Close-mid central unrounded vowel

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The close-mid central unrounded vowel is a type of vowel sound, used in some spoken languages. The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet that represents this sound is . This is a reversed letter e, and should not be confused with the schwa , a turned letter e.

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 central, which means the tongue is positioned halfway between a front vowel and a back vowel.
• Its vowel roundedness is unrounded, which means that the lips are not rounded.

Occurs in

• English: Southern American English nut
• Paicĩ: spider

Mid central unrounded vowel

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The mid central unrounded vowel is frequently written as a schwa . However, that symbol does not specifically represent an unrounded vowel, and is frequently used for most any unstressed obscure vowel. If precision is desired, the symbol for the close-mid central unrounded vowel may be used with a lowering diacritic, .

Features

• Its vowel height is mid, which means the tongue is positioned halfway between a close vowel and an open vowel.
• Its vowel backness is central, which means the tongue is positioned halfway between a front vowel and a back vowel.
• Its vowel roundedness is unrounded, which means that the lips are not rounded.

Occurs in

• In European Portuguese: açougue ; seja ; antro 'den'. In Portuguese tradition, unstressed vowel quality is indicated by rotating the orthographic vowel, and so these vowels are transcribed . However, they are mid vowels, and closer than Portuguese .

Vowels

Ungerundeter halbgeschlossener Zentralvokal | Voyelle moyenne supérieure centrale non arrondie | 非円唇中舌半狭母音 | 중설 비원순 중고모음