Retracted vowel

{{Short description|Vowel sound with tongue pulled into the pharynx}}File:Esling vowel chart.png

A retracted vowel is a vowel sound in which the body or root of the tongue is pulled backward and downward into the pharynx. The most retracted cardinal vowels are {{IPA|[ɑ ɒ]}}, which are so far back that the epiglottis may press against the back pharyngeal wall, and {{IPA|[ʌ ɔ]}}. Raised or front vowels may be partially retracted, for example by an adjacent uvular consonant or by vowel harmony based on retracted tongue root. In both cases, {{IPA|/i y e ø a o u/}}, for example, may be retracted to {{IPA|[ɪ ʏ ɛ œ ɑ ɔ ʊ̙]}}.

Retracted vowels and raised vowels constitute the traditional, but articulatorily inaccurate, category of back vowels.