near-open vowel

{{Short description|Class of vowel sounds}}

{{IPA vowels|class=floatright}}

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A near-open vowel or a near-low vowel is any in a class of vowel sound used in some spoken languages. The defining characteristic of a near-open vowel is that the tongue is positioned similarly to an open vowel, but slightly more constricted.{{Cite journal |last1=Anderson |first1=Catherine |last2=Bjorkman |first2=Bronwyn |last3=Denis |first3=Derek |last4=Doner |first4=Julianne |last5=Grant |first5=Margaret |last6=Sanders |first6=Nathan |last7=Taniguchi |first7=Ai |date=2022-02-28 |title=3.5 Describing vowels |url=https://ecampusontario.pressbooks.pub/essentialsoflinguistics2/chapter/3-5-describing-vowels/ |language=en}}

Other names for a near-open vowel are lowered open-mid vowel and raised open vowel,{{Cite journal |last=Pöchtrager |first=Markus A. |date=2021-05-07 |title=Towards a non-arbitrary account of affricates and affrication |url=https://www.glossa-journal.org/article/id/5441/ |journal=Glossa: A Journal of General Linguistics |language=en |volume=6 |issue=1 |doi=10.5334/gjgl.1116 |s2cid=236547770 |issn=2397-1835|doi-access=free }} though the former phrase may also be used to describe a vowel that is as low as open; likewise, the latter phrase may also be used to describe a vowel that is as high as open-mid.