Vowel chart

A vowel diagram or vowel chart is a schematic arrangement of vowels within a phonetic system (though also often used in phonemic descriptions). Vowels do not differ in place, manner, or voicing in the same way that consonants do. Instead, vowels are distinguished primarily based on their height (vertical position), backness (horizontal position), and roundedness (lip articulation). The degrees of height and backness may be used to describe either tongue articulation or acoustic quality, depending on the method of analysis. The former is the more traditional method, while the latter is the more modern method.