Centralization (phonetics)

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Centralization in phonetics refers to a vowel being a central vowel, the shift of a vowel in this direction, or to a vowel being more central than some point of reference. The diacritic for this in the International Phonetic Alphabet is the dieresis, < ¨ >.

For example, to transcribe rounded and unrounded near-close central vowels, the symbols [ɪ̈, ʊ̈] may be used. (Occasionally <ɪ, ʊ> will be seen, by analogy with <ɨ, ʉ>, but this is not accepted by the IPA.) Before the letters <ɘ, ɵ, ɜ, ɞ> were added to the IPA in 1993, the symbols [ë, ö, ɛ̈, ɔ̈] were used for these values.

In the majority of languages described as having an [a], the vowel is actually central, and would be better transcribed as [ä]. However, this symbol is not commonly used, perhaps because it disagrees with the sound value of umlaut ä in the Germanic languages.

Instead of the diacritic for centralization, the advanced or retracted diacritics may be used.

See also mid-centralized vowel.