The open-mid central unrounded vowel, or low-mid central unrounded vowel, is a type of vowel sound, used in some spoken languages. The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet that represents this sound is (formerly ). The IPA symbol is not the digit , nor the Cyrillic small letter Ze (з). The symbol is instead a reversed Latinized variant of the lowercase epsilon, ɛ. The value was specified only in 1993; until then, was an alternative symbol for the mid central unrounded vowel .
The letter may be used with a raising diacritic , to denote the mid central unrounded vowel. It may also be used with a lowering diacritic , to denote the near-open central unrounded vowel.
Conversely, , the symbol for the mid central vowel may be used with a lowering diacritic to denote the open-mid central unrounded vowel, although that is more specifically written with an additional unrounding diacritic to explicitly denote the lack of rounding (the canonical value of IPA is undefined for rounding).
Features
Occurrence Language Word IPA Meaning Notes Afrikaans Standard 'light' Also described as mid , typically transcribed in IPA with . See Afrikaans phonology Cotabato Manobo 'child' Allophone of before glottal consonants; may be transcribed in IPA with . Dutch 'funny' Possible realization of . See Dutch phonology Emilian Bolognese 'to put' English American bird 'bird' Often rhotic. See Rhoticity in English. Ohio bud 'bud' One realization of the vowel transcribed in IPA with in American English, typical of Midland or Southern American English. It is not a standard pronunciation throughout the whole country. Most Texas speakers Northern Wales Some speakers. Corresponds to in other Welsh dialects. Scottish Somewhat retracted; may be more back instead. German Chemnitz dialect '[I] pass' Typically transcribed in IPA with . Many speakers 'fantastic' Common alternative to the diphthong . See Standard German phonology Hausa Possible allophone of , which can be as close as and as open as . Jebero 'indigenous person' Allophone of in closed syllables. Kaingang 'mark' Varies between central and back . Kalagan Kaagan 'tall' Allophone of ; may be transcribed in IPA with . Kallahan Ladin Gherdëina Urtijëi When stressed usually spelled with the letter ë. Neapolitan Central Basilicatan varieties (Appennine Area) or 'to weigh' Nasalization occurs in dialects such as Accetturese. Paicî 'they' (prefix) May be transcribed in IPA with . Romanian Standard 'apple' Typically transcribed in IPA with . See Romanian phonology Transylvanian varieties of Romanian 'such' Corresponds to in standard Romanian. See Romanian phonology Sama Sibutu 'roof' Allophone of ; may be transcribed in IPA with . Sindhi 'funeral' Typically transcribed in IPA with . Temne 'brew' Typically transcribed in IPA with . Yiddish Standard 'similar' Unstressed vowel. See Yiddish phonology
See also
Rhoticized vowel, a related phoneme in rhotic dialects of English
Notes
References
External links