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The wiki says on 2 separate occasions that it should be /sɨ/, see the pages
for [Japanese phonology](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_phonology) and
[Gojyuuon](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goj%C5%ABon).

However, when the endings such as です・ます are pronounced without the reduction
of that vowel, it sounds a lot like /sɯ/. See these bits from forvo:
[行きます](https://audio00.forvo.com/mp3/9498333/76/9498333_76_1595081.mp3),
[食べます](https://audio00.forvo.com/mp3/9699293/76/9699293_76_2274341.mp3),
[です](https://audio00.forvo.com/mp3/9677061/76/9677061_76_13709.mp3),
[～です](https://audio00.forvo.com/mp3/9498333/76/9498333_76_5360005.mp3)

Here's my attempt at replicating what /sɨ/ would sound like in comparison to
/sɯ/: <https://voca.ro/1mThRUHgiEJW> (/sɯ/ followed by /sɨ/).

The sound /ɨ/ exists in my native language so I was quite surprised to see
that it exists in japanese as well, and in す no less, which I have never heard
about. And as you can see from my recording, /sɨ/ sounds very off.
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question
pronunciation
Is the pronunciation of す /sɨ/ or /sɯ/?
According to [a dictionary](http://daijirin.dual-d.net/extra/nihongoon.html),
it is /sɯ̈/ (with the dots on it).

I'm not an expert, but according to quick searches:

There is a phenomenon called 中舌化, quoting from
[here](https://japaneselanguageinstructorload.at.webry.info/200904/article_2.html)

> 日本語の「ウ」は単独で発音すると非円唇後舌狭母音である。 しかし、「ス・ツ・ズ（ヅ）」のように舌先で発音される子音の後に
> 続くときは下の盛り上がりの位置が前にずれて中舌よりになる。 これを母音の中舌化という。

Probably this is why /sɨ/ is used in the tables of your link. But I guess the
vowel is not completely centralized in general, and /sɨ/ sounds too different
from す because of it.

[This articles](https://museum.ninjal.ac.jp/area/post-428.html) mentions /sɨ/
for す as well, but the sounds do not really sound like /sɨ/ to me.

===

[Tohoku
dialects](https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E6%9D%B1%E5%8C%97%E6%96%B9%E8%A8%80)
tend not to differentiate し and す:

>
> イ段とウ段の母音は中舌母音[ï]・[ɯ̈]で発音される。このうち「し」対「す」、「ち」対「つ」およびその濁音「じ」対「ず」（「ぢ」対「づ」）は大半の地域で区別がなく、

===

The pronunciation of Russian сын is written as スィーン in a dictionary at hand.
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answer