| Close back compressed vowel | |
|---|---|
| u͍ | |
| ɯᵝ |
Some languages, such as Japanese listen and Swedish, are found with a close back vowel that has a distinct type of rounding, called compressed or exolabial. No language is known to contrast this with the more typical protruded (endolabial) close back vowel.
There is no dedicated diacritic for compression in the IPA. However, the compression of the lips can be shown with the letter ⟨β⟩ as ⟨ɯ͡β̞⟩ (simultaneous and labial compression) or ⟨ɯᵝ⟩ ( modified with labial compression). The spread-lip diacritic ⟨ ͍ ⟩ may also be used with a rounded vowel letter ⟨u͍⟩ as an ad hoc symbol.
Read more about this topic: Close Back Rounded Vowel
Famous quotes containing the words close, compressed and/or vowel:
“No. We haven’t seen the end of them. We’ve only had a close view of the beginning of what may be the end of us.”
—Ted Sherdeman. Gordon Douglas. Dr. Medford (Edmund Gwenn)
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—Rémy De Gourmont (1858–1915)
“Brute animals have the vowel sounds; man only can utter consonants.”
—Samuel Taylor Coleridge (1772–1834)