Centralized Vowels
| Centralized | |
|---|---|
| ◌̈ |
A centralized vowel is a vowel that is more central than some point of reference, or that has undergone a shift in this direction. The diacritic for this in the International Phonetic Alphabet is the dieresis, U+0308 ̈ combining diaeresis (HTML: ̈).
For example, to transcribe rounded and unrounded near-close central vowels, the symbols may be used. In other (non-IPA) transcription systems, ‹ɪ, ʊ› (or ᵻ, ᵿ) will be seen instead of (by analogy with ). Before the letters were added to the IPA in 1993, the symbols were used for these near-schwa values. would now be assumed to represent articulations intermediate between and . Similarly, would be intermediate between and .
In the majority of languages described as having an, the vowel is actually central, and would be better transcribed as . However, this symbol is not commonly used, perhaps because it disagrees with the sound value of umlaut ä in the Germanic languages.
Instead of the diacritic for centralization, the advanced or retracted diacritics may be used (an equivalent transcription of is retracted ), but the concept of centralization is convenient in cases where front and back vowels move toward each other, rather than all advancing or retracting in the same direction.
Read more about this topic: Relative Articulation
Famous quotes containing the word vowels:
“As no one can tell what was the Roman pronunciation, each nation makes the Latin conform, for the most part, to the rules of its own language; so that with us of the vowels only A has a peculiar sound.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)