Open vowel

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 v • d • e  IPA vowel chart (Chart image)

	Front	Near-​front	Central	Near-​back	Back
Close	i · y ɨ · ʉ ɯ · u ɪ · ʏ ɪ̈ · ʊ̈  · ʊ e · ø ɘ · ɵ ɤ · o ə ɛ · œ ɜ · ɞ ʌ · ɔ æ · ɐ a · ɶ ɑ · ɒ
Near-close
Close-mid
Mid
Open-mid
Near-open
Open
· Where vowels are paired, the one on the left is unrounded and the one on the right rounded.

An open vowel is a vowel sound of a type used in nearly all spoken languages (one exception is Arapaho). The defining characteristic of an open vowel is that the tongue is positioned as far as possible from the roof of the mouth. Open vowels are sometimes also called low vowels in reference to the low position of the tongue. The open vowels identified in the International Phonetic Alphabet are:

• open front unrounded vowel [a]
• open front rounded vowel [ɶ]^[1]
• open back unrounded vowel [ɑ]
• open back rounded vowel [ɒ]

In the context of the phonology of any particular language, a low vowel can be any vowel that is more open than a mid vowel. That is, open-mid vowels, near-open vowels, and open vowels can all be considered low vowels.

[edit] Notes

1. ^ This vowel is not known to occur as a distinct phoneme from [œ] in any language.

v • d • e   International Phonetic Alphabet   IPA topics IPA International Phonetic Association · History of the IPA · Kiel convention (1989) · Journal of the IPA (JIPA) · Naming conventions Special topics Extensions to the IPA · Obsolete and nonstandard symbols · IPA chart for English dialects Technical SAMPA · X-SAMPA · Conlang X-SAMPA · Kirshenbaum · TIPA · Phonetic symbols in Unicode   Consonants  v • d • e IPA Pulmonic consonants chart Place → Labial Coronal Dorsal Radical Glottal ↓ Manner Bila​bial Labio​dental Den​tal Alve​olar Post​alv. Retro​flex Pal​a​tal Ve​lar Uvu​lar Pha​ryn​geal Epi​glot​tal Glot​tal Nasal m ɱ n̪ n ɳ ɲ ŋ ɴ Plosive p b p̪ b̪ t̪ d̪ t d ʈ ɖ c ɟ k ɡ q ɢ ʡ ʔ Fricative ɸ β f v θ ð s z ʃ ʒ ʂ ʐ ç ʝ x ɣ χ ʁ ħ ʕ ʜ ʢ h ɦ Approximant ʋ ɹ ɻ j ɰ Trill ʙ r • * ʀ я * Flap or tap ⱱ̟ ⱱ ɾ ɽ ɢ̆ ʡ̯ Lateral Fric. ɬ ɮ ɭ˔̊ ʎ̥˔ ʟ̝̊ Lateral Appr. l ɭ ʎ ʟ Lateral flap ɺ ɺ̢ * ʎ̯ Non-pulmonic consonants Clicks ʘ ǀ ǃ ǂ ǁ Implosives ɓ ɗ ʄ ɠ ʛ Ejectives pʼ tʼ kʼ qʼ sʼ tsʼ tɬʼ tʃʼ kxʼ kʼ Affricates p̪f b̪v ts dz tʃ dʒ tɕ dʑ ʈʂ ɖʐ t̪θ d̪ð tɬ dɮ cç ɟʝ kx qχ Co-articulated consonants Fricatives ɕ ʑ ɧ Approximants ʍ w ɥ ɫ Stops k͡p ɡ͡b ŋ͡m These tables contain phonetic symbols, which may not display correctly in some browsers. [Help] Where symbols appear in pairs, left—right represent the voiceless—voiced consonants. Shaded areas denote pulmonic articulations judged to be impossible. * Symbol not defined in IPA. Chart image Pulmonics · Non-pulmonics  · Affricates · Co-articulated   Vowels  v • d • e  IPA vowel chart (Chart image) Front Near-​front Central Near-​back Back Close i · y ɨ · ʉ ɯ · u ɪ · ʏ ɪ̈ · ʊ̈  · ʊ e · ø ɘ · ɵ ɤ · o ə ɛ · œ ɜ · ɞ ʌ · ɔ æ · ɐ a · ɶ ɑ · ɒ Near-close Close-mid Mid Open-mid Near-open Open  · Where vowels are paired, the one on the left is unrounded and the one on the right rounded.