front vowel
linguistics
Quick Summary
In linguistics, a front vowel is a vowel sound produced with the highest part of the tongue pushed forward in the mouth and somewhat arched. Examples of front vowels in English include the 'a' in "had," the 'e' in "bed," and the 'i' in "fit". These are contrasted with back vowels, where the back of the tongue is raised toward the soft palate. Vowels are further classified by tongue height (high, mid, low) and lip shape (rounded or spread). Vowels can be pure sounds (monophthongs) or gliding sounds (diphthongs).1
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