bakvokaler

Bakvokaler, or back vowels, are vowels produced with the tongue body retracted toward the back of the mouth. They form a key dimension of vowel quality along the front–back axis and are typically contrasted with front vowels in a language’s vowel system. In many languages, back vowels are also marked by lip rounding, although unrounded back vowels occur in several languages as well.

Articulation and organization: Back vowels exist across different heights, from high (close) to mid and open (low). The main distinguishing feature is tongue position, while rounding is a common, language-dependent property that can co-occur with backness. The exact set of back vowels varies by language and dialect, with some inventories containing only a few back vowels and others featuring several distinct members.

Cross-language usage: Back vowels are widespread in the phonemic inventories of many languages. They often interact with front vowels in simple contrasts or, in some languages, participate in more complex systems such as vowel harmony. For example, in Turkish there is a prominent back-vowel system that works together with front vowels in harmony processes. In Norwegian and Swedish, back vowels are part of the standard vowel inventory and are distinguished from front vowels by both height and rounding in many dialects. Diachronic change can also affect back vowels, leading to shifts in height, rounding, or merging with neighboring vowels.

See also: front vowel, vowel harmony.