pronounced as /vowels/pronounced as /notice/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.
The only mid vowel with a dedicated symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet is the mid central vowel with ambiguous rounding pronounced as /[ə]/.
The IPA divides the vowel space into thirds, with the close-mid vowels such as pronounced as /[e]/ or pronounced as /[o]/ and the open-mid vowels such as pronounced as /[ɛ]/ or pronounced as /[ɔ]/ equidistant in formant space between open pronounced as /[a]/ or pronounced as /[ɒ]/ and close pronounced as /[i]/ or pronounced as /[u]/. Thus a true mid front unrounded vowel can be transcribed as either a lowered (IPA|e̞) (with a lowering diacritic) or as a raised (IPA|ɛ̝) (with a raising diacritic).[1] [2] Typical truly mid vowels are thus:
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.
| Front | Central | Back | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Close | pronounced as /i/ | pronounced as /ɯ/ | pronounced as /u/ | |
| Near-close | pronounced as /ɪ/ | |||
| Close-mid | pronounced as /e̝/ | pronounced as /ɚ/ | pronounced as /o̝/ | |
| Mid | pronounced as /e/ | pronounced as /ə/ | pronounced as /o/ | |
| Open-mid | pronounced as /ɛ/ | pronounced as /ʌ/ | pronounced as /ɔ/ | |
| Open | pronounced as /a/ | |||
| Diphthongs |
| Front | Central | Back | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Close | pronounced as /ĩ/ | pronounced as /ɯ̃/ | pronounced as /ũ/ | |
| Near-close | pronounced as /ɪ̃/ | |||
| Close-mid | pronounced as /ẽ̝/ | pronounced as /õ̝/ | ||
| Mid | pronounced as /ẽ/ | pronounced as /õ/ | ||
| Open-mid | pronounced as /ɛ̃/ | pronounced as /ʌ̃/ | pronounced as /ɔ̃/ | |
| Open | pronounced as /ã/ | |||
| Diphthongs | pronounced as /ĩẽ/ |
pronounced as /navigation/