The near-close near-front unrounded vowel, or near-high near-front unrounded vowel,[1] is a type of vowel sound, used in some spoken languages. The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet that represents this sound is ⟨ɪ⟩, the small capital I. The International Phonetic Association advises serifs on the symbol's ends.[2] Some sans-serif fonts do meet this typographic specification.[3] Prior to 1989, there was an alternate symbol for this sound: ⟨ɩ⟩ (the Latin iota), the use of which is no longer sanctioned by the IPA.[4] Despite that, some modern writings[5] still use it.
| Near-close near-front unrounded vowel | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| ɪ | |||
| IPA Number | 319 | ||
| Audio sample | |||
| Encoding | |||
| Entity (decimal) | ɪ | ||
| Unicode (hex) | U+026A | ||
| X-SAMPA | I | ||
| Braille |  | ||
| |||
Legend: unrounded • rounded
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Handbook of the International Phonetic Association defines [ɪ] as a mid-centralized (lowered and centralized) close front unrounded vowel (transcribed [i̽] or [ï̞]), and the current official IPA name of the vowel transcribed with the symbol ⟨ɪ⟩ is a near-close near-front unrounded vowel.[6] However, some languages have the close-mid near-front unrounded vowel, a vowel that is somewhat lower than the canonical value of [ɪ], though it still fits the definition of a mid-centralized [i]. It occurs in some dialects of English (such as Californian, General American and modern Received Pronunciation)[7][8][9] as well as some other languages (such as Icelandic),[10][11] and it can be transcribed with the symbol ⟨ɪ̞⟩ (a lowered ⟨ɪ⟩) in narrow transcription. Certain sources[12] may even use ⟨ɪ⟩ for the close-mid front unrounded vowel, but that is rare. For the close-mid (near-)front unrounded vowel that is not usually transcribed with the symbol ⟨ɪ⟩ (or ⟨i⟩), see close-mid front unrounded vowel.
In some other languages (such as Danish, Luxembourgish and Sotho)[13][14][15][16] there is a fully front near-close unrounded vowel (a sound between cardinal [i] and [e]), which can be transcribed in IPA with ⟨ɪ̟⟩, ⟨i̞⟩ or ⟨e̝⟩. There may be phonological reasons not to transcribe the fully front variant with the symbol ⟨ɪ⟩, which may incorrectly imply a relation to the close [i].
Sometimes, especially in broad transcription, this vowel is transcribed with a simpler symbol ⟨i⟩, which technically represents the close front unrounded vowel.
Features
- Its vowel height is near-close, also known as near-high, which means the tongue is not quite so constricted as a close vowel (high vowel).
- Its vowel backness is front, which means the tongue is positioned forward in the mouth without creating a constriction that would be classified as a consonant. The prototypical [ɪ] is somewhat further back (near-front) than the neighboring cardinal vowels.
- It is unrounded, which means that the lips are not rounded.
Occurrence
| Language | Word | IPA | Meaning | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Abenaki | nis | [nɪs] | 'two' | The quality varies between near-close [ɪ] and close [i].[17][18][19] See Abenaki phonology | |
| Afrikaans | Standard[20] | meter | [ˈmɪ̞ˑtɐr] | 'meter' | Close-mid. Allophone of /ɪə/ in less stressed words and in stressed syllables of polysyllabic words. In the latter case, it is in free variation with the diphthongal realization [ɪə̯ ~ ɪ̯ə ~ ɪə].[20] See Afrikaans phonology |
| Arabic | Kuwaiti[21] | بِنْت/bint | [bɪnt] | 'girl' | Corresponds to /i/ in Classical Arabic. Contrasts with /i/ or [iː][21][22] See Arabic phonology |
| Lebanese[22] | لبنان/libneen | [lɪbneːn] | 'Lebanon' | ||
| Burmese[23] | မြစ်/mracʻ | [mjɪʔ] | 'root' | Allophone of /i/ in syllables closed by a glottal stop and when nasalized.[23] | |
| Chinese | Shanghainese[24] | 一 / ih | [ɪ̞ʔ˥] | 'one' | Close-mid; appears only in closed syllables. Phonetically, it is nearly identical to /ɛ/ ([e̠]), which appears only in open syllables.[24] |
| Czech | Bohemian[25] | byli | [ˈbɪlɪ] | 'they were' | The quality has been variously described as near-close near-front [ɪ][25] and close-mid front [ɪ̟˕].[26] It corresponds to close front [i] in Moravian Czech.[26] See Czech phonology |
| Danish | Standard[13][15] | hel | [ˈhe̝ːˀl] | 'whole' | Fully front; contrasts close, near-close and close-mid front unrounded vowels.[13][15] It is typically transcribed in IPA with ⟨eː⟩ - the way it is pronounced in the conservative variety.[27] The Danish vowel transcribed in IPA with ⟨ɪ⟩ is pronounced similarly to the short /e/.[28] See Danish phonology |
| Dutch | Standard[29][30][31] | blik | ⓘ | 'glance' | The Standard Northern realization is near-close [ɪ],[29][30] but the Standard Belgian realization has also been described as close-mid [ɪ̞].[31] Some regional dialects have a vowel that is slightly closer to the cardinal [i].[32] See Dutch phonology |
| English | Californian[7] | bit | ⓘ | 'bit' | Close-mid.[7][8] See English phonology |
| General American[8] | |||||
| Estuary[33] | [bɪʔt] | Can be fully front [ɪ̟], near-front [ɪ] or close-mid [ɪ̞], with other realizations also being possible.[33] | |||
| Received Pronunciation[9][34] | Close-mid [ɪ̞] for younger speakers, near-close [ɪ] for older speakers.[9][34] | ||||
| General Australian[35] | [bɪ̟t] | Fully front;[35] also described as close [i].[36] See Australian English phonology | |||
| Inland Northern American[37] | [bɪt] | The quality varies between near-close near-front [ɪ], near-close central [ɪ̈], close-mid near-front [ɪ̞] and close-mid central [ɘ].[37] | |||
| Philadelphian[38] | The height varies between near-close [ɪ] and close-mid [ɪ̞].[38] | ||||
| Welsh[39][40][41] | Near-close [ɪ] in Abercrave and Port Talbot, close-mid [ɪ̞] in Cardiff.[39][40][41] | ||||
| New Zealand[42][43] | bed | [be̝d] | 'bed' | The quality varies between near-close front [e̝], near-close near-front [ɪ], close-mid front [e] and close-mid near-front [e̠].[42] It is typically transcribed in IPA with ⟨e⟩. In the cultivated variety, it is mid [e̞].[43] See New Zealand English phonology | |
| Some Australian speakers[44] | Close-mid [e] in General Australian, may be even lower for some other speakers.[44] See Australian English phonology | ||||
| Some South African speakers[45] | Used by some General and Broad speakers. In the Broad variety, it is usually lower [ɛ], whereas in the General variety, it can be close-mid [e] instead.[45] Typically transcribed in IPA with ⟨e⟩. See South African English phonology | ||||
| French | Quebec[46] | petite | [pət͡sɪt] | 'small' | Allophone of /i/ in closed syllables.[46] See Quebec French phonology |
| German | Standard[47] | bitte | ⓘ | 'please' | Close-mid; for some speakers, it may be as high as [i].[47] See Standard German phonology |
| Hindustani[48] | इरादा/ارادہ/iraadaa | [ɪˈɾäːd̪ä] | 'intention' | See Hindustani phonology | |
| Hungarian[49] | visz | [vɪs] | 'to carry' | Typically transcribed in IPA with ⟨i⟩. See Hungarian phonology | |
| Icelandic[10][11] | vinur | [ˈʋɪ̞ːnʏ̞ɾ] | 'friend' | Close-mid.[10][11] See Icelandic phonology | |
| Kabiye | kabɩyɛ | [kàbɪ̀jɛ̀] | 'Kabiye' | -ATR front vowel. See Kabiye language | |
| Kazakh | бір/bır | [bɪ̞ɾ] | 'one' | Close-mid. See Kazakh phonology | |
| Limburgish[50][51] | hin | [ɦɪ̞n] | 'chicken' | Near-close [ɪ][51] or close-mid [ɪ̞],[50] depending on the dialect. The example word is from the Maastrichtian dialect. | |
| Luxembourgish[14] | Been | [be̝ːn] | 'leg' | Fully front.[14] Typically transcribed in IPA with ⟨eː⟩. See Luxembourgish phonology | |
| Malay | kecil | [kət͡ʃɪl] | 'small' | Allophone of /i/ in closed-final syllables. May be [e] or [e̞] depending on the speaker. See Malay phonology | |
| Norwegian[52] | litt | [lɪ̟tː] | 'a little' | The example word is from Urban East Norwegian, in which the vowel has been variously described as near-close front [ɪ̟][52] and close front [i].[53] See Norwegian phonology | |
| Portuguese | Brazilian[54] | cine | [ˈsinɪ] | 'cine' | Reduction and neutralization of unstressed /e/ (can be epenthetic), /ɛ/ and /i/. Can be voiceless. See Portuguese phonology |
| Russian[55][56] | дерево/derevo | ⓘ | 'tree' | Backness varies between fully front and near-front. It occurs only in unstressed syllables.[55][56] See Russian phonology | |
| Saterland Frisian[57] | Dee | [de̝ː] | 'dough' | Phonetic realization of /eː/ and /ɪ/. Near-close front [e̝ː] in the former case, close-mid near-front [ɪ̞] in the latter. Phonetically, the latter is nearly identical to /ɛː/ ([e̠ː]).[57] | |
| Sicilian[58] | unni | [ˈunnɪ] | 'Where' | Unstressed allophone of [i]. See Sicilian vowel system | |
| Sinhala[59] | පිරිමි/pirimi | [ˈpi̞ɾi̞mi̞] | 'male' | Fully front;[59] typically transcribed in IPA with ⟨i⟩. | |
| Slovak[60][61] | rýchly | [ˈri̞ːxli̞] | 'fast' | Typically fully front.[60] See Slovak phonology | |
| Sotho[16] | ho leka | [hʊ̠lɪ̟kʼɑ̈] | 'to attempt' | Fully front; contrasts close, near-close and close-mid front unrounded vowels.[16] See Sotho phonology | |
| Spanish | Eastern Andalusian[62] | mis | [mɪ̟ː] | 'my' (pl.) | Fully front. It corresponds to [i] in other dialects, but in these dialects they are distinct. See Spanish phonology |
| Murcian[63] | |||||
| Rioplatense[citation needed] | si | ||||
| Swedish | Central Standard[64][65] | sill | ⓘ | 'herring' | The quality has been variously described as close-mid front [ɪ̟˕],[64] near-close front [ɪ̟][65] and close front [i].[66] See Swedish phonology |
| Temne[67] | pim | [pí̞m] | 'pick' | Fully front;[67] typically transcribed in IPA with ⟨i⟩. | |
| Turkish[68] | müşteri | [my̠ʃt̪ɛ̞ˈɾɪ] | 'customer' | Allophone of /i/ described variously as "word-final"[68] and "occurring in final open syllable of a phrase".[69] See Turkish phonology | |
| Ukrainian[70][71] | ирій/yrij | [ɪrij] | 'Iriy' | See Ukrainian phonology | |
| Welsh | mynydd | [mənɪð] | 'mountain' | See Welsh phonology | |
| Yoruba[72] | kini | [kĩi] | 'what' | Fully front; typically transcribed in IPA with ⟨ĩ⟩. It is nasalized, and may be close [ĩ] instead.[72] | |
T-diaeresis may be in other alphabets.