The mid front unrounded vowel is a type of vowel sound that is used in some spoken languages. There is no dedicated symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet that represents the exact mid front unrounded vowel between close-mid and open-mid , but it is normally written . If precision is required, diacritics may be used, such as or (the former, indicating lowering, being more common). In Sinology and Koreanology, is sometimes used, for example in the Zhengzhang Shangfang reconstructions or in Chao Yuen Ren Grammar of Spoken Chinese.

For many of the languages that have only one phonemic front unrounded vowel in the mid-vowel area (neither close nor open), the vowel is pronounced as a true mid vowel and is phonetically distinct from either a close-mid or open-mid vowel. Examples are Basque, Spanish, Romanian, Japanese, Turkish, Finnish, Greek, Hejazi Arabic, Serbo-Croatian and Korean (Seoul dialect). A number of dialects of English also have such a mid front vowel. However, there is no general predisposition. Igbo and Egyptian Arabic, for example, have a close-mid , and Bulgarian has an open-mid , but none of these languages have another phonemic mid front vowel.

Kensiu, spoken in Malaysia and Thailand, is claimed to be unique in having true-mid vowels that are phonemically distinct from both close-mid and open-mid vowels, without differences in other parameters such as backness or roundedness.Bishop, N. (1996). A preliminary description of Kensiw (Maniq) phonology. Mon-Khmer Studies 25.

Some of the vowels listed in the table below may phonetically be more back than typical front vowels, as near-front vowels. If precision is required, this may instead be called a mid near-front unrounded vowel.

Features

Occurrence Language Word IPA Meaning Notes Afrikaans Standard 'bed' Typically transcribed in IPA with . The height varies between mid and close-mid . See Afrikaans phonology Arabic Hejazi / bēt 'home' See Hejazi Arabic phonology Breton Possible realization of unstressed ; can be open-mid or close-mid instead. Catalan Modern Algherese 'dry' Open-mid and close-mid vowels merge into mid vowels. See Catalan phonology Northern Some speakers Open-mid and close-mid vowels merge into mid vowels. Found in some places bordering the Aragonese and Spanish-speaking areas. A five to six vowel system (i.e. without and/or ), can be found in some areas.Chinese Mandarin / 'also' See Standard Chinese phonology Czech Bohemian 'ice' Near-front; may be open-mid instead. See Czech phonology Dutch Some speakers 'shove' (n.) Open-mid in Standard Dutch. See Dutch phonology English Broad New Zealand cat 'cat' Lower in other New Zealand varieties; corresponds to in other accents. See New Zealand English phonology Cockney bird 'bird' Near-front; occasional realization of . It can be rounded or, more often, unrounded central instead. Typically transcribed in IPA with . Cultivated New Zealand let 'let' Higher in other New Zealand varieties. See New Zealand English phonology Received Pronunciation Many speakers pronounce a more open vowel instead. See English phonology Inland Northern American bit 'bit' Near-front, may be (also in Scotland) instead for other speakers. See Northern Cities vowel shift Scottish Yorkshire play 'play' Estonian 'feather' (gen. sg.) Common word-final allophone of . See Estonian phonology Finnish 'I go' See Finnish phonology German Standard 'bed' More often described as open-mid front . See Standard German phonology Austrian and Swiss 'thanks' The most common realization of syllable-final . Bernese dialect 'to speak' Typically transcribed in IPA with . See Bernese German phonology Greek Modern Standard / pes 'say!' See Modern Greek phonology Hebrew /ken 'yes' Hebrew vowels are not shown in the script, see Niqqud and Modern Hebrew phonology Hungarian 'seven' Also described as close-mid . See Hungarian phonology Ibibio 'look' Icelandic 'to teach' Typically transcribed in IPA with . The long allophone is often diphthongized to . See Icelandic phonology Italian Standard 'to choose' Common realization of the unstressed . See Italian phonology Northern accents 'I think' Common realization of . See Italian phonology Japanese /emi 'smile' See Japanese phonology Jebero 'bat' Near-front; possible realization of . Korean / 'I' Pronunciation of . See Korean phonologyLatvian'to eat'Typically transcribed in IPA with . Limburgish Maastrichtian 'bed' Typically transcribed in IPA with . See Maastrichtian dialect phonology and Weert dialect phonology Weert dialect 'to say' Low Saxon Gelders-Overijssels and DrentsReeks Nederlandse Dialectatlassen Zuid-Drente en Noord-Overijssel 1982. H. Entjes. èèt zie? 'do they eat?' Only around the border of eten - èten, [e:] vs [ɛ:]Macedonian Standard 'honey' MalayStandardelok[e̞ˈlo̞ʔ]'good'See Malay phonology Norwegian Urban East 'net' See Norwegian phonology Romanian 'girls' See Romanian phonology Russian 'human' Occurs only after soft consonants. See Russian phonology Serbo-Croatian / 'only' See Serbo-Croatian phonology Slovak Standard 'to run' See Slovak phonology Slovene 'giant' Unstressed vowel, as well as an allophone of before when a vowel does not follow within the same word. See Slovene phonology Spanish 'baby' See Spanish phonology Swedish Central Standard 'flat rock' Typically transcribed in IPA with . Many dialects pronounce short and the same. See Swedish phonology Tera 'spoke' Turkish 'house' See Turkish phonology Upper Sorbian 'sky' Allophone of between soft consonants and after a soft consonant, excluding in both cases. Yoruba Typically transcribed in IPA with . It is nasalized, and may be open-mid instead.

Notes

References

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