Open back unrounded vowel
The open back 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. The symbol is called script a because it lacks the extra hook on top of a printed letter 'a', which corresponds to a different vowel, the open front unrounded vowel. Script a, which has its linear stroke on the right, should not be confused with turned script a , which has its linear stroke on the left and corresponds to a rounded version of this vowel, the open back rounded vowel. Features of this vowel: 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 back, which means the tongue is positioned as far back as possible in the mouth in the mouth without creating a constriction that would be classified as a consonant Its vowel roundedness is unrounded, which means that the lips are not rounded. Occurs in: Dutch bat 'bath'' English spa French pâte 'dough'
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