | 'meter' | Close-mid. Allophone of/ɪə/ in less stressed words and in stressed syllables of polysyllabic words. In the latter case, it is in free variation with the diphthongal realization[ɪə̯~ɪ̯ə~ɪə].[19] SeeAfrikaans phonology |
| Arabic | Kuwaiti[20] | بِنْت (bint) | [bɪnt] | 'girl' | Corresponds to/i/ in Classical Arabic. Contrasts with/i/ or[iː][20][21] SeeArabic phonology |
| Lebanese[21] | بِرْكِة (birké) | [bɪrke] | 'pool' | ||
| Burmese[22] | မြစ် (mracʻ) | [mjɪʔ] | 'root' | Allophone of/i/ in syllables closed by a glottal stop and when nasalized.[22] | |
| Catalan | Balearic[23] | mirar | [mɪˈɾɑ(ɾ)] | 'to look' | Unstressed allophone of/i/. SeeCatalan phonology |
| Valencian[23] | |||||
| Standard Valencian | naixement | [najɕɪˈmẽn̪t̪] | 'birth' | Unstressed allophone of/e/ in the suffix -ixement. In non-standard variants also in contact with palatals and sometimes initial/es-/. SeeCatalan phonology | |
| Chinese | Shanghainese[24] | 一 (ih) | [ɪ̞ʔ˥] | 'one' | Close-mid; appears only in closed syllables. Phonetically, it is nearly identical to/ɛ/ ([e̠]), which appears only in open syllables.[24] |
| Czech | Bohemian[25] | byli | [ˈbɪlɪ] | 'they were' | The quality has been variously described as near-close near-front[ɪ][25] and close-mid front[ɪ̟˕].[26] It corresponds to close front[i] in Moravian Czech.[26] SeeCzech phonology |
| Danish | Standard[12][14] | hel | [ˈhe̝ːˀl] | 'whole' | Fully front; contrasts close, near-close and close-mid front unrounded vowels.[12][14] It is typically transcribed in IPA with ⟨eː⟩ - the way it is pronounced in the conservative variety.[27] The Danish vowel transcribed in IPA with ⟨ɪ⟩ is pronounced similarly to the short/e/.[28] SeeDanish phonology |
| Dutch | Standard[29][30][31] | blik | [blɪk]ⓘ | 'glance' | The Standard Northern realization is near-close[ɪ],[29][30] but the Standard Belgian realization has also been described as close-mid[ɪ̞].[31] Some regional dialects have a vowel that is slightly closer to the cardinal[i].[32] SeeDutch phonology |
| English | Californian[7] | bit | [bɪ̞t]ⓘ | 'bit' | Close-mid.[7][8] SeeEnglish phonology |
| General American[8] | |||||
| Estuary[33] | [bɪʔt] | Can be fully front[ɪ̟], near-front[ɪ] or close-mid[ɪ̞], with other realizations also being possible.[33] | |||
| Received Pronunciation[9][34] | Close-mid[ɪ̞] for younger speakers, near-close[ɪ] for older speakers.[9][34] | ||||
| General Australian[35] | [bɪ̟t] | Fully front;[35] also described as close[i].[36] SeeAustralian English phonology | |||
| Inland Northern American[37] | [bɪt] | The quality varies between near-close near-front[ɪ], near-close central[ɪ̈], close-mid near-front[ɪ̞] and close-mid central[ɘ].[37] | |||
| Philadelphian[38] | The height varies between near-close[ɪ] and close-mid[ɪ̞].[38] | ||||
| Welsh[39][40][41] | Near-close[ɪ] in Abercrave and Port Talbot, close-mid[ɪ̞] in Cardiff.[39][40][41] | ||||
| New Zealand[42][43] | bed | [be̝d] | 'bed' | The quality varies between near-close front[e̝], near-close near-front[ɪ], close-mid front[e] and close-mid near-front[e̠].[42] It is typically transcribed in IPA with ⟨e⟩. In the cultivated variety, it is mid[e̞].[43] SeeNew Zealand English phonology | |
| SomeAustralian speakers[44] | Close-mid[e] in General Australian, may be even lower for some other speakers.[44] SeeAustralian English phonology | ||||
| SomeSouth African speakers[45] | Used by some General and Broad speakers. In the Broad variety, it is usually lower[ɛ], whereas in the General variety, it can be close-mid[e] instead.[45] Typically transcribed in IPA with ⟨e⟩. SeeSouth African English phonology | ||||
| French | Quebec[46] | petite | [pət͡sɪt] | 'small' | Allophone of/i/ in closed syllables.[46] SeeQuebec French phonology |
| German | Standard[47] | bitte | [ˈb̥ɪ̞tə]ⓘ | 'please' | Close-mid; for some speakers, it may be as high as[i].[47] SeeStandard German phonology |
| Hindustani[48] | Hindi | इरादा (iraadaa) | [ɪˈɾäːd̪ä] | 'intention' | Hindustani phonology |
| Urdu | ارادہ (iraadaa) | ||||
| Hungarian[49] | visz | [vɪs] | 'to carry' | Typically transcribed in IPA with ⟨i⟩. SeeHungarian phonology | |
| Icelandic[10][11] | vinur | [ˈʋɪ̞ːnʏ̞ɾ] | 'friend' | Close-mid.[10][11] SeeIcelandic phonology | |
| Kabiye | kabɩyɛ | [kàbɪ̀jɛ̀] | 'Kabiye' | -ATR front vowel. SeeKabiye language | |
| Kazakh | бір (bır) | [bɪ̞ɾ] | 'one' | Close-mid. SeeKazakh phonology | |
| Limburgish[50][51] | hin | [ɦɪ̞n] | 'chicken' | Near-close[ɪ][51] or close-mid[ɪ̞],[50] depending on the dialect. The example word is from theMaastrichtian dialect. | |
| Luxembourgish[13] | Been | [be̝ːn] | 'leg' | Fully front.[13] Typically transcribed in IPA with ⟨eː⟩. SeeLuxembourgish phonology | |
| Malay | kecil | [kət͡ʃɪl] | 'small' | Allophone of/i/ in closed-final syllables. May be [e] or [e̞] depending on the speaker. SeeMalay phonology | |
| Norwegian[52] | litt | [lɪ̟tː] | 'a little' | The example word is fromUrban East Norwegian, in which the vowel has been variously described as near-close front[ɪ̟][52] and close front[i].[53] SeeNorwegian phonology | |
| Portuguese | Brazilian[54] | cine | [ˈsinɪ] | 'cine' | Reduction and neutralization of unstressed/e/ (can beepenthetic),/ɛ/ and/i/. Can be voiceless. SeePortuguese phonology |
| Russian[55][56] | дерево (derevo) | [ˈdʲerʲɪvə]ⓘ | 'tree' | Backness varies between fully front and near-front. It occurs only in unstressed syllables.[55][56] SeeRussian phonology | |
| Saterland Frisian[57] | Dee | [de̝ː] | 'dough' | Phonetic realization of/eː/ and/ɪ/. Near-close front[e̝ː] in the former case, close-mid near-front[ɪ̞] in the latter. Phonetically, the latter is nearly identical to/ɛː/ ([e̠ː]).[57] | |
| Scottish Gaelic[58] | fios | [fɪs̪] | 'information' | Allophone of/i/ before broad consonants and in unstressed syllables. | |
| Sicilian[59] | unni | [ˈunnɪ] | 'Where' | Unstressed allophone of[i]. SeeSicilian vowel system | |
| Sinhala[60] | පිරිමි (pirimi) | [ˈpi̞ɾi̞mi̞] | 'male' | Fully front;[60] typically transcribed in IPA with ⟨i⟩. | |
| Slovak[61][62] | rýchly | [ˈri̞ːxli̞] | 'fast' | Typically fully front.[61] SeeSlovak phonology | |
| Sotho[15] | ho leka | [hʊ̠lɪ̟kʼɑ̈] | 'to attempt' | Fully front; contrasts close, near-close and close-mid front unrounded vowels.[15] SeeSotho phonology | |
| Spanish | Eastern Andalusian[63] | mis | [mɪ̟ː] | 'my' (pl.) | Fully front. It corresponds to[i] in other dialects, but in these dialects they are distinct. SeeSpanish phonology |
| Murcian[64] | |||||
| Swedish | Central Standard[65][66] | sill | [s̪ɪ̟l̪ː]ⓘ | 'herring' | The quality has been variously described as close-mid front[ɪ̟˕],[65] near-close front[ɪ̟][66] and close front[i].[67] SeeSwedish phonology |
| Temne[68] | pim | [pí̞m] | 'pick' | Fully front;[68] typically transcribed in IPA with ⟨i⟩. | |
| Turkish[69] | müşteri | [my̠ʃt̪ɛ̞ˈɾɪ] | 'customer' | Allophone of/i/ described variously as "word-final"[69] and "occurring in final open syllable of a phrase".[70] SeeTurkish phonology | |
| Ukrainian[71][72] | ирій (yrij) | [ɪrij] | 'Iriy' | SeeUkrainian phonology | |
| Welsh | mynydd | [mənɪð] | 'mountain' | SeeWelsh phonology | |
| Yoruba[73] | kini | [kĩi] | 'what' | Fully front; typically transcribed in IPA with ⟨ĩ⟩. It is nasalized, and may be close[ĩ] instead.[73] | |
With any font you consider using, it is worth checking that the symbol for the centralized close front vowel (ɪ, U+026A) appears correctly with serifs top and bottom; that the symbol for thedental click (ǀ, U+01C0) is distinct from the lower-case L (l)
