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How does the position of the tongue change the vowel sounds a speaker produces?

Created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.
Diagram of a human head in profile showing the location of vocal organs and possible places of articulation for speech sounds, with labels for lips, teeth, tongue, palate, uvula, pharynx, and vocal cords, and numbered regions corresponding to types of articulation such as bilabial, alveolar, and velar.
pronunciation Diagram depicting the location of human vocal organs and possible places of articulation used for speech.

In articulatory phonetics, the position of the tongue is a primary factor in classifying vowels. Vowel sounds are produced by shaping the oral tract to create different resonance chambers, and the tongue's position modifies these chambers in two main dimensions.12

Tongue Height

Vowels are classified by the vertical position of the tongue within the mouth:1
* High (Close) Vowels: The tongue is arched toward the roof of the mouth (e.g., the i in "machine").12
* Low (Open) Vowels: The tongue is held relatively flat and low, with the mouth opened wider (e.g., the a in "father").12
* Midvowels: The tongue occupies a position between these extremes.12

Front-to-Back Dimension

Vowels are also categorized by the horizontal placement of the tongue's highest point:12
* Front Vowels: The highest part of the tongue is pushed forward and arched toward the hard palate.12
* Back Vowels: The back part of the tongue is raised toward the soft palate.12

Additionally, the tongue root's position—whether retracted to narrow the pharynx or advanced to expand it—further distinguishes vowel quality, as does the degree of muscular tension in the tongue.12