backness

English

Etymology

From back +‎ -ness.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /bæk.nɪs/

Noun

backness (uncountable)

1. (phonetics) Quality of being a back vowel.

   Antonym: frontness

   • 1996, Andrew Spencer, Phonology: theory and description, page 25:

     The most important aspects of vowel quality are tongue height, frontness/backness and lip rounding.

2. (phonetics) A quality of vowels, indicating the horizontal position of the tongue relative to the back of the mouth (front, near-front, central, near-back, or back).

   Synonym: frontness

   Coordinate terms: (vertical dimension) height, (lip articulation) roundedness, length, nasalization, reduction

Translations

a quality of vowels: the position of the tongue relative to the back of the mouth

• Catalan: posterioritat f
• Hungarian: elölség, elölképzettség