The close-mid back 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 , and the equivalent X-SAMPA symbol is o.

Features

• Its vowel height is close-mid, which means the tongue is positioned halfway between close vowel and a mid vowel.
• Its vowel backness is back, which means the tongue is positioned as far back 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.

Occurs in

• Dutch: kool , 'cabbage'
• English: (AuE and NZE) ball
  • In CaE, there is a tendency to monophthongize (usually during rapid speech); as a result, may occur alone in words like boat.
• Estonian: tool , 'chair'
• Faroese: tosa , 'speak'
• French: réseau , 'net'
• German: Kohl , 'cabbage'
• Icelandic: bók , 'book'
• Italian: Roma , 'Rome'
• Portuguese: ou , 'or'
• Swedish: åka , 'travel', 'go'
• Vietnamese: tô , 'soup bowl'

French /o/ is more close than German /o/, as symbolized by the raising diacritic, and is perhaps near-close. The German /o/ in turn is more close than Spanish /o/, which is a mid vowel (see below).

Mid back rounded vowel

Many languages, such as Spanish and Japanese, have a mid back rounded vowel, which to speakers is clearly 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 is generally used. If precision is desired, the lowering diacritic may be used: .

Note that just because a language has only one non-close, non-open back vowel, that doesn't mean it's a cardinal mid vowel. The Sulawesian language Tukang Besi, for example, has a close-mid , whereas the Moluccan language Taba has an open-mid ; in neither language does this contrast with another open/close-mid vowel.

Occurs in

• Greek: ωρολόγιο , 'clock'
• Japanese: 面白い , 'fun, interesting'
• Romanian: copil , 'child'
• Spanish: todo , 'everything'
• Turkish: kol , 'arm'
• Ukrainian: поїзд , 'train'

Vowels

Vocal semitancada posterior arredonida | Polouzavřená zadní nezaokrouhlená samohláska | Gerundeter halbgeschlossener Hinterzungenvokal | Voyelle moyenne supérieure postérieure arrondie | 円唇後舌半狭母音 | 후설 원순 중고모음 | Vocală mijlocie posterioară rotunjită