Close Vowels

Close vowels:  The defining characteristic of a close vowel is that the tongue is positioned as close as possible to the roof of the mouth without creating a constriction that would be classified as a consonant.

This term is prescribed by the International Phonetic Association. Close vowels are often referred to as high vowels, as in the Americanist phonetic tradition, because the tongue is positioned high in the mouth during the articulation of a close vowel.

Some close vowels are:

/i:/: high, front, spread, complex, lengthened

Beat, speech, people, key, police, scene, quay

/I/:  high, front, neutral, simple, unlengthened

Bit, sausage,, biggest, rhythm, mountain

/ʊ/: high, back, rounded, simple, unlengthened

Book, good,woman, push, pull, soap

/u/: high, back, rounded, complex, lengthened

Food, rude, true,  who, fruit, soup