Mid vowel
# Mid vowel

IPA: Vowels :

IPA help

 audio

full chart

template

Legend: unrounded • rounded :

A mid vowel (or a true-mid vowel) is any in a class of vowel sounds used in some spoken languages. The defining characteristic of a mid vowel is that the tongue is positioned midway between an open vowel and a close vowel.

Other names for a mid vowel are lowered close-mid vowel and raised open-mid vowel, though the former phrase may also be used to describe a vowel that is as low as open-mid; likewise, the latter phrase may also be used to describe a vowel that is as high as close-mid.

## Vowels

The only mid vowel with a dedicated symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet is the mid central vowel with ambiguous rounding [ə].

The IPA divides the vowel space into thirds, with the close-mid vowels such as [e] or [o] and the open-mid vowels such as [ɛ] or [ɔ] equidistant in formant space between open [a] or [ɒ] and close [i] or [u]. Thus a true mid front unrounded vowel can be transcribed as either a lowered ⟨e̞⟩ (with a lowering diacritic) or as a raised ⟨ɛ̝⟩ (with a raising diacritic). Typical truly mid vowels are thus:

* mid front unrounded vowel [e̞] or [ɛ̝]
* mid front rounded vowel [ø̞] or [œ̝]
* mid central unrounded vowel [ɘ̞] or [ɜ̝] (most commonly written ⟨ə⟩)
* mid central protruded vowel [ɵ̞] or [ɞ̝] (most commonly written ⟨ɵ⟩ as if it were close-mid)
* mid central compressed vowel [əᵝ]
* mid back unrounded vowel [ɤ̞] or [ʌ̝]
* mid back rounded vowel [o̞] or [ɔ̝]

## Languages

Few languages contrast all three heights of mid vowel, because it is rare for a language to distinguish more than four heights of true front or back vowels.

The Kensiu language spoken in Malaysia and Thailand is highly unusual in that it phonemically contrasts true-mid vowels with close-mid and open-mid vowels without differences in other parameters such as backness or roundedness.

Kensiu oral vowels :

| | Front | Central | Back |
| - | - | - | - |
| Close | i | ɯ | u |
| Near-close | ɪ | | |
| Close-mid | e̝ | ɚ | o̝ |
| Mid | e | ə | o |
| Open-mid | ɛ | ʌ | ɔ |
| Open | | a | |
| Diphthongs | ie | | |

Kensiu nasal vowels :

| | Front | Central | Back |
| - | - | - | - |
| Close | ĩ | ɯ̃ | ũ |
| Near-close | ɪ̃ | | |
| Close-mid | ẽ̝ | | õ̝ |
| Mid | ẽ | | õ |
| Open-mid | ɛ̃ | ʌ̃ | ɔ̃ |
| Open | | ã | |
| Diphthongs | ĩẽ | | |

vteInternational Phonetic Alphabet (chart) :

IPA topics :

Consonants :

Vowels :

Front

Central

Back

Close

i

y

ɨ

ʉ

ɯ

u

Near-close

ɪ

ʏ

ʊ

Close-mid

e

ø

ɘ

ɵ

ɤ

o

Mid

e̞

ø̞

ə

ɤ̞

o̞

Open-mid

ɛ

œ

ɜ

ɞ

ʌ

ɔ

Near-open

æ

ɐ

Open

a

ɶ

ä

ɑ

ɒ

IPA help

 audio

full chart

template

Legend: unrounded • rounded :

