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Front vowel
open-in-new
<h2 id="partial-list">Partial list</h2> <p>The front vowels that have dedicated symbols in the <a href="/facts/International_Phonetic_Alphabet/2e7jmUaG">International Phonetic Alphabet</a> are: </p> <ul><li><a href="/facts/Close_front_unrounded_vowel/rSUdlCPU">close front unrounded vowel</a> [i]</li> <li><a href="/facts/Close_front_compressed_vowel/fAyNrUxL">close front compressed vowel</a> [y]</li> <li><a href="/facts/Near-close_front_unrounded_vowel/1eQAfkDy">near-close front unrounded vowel</a> [ɪ]</li> <li><a href="/facts/Near-close_front_compressed_vowel/lKezDteS">near-close front compressed vowel</a> [ʏ]</li> <li><a href="/facts/Close-mid_front_unrounded_vowel/e9YNLF97">close-mid front unrounded vowel</a> [e]</li> <li><a href="/facts/Close-mid_front_compressed_vowel/pNpR6XNS">close-mid front compressed vowel</a> [ø]</li> <li><a href="/facts/Open-mid_front_unrounded_vowel/aDRvwE46">open-mid front unrounded vowel</a> [ɛ]</li> <li><a href="/facts/Open-mid_front_compressed_vowel/AK5Dq8Vl">open-mid front compressed vowel</a> [œ]</li> <li><a href="/facts/Near-open_front_unrounded_vowel/YFxhvcEV">near-open front unrounded vowel</a> [æ]</li> <li><a href="/facts/Open_front_unrounded_vowel/s80pvmYh">open front unrounded vowel</a> [a]</li> <li><a href="/facts/Open_front_rounded_vowel/LYCsdeG7">open front rounded vowel</a> [ɶ]</li></ul> <p>There also are front vowels without dedicated symbols in the IPA: </p> <ul><li><a href="/facts/Close_front_protruded_vowel/fAyNrUxL">close front protruded vowel</a> [yʷ]</li> <li><a href="/facts/Near-close_front_protruded_vowel/lKezDteS">near-close front protruded vowel</a> [ʏʷ]</li> <li><a href="/facts/Close-mid_front_protruded_vowel/pNpR6XNS">close-mid front protruded vowel</a> [øʷ]</li> <li><a href="/facts/Mid_front_unrounded_vowel/wJxU5vKm">mid front unrounded vowel</a> [e̞] or [ɛ̝]</li> <li><a href="/facts/Mid_front_compressed_vowel/kDUta34M">mid front compressed vowel</a> [ø̞] or [œ̝]</li> <li><a href="/facts/Mid_front_protruded_vowel/kDUta34M">mid front protruded vowel</a> [ø̞ʷ] or [œ̝ʷ]</li> <li><a href="/facts/Open-mid_front_protruded_vowel/AK5Dq8Vl">open-mid front protruded vowel</a> [œʷ]</li></ul> <p>As above, other front vowels can be indicated with diacritics of <a href="/facts/Relative_articulation/tr1T3A3s">relative articulation</a> applied to letters for neighboring vowels, such as ⟨i̞⟩, ⟨e̝⟩ or ⟨ɪ̟⟩ for a near-close front unrounded vowel. </p> <h2 id="articulatorily-fronted-vowels">Articulatorily fronted vowels</h2> <p>In articulation, fronted vowels, where the tongue moves forward from its resting position, contrast with <a href="/facts/Raised_vowel/voQpmaV3">raised vowels</a> and <a href="/facts/Retracted_vowel/7Rth9J0Y">retracted vowels</a>. In this conception, fronted vowels are a broader category than those listed in the IPA chart, including [ɪ ʏ], [ɨ ʉ], and, marginally, mid-central vowels. Within the fronted vowels, vowel height (open or close) is determined by the position of the jaw, not by the tongue directly. Phonemic raised and retracted vowels may be phonetically fronted by certain consonants, such as <a href="/facts/Palatal_consonant/KLcKyXE8">palatals</a> and in some languages <a href="/facts/Pharyngeal_consonant/ypfYew9Y">pharyngeals</a>. For example, /a/ may be fronted to [æ] next to /<a href="/facts/Voiced_palatal_approximant/v0NVCbUh">j</a>/ or /<a href="/facts/Voiceless_pharyngeal_fricative/Y2qSAoED">ħ</a>/.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:2" href="#fn:2"><sup>2</sup></a> </p> <h2 id="effect-on-preceding-consonant">Effect on preceding consonant</h2> <p class="note">Main article: <a href="/facts/Palatalization_(sound_change)/vheTQbuP">Palatalization (sound change)</a></p> <p>In the history of many languages, for example <a href="/facts/History_of_French/VVPpVQ1n">French</a> and <a href="/facts/Japanese_language/EEv485a5">Japanese</a>, front vowels have altered preceding <a href="/facts/Velar_consonant/blWClp79">velar</a> or <a href="/facts/Alveolar_consonant/B6VkW2EX">alveolar consonants</a>, bringing their <a href="/facts/Place_of_articulation/exCzaxeF">place of articulation</a> towards <a href="/facts/Palatal_consonant/KLcKyXE8">palatal</a> or <a href="/facts/Postalveolar/YUo5nJly">postalveolar</a>. This change can be <a href="/facts/Allophone/2gp1p5PN">allophonic variation</a>, or it can have become <a href="/facts/Phonemic/EXGHlJ7a">phonemic</a>. </p><p>This historical palatalization is reflected in the <a href="/facts/Orthography/sJPhCpsU">orthographies</a> of several European languages, including the ⟨c⟩ and ⟨g⟩ of almost all <a href="/facts/Romance_languages/TMK4KHI3">Romance languages</a>, the ⟨k⟩ and ⟨g⟩ in <a href="/facts/Norwegian_language/TGEyeerM">Norwegian</a>, <a href="/facts/Swedish_language/1DkSIXkH">Swedish</a>, <a href="/facts/Faroese_language/1nf145FG">Faroese</a> and <a href="/facts/Icelandic_language/4GmzhaoT">Icelandic</a>, and the ⟨κ⟩, ⟨γ⟩ and ⟨χ⟩ in <a href="/facts/Modern_Greek/nFsDHrfR">Greek</a>. <a href="/facts/English_language/tpkxGt7b">English</a> follows the French pattern, but without as much regularity. However, for native or early borrowed words affected by palatalization, English has generally altered the spelling after the pronunciation (Examples include <i>cheap, church, cheese, churn</i> from /*k/, and <i>yell, yarn, yearn, yeast</i> from /*ɡ/.) </p> <table><tbody><tr><th></th><th>Before back vowel: hard</th><th>Before front vowel: soft</th></tr><tr><th>English ⟨C⟩</th><td>call /kɔːl/</td><td>cell /sɛl/</td></tr><tr><th>English ⟨G⟩</th><td>gall /ɡɔːl/</td><td>gel /dʒɛl/</td></tr><tr><th>French ⟨C⟩</th><td>Calais [kalɛ] ⓘ</td><td>cela [səla] ⓘ</td></tr><tr><th>French ⟨G⟩</th><td>gare [ɡaʁ] ⓘ</td><td>gel [ʒɛl] ⓘ</td></tr><tr><th>Greek ⟨Γ⟩</th><td>γάιδαρος [ˈɣai̯ðaros] ⓘ</td><td>γη [ʝi] ⓘ</td></tr><tr><th>Greek ⟨Χ⟩</th><td>Χανιά [xaˈɲa] ⓘ</td><td>χαίρετε [ˈçerete] ⓘ</td></tr><tr><th>Italian ⟨C⟩</th><td>caro [ˈkaːro] ⓘ</td><td>città [tʃitˈta] ⓘ</td></tr><tr><th>Italian ⟨G⟩</th><td>gatto [ˈɡatto] ⓘ</td><td>gente [ˈdʒɛnte] ⓘ</td></tr><tr><th>Italian ⟨SC⟩</th><td>scusa [ˈskuːza] ⓘ</td><td>pesce [ˈpeʃʃe] ⓘ</td></tr><tr><th>Japanese ⟨S⟩</th><td>sūdoku [sɯꜜːdokɯ] ⓘ</td><td>shiitake [ɕiꜜːtake] ⓘ<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:3" href="#fn:3"><sup>3</sup></a></td></tr><tr><th>Japanese ⟨T⟩</th><td>atatakai [atatakaꜜi] ⓘ</td><td>dotchi [dotꜜtɕi] ⓘ<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:4" href="#fn:4"><sup>4</sup></a></td></tr><tr><th>Swedish ⟨K⟩</th><td>karta [ˈkɑ̂ːʈa] ⓘ</td><td>kär [ɕæːr] ⓘ</td></tr><tr><th>Swedish ⟨G⟩</th><td>god [ɡuːd] ⓘ</td><td>göra [ˈjœ̂ːra] ⓘ</td></tr><tr><th>Swedish ⟨SK⟩</th><td>skal [skɑːl] ⓘ</td><td>skälla [ˈɧɛ̂lːa] ⓘ</td></tr></tbody></table> <h2 id="occurrences">Occurrences</h2> <p>According to <a href="/facts/PHOIBLE/2qqHhjzI">PHOIBLE</a>, /<a href="/facts/Close_front_unrounded_vowel/rSUdlCPU">i</a>/ is the most common phonemic front vowel, occurring in around 92% of inventories, while /<a href="/facts/Open_front_rounded_vowel/LYCsdeG7">ɶ</a>/ is the least common, occurring in only one inventory on the database.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:5" href="#fn:5"><sup>5</sup></a> </p> Frequency of front vowels<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:6" href="#fn:6"><sup>6</sup></a><table><tbody><tr><th>Vowel</th><th>%</th></tr><tr><td>/<a href="/facts/Close_front_unrounded_vowel/rSUdlCPU">i</a>/</td><td>92</td></tr><tr><td>/<a href="/facts/Open_front_unrounded_vowel/s80pvmYh">a</a>/</td><td>88</td></tr><tr><td>/<a href="/facts/Close-mid_front_unrounded_vowel/e9YNLF97">e</a>/</td><td>61</td></tr><tr><td>/<a href="/facts/Open-mid_front_unrounded_vowel/aDRvwE46">ɛ</a>/</td><td>37</td></tr><tr><td>/<a href="/facts/Near-close_near-front_unrounded_vowel/1eQAfkDy">ɪ</a>/</td><td>15</td></tr><tr><td>/<a href="/facts/Near-open_front_unrounded_vowel/YFxhvcEV">æ</a>/</td><td>7</td></tr><tr><td>/<a href="/facts/Close_front_rounded_vowel/fAyNrUxL">y</a>/</td><td>6</td></tr><tr><td>/<a href="/facts/Close-mid_front_rounded_vowel/pNpR6XNS">ø</a>/</td><td>3</td></tr><tr><td>/<a href="/facts/Open-mid_front_rounded_vowel/AK5Dq8Vl">œ</a>/</td><td>3</td></tr><tr><td>/<a href="/facts/Near-close_near-front_rounded_vowel/lKezDteS">ʏ</a>/</td><td>1</td></tr><tr><td>/<a href="/facts/Open_front_rounded_vowel/LYCsdeG7">ɶ</a>/</td><td>0<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:7" href="#fn:7"><sup>7</sup></a></td></tr></tbody></table> <h2 id="see-also">See also</h2> <ul><li><a href="/facts/Central_vowel/IFSaKUe9">Central vowel</a></li> <li><a href="/facts/Back_vowel/gyHoGCH0">Back vowel</a></li> <li><a href="/facts/List_of_phonetics_topics/IwhbEHGN">List of phonetics topics</a></li> <li><a href="/facts/Relative_articulation/tr1T3A3s">Relative articulation</a></li></ul> <h2 id="references">References</h2> <ol> <li id="fn:1"><p>Tsur, Reuven (February 1992). The Poetic Mode of Speech Perception. Duke University Press. p. 20. ISBN 0-8223-1170-4. <a href="0-8223-1170-4" target="_blank">0-8223-1170-4</a> <a href="#fnref:1" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:2"><p>Scott Moisik, Ewa Czaykowska-Higgins, & John H. Esling (2012) "The Epilaryngeal Articulator: A New Conceptual Tool for Understanding Lingual-Laryngeal Contrasts" <a href="https://www.mcgill.ca/mcgwpl/files/mcgwpl/moisik2012.pdf" target="_blank">https://www.mcgill.ca/mcgwpl/files/mcgwpl/moisik2012.pdf</a> <a href="#fnref:2" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:3"><p>Palatalization of /si/, /ti/ etc. is shown in spelling in Hepburn romanization. <a href="/wiki/Hepburn_romanization" target="_blank">/wiki/Hepburn_romanization</a> <a href="#fnref:3" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:4"><p>Palatalization of /si/, /ti/ etc. is shown in spelling in Hepburn romanization. <a href="/wiki/Hepburn_romanization" target="_blank">/wiki/Hepburn_romanization</a> <a href="#fnref:4" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:5"><p>Steven Moran and Daniel McCloy, ed. (2019). PHOIBLE 2.0. Jena: Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History. <a href="https://phoible.org" target="_blank">https://phoible.org</a> <a href="#fnref:5" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:6"><p>Steven Moran and Daniel McCloy, ed. (2019). PHOIBLE 2.0. Jena: Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History. <a href="https://phoible.org" target="_blank">https://phoible.org</a> <a href="#fnref:6" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:7"><p>Of the phonological inventories listed on PHOIBLE, ɶ only occurs in Northern Altai <a href="/wiki/Northern_Altai" target="_blank">/wiki/Northern_Altai</a> <a href="#fnref:7" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> </ol>