Editing Open front rounded vowel (section)

{{Short description|Vowel sound represented by ⟨ɶ⟩ in IPA}}
{{hatnote group|
{{redirect-distinguish|ɶ|Œ}}
{{other uses|oe (disambiguation)}}
}}
{{Infobox IPA
|ipa symbol  = ɶ
|ipa number  = 312
|decimal     = 630
|x-sampa     = &
|kirshenbaum = a.
|imagefile   = IPA Unicode 0x0276.svg
|imagesize   = 150px
|braille     = in
|braille2    = ow
}}
{{IPA vowels|class=floatright}}

The ('''near-''')'''open front rounded vowel''', or ('''near-''')'''low front rounded vowel''',<ref>{{Vowel terminology}}</ref> is a type of [[vowel]] sound that has not been confirmed to be [[phonemic]] in any [[Speech communication|spoken]] [[language]].{{citation needed|date=June 2023|reason=Source for the claim "has not been confirmed to be phonemic."}} The symbol in the [[International Phonetic Alphabet]] that represents this sound is {{angbr IPA|ɶ}}, and the equivalent [[X-SAMPA]] symbol is <code>&</code>. The letter {{angbr IPA|ɶ}} is the [[small caps]] rendition of {{angbr|[[Œ]]}}. {{angbr IPA|œ}}, the lowercase version of the ligature, is used for the [[open-mid front rounded vowel]].

While the IPA chart lists it as a fully open vowel, the rounded equivalent of {{IPA|[a]}}, Ladefoged<ref>{{SOWL|290}}</ref> characterizes it as near-open, the rounded equivalent of {{IPA|[æ]}}.

A phoneme generally transcribed by this symbol is reported from the [[Bavarian language|Bavarian]] [[Amstetten dialect|dialect of Amstetten]]. However, it is phonetically [[Open-mid vowel|open-mid]], {{IPAblink|œ}}.<ref>{{Harvcoltxt|Traunmüller|1982}}, cited in {{Harvcoltxt|Ladefoged|Maddieson|1996|p=290}}</ref>

It occurs allophonically in Weert Limburgish<ref name="hg">{{Harvcoltxt|Heijmans|Gussenhoven|1998|p=110}}</ref> as well as in some speakers of [[Danish language|Danish]]<ref name="bas46">{{Harvcoltxt|Basbøll|2005|p=46}}</ref> and [[Swedish language|Swedish]].<ref name="Riad38">{{Harvcoltxt|Riad|2014|p=38}}</ref> Certain transcriptions of [[Danish language|Danish]] use {{angbr IPA|ɶ}} to denote an ''open-mid'' front rounded vowel {{IPAblink|œ}}.<ref name="bas46"/>

In [[Maastrichtian Limburgish]], the vowel transcribed with {{angbr IPA|ɶː}} in the [https://www.mestreechtertaol.nl/home Mestreechter Taol] dictionary is phonetically near-open central {{IPAblink|ɐ̹ː}}. It is a phonological open-mid front rounded vowel, the long counterpart of {{IPA|/œ/}}.<ref>{{Harvcoltxt|Gussenhoven|Aarts|1999|pp=159, 161–162, 164}}</ref>

{{Harvcoltxt|Riad|2014}} reports that {{IPA|[ɶː]}} in Stockholm Swedish is sometimes difficult to distinguish from {{IPAblink|ɒː}}, which is the main realization of the {{IPA|/ɑː/}} phoneme, a sign that both vowels are phonetically very close.<ref name="Riad38"/>