IPA|ipa-number304|ipa
The open front unrounded vowel is a type of vowel sound, used in some spoken languages. The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet that represents this sound is , and the equivalent X-SAMPA symbol is a.

This symbol is very frequently used for an open central unrounded vowel, and this usage is accepted by the International Phonetic Association. Since no language distinguishes front from central open vowels, a separate symbol is not considered necessary. If required, the difference may be specified with the central diacritic, .

Features
  • Its vowel height is open, which means the tongue is positioned as far as possible from the roof of the mouth.

  • Its vowel backness is front which means the tongue is positioned as far forward as possible in the mouth without creating a constriction that would be classified as a consonant. This subsumes central open vowels because the tongue does not have as much flexibility in positioning as it does for the close vowels; the difference between an open front vowel and an open back vowel is equal to the difference between a close front and a close mid vowel, or a close mid and a close back vowel.

  • Its vowel roundedness is unrounded, which means that the lips are not rounded.


    • Occurrence
    Most languages have some form of an unrounded open vowel. For languages that only have a single low vowel, the symbol for this vowel is usually used because it is the only low vowel whose symbol is part of the basic Latin alphabet. Whenever marked as such, the vowel is closer to a central than to a front .


    ! colspan="2"|Language !! Word !! IPA!! Meaning !! Notes
    |-
    | colspan="2" align="center"| Cantonese||align="center"| 沙/''saa1'' ||align="center"| ||align="center"| 'sand'|| See Standard Cantonese
    |-
    | colspan="2" align="center"| Croatian||align="center"| ''patka'' ||align="center"| ||align="center"| 'duck'||
    |-
    | colspan="2" align="center"| Czech||align="center"| ''amerika'' ||align="center"| ||align="center"| 'america'||
    |-
    | colspan="2" align="center"| Dutch||align="center"| ''zaal'' ||align="center"| ||align="center"| 'hall'|| In some dialects, this may actually be a back vowel. See Dutch phonology
    |-
    | rowspan="4" align="center"| English || align="center"|AmE dialects of the Great Lakes|| align="center"| ''stock''||align="center"|||align="center" | 'stock'|| See Northern cities vowel shift
    |-
    | align="center" |AuE and NZE || align="center"| ''cart'' || align="center"| ||align="center"| 'cart' || See Australian English phonology
    |-
    | align="center"|Boston English|| align="center"| ''star''||align="center"|||align="center" | 'star'||
    |-
    | align="center"|CaE and numerous dialects of the UK || align="center"| ''bat''||align="center"|||align="center" | 'bat'|| See Canadian Shift
    |-
    | colspan="2" align="center"| French ||align="center"| ''patte'' ||align="center"| ||align="center"| 'paw'|| See French phonology.
    |-
    | colspan="2" align="center"| German ||align="center"| ''Rat'' ||align="center"| ||align="center"| 'advice'|| In some dialects, this may actually be a back vowel. See German phonology
    |-
    | colspan="2" align="center"| Greek ||align="center"| ακακία ||align="center"| ||align="center"| 'acacia'|| See Modern Greek phonology
    |-
    | colspan="2" align="center"| Hungarian ||align="center"| ''káka'' ||align="center"| ||align="center"| 'juncus'|| See Hungarian phonology
    |-
    | colspan="2" align="center"| Igbo ||align="center"| ''ákụ'' ||align="center"| ||align="center"| 'kernal'||
    |-
    | colspan="2" align="center"| Italian ||align="center"| ''amore'' ||align="center"| ||align="center"| 'love'|| See Italian phonology
    |-
    | colspan="2" align="center"| Japanese ||align="center"| 蚊/''ka'' ||align="center"| ||align="center"| 'mosquito'|| See Japanese phonology
    |-
    | colspan="2" align="center"| Polish ||align="center"| ''mowa'' ||align="center"| ||align="center"| 'speech'|| See Polish phonology
    |-
    | colspan="2" align="center"| Portuguese ||align="center"| ''há'' ||align="center"| ||align="center"| 'there is'|| See Portuguese phonology
    |-
    | colspan="2" align="center"| Romanian ||align="center"| ''cal'' ||align="center"| ||align="center"| 'horse'|| See Romanian phonology
    |-
    | colspan="2" align="center"| Russian ||align="center"| там ||align="center"| ||align="center"| 'there'|| See Russian phonology
    |-
    | colspan="2" align="center"| Serbian ||align="center"| лако/''lako'' ||align="center"| ||align="center"| 'enjoyment'||
    |-
    | colspan="2" align="center"| Scottish Gaelic ||align="center"| ''slat'' ||align="center"| ||align="center"| 'yard'||
    |-
    | colspan="2" align="center"| Spanish ||align="center"| ''rata'' ||align="center"| ||align="center"| 'rat'|| See Spanish phonology
    |-
    | colspan="2" align="center"| Swedish ||align="center"| ''bank'' ||align="center"| ||align="center"| 'bank'|| See Swedish phonology
    |-
    | colspan="2" align="center"| Turkish ||align="center"| ''at'' ||align="center"| ||align="center"|'horse' || See Turkish phonology



    Category:Vowels

    br:Vogalenn digor a-raok plaen
    cs:Otevřená přední nezaokrouhlená samohláska
    de:Ungerundeter offener Vorderzungenvokal
    es:Vocal abierta anterior no redondeada
    fr:Voyelle basse antérieure non arrondie
    ko:전설 비원순 저모음
    ja:非円唇前舌広母音
    pl:Samogłoska otwarta przednia niezaokrąglona
    ro:Vocală deschisă anterioară nerotunjită