Editing Open-mid back rounded vowel (section)

{{Short description|Vowel sound represented by ⟨ɔ⟩ in IPA}}
{{Infobox IPA
|ipa symbol=ɔ
|ipa number=306
|decimal=596
|xsampa=O
|imagefile=IPA Unicode 0x0254.svg
|imagesize=150px
|braille=gh
}}
{{IPA vowels|class=floatright}}
[[File:Spectrogram of open-mid back rounded vowel (IPA ɔ).png|thumb|Spectrogram of {{IPA|[ɔ]}}]]

The '''open-mid back rounded vowel''', or '''low-mid back rounded vowel''',<ref>{{Vowel terminology}}</ref> is a type of [[vowel]] sound, used in some [[Speech communication|spoken]] [[language]]s. The symbol in the [[International Phonetic Alphabet]] that represents this sound is {{angbr IPA|ɔ}}. The IPA symbol is a turned letter ''c'' and both the symbol and the sound are commonly called "open-o". The name ''open-o'' represents the sound, in that it is like the sound represented by {{angbr IPA|o}}, the [[close-mid back rounded vowel]], except it is more open. It also represents the symbol, which can be remembered as an ''o'' which has been "opened" by removing part of the closed circular shape.

In English, the symbol {{angbr IPA|ɔ}} (or {{angbr IPA|ɔː}}) is typically associated with the vowel in "thought", but in [[Received Pronunciation]] ("RP", standard [[British English]]), [[Australian English]], [[New Zealand English]] and [[South African English]] that vowel is produced with considerably stronger [[roundedness|lip rounding]] and higher [[vowel height|tongue position]] than that of cardinal {{IPA|[ɔ]}}, i.e. as close-mid {{IPAblink|oː}} or somewhat lower. Open-mid {{IPA|[ɔː]}} or even open {{IPAblink|ɒː}} realizations are found in [[North American English]] (where this vowel is often [[Cot–caught merger|indistinguishable]] from the [[open back unrounded vowel]] in "bra") and [[Scottish English]] as well as [[Hiberno-English]], [[Northern England English]] and [[Welsh English]], though in the last three accent groups closer, {{IPAblink|oː}}-like realizations are also found. In RP, the open-mid realization of {{IPA|/ɔː/}} has been obsolete since the 1930s. Pronouncing that vowel as such is subject to correction for non-native speakers aiming at RP.<ref name="hce97">{{Harvcoltxt|Harrington|Cox|Evans|1997}}</ref><ref name="morgen">Geoff Lindsey (2012) [http://englishspeechservices.com/blog/morgen-a-suitable-case-for-treatment/ Morgen — a suitable case for treatment], Speech Talk</ref><ref>{{Harvcoltxt|Roach|2004|p=242}}</ref><ref>{{Harvcoltxt|Wells|1982}}</ref>

In Received Pronunciation and Australian English, the open-mid back rounded vowel occurs as the main allophone of the {{sc2|LOT}} vowel {{IPA|/ɒ/}}. The contrast between {{IPA|/ɔː/}} and {{IPA|/ɒ/}} is thus strongly maintained, with the former vowel being realized as close-mid {{IPAblink|oː}} and the latter as open-mid {{IPA|[ɔ]}}, similarly to the contrast between {{IPA|/o/}} and {{IPA|/ɔ/}} found in [[German language|German]], [[Italian language|Italian]] and [[Portuguese language|Portuguese]].<ref name="hce97"/><ref name="morgen"/><ref name="wikstroem">{{Harvcoltxt|Wikström|2013|p=45}}, "It seems to be the case that younger RP or near-RP speakers typically use a closer quality, possibly approaching Cardinal 6 considering that the quality appears to be roughly intermediate between that used by older speakers for the LOT vowel and that used for the THOUGHT vowel, while older speakers use a more open quality, between Cardinal Vowels 13 and 6."</ref>