A near-open vowel or a near-low vowel is any in a class of

vowel A vowel is a syllabic speech sound pronounced without any stricture in the vocal tract. Vowels are one of the two principal classes of speech sounds, the other being the consonant. Vowels vary in quality, in loudness and also in quantity (l ...

sound used in some spoken

language Language is a structured system of communication. The structure of a language is its grammar and the free components are its vocabulary. Languages are the primary means by which humans communicate, and may be conveyed through a variety of ...

s. The defining characteristic of a near-open vowel is that the tongue is positioned similarly to an

open vowel An open vowel is a vowel sound in which the tongue is positioned as far as possible from the roof of the mouth. Open vowels are sometimes also called low vowels (in U.S. terminology ) in reference to the low position of the tongue. In the cont ...

, but slightly more constricted. Other names for a near-open vowel are lowered open-mid vowel and raised open vowel, though the former phrase may also be used to describe a vowel that is as low as

open Open or OPEN may refer to: Music * Open (band), Australian pop/rock band * The Open (band), English indie rock band * ''Open'' (Blues Image album), 1969 * ''Open'' (Gotthard album), 1999 * ''Open'' (Cowboy Junkies album), 2001 * ''Open'' (Y ...

; likewise, the latter phrase may also be used to describe a vowel that is as high as

open-mid An open-mid vowel (also mid-open vowel, low-mid vowel, mid-low vowel or half-open vowel) is any in a class of vowel sound used in some spoken languages. The defining characteristic of an open-mid vowel is that the tongue is positioned one third ...

Partial list

The near-open vowels with dedicated symbols in the International Phonetic Alphabet are: * near-open front unrounded vowel * near-open central vowel without specified rounding (usually used for an unrounded vowel; the distinction can be made as (or ) vs ) Other near-open vowels can be indicated with diacritics of relative articulation applied to letters for neighboring vowels, such as and for near-open near-back rounded and unrounded vowels.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Near-Open Vowel Vowels by height