Perusvokaaleissa

Perusvokaaleissa, also known as cardinal vowels in English, are a set of reference points for classifying vowel sounds in phonetics. They are not specific sounds of any particular language but rather theoretical points in the vowel space that represent the extreme possible positions for the tongue. These extreme positions are determined by how high or low the tongue is in the mouth and how far forward or backward it is.

There are eight cardinal vowels, numbered one through eight. Cardinal vowels one, two, and three represent the highest, mid-front, and lowest front vowels, respectively. Cardinal vowels four, five, and six represent the highest, mid-back, and lowest back vowels, respectively. Cardinal vowels seven and eight represent the central vowels, typically a mid-central and a low-central position. Each cardinal vowel is associated with a specific tongue position and a characteristic sound quality. For example, cardinal vowel one is a high front unrounded vowel, like the 'i' in "see". Cardinal vowel five is a mid-back rounded vowel, similar to the 'o' in "go".

The system of cardinal vowels was developed by Daniel Jones in the early 20th century. It provides a standardized framework for describing and comparing vowel sounds across different languages. Phonetician's use cardinal vowels as a reference to transcribe the precise pronunciation of vowels, helping to distinguish subtle differences in sound that might not be obvious otherwise. While no language contains all eight cardinal vowels, many languages have vowels that are very close to these reference points.