What is vowel backness?

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Multiple Choice

What is vowel backness?

Explanation:
Vowel backness is about where the tongue sits in the mouth along the front–back axis when producing a vowel. It describes whether the tongue body is toward the front, the center, or the back, and vowels are categorized as front, central, or back accordingly. This dimension is separate from how high or low the tongue is (height) and from lip rounding. For example, the high front vowel [i] is toward the front, the mid central vowel [ə] sits in the center, and the high back vowel [u] is toward the back. So backness is defined by the horizontal tongue position, categorized as front, central, or back.

Vowel backness is about where the tongue sits in the mouth along the front–back axis when producing a vowel. It describes whether the tongue body is toward the front, the center, or the back, and vowels are categorized as front, central, or back accordingly. This dimension is separate from how high or low the tongue is (height) and from lip rounding. For example, the high front vowel [i] is toward the front, the mid central vowel [ə] sits in the center, and the high back vowel [u] is toward the back. So backness is defined by the horizontal tongue position, categorized as front, central, or back.

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