Definition

Noun: A vowel sound is a speech sound produced with an open vocal tract, allowing air to flow freely without significant obstruction. It typically forms the core, or nucleus, of a syllable.

Usage

The term "vowel sound" is used in phonetics and linguistics to classify and describe the open, resonant sounds in speech. It is a technical term but is also used in general language learning contexts to distinguish these sounds from consonant sounds. It refers to the actual sound produced, not the written letter.

Examples

• The word "cat" contains one vowel sound (/æ/).
• In English, the letters 'a', 'e', 'i', 'o', 'u' and sometimes 'y' can represent different vowel sounds.
• Linguists study how vowel sounds vary between different accents.
• The vowel sound in "see" is different from the vowel sound in "sit".

Advanced Usage

• Monophthong: A pure, single vowel sound with a constant quality (e.g., the /ɑː/ sound in "father").
• Diphthong: A complex vowel sound that glides from one vowel quality to another within the same syllable (e.g., the /aɪ/ sound in "price").
• Vowel Reduction: In connected speech, vowel sounds in unstressed syllables often become a centralized, weaker sound like the schwa (/ə/).

Variants and Related Words

• Vowel (n): Often used interchangeably with "vowel sound," but can also refer specifically to the letter representing such a sound.
• Consonant sound (n): A speech sound made with a significant obstruction of the airflow in the vocal tract.
• Schwa (n): The name for the most common vowel sound in English (/ə/), which occurs in many unstressed syllables (e.g., the 'a' in "about").

Synonyms

• Vocoid (a technical phonetic term for a vowel-like sound)

Related Phrases and Concepts

• Vowel quality: The characteristic sound of a vowel sound, determined by the position of the tongue and lips.
• Vowel length: The duration of a vowel sound (e.g., long vowels vs. short vowels).
• Vowel harmony: A phonological process found in some languages where vowel sounds within a word must share certain features.

Noun

1. a speech sound made with the vocal tract open