Mid central vowel

The mid central vowel (also known as schwa) is a type of vowel sound, used in some spoken languages. The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet that represents this sound is ⟨ə⟩, a rotated lowercase letter e, which is called a "schwa".

Mid central vowel
ə
IPA Number322
Audio sample
source · help
Encoding
Entity (decimal)ə
Unicode (hex)U+0259
X-SAMPA@
Braille⠢ (braille pattern dots-26)

While the Handbook of the International Phonetic Association does not define the roundedness of [ə],[1] it is more often unrounded than rounded. The phonetician Jane Setter describes the pronunciation of the unrounded variant as follows: "a sound which can be produced by basically relaxing the articulators in the oral cavity and vocalising."[2] To produce the rounded variant, all that needs to be done in addition to that is to round the lips.

Afrikaans contrasts unrounded and rounded mid central vowels; the latter is usually transcribed with ⟨œ⟩. The contrast is not very stable, and many speakers use an unrounded vowel in both cases.[3]

Danish[4] and Luxembourgish[5] have a mid central vowel that is variably rounded. In other languages, the change in rounding is accompanied with the change in height and/or backness. For instance, in Dutch, the unrounded allophone of /ə/ is mid central unrounded [ə], but its word-final rounded allophone is close-mid front rounded [ø̜], close to the main allophone of /ʏ/.[6]

The symbol ⟨ə⟩ is often used for any unstressed obscure vowel, regardless of its precise quality. For instance, the English vowel transcribed ⟨ə⟩ is a central unrounded vowel that can be close-mid [ɘ], mid [ə] or open-mid [ɜ], depending on the environment.[7]

Mid central unrounded vowel

The mid central unrounded vowel is frequently written with the symbol [ə]. If greater precision is desired, the symbol for the close-mid central unrounded vowel may be used with a lowering diacritic, [ɘ̞]. Another possibility is using the symbol for the open-mid central unrounded vowel with a raising diacritic, [ɜ̝].

Features

Occurrence
LanguageWordIPAMeaningNotes
Albanian një [ɲə] 'one'
AfrikaansStandard[3]lig[ləχ]'light'Also described as open-mid [ɜ].[8] See Afrikaans phonology
Many speakers[3]lug'air'Many speakers merge /œ/ with /ə/, even in formal speech.[3] See Afrikaans phonology
Bhojpuri कर [kər] 'to do'
CatalanBalearicsec[ˈsək]'dry'Stressable schwa that corresponds to the open-mid [ɛ] in Eastern dialects and the close-mid [e] in Western dialects. See Catalan phonology
Eastern[9]amb[əm(b)]'with'Reduced vowel. The exact height, backness and rounding are variable.[10] See Catalan phonology
Some Western accents[11]
Chinese Hokkienlêr (螺)[lə˧˥]'snail'
Chuvashăман[əm'an]'worm'
DanishStandard[12][13]hoppe[ˈhʌ̹pə]'mare'Sometimes realized as rounded [ə̹].[4] See Danish phonology
DutchStandard[6]renner[ˈrɛnər]'runner'The backness varies between near-front and central, whereas the height varies between close-mid and open-mid. Many speakers feel that this vowel is simply an unstressed allophone of /ʏ/.[6] See Dutch phonology
EnglishMost dialects[7][14]Tina[ˈtʰiːnə]'Tina'Reduced vowel; varies in height between close-mid and open-mid. Word-final /ə/ can be as low as [ɐ].[7][14] See English phonology
Cultivated South African[15]bird[bɜ̝ːd]'bird'May be transcribed in IPA with ⟨ɜː⟩. Other South African varieties use a higher, more front and rounded vowel [øː~ ø̈ː]. See South African English phonology
Norfolk[16]
Received Pronunciation[17]Often transcribed in IPA with ⟨ɜː⟩. It is sulcalized, which means the tongue is grooved like in [ɹ]. 'Upper Crust RP' speakers pronounce a near-open vowel [ɐː], but for some other speakers it may actually be open-mid [ɜː]. This vowel corresponds to rhotacized [ɝ] in rhotic dialects.
Geordie[18]bust[bəst]'bust'Spoken by some middle class speakers, mostly female; other speakers use [ʊ]. Corresponds to /ɜ/ or /ʌ/ in other dialects.
Indian[19]May be lower. Some Indian varieties merge /ɜ/ or /ʌ/ with /ə/ like Welsh English.
Wales[20]May also be further back; it corresponds to /ɜ/ or /ʌ/ in other dialects.
Yorkshire[21]Middle class pronunciation. Other speakers use [ʊ]. Corresponds to /ɜ/ or /ʌ/ in other dialects.
Galician Some dialects leite [ˈlejtə] 'milk' Alternative realization of final unstressed /e/ or /ɛ/ (normally [i~ɪ~e̝])
fenecer [fənəˈs̪eɾ] 'to die' Alternative realization of unstressed /e/ or /ɛ/ in any position
GermanStandard[22]Beschlag[b̥əˈʃläːk]ⓘ'fitting'See Standard German phonology
Southern German accents[23]oder[ˈoːdə]'or'Used instead of [ɐ].[23] See Standard German phonology
Georgian[24] დგას/dgas [dəɡas] 1st person singular 'to stand' Phonetically inserted to break up consonant clusters. See Georgian phonology
Kashmiri کٔژ [kət͡s] 'how many'
Kensiu[25][təh]'to be bald'Contrasts with a rhotacized close-mid [ɚ̝].[25]
Khmer ដឹក dœ̆k [ɗək] 'to transport' See Khmer phonology
Kurdish Sorani (Central) شه‌و/şew [ʃəw] 'night' See Kurdish phonology
Palewani (Southern)
Luxembourgish[5]dënn[d̥ən]'thin'More often realized as slightly rounded [ə̹].[5] See Luxembourgish phonology
Malay Standard Indonesian lelah [lə.lah] 'tired' See Malay phonology
Standard Malaysian pengadil [pə.ŋä.dɪl] 'referee'
Johor-Riau apa [ä.pə] 'what' Common realization of /a/ at the end of words and before /h/. See Malay phonology
Terengganu Common realization of /a/ at the end of words and before /h/. See Terengganu Malay
Jakartan dialect datang [da.təŋ] 'to come' Usually occurs around Jakarta. If the letter /a/ is located in the last syllable between consonants, the sound changes from [a] to [ə]. For the dialects in Sumatra in which the /a/ letter ([a]) in the last syllable changes to an [ə] sound, see Malay phonology.
Moksha търва [tərvaˑ] 'lip' See Moksha phonology
NorwegianMany dialects[26]sterkeste[²stæɾkəstə]'the strongest'Occurs only in unstressed syllables. The example word is from Urban East Norwegian. Some dialects (e.g. Trondheimsk) lack this sound.[27] See Norwegian phonology
Plautdietsch[28]bediedt[bəˈdit]'means'The example word is from the Canadian Old Colony variety, in which the vowel is somewhat fronted [ə̟].[28]
Portuguese Brazilian[29] maçã [maˈsə̃ᵑ] 'apple' Possible realization of final stressed /ɐ̃/. Also can be open-mid [ɜ̃].[30]
Romanian[31]păros[pəˈros]'hairy'See Romanian phonology
Serbo-Croatian[32]vrt[ʋə̂rt̪]'garden'[ər] is a possible phonetic realization of the syllabic trill /r̩/ when it occurs between consonants.[32] See Serbo-Croatian phonology
SwedishSouthern[33]vante[²väntə]'mitten'Corresponds to a slightly retracted front vowel [ɛ̠] in Central Standard Swedish.[33] See Swedish phonology
Tyapa̠tan[ətan]'ɡood'
Welsh mynydd [mənɪð] 'mountain' See Welsh phonology

Mid central rounded vowel
Mid central rounded vowel
ɵ̞
ə̹
ɞ̝
Audio sample
source · help

Languages may have a mid central rounded vowel (a rounded [ə]), distinct from both the close-mid and open-mid vowels. However, since no language is known to distinguish all three, there is no separate IPA symbol for the mid vowel, and the symbol [ɵ] for the close-mid central rounded vowel is generally used instead. If precision is desired, the lowering diacritic can be used: [ɵ̞]. This vowel can also be represented by adding the more rounded diacritic to the schwa symbol, or by combining the raising diacritic with the open-mid central rounded vowel symbol, although it is rare to use such symbols.

Features

Occurrence
LanguageWordIPAMeaningNotes
AfrikaansStandard[3]lug[lɞ̝χ]'air'Also described as open-mid [ɞ],[8] typically transcribed in IPA with ⟨œ⟩. Many speakers merge /œ/ and /ə/, even in formal speech.[3] See Afrikaans phonology
DanishStandard[4]hoppe[ˈhʌ̹pə̹]'mare'Possible realization of /ə/.[4] See Danish phonology
DutchSouthern[34]hut[ɦɵ̞t]'hut'Found in certain accents, e.g. in Bruges. Close-mid [ɵ] in Standard Dutch.[34] See Dutch phonology
EnglishCalifornia[35]foot[fɵ̞ʔt]'foot'Part of the California vowel shift.[35] Typically transcribed in IPA with ⟨ʊ⟩.
French[36][37]je[ʒə̹]'I'Only somewhat rounded;[36] may be transcribed in IPA with ⟨ə⟩ or ⟨ɵ⟩. Also described as close-mid [ɵ].[38] May be more front for a number of speakers. See French phonology
GermanChemnitz dialect[39]Wonne[ˈv̞ɞ̝nə]'bliss'Typically transcribed in IPA with ⟨ɞ⟩.[39]
IrishMunster[40]scoil[skɞ̝lʲ]'school'Allophone of /ɔ/ between a broad and a slender consonant.[40] See Irish phonology
Luxembourgish[5]dënn[d̥ə̹n]'thin'Only slightly rounded; less often realized as unrounded [ə̜].[5] See Luxembourgish phonology
NorwegianUrban East[41]nøtt[nɞ̝tː]'nut'Also described as open-mid front [œʷ];[26][42] typically transcribed in IPA with ⟨œ⟩ or ⟨ø⟩. See Norwegian phonology
PlautdietschCanadian Old Colony[43]butzt[bɵ̞t͡st]'bumps'Mid-centralized from [ʊ], to which it corresponds in other dialects.[43]
SwedishCentral Standard[44][45]full[fɵ̞lː]ⓘ'full'Pronounced with compressed lips, more closely transcribed [ɵ̞ᵝ] or [ɘ̞ᵝ]. Less often described as close-mid [ø̈].[46] See Swedish phonology
TajikNorthern dialectsкӯҳ/kūh[kɵ̞h]'mountain'Typically described as close-mid [ɵ]. See Tajik phonology

See also

Notes
  1. International Phonetic Association (1999), p. 167.
  2. "A World of Englishes: Is /ə/ "real"?". 19 June 2013. Retrieved 8 March 2016.
  3. Wissing (2016), section "The rounded and unrounded mid-central vowels".
  4. Basbøll (2005), p. 143.
  5. Gilles & Trouvain (2013), p. 70.
  6. Collins & Mees (2003), p. 129.
  7. Wells (2008), p. XXV.
  8. Wissing (2012), p. 711.
  9. Recasens (1996), pp. 59–60, 104–105.
  10. Recasens (1996), p. 106.
  11. Recasens (1996), p. 98.
  12. Allan, Holmes & Lundskær-Nielsen (2011), p. 2.
  13. Basbøll (2005), pp. 57, 143.
  14. Gimson (2014), p. 138.
  15. Lass (2002), p. 116.
  16. Lodge (2009), p. 168.
  17. Roach (2004), p. 242.
  18. Watt & Allen (2003), p. 268.
  19. Sailaja (2009), pp. 24–25.
  20. Wells (1982), pp. 380–381.
  21. Stoddart, Upton & Widdowson (1999), pp. 74, 76.
  22. Krech et al. (2009), p. 69.
  23. Dudenredaktion, Kleiner & Knöbl (2015), p. 40.
  24. McCoy, Priscilla (1999), Harmony and Sonority in Georgian (PDF)
  25. Bishop (1996), p. 230.
  26. Vanvik (1979), pp. 13, 20.
  27. Vanvik (1979), p. 21.
  28. Cox, Driedger & Tucker (2013), p. 224.
  29. Battisti, Elisa; Gomes de Oliveira, Samuel (2019). "Elevação da vogal /a/ em contexto nasal em português brasileiro: estudo preliminar". Lingüística. 35 (1): 36. doi:10.5935/2079-312x.20190003. ISSN 2079-312X.
  30. Rothe-Neves & Valentim (1996), p. 112.
  31. Chițoran (2001:7)
  32. Landau et al. (1999), p. 67.
  33. Riad (2014), p. 22.
  34. Collins & Mees (2003:128, 131). The source describes the Standard Dutch vowel as front-central [ɵ̟], but more sources (e.g. van Heuven & Genet (2002) and Verhoeven (2005)) describe it as central [ɵ]. As far as the lowered varieties of this vowel are concerned, Collins and Mees do not describe their exact backness.
  35. Eckert, Penelope. "Vowel Shifts in California and the Detroit Suburbs". Stanford University.
  36. Fougeron & Smith (1993), p. 73.
  37. Lodge (2009), p. 84.
  38. "english speech services | Le FOOT vowel". 15 January 2012. Retrieved 20 October 2018.
  39. Khan & Weise (2013), p. 236.
  40. Ó Sé (2000), p. ?.
  41. Kristoffersen (2000), pp. 16–17.
  42. Kvifte & Gude-Husken (2005), p. 2.
  43. Cox, Driedger & Tucker (2013), pp. 224–225.
  44. Engstrand (1999), p. 140.
  45. Rosenqvist (2007), p. 9.
  46. Andersson (2002), p. 272.

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