Topic summary
Vowel backness
Extracted from the Wikipedia article Vowel.
Backness
Within the traditional models, vowel backness is named for the horizontal position of the tongue during the articulation of a vowel, relative to the back of the mouth. In front vowels, such as [i], the position of the tongue is more forward in the mouth, whereas in back vowels, such as [u], the tongue is positioned towards the back of the mouth.