Opening (phonetic)

In phonetics, opening or height is the amplitude that the vocal organs, when an articulation occurs, grant to the passage of air. It is highly variable (gradual), depending on the sounds that are emitted. It is a relative concept and is opposed to that of closeness. The term height refers to the height of the lower jaw. In this way the high vowels are closed and the low vowels are open.

Vocal opening

Vocals

	Previous	Semiant.	Central	Semipost.	Poster
Closed	i • and • • • • • u e • • ø • • • e • ø • • • • • or ≤30,000 ♫ • • o • ∙ œ • • æ • • • ä •  a • • Русский 
Almost closed.
Semicerr.
Media
Semiab.
Almost ab.
Open

Where symbols appear in pairs,
the one on the right represents a rounded vowel.

The degree of opening is much greater in the vowels, which are pronounced without the vocal organs getting in the way. In Spanish, the largest opening corresponds to the vowel a, while the smallest to i. The opening, together with the position of the tongue, forms the vowel system.

Acoustically, the opening is characterized in the first formant, which is located at higher frequencies the more open the vowel.

Consonantal opening

The opening is not a distinctive feature in the case of consonants, so it should not be taken into account.