The close front rounded vowel, or high front 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 ⟨y⟩, and the equivalent X-SAMPA symbol is y. Across many languages, it is most commonly represented orthographically as ⟨ü⟩ (in German and Turkish) or ⟨y⟩, but also as ⟨u⟩ (in French and a few other Romance languages); ⟨iu⟩/⟨yu⟩ (in the romanization of various Asian languages); ⟨ű⟩ (in Hungarian for the long duration version; the short version is the ⟨ü⟩ found in other European alphabets); ⟨уь⟩ (in Cyrillic-based writing systems such as that for Chechen); or ⟨ㅟ⟩ (in Hangul, used for Korean).
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 compressed lips ('exolabial'). However, in a few cases the lips are protruded ('endolabial').
Read more about Close Front Rounded Vowel: Occurrence, Close Front Protruded Vowel
Famous quotes containing the words close, front, rounded and/or vowel:
“I became, and remain, my characters’ close and intent watcher: their director, never. Their creator I cannot feel that I was, or am.”
—Elizabeth Bowen (1899–1973)
“No one is promiscuous in his way of dying. A man who has decided to hang himself will never jump in front of a train.”
—A. Alvarez (b. 1929)
“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)