Front Vowel

A front vowel is a type of vowel sound used in some spoken languages. The defining characteristic of a front vowel is that the tongue is positioned as far in front as possible in the mouth without creating a constriction that would be classified as a consonant. Front vowels are sometimes also called bright vowels because they are perceived as sounding brighter than the back vowels. The front vowels identified by the International Phonetic Alphabet are:

  • close front unrounded vowel
  • close front rounded vowel
  • close-mid front unrounded vowel
  • close-mid front rounded vowel
  • open-mid front unrounded vowel
  • open-mid front rounded vowel
  • near-open front unrounded vowel
  • open front unrounded vowel
  • open front rounded vowel

Read more about Front Vowel:  Effect On Preceding Consonant

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