Vertical vowel system refers to a system of
vowelIn phonetics, a vowel is a sound in spoken language, such as English ah! or oh! , pronounced with an open vocal tract so that there is no build-up of air pressure at any point above the glottis. This contrasts with consonants, such as English sh! , where there is a constriction or closure at some...
s in a language which requires just one
vowel dimensionA vowel dimension is an aspect of a vowel's pronunciation, involving a phonological or phonetic feature which is utilised in a language.The basic vowel dimensions are generally viewed as being vowel backness and height; these dimensions are manifested in most of the world's languages...
to phonemically distinguish vowels. Theoretically,
roundingIn phonetics, vowel roundedness refers to the amount of rounding in the lips during the articulation of a vowel. That is, it is vocalic labialization. When pronouncing a rounded vowel, the lips form a circular opening, while unrounded vowels are pronounced with the lips relaxed...
,
frontnessA front vowel is a type of vowel sound used in some spoken languages. The defining characteristic of a front vowel is that the tongue is positioned as far forward as possible in the mouth without creating a constriction that would be classified as a consonant. Front vowels are sometimes also called...
and
backnessA back vowel is a type of vowel sound used in some spoken languages. The defining characteristic of a back vowel is that the tongue is positioned as far back as possible in the mouth without creating a constriction that would be classified as a consonant. Back vowels are sometimes also called dark...
, and vowel height could be used in one-dimensional vowel systems; however,
vertical refers specifically to the usage of vowel height as the sole distinguishing feature.
Two different diachronic mechanisms may give rise to a vertical vowel system.
Vertical vowel system refers to a system of
vowelIn phonetics, a vowel is a sound in spoken language, such as English ah! or oh! , pronounced with an open vocal tract so that there is no build-up of air pressure at any point above the glottis. This contrasts with consonants, such as English sh! , where there is a constriction or closure at some...
s in a language which requires just one
vowel dimensionA vowel dimension is an aspect of a vowel's pronunciation, involving a phonological or phonetic feature which is utilised in a language.The basic vowel dimensions are generally viewed as being vowel backness and height; these dimensions are manifested in most of the world's languages...
to phonemically distinguish vowels. Theoretically,
roundingIn phonetics, vowel roundedness refers to the amount of rounding in the lips during the articulation of a vowel. That is, it is vocalic labialization. When pronouncing a rounded vowel, the lips form a circular opening, while unrounded vowels are pronounced with the lips relaxed...
,
frontnessA front vowel is a type of vowel sound used in some spoken languages. The defining characteristic of a front vowel is that the tongue is positioned as far forward as possible in the mouth without creating a constriction that would be classified as a consonant. Front vowels are sometimes also called...
and
backnessA back vowel is a type of vowel sound used in some spoken languages. The defining characteristic of a back vowel is that the tongue is positioned as far back as possible in the mouth without creating a constriction that would be classified as a consonant. Back vowels are sometimes also called dark...
, and vowel height could be used in one-dimensional vowel systems; however,
vertical refers specifically to the usage of vowel height as the sole distinguishing feature.
Two different diachronic mechanisms may give rise to a vertical vowel system. In some cases, a the front-back distinction may simply be lost when vowels are merged. This has occurred in
WichitaWichita is a moribund Caddoan language spoken in Oklahoma by the Wichita and Affiliated Tribes. Only one fluent speaker remains, Doris McLemore, although nine other people are believed to speak it to some extent...
, in which an old vowel /u/ (preserved in the related language
PawneeThe Pawnee language is a Caddoan language spoken by Pawnee Native Americans located in North central Oklahoma. Once the language of thousands of Pawnees, today Pawnee is spoken by a shrinking number of elderly speakers, and as more young people continue to learn English as their first language, the...
) has merged with /i/. However, the Wichita vowel system is not
phonetically vertical, as /a/ is realised as
openAn open vowel is a vowel sound of a type used in nearly all spoken languages . The defining characteristic of an open vowel is that the tongue is positioned as far as possible from the roof of the mouth. Open vowels are sometimes also called low vowels in reference to the low position of the tongue...
backA back vowel is a type of vowel sound used in some spoken languages. The defining characteristic of a back vowel is that the tongue is positioned as far back as possible in the mouth without creating a constriction that would be classified as a consonant. Back vowels are sometimes also called dark...
, /e/ as
open-midThe open-mid vowels make a class of vowel sounds used in some spoken languages. The defining characteristic of an open-mid vowel is that the tongue is positioned two-thirds of the way from an open vowel to a mid vowel...
frontA front vowel is a type of vowel sound used in some spoken languages. The defining characteristic of a front vowel is that the tongue is positioned as far forward as possible in the mouth without creating a constriction that would be classified as a consonant. Front vowels are sometimes also called...
, and /i/ as
closeA close vowel is a type of vowel sound used in many spoken languages. 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...
to
close-midA close-mid vowel is a type of vowel sound used in some spoken languages. The defining characteristic of a close-mid vowel is that the tongue is positioned two-thirds of the way from a close vowel to a mid vowel...
front; hence, the feature [± back] is relevant to the
phonetics of the language, even though it is not a salient phonological distinction. Similarly, the vowel [o] is heard in Wichita utterances, although this vowel is usually the phonetic result of a contraction of sequences of [short vowel +
w + short vowel], a phenomenon also noted in other languages with vertical vowel systems.
More striking is a phenomenon whereby one or more phonological features of vowels are lost and reassigned to the consonants at the syllable periphery, leaving all vowels
underspecifiedIn theoretical linguistics, underspecification is a phenomenon where certain features are omitted in underlying representations. Restricted underspecification theory holds that features should only be underspecified if their values are predictable. For example, in English, all front vowels are...
for frontness, rounding, or both. This has occurred in Arrernte, in which vowel rounding has been lost and consonantal
labialisationLabialisation is a secondary articulatory feature of sounds in some languages. Labialised sounds involve the lips while the remainder of the oral cavity produces another sound. The term is normally restricted to consonants. When vowels involve the lips, they are called rounded.The most common...
gained as a result; famously, in all members of the
Northwest CaucasianThe Northwest Caucasian languages, also called Abkhazo-Adyghean, or sometimes Pontic as opposed to Caspian , are a group of languages spoken in the Caucasus region, chiefly in Russia , the disputed territory of Abkhazia, and Turkey, with smaller communities scattered throughout the...
family, both rounding and frontness have been reassigned to the syllable periphery, the former surfacing as consonantal labialisation, and the latter as palatalisation. This has also occurred in
MarshalleseThe Marshallese language is a Malayo-Polynesian language of the Marshall Islands. There are two major dialects: Rälik and Ratak .-Consonants:...
. Some argue that the short vowels of Irish have similarly lost their frontness specification, forming a rudimentary vertical system. However, almost all Irish consonants appear in palatalised and non-palatalised forms, so the loss of frontness specification is viewed as a consequence, rather than a cause, of consonant palatalisation. Furthermore, the loss of frontness specification in Irish is limited to the
short vowelIn linguistics, vowel length is the perceived duration of a vowel sound. Often the chroneme, or the "longness", acts like a consonant, and may etymologically be one such as in Australian English...
s of the language; the
long vowelsIn linguistics, vowel length is the perceived duration of a vowel sound. Often the chroneme, or the "longness", acts like a consonant, and may etymologically be one such as in Australian English...
of Irish retain a front-back distinction.
Zero-dimensional vowel systems (one phonemic vowel only) have been postulated for some
AbkhazAbkhaz is a Northwest Caucasian language spoken mainly by the Abkhaz people. It is the official language of Abkhazia, where around 100,000 people speak it. Furthermore, it is spoken by thousands of members of the Abkhazian diaspora in Turkey, Georgia's autonomous republic of Adjara, Syria, Jordan...
dialects, and for Kabardian; however, it is generally accepted that these analyses are flawed.
Vertical vowel systems, invariably contrasting only in vowel height, have been noted for the following languages:
- Northwest Caucasian family
The Northwest Caucasian languages, also called Abkhazo-Adyghean, or sometimes Pontic as opposed to Caspian , are a group of languages spoken in the Caucasus region, chiefly in Russia , the disputed territory of Abkhazia, and Turkey, with smaller communities scattered throughout the...
- Abkhaz
Abkhaz is a Northwest Caucasian language spoken mainly by the Abkhaz people. It is the official language of Abkhazia, where around 100,000 people speak it. Furthermore, it is spoken by thousands of members of the Abkhazian diaspora in Turkey, Georgia's autonomous republic of Adjara, Syria, Jordan...
(two degrees)
- Adyghe
Adyghe language is one of the two official languages of the Republic of Adygea in the Russian Federation, the other being Russian. It is spoken by various tribes of the Adyghe people: Abzekh, Adamey, Bzhedugh; Hatukuay, Kemirgoy, Makhosh; Natekuay, Shapsigh; Zhane, Yegerikuay, each with its own...
(three degrees)
- Kabardian
The Kabardian language is closely related to the Adyghe language , both members of the Northwest Caucasian language family. It is spoken mainly in the Russian republics of Kabardino-Balkaria and Karachay-Cherkessia and in Turkey and the Middle East...
(two, perhaps three degrees)
- Ubykh
Ubykh or Ubyx is a language of the Northwestern Caucasian group, spoken by the Ubykh people up until the early 1990s.The word is derived from , its name in the Abdzakh Adyghe language...
(two, perhaps three degrees)
- Caddoan family
The Caddoan languages are a family of Native American languages. They are spoken by Native Americans throughout the Great Plains of the central United States, from North Dakota south to Oklahoma.-Family division:...
- Wichita
Wichita is a moribund Caddoan language spoken in Oklahoma by the Wichita and Affiliated Tribes. Only one fluent speaker remains, Doris McLemore, although nine other people are believed to speak it to some extent...
(three degrees)
- Australian Aboriginal languages
The Indigenous Australian languages comprise several language families and isolates native to Australia and a few nearby islands, but by convention excluding Tasmania...
- Austronesian languages
The Austronesian languages are a language family widely dispersed throughout the islands of Southeast Asia and the Pacific, with a few members spoken on continental Asia. It is on par with Bantu, Indo-European, Afro-Asiatic and Uralic as one of the best-established ancient language families...
- Marshallese
The Marshallese language is a Malayo-Polynesian language of the Marshall Islands. There are two major dialects: Rälik and Ratak .-Consonants:...
(four degrees)
- Sepik-Ramu languages
The Sepik-Ramu languages are a hypothetical language family linking the Sepik, Ramu, Nor-Pondo , Leonhard Schultze , and Yuat families, together with the Taiap language isolate, and proposed by Donald Laycock in 1973....
KazakhKazakh is a Turkic language closely related to Kyrgyz and Karakalpak.Kazakh is an agglutinative language, and it employs vowel harmony.-Geographic distribution:...
has a vertical vowel system in that backness is not phonemic; however, it is not one-dimensional. Backness has been reinterpreted as
advanced tongue rootIn phonetics, advanced tongue root and retracted tongue root, abbreviated ±ATR or ±RTR, are contrasting states of the root of the tongue during the pronunciation of vowels in some languages, especially in West Africa, but also in Kazakh and Mongolian...
; vowels are otherwise distinguished by height, rounding, and diphthongization.