Close Vowel

A close vowel (/kloʊz/) is a type of vowel sound used in many spoken languages. The defining characteristic of a close vowel is that the tongue is positioned as close as possible to the roof of the mouth without creating a constriction that would be classified as a consonant.

This term is prescribed by the International Phonetic Association. Close vowels are often referred to as high vowels, as in the Americanist phonetic tradition, because the tongue is positioned high in the mouth during the articulation of a close vowel.

The six close vowels identified within the International Phonetic Alphabet are:

  • close front unrounded vowel
  • close front rounded vowel
  • close central unrounded vowel
  • close central rounded vowel
  • close back unrounded vowel
  • close back rounded vowel

In the context of the phonology of any particular language, a high vowel can be any vowel that is more close than a mid vowel. That is, close-mid vowels, near-close vowels, and close vowels can all be considered high vowels.

International Phonetic Alphabet
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Consonants
IPA pulmonic consonantschart image • audio
Place → Labial Coronal Dorsal Radical Glottal
↓ Manner Bila­bial Labio-​dental Den​tal Alve​olar Post­alveolar Retro​flex Alveolo-​palatal Pal​a​tal Ve​lar Uvu​lar Pha​ryn​geal Epi​glot​tal Glot​tal
Nasal m̥ m ɱ n̪ n̥ n n̠ ɳ̊ ɳ ɲ̟ ɲ̊ ɲ ŋ̊ ŋ ɴ
Stop p b p̪ b̪ t̪ d̪ t d ʈ ɖ c ɟ k ɡ q ɢ ʡ ʔ
Fricative ɸ β f v θ ð s z ʃ ʒ ʂ ʐ ɕ ʑ ç ʝ x ɣ χ ʁ ħ ʕ ʜ ʢ h ɦ
Approximant ʋ ɹ ɻ j̊ j ɰ
Flap or tap ⱱ̟ ⱱ ɾ ɽ ɢ̆ ʡ̯
Trill ʙ r̥ r ɽ͡r ʀ ᴙ *
Lateral fricative ɬ ɮ ɭ˔̊ ʎ̥˔ ʟ̝̊ ʟ̝
Lateral approximant l̪ l̥ l ɭ ʎ̟ ʎ ʟ
Lateral flap ɺ ɺ̠ ʎ̯ ʟ̆
Non-pulmonic consonants
Clicks ʘ ǀ ǃ ǂ ǁ
ʘ̃ ʘ̃ˀ ʘ͡q ʘ͡qʼ ‼
Implosives ɓ ɗ ʄ ᶑ ɠ ʛ
Ejectives pʼ t̪ʼ tʼ cʼ ʈʼ kʼ qʼ
fʼ θʼ sʼ ɬʼ ʃʼ ʂʼ ɕʼ xʼ χʼ
tsʼ tɬʼ cʎ̝̥ʼ tʃʼ ʈʂʼ kxʼ kʟ̝̊ʼ qχʼ
Affricates
p̪f b̪v ts dz tʃ dʒ tɕ dʑ ʈʂ ɖʐ
tɬ dɮ cç ɟʝ cʎ̥˔ kx ɡɣ kʟ̝̊ ɡʟ̝
qχ ɢʁ
Co-articulated consonants
Continuants ʍ w ɥ ɧ
Occlusives k͡p ɡ͡b ŋ͡m
These tables contain phonetic symbols, which may not display correctly in some browsers.
Where symbols appear in pairs, left—right represent the voiceless—voiced consonants.
Shaded areas denote pulmonic articulations judged to be impossible.
* Symbol not defined in IPA.
Chart image
  • Pulmonics
  • Non-pulmonics
  • Affricates
  • Co-articulated
Vowels
Front Near-​front Central Near-​back Back
Close
•iy •ɨʉ •ɯu •ɪʏ •ɪ̈ʊ̈ •ʊ •eø •ɘɵ •ɤo •e̞ø̞ ə •ɤ̞o̞ •ɛœ •ɜɞ •ʌɔ •æ ɐ •aɶ •ä •ɑɒ
Near-close
Close-mid
Mid
Open-mid
Near-open
Open
Vowels: IPA help • chart • chart with audio • view

Famous quotes containing the words close and/or vowel:

    “We are close to dead. There are faces and bodies like gorged maggots on the dance floor, on the highway, in the city, in the stadium; they are a host of chemical machines who swallow the product of chemical factories, aspirin, preservatives, stimulant, relaxant, and breathe out their chemical wastes into a polluted air. The sense of a long last night over civilization is back again.”
    —Norman Mailer (b. 1923)

    “Brute animals have the vowel sounds; man only can utter consonants.”
    —Samuel Taylor Coleridge (1772–1834)