Editing Mid vowel

{{Short description|Class of vowel sounds including [ə]}}
{{IPA vowels|class=floatright}}
{{IPA notice}}
A '''mid vowel''' (or a '''true-mid vowel''') is any in a class of [[vowel]] sounds used in some spoken [[language]]s. The defining characteristic of a mid vowel is that the tongue is positioned approximately 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 vowel|open-mid]]; likewise, the latter phrase may also be used to describe a vowel that is as high as [[Close-mid vowel|close-mid]].

==Vowels==
The only mid vowel with a dedicated symbol in the [[International Phonetic Alphabet]] is the [[mid central vowel]] with ambiguous rounding {{IPA|[ə]}}.

The IPA divides the vowel space into thirds, with the [[close-mid vowel]]s such as {{IPA|[e]}} or {{IPA|[o]}} and the [[open-mid vowel]]s such as {{IPA|[ɛ]}} or {{IPA|[ɔ]}} equidistant in [[formant]] space between open {{IPA|[a]}} or {{IPA|[ɒ]}} and close {{IPA|[i]}} or {{IPA|[u]}}. Thus a true mid front unrounded vowel can be transcribed as either a lowered {{angbr IPA|e̞}} (with a [[Lowered (phonetics)|lowering diacritic]]) or as a raised {{angbr IPA|ɛ̝}} (with a [[Raised (phonetics)|raising diacritic]]).<ref>{{cite book|first=Ratree|last=Wayland|title=Phonetics: A Practical Introduction|location=Cambridge|publisher=Cambridge University Press|year=2018|isbn=978-1-10841-834-8|page=26}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|first=Henry|last=Rogers|title=The Sounds of Language: An Introduction to Phonetics|location=Harrow|publisher=Longman|year=2000|isbn=978-1-31787-775-2|page=9}}</ref> Typical truly mid vowels are thus:

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

{{col-begin|width=auto}}
{{col-break}}
{| class="wikitable"
|+ Kensiu oral vowels
! scope="col" |
! scope="col" | Front
! scope="col" | Central
! scope="col" | Back
|-
! scope="row" | Close
| {{IPA|i}}  
| {{IPA|ɯ}}
| {{IPA|u}} 
|-
! scope="row" | Near-close
| {{IPA|ɪ}}
| 
|
|-
! scope="row" | Close-mid
| {{IPA|e̝}}  
| {{IPA|ɚ}}
| {{IPA|o̝}}
|-
! scope="row" | Mid
| {{IPA|e}}
| {{IPA|ə}}
| {{IPA|o}}
|-
! scope="row" | Open-mid
| {{IPA|ɛ}}
| {{IPA|ʌ}}
| {{IPA|ɔ}}
|-
! scope="row" | Open
| 
| {{IPA|a}}
|
|-
! scope="row" | Diphthongs
| {{Not a typo|ie}}
| 
|
|}
{{col-break|gap=1em}}
{| class="wikitable"
|+ Kensiu nasal vowels
! scope="col" |
! scope="col" | Front
! scope="col" | Central
! scope="col" | Back
|-
! scope="row" | Close
| {{IPA|ĩ}}  
| {{IPA|ɯ̃}}
| {{IPA|ũ}} 
|-
! scope="row" | Near-close
| {{IPA|ɪ̃}} 
| 
|
|-
! scope="row" | Close-mid
| {{IPA|ẽ̝}}  
| 
| {{IPA|õ̝}}
|-
! scope="row" | Mid
| {{IPA|ẽ}} 
| 
| {{IPA|õ}}
|-
! scope="row" | Open-mid
| {{IPA|ɛ̃}}
| {{IPA|ʌ̃}} 
| {{IPA|ɔ̃}}
|-
! scope="row" | Open
| 
| {{IPA|ã}}
|
|-
! scope="row" | Diphthongs
| {{IPA|ĩẽ}}
| 
|
|}
{{col-end}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{IPA navigation}}

[[Category:Vowels by height]]