Editing Open vowel (section)

{{Short description|Type of vowel sound}}
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An '''open vowel''' is a [[vowel]] sound in which the tongue is positioned approximately as far as possible from the roof of the mouth. Open vowels are sometimes also called '''low vowels''' (in U.S. terminology <ref name="Concise Oxford Companion to the English Language">{{cite web|title=VOWEL QUALITY
|url=http://www.encyclopedia.com/humanities/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/vowel-quality|publisher=Oxford University Press|access-date=20 April 2017}}</ref>) in reference to the low position of the tongue.

In the context of the [[phonology]] of any particular language, a ''low vowel'' can be any vowel that is more open than a [[mid vowel]]. That is, [[open-mid vowel]]s, [[near-open vowel]]s, and open vowels can all be considered low vowels.