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U, or u, is the twenty-first letter and the fifth vowel letter of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet and the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is u (pronounced / ˈ j uː / ⓘ ), plural ues .
The close back rounded vowel, or high back rounded vowel, [1] is a type of vowel sound used in many spoken languages. The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet that represents this sound is u , and the equivalent X-SAMPA symbol is u. In most languages, this rounded vowel is pronounced with protruded lips ('endolabial'). However, in a ...
Three of the cardinal vowels— [i], [ɑ] and [u] —have articulatory definitions. The vowel [i] is produced with the tongue as far forward and as high in the mouth as is possible (without producing friction), with spread lips. The vowel [u] is produced with the tongue as far back and as high in the mouth as is possible, with protruded lips ...
Umlaut (/ ˈ ʊ m l aʊ t /) is a name for the two dots diacritical mark ( ̈) as used to indicate in writing (as part of the letters ä , ö , and ü ) the result of the historical sound shift due to which former back vowels are now pronounced as front vowels (for example , , and as , , and ).
The word vowel comes from the Latin word vocalis, meaning "vocal" (i.e. relating to the voice). [2] In English, the word vowel is commonly used to refer both to vowel sounds and to the written symbols that represent them ( a , e , i , o , u , and sometimes w and y ). [3]
The near-close back protruded vowel is typically transcribed in IPA simply as ʊ , and that is the convention used in this article. As there is no dedicated diacritic for protrusion in the IPA, symbol for the near-close back rounded vowel with an old diacritic for labialization, ̫ , can be used as an ad hoc symbol ʊ̫ for the near-close back protruded vowel.
In Old English and Old Frisian, the back vowels /ɑ ɑː/ were fronted to /æ æː/ in certain cases. For more information, see first a-fronting and second a-fronting. In many dialects of English, the vowel /uː/ is fronted to [u̟ː] or [ʉː], a sound change that is sometimes called GOOSE-fronting. [2]
Typographically, it is a turned letter m ; given its relation to the sound represented by the letter u , it can be considered a ligature of 2 u 's. The close back unrounded vowel can in many cases be considered the vocalic equivalent of the voiced velar approximant [ɰ]. Spectrogram of [ɯ]