vowel
Not a consonant
A vowel is a speech sound produced with an open vocal tract—the letters A, E, I, O, U, and sometimes Y represent these sounds in English.
Vowels form the core of syllables; every syllable needs at least one.
The term also refers to the letters themselves: The word "rhythm" has no vowels except Y.
Consonants are the contrasting category.
Indefinite singular article
- eFifth alphabetic character
- uInformal second-person abbreviation
- yAlphabet's penultimate letter
- alphabetLanguage's letter system
spelling · written · orthography · grapheme · character · script · digraph · trigraph
Complex vowel gliding between positions
- monophthongSteady, ungliding vowel sound
- schwaNeutral unstressed vowel
- roundedHaving no sharp angles
- unroundedNot made circular
Central controlling part
- onsetStarting point of something
- codaClosing musical passage
- peakUtmost height attained
- rhymeMatching terminal sounds
stress · accent · sonority · syllabic · prominence · duration · weight · tone
Manner of speaking words
- enunciationClarity of spoken words
- articulationClear vocal expression
- vocalizationProducing sounds with voice
- clarityState of being understandable
slur · drawl · accent · dialect · elocution · spoken · utterance · oral
Agreement or musical blend
- reductionMaking something smaller
- lengtheningIncreasing in extent
- shorteningReducing length or duration
- shiftMovement or work period
mutation · elision · gradation · alternation · weakening · nasalization · rounding · fronting
a
Indefinite singular article
alphabet · spelling · written · orthography · grapheme · character · script · digraph · trigraph
diphthong
Complex vowel gliding between positions
- monophthongSteady, ungliding vowel sound
- schwaNeutral unstressed vowel
- roundedHaving no sharp angles
unrounded · tense · lax · open · close · mid · front · back · central · nasal
nucleus
Central controlling part
rhyme · stress · accent · sonority · syllabic · prominence · duration · weight · tone · prosody
pronunciation
Manner of speaking words
- enunciationClarity of spoken words
- articulationClear vocal expression
- vocalizationProducing sounds with voice
clarity · slur · drawl · accent · dialect · elocution · spoken · utterance · oral · sound
harmony
Agreement or musical blend
- reductionMaking something smaller
- lengtheningIncreasing in extent
- shorteningReducing length or duration
shift · mutation · elision · gradation · alternation · weakening · nasalization · rounding · fronting · backing
- long vowelsVowels pronounced as names
- short vowelBrief vocalic phoneme
- vowel soundUnobstructed speech tone
- front vowelSound made tongue-forward
- Great Vowel ShiftHistorical English pronunciation change
- rounded vowelsVowels with lip protrusion