Near close near front unrounded vowel

The near-close near-front unrounded vowel, or near-high near-front 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 ⟨ɪ⟩, i.e. a small capital letter i. The International Phonetic Association advises serifs on the symbol's ends. Some sans-serif fonts do meet this typographic specification. Prior to 1989, there was an alternate symbol for this sound: ⟨ɩ⟩, the use of which is no longer sanctioned by the IPA. Despite that, some modern writings still use it.

Sometimes, especially in broad transcription, this vowel is transcribed with a simpler symbol ⟨i⟩, which technically represents the close front unrounded vowel.

The Handbook of the International Phonetic Association defines [ɪ] as a mid-centralized (lowered and centralized) close front unrounded vowel, therefore, an alternative transcription of this vowel is ⟨i̽⟩ (a symbol equivalent to a more complex ⟨ï̞⟩). The symbol ⟨ɪ⟩ is often also used to transcribe the close-mid near-front unrounded vowel, which is a slightly lower vowel, though it still fits the definition of a mid-centralized [i]. It occurs in some dialects of English (such as Californian, General American and modern Received Pronunciation) as well as some other languages (such as Icelandic and West Frisian), and it can be transcribed with the symbol ⟨ɪ̞⟩ (a lowered ⟨ɪ⟩) in narrow transcription. Certain sources may even use ⟨ɪ⟩ for the close-mid front unrounded vowel, but that is rare. For the close-mid (near-)front unrounded vowel that is not usually transcribed with the symbol ⟨ɪ⟩ (or ⟨i⟩), see close-mid front unrounded vowel.

For the fully central equivalents of these vowels, see near-close central unrounded vowel and close-mid central unrounded vowel.

Some languages, such as Australian English, Danish and Swedish, have the near-close front unrounded vowel, which differs from its near-front counterpart in that it is a lowered, but not centralized close front unrounded vowel, transcribed in the IPA as ⟨ɪ̟⟩, ⟨i̞⟩ or ⟨e̝⟩.

The IPA prefers the terms "close" and "open" for classifying vowels. Some linguists use the terms "high" and "low", respectively, instead of "close" and "open".