päävokaalia
Päävokaalia, often translated as "front vowel," refers to vowel sounds produced with the highest point of the tongue positioned towards the front of the mouth. In phonetics, this distinction is crucial for classifying vowel articulations. The primary front vowels are typically the high front unrounded vowel /i/, as in the English word "see," and the mid front unrounded vowel /e/, as in "say." Another common front vowel is the low front unrounded vowel /a/, as in "father."
The position of the tongue in the mouth is a key differentiator for vowels, with other categories
In Finnish, for example, the front vowels are /y/, /ø/, and /i/, representing high, mid, and low