Open front unrounded vowel

Template:Short description Template:For Template:Infobox IPA Template:IPA vowels

The open front unrounded vowel, or low front unrounded vowel,<ref>Template:Vowel terminology</ref> is a type of vowel sound used in some spoken languages. It is one of the eight primary cardinal vowels, not directly intended to correspond to a vowel sound of a specific language but rather to serve as a fundamental reference point in a phonetic measuring system.<ref>John Coleman: Cardinal vowels</ref>

The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) that represents this sound is Template:Angbr IPA, a double-story lowercase a. In the IPA vowel chart it is positioned at the lower-left corner. However, the accuracy of the quadrilateral vowel chart is disputed, and the sound has been analyzed acoustically as extra-open at a position where the front/back distinction has lost its significance. There are also differing interpretations of the exact quality of the vowel: the classic sound recording of {{#invoke:IPA|main}} by Daniel Jones is slightly more front but not quite as open as that by John Wells.<ref>Geoff Lindsey (2013) The vowel space, Speech Talk</ref>

In practice, the symbol Template:Angbr IPA is often used to represent an open central unrounded vowel.<ref>Keith Johnson: Vowels in the languages of the world Template:Webarchive (PDF), p. 9</ref> This is the usual practice, for example, in the historical study of the English language. The loss of separate symbols for open and near-open front vowels is usually considered unproblematic, because the perceptual difference between the two is quite small, and very few languages contrast the two. If there is a need to specify the backness of the vowel as fully front one can use the symbol Template:Angbr IPA, which denotes a lowered near-open front unrounded vowel, or Template:Angbr IPA with the IPA "advanced" diacritic.

Features

Template:Open vowel Template:Front vowel This subsumes central open (central low) vowels because the tongue does not have as much flexibility in positioning as it does in the mid and close (high) vowels; the difference between an open front vowel and an open back vowel is similar to the difference between a close front and a close central vowel, or a close central and a close back vowel. Template:Unrounded vowel

File:IPA a Sagittal Section.svg

Sagittal section of a vocal tract pronouncing the IPA sound Template:Angbr IPA. A wavy glottis in this diagram indicates a voiced sound.

Occurrence

Many languages have some form of an unrounded open vowel. For languages that have only a single open vowel, the symbol for this vowel Template:Angbr may be used because it is the only open vowel whose symbol is part of the basic Latin alphabet. Whenever marked as such, the vowel is closer to a central {{#invoke:IPA|main}} than to a front {{#invoke:IPA|main}}. However, there may not actually be much of a difference. (See Vowel#Acoustics.)

Language		Word	IPA	Meaning	Notes
Afrikaans	StandardTemplate:Sfnp	lang}}	main}}	'roof'	Near-front.Template:Sfnp See Afrikaans phonology
Arabic	StandardTemplate:Sfnp	lang}} (anā)	main}}	'I' 1st person singular pronoun	See Arabic phonology
Azerbaijani Template:Sfnp	Standard	lang}}	main}}	'sound'	Typically transcribed with Template:Angbr IPA.
Bulgarian Template:Sfnp		lang}} (nay)	main}}	'most'	Near-front.Template:Sfnp
Catalan	Majorcan Template:Sfnp	lang}}	main}}	'bag'	main}}-fronting. More central (Template:IPAblink or {{#invoke:IPA\|main}}) or back (Template:IPAblink) in other dialects; fully front {{#invoke:IPA\|main}} in Majorcan Catalan. It can be higher (Template:IPAblink).Template:Sfnp See Catalan phonology
Catalan	Many dialectsTemplate:Sfnp	lang}}	main}}	'ray'	main}} in contact with palatal consonants.Template:Sfnp It can be higher (Template:IPAblink). See Catalan phonology
Chinese	Mandarin Template:Sfnp	lang}} ({{#invoke:Lang\|lang}})	Template:Audio-IPA	'safe'	main}} before {{#invoke:IPA\|main}}.Template:Sfnp See Standard Chinese phonology
Dutch	StandardTemplate:Sfnp Template:Sfnp	lang}}	main}}	'bait'	Ranges from front to central.Template:Sfnp See Dutch phonology
Dutch	Utrecht Template:Sfnp	lang}}	main}}	'bath'	Corresponds to Template:IPAblink in Northern Standard Dutch. See Dutch phonology
English	Australian Template:Sfnp	hat	Template:Audio-IPA	'hat'	Most common pronunciation among younger speakers.Template:Sfnp Older speakers typically use Template:IPAblink. See Australian English phonology
	California Template:Sfnp<ref name="thomas308">Template:Harvcoltxt: A few younger speakers from, e.g., Texas, who show the Template:Sc2/Template:Sc2 merger have Template:Sc2 shifted toward {{#invoke:IPA\|main}}, but this retraction is not yet as common as in some non-Southern regions (e.g., California and Canada), though it is increasing in parts of the Midwest on the margins of the South (e.g., central Ohio).</ref>				Less open Template:IPAblink in other North American varieties. See English phonology and Canadian Shift
	Canadian<ref name="thomas308"/>Template:Sfnp
	Some Central Ohioan speakers<ref name="thomas308"/>
	Some Texan speakers<ref name="thomas308"/>
	Northern Suburbs of Johannesburg Template:Sfnp				Closer Template:IPAblink in General South African English. See South African English phonology
	Received Pronunciation<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1\|citation				CitationClass=web }}</ref>\|\| Closer Template:IPAblink in Conservative Received Pronunciation. See English phonology
	Scouse<ref>Template:Citation</ref>		main}}
	East Anglian Template:Sfnp	{{#invoke:Lang\|lang}}	{{#invoke:IPA\|main}}	'bra'	Realized as central Template:IPAblink by middle-class speakers.Template:Sfnp
	Inland Northern American<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1\|citation		{{#invoke:IPA\|main}}		CitationClass=web }}</ref> \|\| Less front [[[:Template:IPA link]] ~ Template:IPA link] in other American dialects. See Northern cities vowel shift
	New Zealand Template:Sfnp		main}}		main}}, open central Template:IPAblink, near-open near-front Template:IPAblink and near-open central Template:IPAblink.Template:Sfnp May be transcribed in IPA with Template:Angbr IPA. See New Zealand English phonology
French	Conservative ParisianTemplate:Sfnp Template:Sfnp	lang}}	main}}	'paw'	Contrasts with Template:IPAslink, but many speakers have only one open vowel (phonetically central Template:IPAblink).Template:Sfnp See French phonology
French	Quebec Template:Sfnp	lang}}	main}}	'stopping'	Contrasts with Template:IPAslink.Template:Sfnp See Quebec French phonology
German	Altbayern accentTemplate:Sfnp	lang}}	main}}	'water masses'	Also illustrates the back Template:IPAslink, with which it contrasts.Template:Sfnp See Standard German phonology
German	Many Austrian accentsTemplate:Sfnp	lang}}	main}}	'near'	Less front in other accents.Template:Sfnp See Standard German phonology
Igbo Template:Sfnp		lang}}	main}}	'kernel'
Khmer		lang}} (Template:Transliteration)	main}}	'to disappear'	See Khmer phonology
Khmer		lang}} (Template:Transliteration)	main}}	'bottom'	See Khmer phonology
Kurdish	Palewani (Southern)	lang}} (gen)	main}}	'bad'	Equal to Sorani (Central) near-front Template:IPAblink. See Kurdish phonology
Limburgish	Many dialectsTemplate:Sfnp Template:Sfnp Template:Sfnp	lang}}	main}}	'boss'	Near-front;Template:Sfnp Template:Sfnp Template:Sfnp realized as central Template:IPAblink in some other dialects.Template:Sfnp The example word is from the Maastrichtian dialect.
Low German Template:Sfnp		lang}} / {{#invoke:Lang\|lang}}	main}}	'day'	Backness may vary among dialects.Template:Sfnp
Luxembourgish Template:Sfnp		lang}}	main}}	'cap'	Near-front; sometimes fronted and raised to Template:IPAblink.Template:Sfnp See Luxembourgish phonology
Malay	Standard	رق (rak)	main}}	'shelf'	Can be central Template:IPAblink. See Malay phonology
Norwegian	Stavangersk Template:Sfnp	lang}}	main}}	'hat'	See Norwegian phonology
Norwegian	Trondheimsk Template:Sfnp	lang}}	main}}	'leather'	See Norwegian phonology
Polish Template:Sfnp		lang}}	Template:Audio-IPA	'egg'	main}} between palatal or palatalized consonants. See Polish phonology
Spanish	Eastern Andalusian Template:Sfnp	{{#invoke:Lang\|lang}}	{{#invoke:IPA\|main}}	'the mothers'	Corresponds to Template:IPAblink in other dialects, but in these dialects they are distinct. See Spanish phonology
Spanish	Murcian Template:Sfnp	{{#invoke:Lang\|lang}}	{{#invoke:IPA\|main}}	'the mothers'
Swedish	Central StandardTemplate:Sfnp Template:Sfnp	lang}}	main}}	'bank'	main}},Template:Sfnp near-front {{#invoke:IPA\|main}}Template:Sfnp and central Template:IPAblink.Template:Sfnp See Swedish phonology
Turkish		lang}}	main}}	'paper'	Only occurs with â (a with "circumflex"), which is not originally in the Turkish alphabet. Also described as central Template:IPAblink.
West Frisian	AasterskTemplate:Sfnp	lang}}	main}}	'ship's biscuit'	Contrasts with a back Template:IPAslink.Template:Sfnp See West Frisian phonology