Roundedness

{{rellink|This article is concerned with roundedness in vowels. For roundedness in consonants, see [[Consonants]].}} {{IPA chart vowels}} In [[phonetics]], '''vowel roundedness''' refers to the amount of rounding in the [[lip]]s during the articulation of a [[vowel]]. That is, it is vocalic [[labialization]]. When pronouncing a ''rounded'' vowel, the lips form a circular opening, while ''unrounded'' vowels (also called ''spread'' vowels) are pronounced with the lips relaxed. In most languages, [[front vowel]]s tend to be unrounded, while [[back vowel]]s tend to be rounded. But some languages, such as [[French language|French]] and [[German language|German]], distinguish rounded and unrounded front vowels of the same [[vowel height|height]], while, for example, [[Vietnamese language|Vietnamese]] distinguishes rounded and unrounded back vowels of the same height. In the [[International Phonetic Alphabet]] vowel chart, rounded vowels are the ones that occur on the right in each pair of vowels. There are also diacritics, {{IPA diacritic description|0339|COMBINING RIGHT HALF RING BELOW}} and {{IPA diacritic description|031C|COMBINING LEFT HALF RING BELOW}}, to indicate greater or lesser degrees of rounding. These '[[more rounded|more]]' and '[[less rounded]]' diacritics are sometimes also used with consonants to indicate degrees of labialization. ==Types of rounding== {|align="right" |valign="top"|[[Image:Vowel-narrow-compressed-2.jpg|left|150px|thumb|Compressed rounding (example 1)]] |valign="top"|[[Image:Vowel-narrow-protruded-2.jpg|left|150px|thumb|Protruded rounding (example 1)]] |- |valign="top"|[[Image:Vowel-narrow-compressed-1.png|left|150px|thumb|Compressed rounding (example 2)]] |valign="top"|[[Image:Vowel-narrow-protruded-1.png|left|150px|thumb|Protruded rounding (example 2)]] |} There are two types of vowel rounding: '''protruded''' and '''compressed'''. In protruded rounding, the corners of the mouth are drawn together and the lips protrude like a tube, with their inner surface visible. In compressed rounding, the corners of the mouth are drawn together, but the lips are also drawn together horizontally ("compressed") and do not protrude, with only their outer surface visible. That is, in protruded vowels the inner surfaces of the lips form the opening (thus the alternate term ''endolabial),'' while in compressed vowels it is the margins of the lips which form the opening (thus ''exolabial).'' Catford (1982:172) observes that back and central rounded vowels, such as German {{IPA|/o/}} and {{IPA|/u/}}, are typically protruded, while front rounded vowels such as German {{IPA|/ø/}} and {{IPA|/y/}} are typically compressed. Back or central compressed vowels and front protruded vowels are uncommon, and a contrast between the two types has been found to be phonemic in only one instance. There are no dedicated IPA diacritics to represent the distinction. The distinction between protruded {{IPA|[u]}} and compressed {{IPA|[y]}} holds for the semivowels {{IPA|[w]}} and {{IPA|[ɥ]}} as well as labialization. In [[Akan language|Akan]], for example, the {{IPA|[ɥ]}} is compressed, as are [[labio-palatalization|labio-palatalized]] consonants as in ''Twi'' {{IPA|[tɕᶣi̘]}} "Twi" and ''adwuma'' {{IPA|[adʑᶣu̘ma]}} "work", whereas {{IPA|[w]}} and simply labialized consonants are protruded. In Japanese, the {{IPA|/w/}} is compressed rather than protruded, paralleling the Japanese {{IPA|/u/}}. The distinction applies marginally to other consonants. In [[Kukuya language|Southern Teke]], the sole language reported to have a phonemic {{IPAslink|ɱ}}, the labiodental sound is "accompanied by strong protrusion of both lips", whereas the {{IPA|[ɱ]}} found as an allophone of {{IPA|/m/}} before {{IPA|/f, v/}} in languages such as English is not protruded, as the lip contacts the teeth along its upper or outer edge. And in at least one account of speech acquisition, a child's pronunciation of ''clown'' involves a lateral {{IPA|[f]}} with the upper teeth contacting the upper-outer edge of the lip, but in ''crown'' a non-lateral {{IPA|[f]}} is pronounced with the teeth contacting the inner surface of the protruded lower lip. Some vowels transcribed with rounded IPA letters may not be rounded at all. An example is {{IPAslink|ɒ}}, which in English has very little if any rounding of the lips. The "throaty" sound of English {{IPA|/ɒ/}} is instead accomplished with [[sulcalization]], a furrowing of the back of the tongue also found in non-rhotic {{IPA|/ɜː/}} (Lass 1984:124). ==Roundedness and labialization== (Protrusion) roundedness is the vocalic equivalent of consonantal [[labialization]]. As such, rounded vowels and labialized consonants affect each other through [[assimilation (linguistics)|phonetic assimilation]]: Rounded vowels labialize consonants, and labialized consonants round vowels. In many languages such effects are minor phonetic detail, but in some cases they become significant. For example, in [[Standard Mandarin|Mandarin Chinese]], the unrounded diphthong {{IPA|/ɯ̯ʌ/}} is pronounced {{IPA|[u̯ɔ]}} after labial consonants{{Citation needed|date=July 2009}}, an allophonic effect salient enough to be encoded in [[pinyin]] transliteration: velar {{IPA|/xɯ̯ʌ/}} ''he'' vs. labial {{IPA|/pu̯ɔ/}} ''bo.'' In [[Vietnamese language|Vietnamese]], the opposite assimilation takes place: velar codas {{IPA|/k/}} and {{IPA|/ŋ/}} are pronounced as labialized {{IPA|[kʷ]}} and {{IPA|[ŋʷ]}}, or even [[labial-velar consonant|labial-velar]] {{IPA|[kp]}} and {{IPA|[ŋm]}}, after the rounded vowels {{IPA|/u/}} and {{IPA|/o/}}{{Citation needed|date=July 2009}}. In the [[Northwest Caucasian languages]] of the Caucasus and the [[Sepik languages]] of Papua New Guinea, historically rounded vowels have become unrounded, with the rounding being taken up by the consonant, so that, for example, Sepik {{IPA|[ku]}} and {{IPA|[ko]}} are phonemically {{IPA|/kwɨ/}} and {{IPA|/kwə/}}{{Citation needed|date=July 2009}}; similarly, [[Ubykh phonology|Ubykh]] {{IPA|[ku]}} and {{IPA|[ko]}} are phonemically {{IPA|/kʷə/}} and {{IPA|/kʷa/}}{{Citation needed|date=July 2009}}. ==See also== {{Wiktionary|unrounded|endolabial|exolabial}} *[[List of phonetics topics]] *[[Close front compressed vowel]] *[[Close central compressed vowel]] *[[Close back compressed vowel]] {{IPA navigation}}