Open central unrounded vowel

{{Short description|Vowel sound often represented by ⟨ä⟩ in IPA}}

{{Infobox IPA

| ipa symbol = ä

| ipa symbol2 = ɐ̞

| ipa symbol3 =

| ipa number = 304 415

| decimal1 = 228

| x-sampa = a_" ,6_o or a

}}

The open central unrounded vowel, or low central unrounded vowel,{{Vowel terminology}} is a type of vowel sound, used in several spoken languages. While the International Phonetic Alphabet officially has no dedicated letter for this sound between front {{IPAblink|a}} and back {{IPAblink|ɑ}}, it is normally written {{angbr IPA|a}}. If precision is required, it can be specified by using diacritics, typically centralized {{angbr IPA|ä}}.

It is usual to use plain {{angbr IPA|a}} for an open central vowel and, if needed, {{angbr IPA|æ}} for an open front vowel. Sinologists may use the letter {{angbr IPA|ᴀ}} (small capital A). The IPA has voted against officially adopting this symbol in 1976, 1989, and 2012.{{sfnp|Wells|1976}}{{sfnp|International Phonetic Association|1989|p=74}}{{sfnp|Keating|2012}}

Features

{{central vowel}} This often subsumes open (low) front vowels, because the tongue does not have as much flexibility in positioning as it does for the close (high) vowels; the difference between an open front vowel and an open back vowel is equal to the difference between a close front and a close central vowel, or a close central and a close back vowel.

Occurrence

Most languages have some form of an unrounded open vowel. Because the IPA uses {{angbr|a}} for both front and central unrounded open vowels, it is not always clear whether a particular language uses the former or the latter. However, there may not actually be a difference. (See {{slink|Vowel|Acoustics}}.)

class="wikitable" style="clear: both;" ! colspan="2" \| Language !! Word !! IPA !! Meaning !! Notes
colspan="2" \| Burmese{{sfnp\|Watkins\|2001\|pp=292–293}}	{{lang\|my\|မာ}} / ma	{{IPA\|[mä]}}	'hard'	Oral allophone of {{IPA\|/a/}} in open syllables; realized as near-open {{IPAblink\|ɐ}} in other environments.{{sfnp\|Watkins\|2001\|pp=292–293}}
colspan="2" \| Catalan	{{lang\|ca\|sac}}	{{IPA\|[säk]}}	'bag'	See Catalan phonology
Chinese	Mandarin{{sfnp\|Lee\|Zee\|2003\|pp=110–111}}	{{lang\|cmn-Hani\|塌}}／{{lang\|cmn-Latn\|tā}} \|{{Audio-IPA\|Zh-tā.ogg\|[tʰä˥]\|help=no}} \| 'collapse' \| See Standard Chinese phonology
colspan="2" \| Czech{{sfnp\|Dankovičová\|1999\|p=72}}{{sfnp\|Šimáčková\|Podlipský\|Chládková\|2012\|p=228}}	{{lang\|cs\|prach}}	{{IPA\|[präx]}}	'dust'	See Czech phonology
Danish	Standard{{sfnp\|Grønnum\|1998\|p=100}}	{{lang\|da\|barn}}	{{IPA\|[ˈpɑ̈ːˀn]}}	'child'	Typically transcribed in IPA with {{angbr IPA\|ɑː}}. See Danish phonology
colspan="2" \| Dutch{{sfnp\|Collins\|Mees\|2003\|p=104}}{{sfnp\|Verhoeven\|2005\|p=245}}	{{lang\|nl\|zaal}}	{{IPA\|[zäːɫ]}}	'hall'	Ranges from front to central;{{sfnp\|Collins\|Mees\|2003\|p=104}} in non-standard accents it may be back. See Dutch phonology
rowspan="10" \| English	Australian{{sfnp\|Cox\|Fletcher\|2017\|pp=64–65}}	rowspan="6" \| bra	rowspan="6" \| {{IPA\|[bɹɐ̞ː]}}	rowspan="6" \| 'bra'	Typically transcribed in IPA with {{angbr IPA\|ɐː}}. See Australian English phonology
East Anglian{{sfnp\|Trudgill\|2004\|p=172}}	Used mostly by middle-class speakers; can be front {{IPAblink\|aː}} instead.{{sfnp\|Trudgill\|2004\|p=172}}
General American{{sfnp\|Wells\|1982\|p=476}}	In the Midwest. Can be back {{IPAblink\|ɑ\|ɑː}} instead.{{sfnp\|Wells\|1982\|p=476}}
New Zealand{{sfnp\|Bauer\|Warren\|Bardsley\|Kennedy\|2007\|p=98}}{{sfnp\|Hay\|Maclagan\|Gordon\|2008\|pp=21–23}}	Can be more front {{IPAblink\|a\|a̠ː}} and/or higher {{IPA\|[{{IPA link\|ɐ\|ɐ̟ː}} ~ {{IPA link\|ɐː}}]}} instead.{{sfnp\|Bauer\|Warren\|Bardsley\|Kennedy\|2007\|p=98}}{{sfnp\|Hay\|Maclagan\|Gordon\|2008\|pp=21–23}} It may be transcribed in IPA with {{angbr IPA\|ɐː}}. See New Zealand English phonology
rowspan="3" \|Mid-Ulster
rowspan="2" \|Can be more front {{IPAblink\|a}} instead.
rowspan="4" \|trap \|{{IPA\|[t̪͆ɹäp]}} \| rowspan="4" \|'trap'
Some Canadian and Californian speakers{{sfnp\|Esling\|Warkentyne\|1993\|p=?}}{{sfnp\|Boberg\|2004\|pp=361–362}}	{{IPA\|[t̠ɹ̝̊äp̚]}}	See Canadian Shift and English phonology
Multicultural London{{sfnp\|Kerswill\|Torgerson\|Fox\|2006\|p=30}}	{{IPA\|[t̠ɹ̝̊äʔp]}}	More front {{IPAblink\|a}} in other Southern England English.
Northern England{{sfnp\|Boberg\|2004\|p=361}}	{{IPA\|[tʰɹäp]}}	More front {{IPAblink\|a}} in Scouse.
French	Parisian{{sfnp\|Fougeron\|Smith\|1993\|p=73}}{{sfnp\|Collins\|Mees\|2013\|pp=226–227}}	{{lang\|fr\|patte}}	{{IPA\|[pät̪]}}	'paw'	Older speakers have two contrastive open vowels: front {{IPAslink\|a}} and back {{IPAslink\|ɑ}}.{{sfnp\|Collins\|Mees\|2013\|pp=226–227}} See French phonology
colspan="2" \| German{{sfnp\|Kohler\|1999\|p=87}}{{sfnp\|Dudenredaktion\|Kleiner\|Knöbl\|2015\|p=34}}	{{lang\|de\|Katze}}	{{IPA\|[ˈkʰät͡sə]}}	'cat'	Can be more front or more back in regional Standard German.{{sfnp\|Dudenredaktion\|Kleiner\|Knöbl\|2015\|p=64}} See Standard German phonology
colspan="2" \|Hindi \|आकार / akaar \|{{IPA\|[äkäːɾ]}} \|'shape' \|Contrasts with the Mid-central vowel [ə]. See Hindi phonology.
colspan="2" \| Hungarian{{sfnp\|Szende\|1994\|p=92}}	{{lang\|hu\|láb}}	{{IPA\|[läːb]}}	'leg'	See Hungarian phonology
colspan="2" \| Italian{{sfnp\|Rogers\|d'Arcangeli\|2004\|p=119}}	{{lang\|it\|casa}}	{{IPA\|[ˈkäːsä]}}	'home'	See Italian phonology
colspan="2" \| Japanese{{sfnp\|Okada\|1999\|p=117}}	{{lang\|ja\|蚊}} / {{lang\|ja-Latn\|ka}}	{{Audio-IPA\|ja-ka.ogg\|[kä]\|help=no}}	'mosquito'	See Japanese phonology
Limburgish	Hamont-Achel dialect{{sfnp\|Verhoeven\|2007\|p=221}}	{{lang\|li\|zaak}}	{{IPA\|[ˈzǎ̠ːk]}}	'business'	Front {{IPAblink\|aː}} in other dialects.
colspan="2" \| Lithuanian	{{lang\|lt\|ratas}}	{{IPA\|[räːtɐs̪]}}	'wheel'	See Lithuanian phonology
rowspan="2" \|Malay \|Standard \|رق / rak \|{{IPA\|[räʔ]}} \|'shelf' \|See Malay phonology
Kelantan-Pattani \|سست / sesat \|{{IPA\|[səˈsäʔ]}} \|'lost' \|See Kelantan-Pattani Malay
colspan="2"\| Malayalam \|വാൾ	{{IPA\|[ʋäːɭ̩]}}	'sword'	See Malayalam phonology
colspan="2" \| Polish{{sfnp\|Jassem\|2003\|p=105}}	{{lang\|pl\|kat}}	{{Audio-IPA\|Pl-kat.ogg\|[kät̪]\|help=no}}	'executioner'	See Polish phonology
colspan="2" \| Portuguese{{sfnp\|Cruz-Ferreira\|1995\|p=91}}	{{lang\|pt\|vá}}	{{IPA\|[vä]}}	'go'	See Portuguese phonology
colspan="2" \| Romanian{{sfnp\|Sarlin\|2014\|p=18}}	{{lang\|ro\|cal}}	{{IPA\|[käl]}}	'horse'	See Romanian phonology
colspan="2" \| Serbo-Croatian{{sfnp\|Kordić\|2006\|p=4}}{{sfnp\|Landau\|Lončarića\|Horga\|Škarić\|1999\|p=67}}	{{lang\|sh-Cyrl\|пас}} / {{lang\|sh-Latn\|pas}}	{{IPA\|[pâ̠s̪]}}	'dog'	See Serbo-Croatian phonology
colspan="2" \| Spanish{{sfnp\|Martínez-Celdrán\|Fernández-Planas\|Carrera-Sabaté\|2003\|p=256}}	{{lang\|es\|rata}}	{{IPA\|[ˈrät̪ä]}}	'rat'	See Spanish phonology
Swedish	Central Standard{{sfnp\|Engstrand\|1999\|p=140}}{{sfnp\|Riad\|2014\|p=35}}	{{lang\|sv\|bank}}	{{IPA\|[bäŋk]}}	'bank'	Also described as front {{IPAblink\|a}}.{{sfnp\|Bolander\|2001\|p=55}}{{sfnp\|Rosenqvist\|2007\|p=9}} See Swedish phonology
colspan="2" \| Thai{{sfnp\|Tingsabadh\|Abramson\|1993\|p=25}}	{{lang\|th\|บางกอก}} / baang-gɔ̀ɔk	{{Audio-IPA\|Th-Bangkok.ogg\|[bäːŋ˧.kɔːk̚˨˩]}}	'Bangkok'	See Thai phonology
Turkish{{sfnp\|Zimmer\|Orgun\|1999\|p=155}}	Standard	{{lang\|tr\|at}}	{{IPA\|[ät̪]}}	'horse'	Also described as back {{IPAblink\|ɑ}}.{{sfnp\|Göksel\|Kerslake\|2005\|p=10}} See Turkish phonology
colspan="2" \|Welsh \|{{lang\|cy\|siarad}} \|{{IPA\|[ʃäräd]}} \|'talk' \|See Welsh phonology
colspan="2" \| Yoruba{{sfnp\|Bamgboṣe\|1966\|p=166}}	{{lang\|yo\|àbá}}	{{IPA\|[ä̀.bä́]}}	'idea'	See Yoruba phonology

Notes

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|s2cid=249403800

}}

{{Accents of English|hide1=y|hide2=y}}
{{citation

|last1=Zimmer

|first1=Karl

|last2=Orgun

|first2=Orhan

|year=1999

|chapter=Turkish

|title=Handbook of the International Phonetic Association: A guide to the use of the International Phonetic Alphabet

|place=Cambridge

|publisher=Cambridge University Press

|isbn=978-0-521-65236-0

|pages=154–158

|chapter-url=http://www.uta.edu/faculty/cmfitz/swnal/projects/CoLang/courses/Transcription/rosettaproject_tur_phon-2.pdf

|access-date=2015-04-12

|archive-date=2018-07-25

|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180725111322/http://www.uta.edu/faculty/cmfitz/swnal/projects/CoLang/courses/Transcription/rosettaproject_tur_phon-2.pdf

|url-status=dead

}}

{{citation

|last=Kordić

|first=Snježana

|author-link=Snježana Kordić

|title=Serbo-Croatian

|year=2006

|series=Languages of the World/Materials; 148

|location=Munich & Newcastle

|publisher=Lincom Europa

|isbn=978-3-89586-161-1

}}

External links

{{phoible|ä}}
{{phoible|ɑ̈}}
{{phoible|a̠}}

Category:Open vowels

Category:Central vowels

Category:Unrounded vowels

class="wikitable" style="clear: both;" ! colspan="2" \| Language !! Word !! IPA !! Meaning !! Notes
colspan="2" \| Burmese{{sfnp\|Watkins\|2001\|pp=292–293}}	{{lang\|my\|မာ}} / ma	{{IPA\|[mä]}}	'hard'	Oral allophone of {{IPA\|/a/}} in open syllables; realized as near-open {{IPAblink\|ɐ}} in other environments.{{sfnp\|Watkins\|2001\|pp=292–293}}
colspan="2" \| Catalan	{{lang\|ca\|sac}}	{{IPA\|[säk]}}	'bag'	See Catalan phonology
Chinese	Mandarin{{sfnp\|Lee\|Zee\|2003\|pp=110–111}}	{{lang\|cmn-Hani\|塌}}／{{lang\|cmn-Latn\|tā}} \|{{Audio-IPA\|Zh-tā.ogg\|[tʰä˥]\|help=no}} \| 'collapse' \| See Standard Chinese phonology
colspan="2" \| Czech{{sfnp\|Dankovičová\|1999\|p=72}}{{sfnp\|Šimáčková\|Podlipský\|Chládková\|2012\|p=228}}	{{lang\|cs\|prach}}	{{IPA\|[präx]}}	'dust'	See Czech phonology
Danish	Standard{{sfnp\|Grønnum\|1998\|p=100}}	{{lang\|da\|barn}}	{{IPA\|[ˈpɑ̈ːˀn]}}	'child'	Typically transcribed in IPA with {{angbr IPA\|ɑː}}. See Danish phonology
colspan="2" \| Dutch{{sfnp\|Collins\|Mees\|2003\|p=104}}{{sfnp\|Verhoeven\|2005\|p=245}}	{{lang\|nl\|zaal}}	{{IPA\|[zäːɫ]}}	'hall'	Ranges from front to central;{{sfnp\|Collins\|Mees\|2003\|p=104}} in non-standard accents it may be back. See Dutch phonology
rowspan="10" \| English	Australian{{sfnp\|Cox\|Fletcher\|2017\|pp=64–65}}	rowspan="6" \| bra	rowspan="6" \| {{IPA\|[bɹɐ̞ː]}}	rowspan="6" \| 'bra'	Typically transcribed in IPA with {{angbr IPA\|ɐː}}. See Australian English phonology
East Anglian{{sfnp\|Trudgill\|2004\|p=172}}	Used mostly by middle-class speakers; can be front {{IPAblink\|aː}} instead.{{sfnp\|Trudgill\|2004\|p=172}}
General American{{sfnp\|Wells\|1982\|p=476}}	In the Midwest. Can be back {{IPAblink\|ɑ\|ɑː}} instead.{{sfnp\|Wells\|1982\|p=476}}
New Zealand{{sfnp\|Bauer\|Warren\|Bardsley\|Kennedy\|2007\|p=98}}{{sfnp\|Hay\|Maclagan\|Gordon\|2008\|pp=21–23}}	Can be more front {{IPAblink\|a\|a̠ː}} and/or higher {{IPA\|[{{IPA link\|ɐ\|ɐ̟ː}} ~ {{IPA link\|ɐː}}]}} instead.{{sfnp\|Bauer\|Warren\|Bardsley\|Kennedy\|2007\|p=98}}{{sfnp\|Hay\|Maclagan\|Gordon\|2008\|pp=21–23}} It may be transcribed in IPA with {{angbr IPA\|ɐː}}. See New Zealand English phonology
rowspan="3" \|Mid-Ulster
rowspan="2" \|Can be more front {{IPAblink\|a}} instead.
rowspan="4" \|trap \|{{IPA\|[t̪͆ɹäp]}} \| rowspan="4" \|'trap'
Some Canadian and Californian speakers{{sfnp\|Esling\|Warkentyne\|1993\|p=?}}{{sfnp\|Boberg\|2004\|pp=361–362}}	{{IPA\|[t̠ɹ̝̊äp̚]}}	See Canadian Shift and English phonology
Multicultural London{{sfnp\|Kerswill\|Torgerson\|Fox\|2006\|p=30}}	{{IPA\|[t̠ɹ̝̊äʔp]}}	More front {{IPAblink\|a}} in other Southern England English.
Northern England{{sfnp\|Boberg\|2004\|p=361}}	{{IPA\|[tʰɹäp]}}	More front {{IPAblink\|a}} in Scouse.
French	Parisian{{sfnp\|Fougeron\|Smith\|1993\|p=73}}{{sfnp\|Collins\|Mees\|2013\|pp=226–227}}	{{lang\|fr\|patte}}	{{IPA\|[pät̪]}}	'paw'	Older speakers have two contrastive open vowels: front {{IPAslink\|a}} and back {{IPAslink\|ɑ}}.{{sfnp\|Collins\|Mees\|2013\|pp=226–227}} See French phonology
colspan="2" \| German{{sfnp\|Kohler\|1999\|p=87}}{{sfnp\|Dudenredaktion\|Kleiner\|Knöbl\|2015\|p=34}}	{{lang\|de\|Katze}}	{{IPA\|[ˈkʰät͡sə]}}	'cat'	Can be more front or more back in regional Standard German.{{sfnp\|Dudenredaktion\|Kleiner\|Knöbl\|2015\|p=64}} See Standard German phonology
colspan="2" \|Hindi \|आकार / akaar \|{{IPA\|[äkäːɾ]}} \|'shape' \|Contrasts with the Mid-central vowel [ə]. See Hindi phonology.
colspan="2" \| Hungarian{{sfnp\|Szende\|1994\|p=92}}	{{lang\|hu\|láb}}	{{IPA\|[läːb]}}	'leg'	See Hungarian phonology
colspan="2" \| Italian{{sfnp\|Rogers\|d'Arcangeli\|2004\|p=119}}	{{lang\|it\|casa}}	{{IPA\|[ˈkäːsä]}}	'home'	See Italian phonology
colspan="2" \| Japanese{{sfnp\|Okada\|1999\|p=117}}	{{lang\|ja\|蚊}} / {{lang\|ja-Latn\|ka}}	{{Audio-IPA\|ja-ka.ogg\|[kä]\|help=no}}	'mosquito'	See Japanese phonology
Limburgish	Hamont-Achel dialect{{sfnp\|Verhoeven\|2007\|p=221}}	{{lang\|li\|zaak}}	{{IPA\|[ˈzǎ̠ːk]}}	'business'	Front {{IPAblink\|aː}} in other dialects.
colspan="2" \| Lithuanian	{{lang\|lt\|ratas}}	{{IPA\|[räːtɐs̪]}}	'wheel'	See Lithuanian phonology
rowspan="2" \|Malay \|Standard \|رق / rak \|{{IPA\|[räʔ]}} \|'shelf' \|See Malay phonology
Kelantan-Pattani \|سست / sesat \|{{IPA\|[səˈsäʔ]}} \|'lost' \|See Kelantan-Pattani Malay
colspan="2"\| Malayalam \|വാൾ	{{IPA\|[ʋäːɭ̩]}}	'sword'	See Malayalam phonology
colspan="2" \| Polish{{sfnp\|Jassem\|2003\|p=105}}	{{lang\|pl\|kat}}	{{Audio-IPA\|Pl-kat.ogg\|[kät̪]\|help=no}}	'executioner'	See Polish phonology
colspan="2" \| Portuguese{{sfnp\|Cruz-Ferreira\|1995\|p=91}}	{{lang\|pt\|vá}}	{{IPA\|[vä]}}	'go'	See Portuguese phonology
colspan="2" \| Romanian{{sfnp\|Sarlin\|2014\|p=18}}	{{lang\|ro\|cal}}	{{IPA\|[käl]}}	'horse'	See Romanian phonology
colspan="2" \| Serbo-Croatian{{sfnp\|Kordić\|2006\|p=4}}{{sfnp\|Landau\|Lončarića\|Horga\|Škarić\|1999\|p=67}}	{{lang\|sh-Cyrl\|пас}} / {{lang\|sh-Latn\|pas}}	{{IPA\|[pâ̠s̪]}}	'dog'	See Serbo-Croatian phonology
colspan="2" \| Spanish{{sfnp\|Martínez-Celdrán\|Fernández-Planas\|Carrera-Sabaté\|2003\|p=256}}	{{lang\|es\|rata}}	{{IPA\|[ˈrät̪ä]}}	'rat'	See Spanish phonology
Swedish	Central Standard{{sfnp\|Engstrand\|1999\|p=140}}{{sfnp\|Riad\|2014\|p=35}}	{{lang\|sv\|bank}}	{{IPA\|[bäŋk]}}	'bank'	Also described as front {{IPAblink\|a}}.{{sfnp\|Bolander\|2001\|p=55}}{{sfnp\|Rosenqvist\|2007\|p=9}} See Swedish phonology
colspan="2" \| Thai{{sfnp\|Tingsabadh\|Abramson\|1993\|p=25}}	{{lang\|th\|บางกอก}} / baang-gɔ̀ɔk	{{Audio-IPA\|Th-Bangkok.ogg\|[bäːŋ˧.kɔːk̚˨˩]}}	'Bangkok'	See Thai phonology
Turkish{{sfnp\|Zimmer\|Orgun\|1999\|p=155}}	Standard	{{lang\|tr\|at}}	{{IPA\|[ät̪]}}	'horse'	Also described as back {{IPAblink\|ɑ}}.{{sfnp\|Göksel\|Kerslake\|2005\|p=10}} See Turkish phonology
colspan="2" \|Welsh \|{{lang\|cy\|siarad}} \|{{IPA\|[ʃäräd]}} \|'talk' \|See Welsh phonology
colspan="2" \| Yoruba{{sfnp\|Bamgboṣe\|1966\|p=166}}	{{lang\|yo\|àbá}}	{{IPA\|[ä̀.bä́]}}	'idea'	See Yoruba phonology