Open-mid vowel

An open-mid vowel (also mid-open vowel, low-mid vowel, mid-low vowel or half-open vowel) is any in a class of vowel sound used in some spoken languages. The defining characteristic of an open-mid vowel is that the tongue is positioned one third of the way from an open vowel to a close vowel.^[1][2]

IPA: Vowels
Front Central Back Close i y ɨ ʉ ɯ u Near-close ɪ ʏ ʊ Close-mid e ø ɘ ɵ ɤ o Mid e̞ ø̞ ə ɤ̞ o̞ Open-mid ɛ œ ɜ ɞ ʌ ɔ Near-open æ ɐ Open a ɶ ä ɑ ɒ
IPA help  audio full chart template Legend: unrounded • rounded

Examples

Some of the open-mid vowels that have dedicated symbols in the International Phonetic Alphabet are:

• open-mid front unrounded vowel [ɛ]
• open-mid front rounded vowel [œ]
• open-mid central unrounded vowel [ɜ] (older publications may use ⟨ɛ̈⟩)
• open-mid central rounded vowel [ɞ] (older publications may use ⟨ɔ̈⟩)
• open-mid back unrounded vowel [ʌ]
• open-mid back rounded vowel [ɔ]

Other open-mid vowels can be indicated with diacritics of relative articulation applied to letters for neighboring vowels.^{[citation needed]}

References

1. Ogbonna, Elisha O. (2022). Advanced Igbo Language: A Simplified Guide to Igbo Orthography Phonology, Morphology and Lexicology. La Vergne: Prinoelio Press. p. 106. ISBN 978-1-77774-614-8.
2. Wayland, Ratree (2018). Phonetics: A Practical Introduction. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p. 26. ISBN 978-1-10841-834-8.