The close back rounded vowel, or high back rounded vowel, is a type of vowel sound, used in many spoken languages. The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet that represents this sound is ⟨u⟩, and the equivalent X-SAMPA symbol is u.
The IPA prefers terms "close" and "open" for vowels, and the name of the article follows this. However, a large number of linguists, perhaps a majority, prefer the terms "high" and "low", and these are the only terms found in introductory textbooks on phonetics such as those by Peter Ladefoged.
In most languages this rounded vowel is pronounced with protruded lips ('endolabial'). However, in a few cases the lips are compressed ('exolabial').
Read more about Close Back Rounded Vowel: Close Back Compressed Vowel
Famous quotes containing the words close, rounded and/or vowel:
“The nonsense that charms is close to sense.”
—Mason Cooley (b. 1927)
“The rounded world is fair to see,
Nine times folded in mystery.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)
“Brute animals have the vowel sounds; man only can utter consonants.”
—Samuel Taylor Coleridge (1772–1834)