Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-dlnhk Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-29T17:17:38.950Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Do we need a symbol for a central open vowel?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  24 December 2008

William J. Barry  and
Jürgen Trouvain
William J. Barry
Affiliation:
Institute of Phonetics, Saarland University, Saarbrücken, [email protected], [email protected]
Jürgen Trouvain
Affiliation:
Institute of Phonetics, Saarland University, Saarbrücken, [email protected], [email protected]
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

The present discussion re-opens an old issue that was ‘officially discussed’ in Kiel in 1989 but has not been offered for debate in the wider phonetic community. It is argued that there is a logical and practical gap in the present IPA vowel chart. The lack of a central open vowel is unsatisfactory, in particular because more languages have a single open vowel with an apparently more central than fronted or backed quality. Arguments and suggestions for a number of alternative solutions to the problem are presented for discussion.

Type
The International Phonetic Alphabet
Information
Journal of the International Phonetic Association , Volume 38 , Issue 3 , December 2008 , pp. 349 - 357
Copyright
Copyright © Journal of the International Phonetic Association 2008

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Clark, John, Yallop, Colin & Fletcher, Janet. 2007. An introduction to phonetics and phonology, 3rd edn. Oxford: Blackwell.Google Scholar
IPA (International Phonetic Association). 1989. Report on the 1989 Kiel Convention. Journal of the International Phonetic Association 19, 67–80.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
IPA (International Phonetic Association). 1999. Handbook of the International Phonetic Association: A guide to the use of the International Phonetic Alphabet. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Maddieson, Ian. 1984. Patterns of sounds. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pullum, Geoffrey K. & Ladusaw, William A.. 1996. Phonetic symbol guide, 2nd edn. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Stadnik, Elena. 2002. Die Palatalisierung in den Sprachen Europas und Asiens: Eine areal-typologische Untersuchung. Tübingen: Günter Narr Verlag.Google Scholar
Wells, John C. 2001. IPA transcription systems for English. <http://www.phon.ucl.ac.uk/home/wells/ipa-english-uni.htm/> 20 November 2007. [Placed on the web by JCW 8 February 2001, minor corrections 13 July 2001 and 3 August 2001.]+20+November+2007.+[Placed+on+the+web+by+JCW+8+February+2001,+minor+corrections+13+July+2001+and+3+August+2001.]>Google Scholar
Wood, Sidney. 1979. A radiographic analysis of constriction locations of vowels. Journal of Phonetics 7 (1), 25–43.CrossRefGoogle Scholar