Open-mid central unrounded vowel

Open-mid central unrounded vowel
ɜ
IPA Number 326
Audio sample
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Encoding
Entity (decimal) ɜ
Unicode (hex) U+025C
X-SAMPA 3
Braille ⠲ (braille pattern dots-256)⠜ (braille pattern dots-345)

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 ⟨ɜ⟩ (formerly ⟨ᴈ⟩). The IPA symbol is not the digit ⟨3⟩ or 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, it had been transcribed ⟨ɛ̈⟩.

The ⟨ɜ⟩ letter may be used with a raising diacritic ⟨ɜ̝⟩, to denote the mid central unrounded vowel. It may also be used with a lowering diacritic ⟨ɜ̞⟩, to denote the near-open central unrounded vowel.

Conversely, ⟨ə⟩, the symbol for the mid central vowel may be used with a lowering diacritic ⟨ə̞⟩ to denote the open-mid central unrounded vowel, although that is more specifically written with an additional unrounding diacritic ⟨ə̞͑⟩ to explicitly denote the lack of rounding (the canonical value of IPA ⟨ə⟩ is undefined for rounding).

Features

Occurrence

Language Word IPA Meaning Notes
Afrikaans Standard lig [lə̞χ] 'light' Also described as mid [ə], typically transcribed in IPA with ⟨ə⟩. See Afrikaans phonology
Cotabato Manobo [bätɜʔ] 'child' Allophone of /a/ before glottal consonants; may be transcribed in IPA with ⟨ʌ⟩.
Dutch grappig [ˈχɾɑpə̞χ] 'funny' Possible realization of /ə/. See Dutch phonology
Emilian Bolognese métter [ˈmet̪ːɜr] 'to put'
English Received Pronunciation bird [bɜːd] 'bird' Sulcalized (the tongue is grooved like in [ɹ]). "Upper Crust RP" speakers pronounce a more open vowel [ɐː], but for most other speakers it is actually mid ([ɜ̝ː]). This vowel corresponds to rhotacized [ɝ] in rhotic dialects.
Ohio bud [bɜd] 'bud' One realization of the vowel transcribed in IPA with ⟨ʌ⟩ 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 /ə/ in other Welsh dialects.
Scottish [bɜ̠d] Somewhat retracted; may be more back /ʌ/ instead.
German Chemnitz dialect passe [ˈb̥ɜsə] '[I] pass' Typically transcribed in IPA with ⟨a⟩.
Many speakers herrlich [ˈhɜːlɪç] 'fantastic' Common alternative to the diphthong [ɛɐ̯]. See Standard German phonology
Hausa Possible allophone of /a/, which can be as close as [ə] and as open as [ä].
Jebero [ˈkɘnmɜʔ] 'indigenous person' Allophone of /a/ in closed syllables.
Kaingang [ˈɾɜ] 'mark' Varies between central [ɜ] and back [ʌ].
Kalagan Kaagan [mɜˈt̪äs] 'tall' Allophone of /a/; may be transcribed in IPA with ⟨ʌ⟩.
Kallahan
Ladin Gherdëina Urtijëi [uʀtiˈʒɜi̯] Urtijëi When stressed usually spelled with the letter ë.
Neapolitan Central Basilicatan varieties (Appennine Area) pesäre [pə׳sɜrə] or [pə׳sɜ̃rə] 'to weigh' Nasalization [ɜ̃] occurs in dialects such as Accetturese.
Paicî rë [ɾɜ] 'they' (prefix) May be transcribed in IPA with ⟨ʌ⟩.
Romanian Standard măr [mə̞r] 'apple' Typically transcribed in IPA with ⟨ə⟩. See Romanian phonology
Transylvanian varieties of Romanian așa [aˈʂɜ] 'such' Corresponds to [ä] in standard Romanian. See Romanian phonology
Sama Sibutu [ˈsäpɜw] 'roof' Allophone of /a/; may be transcribed in IPA with ⟨ʌ⟩.
Sindhi [sə̞rə̞] 'funeral' Typically transcribed in IPA with ⟨ə⟩.
Temne pʌs [pɜ́s] 'brew' Typically transcribed in IPA with ⟨ʌ⟩.
Yiddish Standard ענלעך [ˈɛnlɜχ] 'similar' Unstressed vowel. See Yiddish phonology

See also