vokaler

Vokaler (vowels) are speech sounds produced with an open vocal tract that allows the air to flow without a significant constriction. They typically form the nucleus of syllables and serve as the most prominent carrier of vocalic quality in many languages. The contrast between vowels and consonants is central to most phonologies, with vowels usually being voiced and produced without the kind of constriction that characterizes many consonants.

Articulatory features of vokaler include tongue height (high, mid, low), tongue frontness (front, central, back), and lip rounding (rounded vs unrounded). These features combine to create a vowel system of distinct qualities. Vowels can be monophthongs, having a single stable quality, or diphthongs, which begin with one quality and glide to another. In addition, many languages distinguish vowel length phonemically, meaning short and long vowels can change word meaning.

Languages vary greatly in their vowel inventories. Some have small inventories with a handful of vowels; others have rich systems with numerous vowels and contrasts such as rounding, nasalization, or advanced tongue root. Phonological processes involving vowels include vowel harmony (where vowels within a word share certain features), vowel reduction in unstressed syllables, and the presence of nasal vowels in surrounding nasal consonants.

Orthography usually represents vokaler with separate vowel letters, though diacritics may indicate length, tone, nasalization, or stress. Vowels are a fundamental element of phonology, with diverse articulations and phonological roles across languages.