I.
Phonetic Description
[ʌ] The name of this symbol is “open-mid back unrounded vowel”, “Central-Mid Unrounded Short Vowel” or “low-mid back unrounded vowel”, is a type of vowel sound, used in
some spoken languages. The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet that
represents this sound is [ʌ], graphically a rotated lowercase vee (called a turned V,
though it was created as a small-capital [ᴀ] without the crossbar), and both the
symbol and the sound are commonly referred to as either a wedge, a caret, or a
hat. In transcriptions for some languages (including several dialects of
English), this symbol is also used for the near-open central vowel.
II.
Production
a.
The center of the tongue is raised
just above the fully open position.
b.
No contact being made between the
tongue and the upper molars.
c.
The lips are neutrally open.
d.
The opening between the jaws is
neutrally wide open.
e.
The soft palate is raised.
f.
The vocal cords are vibrating.