Cardinal vowels

This article contains phonetic transcriptions in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA). For an introductory guide on IPA symbols, see Help:IPA. For the distinction between [ ], / / and ⟨ ⟩, see IPA § Brackets and transcription delimiters.

Cardinal vowels are a set of reference vowels used by phoneticians in describing the sounds of languages. They are classified depending on the position of the tongue relative to the roof of the mouth, how far forward or back is the highest point of the tongue, and the position of the lips (rounded or unrounded).

A cardinal vowel is a vowel sound produced when the tongue is in an extreme position, either front or back, high or low. The current system was systematised by Daniel Jones in the early 20th century,^[1] though the idea goes back to earlier phoneticians, notably Ellis^[2] and Bell.^[3]

^ Jones, Daniel (1917). An English Pronouncing Dictionary. London: Dent.
^ Ellis, A.J. (1845). The Alphabet of Nature. Bath.
^ Bell, A.M. (1867). Visible Speech. London.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)

[1] Jones, Daniel (1917). An English Pronouncing Dictionary. London: Dent.

[2] Ellis, A.J. (1845). The Alphabet of Nature. Bath.

[3] Bell, A.M. (1867). Visible Speech. London.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)

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