Close-mid back rounded vowel

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IPA – number	307
IPA – text	o
IPA – image	Image:Xsampa-o.png
Entity	o
X-SAMPA	o
Kirshenbaum	o
Sound sample (help·info)

The close-mid back 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 o, and the equivalent X-SAMPA symbol is o.

Contents 1 Features 1.1 Occurrence 2 Mid back rounded vowel 2.1 Occurrence 3 References

[edit] Features

• Its vowel height is close-mid, which means the tongue is positioned halfway between close vowel and a mid vowel.
• Its vowel backness is back, which means the tongue is positioned as far back as possible in the mouth without creating a constriction that would be classified as a consonant.
• Its vowel roundedness is rounded, which means that the lips are rounded.

[edit] Occurrence

Language		Word	IPA	Meaning	Notes
Dutch		kool	[koʊ̯l]	'cabbage'	See Dutch phonology
English	Australian	caught	[kʰoːt]	'caught'	See Australian English phonology
	New Zealand
	GA	row	[ɻoː]	'row'	May also be diphthongized to [oʊ]. See English phonology
Estonian		tool	[toːlʲ]	'chair'
Faroese		tosa	[ˈtoːsa]	'speak'
French		réseau	[ʀeˈzo]	'net'	See French phonology
German		Kohl	[kʰoːl]	'cabbage'	See German phonology
Hungarian		kór	[koːr]	'disease'	See Hungarian phonology
Icelandic		bók	[bou̯k]	'book'
Italian		foro	[ˈfoːro]	'hole'	See Italian phonology
Korean		보수/bosu	[ˈpoːsu]	'salary'	See Korean phonology
Norwegian		lov	[loːʋ]	'law'	See Norwegian phonology
Portuguese		dor	[doɾ]	'pain'	See Portuguese phonology
Silesian		Ślůnsk	[ɕlonsk]	'Silesia'
Swedish		åka	[ˈoːka] (help·info)	'travel, go'	See Swedish phonology
Vietnamese		tô	[tō]	'soup, bowl'	See Vietnamese phonology

[edit] Mid back rounded vowel

Many languages, such as Spanish and Japanese, have a mid back rounded vowel, which to speakers is clearly 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 [o] is generally used. If precision is desired, the lowering diacritic may be used: [o̞].

Note that just because a language has only one non-close, non-open back vowel, that doesn't mean it's a cardinal mid vowel. The Sulawesian language Tukang Besi, for example, has a close-mid [o], whereas the Moluccan language Taba has an open-mid [ɔ]; in neither language does this contrast with another open/close-mid vowel.

[edit] Occurrence

In the following transcriptions, the lowering diacritic has been omitted for the sake of simplicity.

Language		Word	IPA	Meaning	Notes
Croatian		kolodvor	[kolodvoːr]	'railway station'
English	Yorkshire	coat	[ko̟t]	'coat'	Corresponds to /əʊ/ in other British dialects[1]. See English phonology
Finnish		koloon	[ˈkoloːn]	'into hole'	See Finnish phonology
Greek		ωκεανός	[oˌceaˈnos]	'ocean'	See Modern Greek phonology
Japanese		日本/nihon	[ɲihːoɴ]	'Japan'	See Japanese phonology
Korean		보리/bori	[poˈɾi]	'barley'	See Korean phonology
Romanian		copil	[koˈpil]	'child'	See Romanian phonology
Russian		сухой	[sʊˈxoj]	'dry'	See Russian phonology
Spanish[2]		todo	[ˈt̪oðo]	'all'	See Spanish phonology
Turkish		kol	[koɫ]	'arm'	See Turkish phonology
Ukrainian		поїзд	[ˈpojizd]	'train'	See Ukrainian phonology

[edit] References

br:Vogalenn serr-etre a-dreñv ront

ca:Vocal semitancada posterior arredonida cs:Polozavřená zadní zaokrouhlená samohláska de:Gerundeter halbgeschlossener Hinterzungenvokal fr:Voyelle moyenne supérieure postérieure arrondie ja:円唇後舌半狭母音 ko:후설 원순 중고모음 pl:Samogłoska półprzymknięta tylna zaokrąglona ro:Vocală semiînchisă posterioară rotunjită