A vocal, or sometimes a whispered, sound modified by resonance in the oral passage, the peculiar resonance in each case giving to each several vowel its distinctive character or quality as a sound of speech; -- distinguished from a consonant in that the latter, whether made with or without vocality, derives its character in every case from some kind of obstructive action by the mouth organs. Also, a letter or character which represents such a sound. See Guide to Pronunciation, §§ 5, 146-149.
Of or pertaining to a vowel; vocal.
One of the two main classes of speech sounds (which also includes diphthongs and triphthongs) in the articulation of which the breath channel is not blocked and not restricted so as to cause friction. A vowel is the most prominent part in a syllable. Examples: /a/, /e/, /i/, /o/, /u/. Complementary term: consonant.
A voiced speech sound made without stoppage or friction of the air flow as it passes through the vocal tract. Note: the letters a, e, _, o, u and sometimes y function as vowels in the English language.
In terms of sound production, a vowel is a single speech sound produced by vibrating the vocal cords and not obstructing the mouth in any way, as in the // of bank, shaped by the position of the lips into rounded and unrounded sounds as in English /i:/ bee and /u:/ boo, and by the position of the tongue into open/close as in English /u:/ loot vs // lot and front/back as in English /e/ bet versus /u/ foot. In terms of sound structure, a vowel typically occurs as the core of the syllable rather than at the beginning or the end, thus contrasting with consonant.
a speech sound made with the vocal tract open
a letter of the alphabet standing for a spoken vowel
a Letter having an audible sound without the addition of another Letter
a letter which forms a perfect sound when pronounced alone
a letter which makes a distinct sound by itself
a musical tone produced by the vibrations of the vocal cords
a phoneme or a speech sound characterized by an open configuration of the vocal tract
a sound in spoken language (or a letter of the alphabet denoting such a sound) that has a sounding voice (vocal sound) of its own
a sound in spoken language that has a sounding voice (vocal sound) of its own, it is produced by comparatively open configuration of the vocal tract
a sound without detectable change in quality from beginning to end
A set of sounds that include , , , , and in Inezeño. You can draw them out; they carry the pitch and loudness of your voice.
1. speech sound produced without obstruction or friction in the mouth. 2. letter representing such a sound.
one of 5 letters in the English alphabet, namely, 'a,e,i,o,u'
One of the basic categories of speech sound. Vowels typically (a) are characterised by there being no constriction or closure of the vocal tract, (b) are the nuclei of syllables.
The letters a,e,i,o and u (see also consonant).
the open sounds made in speech - as (mainly) distinct from consonants
"A voiced speech sound made without stoppage or friction of the air flow as it passes though the vocal tract" (Harris & Hodges, 1995).
a speech sound made without complete closure or friction in the mouth, so that the air escapes easily over the centre of the tongue; the written symbol used to represent such a sound.
A letter, such as a, e, i, o, u, and sometimes y in the English alphabet, that represents a vowel. Back to the top
a letter and a sound. The vowels in the alphabet are represented by the letters a, e, i, o, u and sometimes and
In phonetics, a vowel is a sound in spoken language that is characterized by an open configuration of the vocal tract so that there is no build-up of air pressure above the glottis. This contrasts with consonants, which are characterized by a constriction or closure at one or more points along the vocal tract. A vowel is also understood to be syllabic: an equivalent open but non-syllabic sound is called a semivowel.